System and method for concurrent frequency hopping of radio communications

• US 7,856,047 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2007
• Issued: 12/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Yijun, Eskildsen, Kenneth G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Torres; Juan A
• Application Number:
  US11/859,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20090080497A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 375/132
• US Class Current: 375/132
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7143 Arrangements for generation of hop patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation

Abstract

A method and system for selecting frequency channels for a concurrent dual transceiver system are provided. In one aspect, a single hop table for at least two transceivers is used. The single hop table tracks information associated with a plurality of frequency channels that the transceivers can use. An available frequency channel is randomly selected using the single hop table and a transceiver is allowed to communicate via the selected frequency channel for allowed time duration. If communication has not completed for the current communication request, another frequency channel that is available is selected randomly and used. Multiple transceivers may communicate concurrently using this frequency channel selection and hopping method.

Claims

1. A method for selecting and scheduling frequency channel hopping for two or more transceivers, comprising the following steps:

establishing two or more transceivers in one communication system;

storing a plurality of communication requests for said two or more transceivers in a communication request queue;

storing a common hop table having information associated with a plurality of channels for said two or more transceivers;

obtaining a first communication request to service from the communication request queue;

identifying a first transceiver to use for the first communication request;

using the common hop table to determine an available channel to use for the first transceiver;

while the first transceiver is performing communication associated with the first communication request, obtaining a second communication request to serve from the communication request queue; and

identifying a second transceiver to use for the second communication request; and

using the common hop table to determine an available channel to use for the second transceiver,

wherein said two or more transceivers can be served concurrently and each channel in the common hop table can be shared concurrently within a period time among the said two or more transceivers and said two or more transceivers perform frequency hopping in parallel among the plurality of channels specified in the common hop table.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each channel in the common hop table can be shared concurrently among the said two or more transceivers when channel'"'"'s usage within the period time does not exceed a dwell time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of using the common hop table to determine an available channel to use for the transceiver includes:

selecting randomly a channel from the plurality of channels specified in the common hop table;

determining when the selected channel is busy, and when the selected channel is busy, repeating the selecting step and the determining step to select a next channel that is available;

setting the selected channel as busy in the common hop table; and

allowing the transceiver to perform communications on the selected channel and resetting the selected channel when the transceiver completes communicating on the selected channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of allowing the transceiver to perform communications on the selected channel and resetting the selected channel when the transceiver completes communicating on the selected channel includes:

allowing the transceiver to perform communications on the selected channel;

recording channel usage; and

allowing the transceiver to release the selected channel when the transceiver completes communicating on the selected channel or when a dwell time for the selected channel expires.

5. The method of claim 1, further including:

establishing a single processor, wherein the steps of storing, obtaining, identifying and using are performed by the single processor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the common hop table includes at least two timers associated with each of the plurality of channels specified in the common hop table.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps are performed for communicating within a security system comprising at least alarm system control panel and one or more peripheral devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver is used for upstreaming communication and the second transceiver is used for downstreaming communication.

9. A method for selecting and scheduling frequency channel hopping for two or more transceivers, comprising the following steps:

establishing at least a first transceiver and a second transceiver for communicating concurrently;

establishing a single hop table for the first transceiver and the second transceiver, the single hop table tracking information associated with a plurality of channels;

selecting randomly an available channel from the single hop table;

using the selected available channel for allowed time duration; and

repeating the steps of selecting and using until data transfer is completed for current communication request,

wherein the steps of selecting, using, and repeating are performed for communication requests on the first transceiver and the second transceiver concurrently.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first transceiver is selected for communication requests that are upstream and the second transceiver is selected for communication requests that are downstream.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the steps are performed for communicating within a security system comprising at least alarm system control panel and one or more peripheral devices.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the steps are performed in one or more relay devices connected to a security system control panel, alarm system control panel, one or more devices, or combinations thereof, in a tree topology network.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the steps are performed in one or more router devices connected to a security system control panel, alarm system control panel, one or more devices, or combinations thereof, in a mesh topology network.

14. The method of claim of claim 13, wherein all of said one or more router devices in the mesh topology network communicate directly with a control device.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver perform multiple streams of communication.

16. A system for selecting and scheduling frequency channel hopping for two or more transceivers, comprising:

at least two radio frequency transceivers;

a processor connected to said at least two radio frequency transceivers; and

a common hop table stored at the processor, the common hop table including at least information associated with a plurality of channels,

the processor operable to control said at least two radio frequency transceivers and to process two or more communication requests concurrently for said at least two radio frequency transceivers by selecting randomly an available channel from the common hop table for a first transceiver of said at least two radio frequency transceivers and while allowing the first transceiver to perform communications, selecting randomly an available channel from the common hop table for a second transceiver of said at least two radio frequency transceivers, and allowing said second transceiver to perform communications,

wherein said at least two radio frequency transceivers can be served concurrently and each channel in the common hop table can be shared concurrently within a period time among said at least two radio frequency transceivers when a channel'"'"'s usage within the period time does not exceed a dwell time, and wherein said at least two radio frequency transceivers perform frequency hopping in parallel among the plurality of channels specified in the common hop table.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the common hop table stores at least two timers associated with each of the plurality of channels.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein each of said at least two radio frequency transceivers is operable to release a channel upon completion of communications or when an allotted time for communicating on the channel has expired.

19. The system of claim 16, further including a communication request queue for storing a plurality of communication requests from said at least two radio frequency transceivers.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor stores communication requests for said at least two radio frequency transceivers in the communication request queue.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the system is used in a security system to communicate between a control panel and one or more peripheral devices of the security system.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the system is included in a security system control panel.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the system is used as a relay node in a security system for providing communications between a control panel of the security system and a plurality of sensors and peripheral devices in the security system.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein the system is used as a router node in a security system for providing communications between a control panel of the security system and a plurality of sensors and peripheral devices in the security system.

25. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for selecting and scheduling frequency channel hopping for two or more transceivers, comprising:

establishing two or more transceivers in one communication system;

storing a plurality of communication requests for said two or more transceivers in a communication request queue;

storing a common hop table having information associated with a plurality of channels for said two or more transceivers;

obtaining a first communication request to service from the communication request queue;

identifying a first transceiver to use for the first communication request;

using the common hop table to determine an available channel to use for the first transceiver;

while the first transceiver is performing communication associated with the first communication request, obtaining a second communication request to service from the communication request queue; and

identifying a second transceiver to use for the second communication request; and

using the common hop table to determine an available channel to use for the second transceiver,

wherein said two or more transceivers can be served concurrently and each channel in the common hop table can be shared concurrently within a period time among the said two or more transceivers and said two or more transceivers perform frequency hopping in parallel among the plurality of channels specified in the common hop table.