Systems and methods for time-based hailing of radio frequency devices

• US 8,660,134 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2011
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mueller International LLC (Mueller Water Products Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mueller International LLC (Mueller Water Products Incorporated)
• Inventors: Splitz, David Edwin, Shoesmith, William Charles, Grady, Robert Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): WILSON, ROBERT W
• Application Number:
  US13/283,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20130107772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/432
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for communicating with a radio frequency (RF) device. An exemplary method includes: sending to the RF device a hailing signal based on a system time; and sending to the RF device a data message.

Claims

1. A radio frequency (RF) apparatus for sending and receiving wireless communications, the RF apparatus comprising:

an oscillator;

a memory storing a hailing channel frequency set and a data channel frequency set, the hailing channel frequency set comprising a plurality of hailing channels and the data channel frequency set comprising a plurality of data channels;

an antenna operatively connected to the microprocessor; and

a microprocessor operatively connected to the oscillator, the memory and the antenna, the microprocessor configured to;

determine a system time based on the oscillator;

transmit and receive via the antenna a hailing signal on at least one of the plurality of hailing channels;

transmit and receive via the antenna data on at least one of the plurality of data channels.

2. The RF apparatus of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to select the at least one of the plurality of hailing channels from the hailing channel frequency set, the selection depending on a last known hailing channel.

3. The RF apparatus of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to select the at least one of the plurality of data channels from the data channel frequency set, the selection depending on the system time and a node identification.

4. The RF apparatus of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to:

receive a new system time from a second RF device; and

send the new system time to at least a third RF device.

5. The RF apparatus of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is further configured to receive a new system time from the Internet.