SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISSEMINATING MESSAGES AMONG A FABRIC NETWORK

• US 20160073343A1
• Filed: 09/05/2014
• Published: 03/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Jeffery Theodore, Szewczyk, Robert, Krishnamurthy, Vaas, Quattlebaum, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 9,801,129 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1863 comprising mechanisms for improved reliability, e.g. status reports arrangements for detecting or preventing errors by carrying supervisory signal the return channel H04L1/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• 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

Systems and methods for waking a fabric network of devices and communicating messages among the devices are described herein. An electronic device can communicate with other electronic devices of a fabric network broadcasting a wake message to the fabric network in response to an awakening event. The wake message can include a reason for triggering a wakeup of each device in the fabric network and a wake time signaling period. After the wake time signaling period lapses, a fabric message can be broadcasted to the fabric network, and the fabric message can be selectively rebroadcasted.

Claims

1-54. -54. (canceled)

55. A method for communicating messages among devices of a fabric network, comprising:

managing, for a received message, a plurality of variables, the plurality of variables comprising a counter, a rebroadcast time period, a rebroadcasting decision point, and a first timer, wherein the rebroadcasting decision point exists within the rebroadcast time period, and wherein the first timer is reset at a beginning of the rebroadcast time period;

determining when the first timer is equal to the rebroadcasting decision point; and

rebroadcasting the received message if the counter is determined to be less than a threshold when the first timer is determined to be equal to the rebroadcasting decision point.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

determining whether the first timer has reached an end of the rebroadcast time period;

in response to determining that the first timer has reached the end of the rebroadcast time period,

resetting the first timer;

recalculating the rebroadcast decision point; and

resetting the counter.

57. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

receiving a message from any one of the other devices of the fabric network; and

classifying the received message.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein when the received message is classified as a new message, the method further comprising:

creating an end of message timer;

setting the counter to a first value;

determining the rebroadcast time period;

calculating the decision point that exists within the rebroadcast time period; and

setting the first timer to an initial value.

59. The method of claim 57, wherein when the received message is classified as a duplicate message, the method further comprising:

incrementing the counter.

60. The method of claim 57, wherein when the received message is classified as an old message, the method further comprising:

ignoring the received message.

61. The method of claim 57, wherein the classifying the received message comprises evaluating a sequence number of the received message to classify it according to one of a new message, a duplicate message, and an old message.

62. The method of claim 55, wherein the plurality of variables further comprises an end of message time and a second timer, the method further comprising:

determining whether the second timer has reached the end of message time; and

in response to determining that the second timer has reached the end of message time, ceasing the rebroadcasting of the new message.

63. The method of claim 55, wherein the plurality of variables further comprises an end of message time and a second timer, the method further comprising:

determining whether the second timer has reached the end of message time;

in response to determining that the second timer has reached the end of message time, determining whether the device is an originator of the received message; and

selectively transmitting a new message if the device is the originator of the received message.

64. The method of claim 57, wherein when the received message is classified as a new message, the method further comprising:

extracting information from the new message; and

providing at least a portion of the extracted information to a processor that manages at least one state machine.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein the processor instructs the at least one state machine to change state based on the extracted information.

66. The method of claim 55 wherein the received message comprises a plurality of fields including:

a source field that identifies the originator device of the received message;

a destination field that specifies which devices of the fabric network are intended recipients of the received message; and

an alarm field that specifies information of at least one alarm.

67. A method for communicating messages among devices of a fabric network, comprising:

detecting a state change that triggers a message transmission from an originator device, wherein in response to the detecting, the method further comprises;

broadcasting a message from the originator device;

creating a message timer;

resetting a counter;

determining a rebroadcast time period that repeats for the duration of the message timer; and

selectively rebroadcasting the message during any one of the repeated rebroadcast time periods.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein in response to the detecting, the method further comprises:

setting a decision point to coincide with a start time of an initial rebroadcast time period.

69. The method of claim 67, further comprising:

setting a timer to an initial time value at the beginning of each rebroadcast time period.

70. The method of claim 69, the method further comprising:

resetting the counter at the beginning of each repeated rebroadcast time period; and

randomly selecting a decision point that exists within each repeated subsequent rebroadcast time period.

71. The method of claim 70, further comprising:

receiving the message from a device other than the originator device;

incrementing the counter;

determining, at the decision point, whether the counter is less than a threshold; and

in response to determining that the counter is less than the threshold at the decision point, rebroadcasting the message.

