Payment reconciliation in mixed-ownership low-power mesh networks

• US 8,929,246 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2014
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cubic Corporation, RSAE Labs Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cubic Corporation
• Inventors: Berenberg, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Chirag
• Assistant Examiner(s): PERSAUD, AMARNAUTH G
• Application Number:
  US14/256,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20140313926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 263 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1435 volume-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1453 Methods or systems for payment or settlement of the charges for data transmission involving significant interaction with the data transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/50 for cross-charging network operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8061 Selecting least cost route depending on origin or type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8214 Data or packet based
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Systems and methods that enable scalable, cost-effective payment reconciliation between owners of devices at least temporarily connected in or to a particular low-power, ad hoc mesh network.

Claims

1. A method for enabling payment reconciliation in a mixed-ownership low-power mesh network, comprising:

monitoring packet traffic routed by a particular node of the mesh network;

identifying an originator node address and a number of units of data for each particular packet of the packet traffic; and

sending, in response to a trigger, data to another particular node of the mesh network that represents a total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address, wherein sending data to the another particular node comprises;

aggregating data for a plurality of particular originating nodes for which the particular node served as a router, determining based on a corresponding node address an ownership entity of each one of the plurality of particular originating nodes, deleting or ignoring the portion of aggregated data for ones of the plurality of particular originating nodes owned by a same entity as the another particular node, and sending the remaining portion of aggregated data to a reconciliation server via the another particular node.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying ownership for each originator node address;

summing the number of units of data for each originator node address with shared ownership; and

sending the summed number of units of data to the another particular node with an identifier of ownership.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

compressing the data that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address prior to sending.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encrypting and authenticating the data that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address prior to sending.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

nullifying data that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for at least one particular originator node address prior to sending other data to the another particular node.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining ownership of the another particular node; and

sending the data that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address when a fee for routing data by the another particular node is determined to be zero.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving notification from the another particular node confirming receipt of the data that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

continuing monitoring packet traffic routed by the particular node of the mesh network during the sending; and

identifying originator node address and number of units of data for each particular packet of the packet traffic during the sending.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the trigger and sending the data to the another particular node.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying an existing data structure maintained by the particular node to include the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying an existing data structure maintained by the particular node to include a particular originator node address and a total number of units of data routed by the particular node for particular originator node address.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the data to the another particular node that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address in response to a periodic trigger instantiated by the particular node.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the data to the another particular node that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address in response to a trigger instantiated by the particular node based on a particular resource condition of the particular node.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the data to the another particular node that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address in response to a particular command received by the particular node from a different node connected to the mesh network.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the data to the another particular node that represents the total number of units of data routed by the particular node for each originator node address in addition to data that represents a unique identifier for each originator node address.