METHOD FOR MANAGING THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION PACKETS ACROSS A WIRELESS AND ROUTING NODES IMPLEMENTING IT

• US 20100202335A1
• Filed: 06/06/2007
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pirelli & C SPA, Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Pirelli & C SPA, Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Coleri Ergen, Sinem, Borean, Claudio, Giannantonio, Roberta
• Granted Patent: US 8,982,857 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/02 Power saving arrangements in wired systems H04L12/12; signaling of mobile application services, e.g. low battery notifications H04W4/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A wireless network includes permanently powered routing nodes and intermittently operating routing nodes. A polling procedure is used for transferring routing and data information packets from a permanently powered routing node to an intermittently operating routing node. In particular, when the permanently powered routing node has to transmit an information packet to the intermittently operating routing node, it stores the information packet in a memory; it waits until the intermittently operating routing node is able to receive information packets; and then it transmits the information packet to the intermittently operating routing node, and when the intermittently operating routing node has to transmit an information packet to the permanently powered routing node, it transmits immediately the information packet to the permanently powered routing node.

Claims

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. A method for managing the transfer of information packets across a wireless network comprising at least one permanently powered routing node and at least one intermittently operating routing node wherein a polling procedure is used for transferring information packets from said permanently powered routing node to said intermittently operating routing node.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said information packets transferred by means of said polling procedure comprise routing information packets and data information packets.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein, when said permanently powered routing node has to transmit an information packet to said intermittently operating routing node, said permanently powered routing node stores said information packet in a memory, said permanently powered routing node waits until said intermittently operating routing node is able to receive information packets, and then said permanently powered routing node transmits said information packet to said intermittently operating routing node.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, when said intermittently operating routing node has to transmit an information packet to said permanently powered routing node, said intermittently operating routing node transmits immediately said information packet to said permanently powered routing node.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein said intermittently operating routing node transmits information packets to only one permanently powered routing node of said wireless network.

25. The method according to claim 20, wherein said intermittently operating routing node receives information packets from only one permanently powered routing node of said wireless network.

26. The method according to claim 20, wherein said intermittently operating routing node receives/transmits information packets from/to intermittently operating nodes of said wireless network through a duty-cycling communication protocol.

27. The method according to claim 20, wherein said intermittently operating routing node is associated with only one permanently powered routing node of said wireless network, and wherein, if said intermittently operating routing node loses radio connection with said only one permanently powered node, said intermittently operating routing node associates with another available permanently powered routing node of said wireless network.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein, if said intermittently operating routing node associates with another permanently powered routing node of said wireless network, routing information within all or a subset of the routing nodes of said wireless network are consequently updated.

29. The method according to claim 20, wherein said wireless network is a ZigBee network.

30. The method according to claim 20, wherein the intermittent operation of the intermittently operating routing nodes of said wireless network is related to a transceiver thereof.

31. A routing node for a wireless network comprising a radio transceiver having a permanent power supply and capable of being adapted to communicate with at least one intermittently operating routing node comprising a radio transceiver having an intermittent operation, comprising:

a memory for storing at least an information packet to be sent to said at least one routing node; and

a module for waiting until said at least one routing node is able to receive said information packets and for transmitting said information packet to said at least one routing node.

32. The routing node according to claim 31, wherein said module is capable of being adapted to determine and store the type of operation of a transceiver of another routing node when said other routing node associates with said transceiver of another routing node, said type of operation of the transceiver being permanent or intermittent.

33. A routing node for a wireless network comprising a radio transceiver having an intermittent operation and capable of being adapted to communicate with at least one routing node comprising a radio transceiver having a permanent operation, comprising a polling module implementing a polling procedure for receiving information packets from said at least one routing node.

34. The routing node according to claim 33, comprising a duty-cycling module capable of implementing a duty-cycling communication protocol for communicating with other nodes of said wireless network comprising a radio transceiver having an intermittent operation.

35. The routing node according to claim 33, capable of being adapted to communicate with only one routing node comprising a radio transceiver having a permanent operation.

36. The routing node according to claim 35, comprising a module capable of monitoring a radio connection with said only one routing node and determining whether said radio connection is lost.

37. The routing node according to claim 36, wherein, when said radio connection with said only one routing node is lost, said module associates with another available routing node comprising a radio transceiver having a permanent operation.

38. The routing node according to claim 37, wherein said module notifies all or a subset of the nodes of said wireless network of a new association.