Over the air microcontroller flash memory updates

• US 8,320,302 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2007
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elster Electricity LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Elster Electricity LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Richeson, Keith D., Uy, David, Borleske, Andrew J., Brian, Brent R., Mason, Robert T. Jr., Hemminger, Rodney C., Christopher, Russell G., Kelley, Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Pérez-Gutiérrez, Rafael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miah, Liton
• Application Number:
  US11/738,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20080259844A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,048 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 713/1, 713/100, 711/103
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/002 with telemetering systems telemetering in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

Techniques for over the air (OTA) microcontroller flash memory updates using a wireless network are disclosed herein. A control node first transmits the microcontroller flash memory update to all devices that can receive the message. Each packet of the message is relayed through multiple communication levels until all devices receive the packet. This starts with communications from the control node to each device node that has a direct communication path to the control node, which are referred to herein as “first level” device nodes. The first level device nodes then relay each communication to each other device node that has a direct communication path to the first level device nodes, which are referred to herein as “second level” device nodes. This process is repeated at each level of the wireless network until each of the plurality of device nodes has received the microcontroller flash memory update.

Claims

1. A wireless network comprising:

a control node;

a plurality of device nodes in wireless communication with the control node, each of the device nodes having a wireless communication path to the control node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate device nodes serving as relays, each device node having a corresponding device comprising an embedded microcontroller with a flash memory;

wherein the device nodes comprise broadcast nodes that are configured to receive the microcontroller flash memory update via a broadcast transmission, and wherein the device nodes further comprise non-broadcast nodes that are not configured to receive the microcontroller flash memory update via a broadcast transmission,

wherein the control node transmits a microcontroller flash memory update to the plurality of broadcast nodes over the wireless network, the microcontroller flash memory update being first transmitted from the control node to each broadcast node with a direct communication path to the control node, the microcontroller flash memory update being then relayed by one or more broadcast nodes to other broadcast nodes until the microcontroller flash memory update is transmitted to each broadcast node in the wireless network, and

wherein the control node determines when all of the broadcast nodes have received the microcontroller flash memory update, and, based on this determination, the control node then sends a command to transmit the microcontroller flash memory update from one or more broadcast nodes to each non-broadcast node.

2. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller flash memory update comprises less than all packets of an entire image to be stored in a microcontroller flash memory.

3. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein the broadcast nodes are line powered devices.

4. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein the non-broadcast nodes are battery powered devices.

5. A method for microcontroller flash memory updating in a wireless network comprising a control node and a plurality of device nodes in wireless communication with the control node, each of the device nodes having a wireless communication path to the control node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate device nodes serving as relays, each device node having a corresponding device comprising an embedded microcontroller with a flash memory, the device nodes comprising a plurality of broadcast nodes that are configured to receive broadcast communications from the control node, the device nodes further comprising one or more non-broadcast nodes that are not configured to receive broadcast communications from the control node, the method comprising:

transmitting using broadcast techniques a microcontroller flash memory update from the control node to the plurality of broadcast nodes over the wireless network, the microcontroller flash memory update being first broadcast from the control node to each device node with a direct communication path to the control node, the microcontroller flash memory update being then relayed by one or more broadcast nodes to other broadcast nodes until the microcontroller flash memory update is transmitted to each broadcast node in the wireless network; and

determining when all the broadcast nodes have received the microcontroller flash memory update, and based on this determination, subsequently transmitting a separate command from the control node to a first broadcast node, the separate command comprising instructions to relay the microcontroller flash memory update using non-broadcast transmission techniques from the first broadcast node to a first non-broadcast node in direct communication with the first broadcast node.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the microcontroller flash memory update comprises less than all packets of an entire image to be stored in a microcontroller flash memory.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the broadcast nodes are line powered devices.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more non-broadcast nodes are battery powered devices.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising surveying the broadcast nodes to determine whether an average number of packets of the microcontroller flash memory update received by the broadcast nodes.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining whether the average number of number of packets received by the broadcast nodes exceeds a threshold value and, if not, then re-broadcasting the microcontroller flash memory update until the average number of number of packets received by the broadcast nodes exceeds a threshold value.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising sending a unique message to each device node to determine if the device has received all packets of the microcontroller flash memory update.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting missing packets to each device node to that did not receive all packets of the microcontroller flash memory update.

13. A method for microcontroller flash memory updating in a wireless network comprising a control node and a plurality of device nodes in wireless communication with the control node, each of the device nodes having a wireless communication path to the control node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate device nodes serving as relays, each device node having a corresponding device comprising an embedded microcontroller with a flash memory, the device nodes comprising one or more broadcast nodes that are configured to receive broadcast communications from the control node, the device nodes further comprising one or more non-broadcast nodes that are not configured to receive broadcast communications from the control node, the method comprising:

receiving by a first broadcast node the microcontroller flash memory update transmitted using broadcast techniques;

after a determination is made that all the broadcast nodes have received the microcontroller flash memory update, receiving by the first broadcast node a command comprising instructions to relay using non-broadcast transmission techniques the microcontroller flash memory update from the first broadcast node to a first non-broadcast node in direct communication with the first broadcast node; and

transmitting by the first broadcast node the microcontroller flash memory update to the first non-broadcast node.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the microcontroller flash memory update comprises less than all packets of an entire image to be stored in a microcontroller flash memory.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more broadcast nodes are line powered devices.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more non-broadcast nodes are battery powered devices.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising relaying by the first broadcast node the microcontroller flash memory update to one or more other broadcast nodes.