Multinode arrangement
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- a first node including at least one hardwire connection to at least a second node;
wherein said first node is configured to broadcast a first signal both wirelessly and over said at least one hardwire connection;
wherein said first node selectively transmits further communications to said second node either via said at least one hardwire connection or wirelessly, dependent on whether said second node responds to said first signal via said at least one hardwire connection or wirelessly, respectively; and
wherein said first node broadcasts the first signal to establish communication, and said first node transmits further communications to said second node to maintain communication between said first and second nodes, andwherein said first node transmits the first signal at a first signal strength, and the further communications at a second signal strength, when the first signal and the further communications are transmitted wirelessly, andfurther wherein the first signal strength is based on an estimated distance between said first node and said second node.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a multinode arrangement that utilizes a plurality of nodes that communicate with each other by RF transmissions and hardwire communications. The use of both hardwire and RF transmission provides the advantages obtained with both forms of transmission.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a first node including at least one hardwire connection to at least a second node; wherein said first node is configured to broadcast a first signal both wirelessly and over said at least one hardwire connection; wherein said first node selectively transmits further communications to said second node either via said at least one hardwire connection or wirelessly, dependent on whether said second node responds to said first signal via said at least one hardwire connection or wirelessly, respectively; and wherein said first node broadcasts the first signal to establish communication, and said first node transmits further communications to said second node to maintain communication between said first and second nodes, and wherein said first node transmits the first signal at a first signal strength, and the further communications at a second signal strength, when the first signal and the further communications are transmitted wirelessly, and further wherein the first signal strength is based on an estimated distance between said first node and said second node. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A multinode arrangement for establishing a communication network for transmitting information between a first object and a second object, comprising:
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a plurality of nodes configured to communicate information from the first object to the second object, wherein said plurality of nodes communicate through RF and hardwire communication links, wherein said plurality of nodes are configured to transmit a signal to establish communication between said nodes, and transmit the signal to maintain communication between said nodes, and further wherein the nodes transmit the signal to establish communication between said nodes at a first signal strength, and the signal to maintain communication between said nodes at a second signal strength, when the signals are transmitted wirelessly; and wherein the signal to establish communication between said nodes is transmitted via both RF and the hardwire communication links, and the signal to maintain communication between said nodes is transmitted via one of RF and a hardwire communication link to a node, depending on whether that node responded to the signal to establish communication between said nodes via RF or hardwire communication link, respectively, and further wherein the first signal strength is based on an estimated distance between said first node and said second node. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method comprising:
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transmitting a first signal from a first node to a second node to establish communications between the first and second nodes; and transmitting a second signal to the second node to maintain communication between the first and second nodes; wherein the first node transmits the first signal via both an RF and a hardwire communication link; and wherein said first node selectively transmits said second signal to said second node either via the hardwire communication link or wirelessly, dependent on whether said second node responds to said first signal via the hardwire communication link or wirelessly, respectively, and wherein the nodes transmit the first signal at a first signal strength, and the second signal at a second signal strength, when the signals are transmitted wirelessly, and further wherein the first signal strength is based on an estimated distance between said first node and said second node. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification