COMMUNICATIONS WITHIN POPULATION OF WIRELESS TRANSCEIVERS BASED ON COMMON DESIGNATION

• US 20060018274A1
• Filed: 08/08/2005
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SeekerNet Incorporated
• Inventors: TWITCHELL, Robert W. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,221,668 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10108 interrogating only those RFIDs that fulfill a predetermined requirement, e.g. selecting all RFIDs having the same speed and moving in a cloud like fashion, e.g. on the same train; interrogating only RFIDs having a certain predetermined temperature, e.g. in the same fridge, another possibility being the active ignoring of a group of tags that fulfill a predetermined requirement, equivalent to the Boolean NOT operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/22 with access to wired networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method of forming an ad hoc hierarchical communication network among a plurality of wireless transceiver includes assigning to each of the transceivers one or more common designations. A network organization routine of the transceivers operates to establish hierarchical networks based on the transceivers'"'"' common designations, resulting in a logical network organization that provides efficiencies for acquiring information from particular transceivers that share a common designation. Each transceiver'"'"'s common designation is used by a digital processor of the transceiver to selectively receive data packets that are intended for receipt by transceivers sharing the particular common designation. Such a “common designation” network reduces power consumption and signal interference, which increases battery life in the transceivers. The transceivers may include a query handling routine in communication with a memory of the transceiver for serving as a dynamic distributed hierarchical database system of information such as, for example, sensor-derived information and time-sensitive information.

Claims

1. A method of forming a wireless data communication network among transceivers, each transceiver including a common designation with a first plurality of transceivers having a first common designation and a second plurality of transceivers having a second common designation different from the first common designation, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) forming a first ad hoc hierarchical network by the first plurality of transceivers based on the first common designation;

(b) forming a second ad hoc hierarchical network by the second plurality of transceivers based on the second common designation;

(c) communicating to an external network from a particular transceiver in a particular level of the first ad hoc hierarchical network, other than the highest level, by,

(i) successively passing a communication upward in the first ad hoc hierarchical network beginning with the particular transceiver in the particular level of the first ad hoc hierarchical network until the communication is received by a transceiver in the highest level of the first ad hoc hierarchical network, and

(ii) establishing a communication link between the transceiver in the highest level of the first ad hoc hierarchical network and an external network access transceiver, such that the communication from the particular transceiver in the particular level of the first ad hoc hierarchical network is passed from the transceiver in the highest level of the first ad hoc hierarchical network to the external network access transceiver; and

(d) communicating to an external network from a particular transceiver in a particular level of the second ad hoc hierarchical network, other than the highest level, by,

(i) successively passing a communication upward in the second ad hoc hierarchical network beginning with the particular transceiver in the particular level of the second ad hoc hierarchical network until the communication is received by a transceiver in the highest level of the second ad hoc hierarchical network, and

(ii) establishing a communication link between the transceiver in the highest level of the second ad hoc hierarchical network and the external network access transceiver of said step (c), such that the communication from the particular transceiver in the particular level of the second ad hoc hierarchical network is passed from the transceiver in the highest level of the second ad hoc hierarchical network to the external network access transceiver.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of forming the first ad hoc hierarchical network comprises the steps of:

(a) filtering, by each transceiver, transmissions from other transceivers for an identification of its common designation within the transmission;

(b) transmitting, from a primary transceiver of the first plurality, a primary availability signal including an identification of the first common designation and an identification of the primary transceiver transmitting the primary availability signal;

(c) transmitting, from a primary transceiver of the second plurality, a primary availability signal including an identification of the second common designation and an identification of the primary transceiver of the second plurality transmitting the primary availability signal;

(d) transmitting, from a transceiver receiving a primary availability signal having an identification therein of its common designation, a registration signal including an identification of the common designation and an identification of the transceiver transmitting the registration signal;

(e) identifying a transceiver transmitting a registration signal as a secondary transceiver by a primary transceiver of the same common designation, the primary transceiver thereby assuming a higher level in the ad hoc hierarchical network relative to the said identified secondary transceiver such that communication from the secondary transceiver to the external network is passed to the primary transceiver.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of identifying a transceiver transmitting a registration signal as a newly promoted primary transceiver by a primary transceiver of the same common designation when the communication channel capacity of the primary transceiver is reached, the primary transceiver thereby assuming a lower level in the ad hoc hierarchical network relative to the said identified newly promoted primary transceiver such that communication from the primary transceiver to the external network is passed to the newly promoted primary transceiver and such that communication to the external network from any secondary receivers of the primary transceiver is passed through the primary transceiver to the newly promoted primary transceiver.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of forming an ad hoc hierarchical network comprises forming a ad hoc hierarchical network in a bottom-up manner.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of identifying, by a primary transceiver when the communication channel capacity of the primary transceiver is reached, a secondary transceiver thereof as a new primary transceiver of the next lower level of the ad hoc hierarchical network, the new primary transceiver then transmitting a primary availability signal including an identification of its common designation and an identification of itself for identifying secondary receivers relative thereto, whereby communication to the external network from any secondary transceivers relative to the new primary transceiver is passed to new primary transceiver and then passed to the primary transceiver in the next higher level of the ad hoc hierarchical network.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said step of forming an ad hoc hierarchical network comprises forming a ad hoc hierarchical network in a top-down manner.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transceivers of the highest levels of the ad hoc hierarchical networks are located within a broadcast area of the external network access transceiver.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein other transceivers of the ad hoc hierarchical networks are not located within a broadcast area of the external network access transceiver.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a communication from the external network is broadcast by the external network access transceiver to all transceivers within the broadcast area of the external network access transceiver.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication includes an identification of a common designation and only those transceivers having a matching common designation receive and process the communication from the external network access transceiver.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a communication from the external network is broadcast by the external network access transceiver to a transceiver in the highest level of each ad hoc hierarchical network and not to all transceivers within the broadcast area of the external network access transceiver.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the transceivers in the highest level of the ad hoc hierarchical networks represent the physically closest transceiver to the external network access transceiver for its respective common designation.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the communication includes an identification of transceivers in the highest level of the ad hoc hierarchical networks.

15. The wireless data communication network formed in accordance with the method of claim 1.

16. The wireless data communication network of claim 15, wherein said wireless data communication network comprises a distributed hierarchical database, one or more wireless transceivers of each ad hoc hierarchical network having sensor-acquired data stored in memory thereof.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of transceivers and the second plurality of transceivers are mutually exclusive.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of transceivers and the second plurality of transceivers are not mutually exclusive, and at least one wireless transceiver includes both the first common designation and the second common designation.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the ad hoc hierarchical networks comprises a class-based network for tracking assets.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the ad hoc hierarchical networks comprises a class-based network for monitoring assets.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the ad hoc hierarchical networks comprises a remote sensor interface (RSI) network and the common designation of the wireless transceivers of the RSI network is other than a class designation.

12. The method of claim 111 wherein each transceiver in the highest level of each ad hoc hierarchical network passes the communication from the external network access transceiver to other transceivers in its ad hoc hierarchical network.