Communication and Message Route Optimization and Messaging in a Mesh Network

• US 20120140678A1
• Filed: 01/13/2012
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trilliant Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Trilliant Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Veillette, Michel
• Granted Patent: US 8,780,763 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/34 Source routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/48 Routing tree calculation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/66 Traffic distributors
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/22 using selective relaying for reaching a BTS [Base Transceiver Station] or an access point
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A method and system facilitate communications between an unassociated device and a server via a mesh network and a wide area network. The method may include receiving transmissions from candidate proxy devices, wherein each candidate proxy device is associated with a mesh network. The method may include selecting a proxy device from the candidate proxy devices. The method may include communicating with a server via the proxy device and the associated mesh network.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing communication paths within a mesh network comprising:

responsive to a predetermined trigger, calculating an optimal path from a mesh device within a mesh network, wherein the optimal path includes a set of mesh device addresses corresponding to a set of mesh devices in the mesh network along which a message can be forwarded;

receiving a request to transmit a message to a next mesh device; and

identifying the next mesh device from among a plurality of mesh devices, wherein identifying the next mesh device further comprises calculating a score for a next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and a score for an alternative next mesh device according to an alternate optimal path based on at least a link quality index corresponding to signal quality of the alternate optimal path, and selecting, based on a comparison of the calculated scores, one of the next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and the alternative next mesh device according to the alternate optimal path.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined trigger is selected from the set consisting of a time, a period, the occurrence of an event, the non-occurrence of an event, or any combination of two or more of these.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the associated optimal path in an accessible memory for each mesh device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a message from a mesh device transmitted along the associated optimal path.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the optimal path is calculated, in part, based on a next hop to an access point, a path signal quality, and a number of hops to the access point.

6. A system for optimizing communication paths within a mesh network, comprising:

at least one mesh device in a mesh network comprising;

a receiver receiving registration information from each mesh device of the mesh network;

a processor logic, responsive to a predetermined trigger, for calculating an optimal path from each mesh device in the mesh network, wherein the optimal path includes a set of mesh device addresses corresponding to a set of mesh devices along which a message can be forwarded;

a transmitter for transmitting the calculated optimal path; and

a processor logic, responsive to receiving a request to transmit a message, for identifying the next mesh device from among a plurality of mesh devices, wherein identifying the next mesh device further comprises calculating a score for a next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and a score for an alternative next mesh device according to an alternate optimal path based on at least a link quality index corresponding to signal quality of the alternate optimal path, and selecting, based on a comparison of the calculated scores, one of the next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and the alternative next mesh device according to the alternate optimal path.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the predetermined trigger is selected from the set consisting of a time, a period, the occurrence of an event, the non-occurrence of an event, or any combination of two or more of these.

8. The system of claim 6 further comprising a memory control logic for storing the associated optimal path in an accessible memory for each mesh device.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the receiver is adapted to receive a message from a mesh device transmitted along the associated optimal path.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the optimal path is calculated, in part, based on a next hop to an access point, a path signal quality, and a number of hops to the access point.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the program instructs a processor to perform the following steps of a method for optimizing communication paths within a mesh network, comprising:

receiving registration information from each mesh device of the mesh network;

responsive to a predetermined trigger, calculating an optimal path from each mesh device, wherein the optimal path includes a set of mesh device addresses corresponding to a set of mesh devices along which a message can be forwarded;

transmitting the calculated optimal path to each mesh device; and

responsive to receiving a request to transmit a message to a next mesh device, identifying the next mesh device from among a plurality of mesh devices, wherein identifying the next mesh device further comprises calculating a score for a next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and a score for an alternative next mesh device according to an alternate optimal path based on at least a link quality index corresponding to signal quality of the alternate optimal path, and selecting, based on a comparison of the calculated scores, one of the next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and the alternative next mesh device according to the alternate optimal path.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the predetermined trigger is selected from the set consisting of a time, a period, the occurrence of an event, the non-occurrence of an event, or any combination of two or more of these.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising storing the associated optimal path in an accessible memory for each mesh device.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising receiving a message from a mesh device transmitted along the associated optimal path.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the optimal path is calculated, in part, based on a next hop to an access point, a path signal quality, and a number of hops to the access point.

16. A method for identifying a next mesh device from among a plurality of neighbor mesh devices in a mesh network, the method comprising calculating, by a first mesh device, a score for the next mesh device according to a stored calculated optimal path and a score for an alternative next mesh device according to an alternate optimal path based on at least a link quality index corresponding to signal quality of the alternate optimal path, and selecting, based on a comparison of the calculated scores, one of the next mesh device according to the calculated optimal path and the alternative next mesh device according to the alternate optimal path.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

receiving neighbor information from a set of neighboring mesh devices; and

identifying the next mesh device by selecting a next mesh device from the set of neighboring mesh devices in response to a request to transmit a message to the access point, wherein the next mesh device is closer to the access point.

18. The method in claim 16 further comprising receiving registration information from each mesh device of the mesh network.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising storing mesh device information in an accessible memory.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

responsive to a predetermined trigger, calculating an optimal path from each mesh device, wherein the optimal path includes a set of mesh device addresses corresponding to a set of mesh devices along which a message can be forwarded; and

transmitting the calculated optimal path to each mesh device.