Acknowledgement as a propagation of messages in a simulcast mesh network

• US 9,300,484 B1
• Filed: 07/12/2013
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smartlabs
• Original Assignee: Smartlabs
• Inventors: Cregg, Daniel Brian, Dada, Joseph J. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Pollack, Melvin H
• Application Number:
  US13/941,392
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1868 Measures taken after transmission, e.g. acknowledgments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes

Abstract

The presently described apparatus and method extends the capabilities of an Insteon network of devices. The method includes transmitting a group command message from a first device to a selected group of devices having a common group number, and receiving the group command message by a second device of the group or receiving a clean-up message transmitted by the first device, and resetting the state of the second one of the devices, and transmitting an acknowledgement message to the first devices from the second device, and receiving the first acknowledgement message by a third one of the devices that had not received the group command message or a clean-up message previously, and restoring the state of the third one of the devices.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting information between devices in a network of said devices, the method comprising:

transmitting a command message from an originator device of the network of devices to a first and a second group member devices of the network of devices;

receiving the command message at only the first group member device but not the second group member device and thereby executing a restore of only the first group member device;

transmitting a clean-up message from the originator device to the first group member device;

receiving the clean-up message by the first group member device and transmitting an acknowledgement message from the first group member device to the originator device;

transmitting a clean-up message from the originator device to the second group member device wherein the clean-up message is not received by the second group member device;

receiving the acknowledgement message transmitted by the first group member device by the second group member device and executing a restore of the second group member device.

2. A method of transmitting information between devices in a network of said devices wherein the devices are able to exchange information through a communication channel, the method comprising:

transmitting a command message from an originator device to a first group of member devices of the network of devices;

receiving the command message by each one of a second group of the member devices, the second group of member devices thereby each executing a restore;

transmitting, a clean-up message from the originator device to each one, in turn, of the first group of member devices;

receiving the clean-up message by a third group of the member devices and in response transmitting by each one of the third group of member devices, in turn, an acknowledgement message to the originator device; and

receiving an acknowledgement message from the third group of the member devices by a fourth group of the member devices thereby each executing a restore.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein transmissions, receptions, processing of the group command message, and forming of said acknowledgement messages is conducted according to a protocol wherein the protocol is in accordance with an Insteon®

process.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein all acknowledgement message transmitted by devices of the third group of member devices includes a group number identification.

5. A method of operating a network of spatially separated electronic devices, the devices in mutual communication by at least one of wired and wireless means, and each of said devices having a data processor, a memory device, a transceiver, and a digital instruction set, the instruction set stored within the memory device, each said one of the devices, enabled according to a protocol established by the instruction set, for processing messages carried by received transmissions, and for transmitting messages, the method comprising:

transmitting a group command message from a first one of the devices to a selected group of the devices;

receiving the group command message by a second one of the devices of said group of the devices, the second one of the devices executing a restore;

transmitting a first acknowledgement message to the first one of the devices by the second one of the devices;

receiving the acknowledgement message by a third one of the devices of the group of devices and executing a restore.