72. The method of claim 67, wherein the selectively rebroadcasting the message during any one of the repeated rebroadcast time periods continues until the message timer elapses.

73. The method of claim 67, wherein the selectively rebroadcasting the message during any one of the repeated rebroadcast time periods continues until a state change occurs that causes the message to cease being selectively rebroadcasted.

74. A device for communicating messages among devices of a fabric network, comprising:

communications circuitry operative to transmit and receive wireless signals; and

a communications module coupled to the communications circuitry and operative to;

manage, for a received message, a plurality of variables, the plurality of variables comprising a counter, a rebroadcast time period, a rebroadcasting decision point, and a first timer, wherein the rebroadcasting decision point exists within the rebroadcast time period, and wherein the first timer is reset at a beginning of the rebroadcast time period;

determining when the first timer is equal to the rebroadcasting decision point; and

rebroadcast the received message if the counter is determined to be less than a threshold when the first timer is determined to be equal to the rebroadcasting decision point.

75. The device of claim 74, wherein the communications module is operative to:

receive a message from any one of the other devices of the fabric network; and

classify the received message.

76. The device of claim 75, wherein when the received message is classified as a new message, the communications module is operative to:

create an end of message timer;

set the counter to a first value;

determine the rebroadcast time period;

calculate the decision point that exists within the rebroadcast time period; and

set the first timer to an initial value.

77. The device of claim 75, wherein when the received message is classified as a duplicate message, the communications module is operative to:

increment the counter.

78. The device of claim 75, wherein when the received message is classified as an old message, the communications module is operative to:

ignore the received message.

79. The device of claim 75, wherein the communications module is operative to:

classify it according to one of a new message, a duplicate message, and an old message.

80. The device of claim 74, wherein the plurality of variables further comprises an end of message time and a second timer, the communications module is operative to:

determine whether the second timer has reached the end of message time; and

in response to determining that the second timer has reached the end of message time, cease the rebroadcasting of the new message.

81. The device of claim 74, wherein the plurality of variables further comprises an end of message time and a second timer, the communications module is operative to:

determine whether the second timer has reached the end of message time;

in response to determining that the second timer has reached the end of message time, determine whether the device is an originator of the received message; and

selectively transmitting a new message if the device is the originator of the received message.

82. The device of claim 75, wherein when the received message is classified as a new message, the communications module is operative to:

extract information from the new message; and

provide at least a portion of the extracted information to a processor that manages at least one state machine.

83. The device of claim 82, wherein the processor instructs the at least one state machine to change state based on the extracted information.

84. The method of claim 74 wherein the received message comprises a plurality of fields including:

a source field that identifies the originator device of the received message;

a destination field that specifies which devices of the fabric network are intended recipients of the received message; and

an alarm field that specifies information of at least one alarm.

85. The device of claim 74, wherein the communications module is operative to:

determine whether the first timer has reached an end of the rebroadcast time period;

in response to determining that the first timer has reached the end of the rebroadcast time period,

reset the first timer;

recalculate the rebroadcast decision point; and

reset the counter.

86. A device for communicating messages among devices of a fabric network, comprising:

communications circuitry operative to transmit and receive wireless signals; and

a communications module coupled to the communications circuitry and operative to;

detect a state change that triggers a message transmission from an originator device, wherein in response to the detecting, the communications module is further operative to;

broadcast a message from the originator device;

create a message timer;

reset a counter;

determine a rebroadcast time period that repeats for the duration of the message timer; and

selectively rebroadcast the message during any one of the repeated rebroadcast time periods.

87. The device of claim 86, wherein in response to the state change detection, the communications module operative to:

set a decision point to coincide with a start time of an initial rebroadcast time period.

88. The device of claim 87, wherein the communications module operative to:

set a timer to an initial time value at the beginning of each rebroadcast time period.

89. The device of claim 88, wherein the communications module operative to:

reset the counter at the beginning of each repeated rebroadcast time period; and

randomly select a decision point that exists within each repeated subsequent rebroadcast time period.

90. The device of claim 88, wherein the communications module operative to:

receive the message from a device other than the originator device;

increment the counter;

determine, at the decision point, whether the counter is less than a threshold; and

in response to determining that the counter is less than the threshold at the decision point, rebroadcast the message.

91. The device of claim 86, wherein the selective rebroadcast of the message during any one of the repeated rebroadcast time periods continues until the message timer elapses.

92. The device of claim 86, wherein the selective rebroadcast of the message during any one of the repeated rebroadcast time periods continues until a state change occurs that causes the message to cease being selectively rebroadcasted.