ENDPOINT REPEATER FUNCTIONALITY SELECTION

• US 20160353352A1
• Filed: 08/10/2016
• Published: 12/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Inventors: CUMERALTO, SCOTT
• Granted Patent: US 10,045,275 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/36 Repeater circuits H04B3/58 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/10 based on available power or energy
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/24 Connectivity information management, e.g. connectivity discovery or connectivity update
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Disclosed are apparatus and methodology for improving communications among battery operated network endpoints and a central facility. A battery operated endpoint may determine its remaining battery capacity and decide whether it is able to provide message repeating services to other endpoints within the network. The endpoint may make such decision based also on its own communications reliability to a central facility either directly or via other endpoints operating as repeaters.

Claims

1. A repeater endpoint in a network of endpoints having metering functionality, the repeater endpoint comprising:

a processor;

a memory in communication with the processor;

a transceiver configured to send and receive messages between the processor and a network; and

a battery configured to supply power to the processor and the transceiver,

wherein the processor is configured to;

evaluate a repeater availability of the repeater endpoint, wherein the repeater availability comprises communication reliability and battery capacity, wherein the communication reliability includes determining having a sufficient quality of service connection from the repeater endpoint to out-of-range endpoints or a central facility on the network, and wherein the battery capacity of the repeater endpoint includes determining having a capacity above a predetermined level;

transmit signals via the transceiver, the signals intended for the out-of-range endpoints and configured with preambles having a discovery bit to indicate to the out-of-range endpoints availability of repeater functionality at the repeater endpoint sufficient to support repeating messages from the out-of-range endpoints based on the evaluating of the repeater availability of the repeater endpoint;

receive one or more messages at the repeater endpoint from the out-of-range endpoints that require the repeater functionality to be heard at the central facility; and

relay the one or more received messages, wherein the relaying is performed by the repeater endpoint and other repeater endpoints having repeater availability in a shared manner, wherein the shared manner distributes workload over at least two repeater endpoints having repeater availability to prevent any single endpoint of the repeater endpoints from performing the entire relaying required by the out-of-range endpoints.

2. The repeater endpoint of claim 1, further comprising:

a measurement device in communication with the processor and with power supplied by the battery.

3. The repeater endpoint of claim 2, wherein the measurement device comprises a consumption measurement device.

4. The repeater endpoint of claim 3, wherein the consumption measurement device comprises a water, gas, or oil meter.

5. The repeater endpoint of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:

collect measurement data from the measurement device.

6. The repeater endpoint of claim 5, wherein the collected measurement data is consumption measurement data.

7. The repeater endpoint of claim 5, wherein the collected measurement data describes at least one of water, gas, or oil consumption.

8. The repeater endpoint of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:

transmit the collected measurement data to the central facility.

9. The repeater endpoint of claim 1, wherein the evaluating comprises evaluating links of the repeater endpoint in the network to other endpoints upstream in the network.

10. The repeater endpoint of claim 1, wherein the evaluating comprises evaluating upstream links of the repeater endpoint in the network and determining if the battery capacity of the repeater endpoint in the network is sufficient to share the repeater load.

11. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a repeater endpoint in a network of endpoints having metering functionality, perform acts comprising:

evaluating a repeater availability of the repeater endpoint, wherein the repeater availability comprises communication reliability and battery capacity, wherein the communication reliability includes determining having a sufficient quality of service connection from the repeater endpoint to out-of-range endpoints or a central facility on the network, and wherein the battery capacity of the repeater endpoint includes determining having a capacity above a predetermined level;

transmitting signals intended for the out-of-range endpoints and configured with preambles having a discovery bit to indicate to the out-of-range endpoints availability of repeater functionality at the repeater endpoint sufficient to support repeating messages from the out-of-range endpoints based on the evaluating of the repeater availability of the repeater endpoint;

receiving one or more messages at the repeater endpoint from the out-of-range endpoints that require the repeater functionality to be heard at the central facility; and

relaying the one or more received messages, wherein the relaying is performed by the repeater endpoint and other repeater endpoints having repeater availability in a shared manner, wherein the shared manner distributes workload over at least two repeater endpoints having repeater availability to prevent any single endpoint of the repeater endpoints from performing the entire relaying required by the out-of-range endpoints.

12. The one or more computer readable media of claim 11, wherein the acts further include:

collecting measurement data via a measurement device of the repeater endpoint.

13. The one or more computer readable media of claim 12, wherein the collected measurement data is consumption measurement data.

14. The one or more computer readable media of claim 12, wherein the collected measurement data describes at least one of water, gas, or oil consumption.

15. The one or more computer readable media of claim 12, wherein the acts further include:

transmitting the collected measurement data to the central facility.

16. The one or more computer readable media of claim 11, wherein the evaluating comprises evaluating links of the repeater endpoint in the network to other endpoints upstream in the network.

17. The one or more computer readable media of claim 11, wherein the evaluating comprises evaluating upstream links of the repeater endpoint in the network and determining if the battery capacity of the repeater endpoint in the network is sufficient to share the repeater load.