Multi-tier wireless home mesh network with a secure network discovery protocol

• US 8,917,671 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2014
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Jing, Xiangpeng, Patil, Abhishek, Liu, Aixin, Nguyen, Djung N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Chuong T
• Application Number:
  US14/185,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20140169355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 306 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/329, 370/254, 370/338, 370/331, 370/390, 370/312, 370/465, 709/217, 709/200, 709/227, 725/32, 725/109
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/041 Key generation or derivation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0431 Key distribution or pre-distribution; Key agreement
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/244 using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/002 Transmission of channel access control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An apparatus and method for a multi-tier wireless home mesh network is described. The method may include formation of an infrastructure-less wireless home mesh networking environment comprising a collection of nodes that operate as a decentralized, ad hoc wireless network with multiple sub-networks or tiers that are responsible for different functions within the network. Each node of the multi-tier network is configured to forward data to other nodes and is assigned to a particular tier based on the node'"'"'s performance capabilities. A further embodiment includes identification of a wireless home mesh network. Once identified, one or more proprietary messages may be exchanged in a secure manner to establish connections with a home electronics device as either a mobile node or a stationary node of the home network. A home electronics device may wirelessly communicate to route data within one or more nodes of the wireless home mesh network. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. Method, comprising:

determining whether a computerized wireless node (CWN) detects a wireless mesh network (WMN);

responsive to a determination that the CWN does not detect the WMN, establishing the CWN as either it mobile node or a stationary node of a WMN;

causing the CWN, pursuant to being established as either a mobile node or a stationary node of a WMN, to periodically emit a beacon to enable identification of a WMN by any newly-added electronics devices;

responsive to the CWN detecting a WMN, causing the CWN to transmit a frit discovery message as a broadcast or multicast to all identified wireless ad hoc networks in an attempt to identify a WMN local to the CWN, with existing nodes of the WMN responding to the discovery message to establish a new connection;

causing an electronics device that desires to join a WMN to send to one or more detected wireless ad hoc networks a network discovery message to find an existing WMN from among detected wireless ad hoc networks, the network discovery message being proprietary to a manufacturer of the WMN, wherein the network discovery message includes a 64-bit security field to protect the WMN from denial-of-service (DOS) attack from devices not made by manufacturer.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

responsive to receipt of a response from a neighbor device to the network discovery message, determining that a detected ad hoc network is a WMN;

responsive to determining that detected ad hoc network is a WMN, saving information pertaining to the neighbor device.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

identifying multiple ad hoc networks as WMNs;

presenting a list of the WMNs on a display;

receiving user selection from the list to join a user-selected WMN.

4. Method comprising:

determining whether a computerized wireless node (CWN) detects a wireless mesh network (WMN);

responsive to a determination that the CWN does not detect the WMN, establishing the CWN as either a mobile node or a stationary node of a WMN;

causing the CWN, pursuant to being established as either mobile node or a stationary node of a WMN, to periodically emit a beacon to enable identification of a WMN any newly-added electronics devices;

responsive to the CWN detecting a WMN, causing the CWN to transmit a first discovery message as a broadcast or multicast to all identified wireless ad hoc networks in an attempt to identify a WMN local to the CWN, with existing nodes of the WMN responding to the discovery message to establish a new connection;

causing an electronics device that desires to join a WMN to send to one or more detected wireless ad hoc networks a network discovery message to find an existing WMN from among detected wireless ad hoc networks, the network discovery message being proprietary to a manufacturer of the WMN;

responsive to receipt of a response from a neighbor device to the network discovery message, determining that a detected ad hoc network is a WMN;

responsive to determining that detected ad hoc network is a WMN, saving information pertaining to the neighbor device;

identifying multiple ad hoc networks as WMNs;

presenting a list of the WMNs on a display;

receiving user selection from the list to join a user-selected WMN; and

generating a connection request message which validates an encrypted phrase.