System and method for message consolidation in a mesh network

• US 20060056456A1
• Filed: 09/10/2004
• Published: 03/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nivis LLC
• Original Assignee: Nivis LLC
• Inventors: Chilom, Marius Ovidiu, Ratiu, Ovidiu, Ticus, Ion
• Granted Patent: US 7,606,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A system and method for consolidating messages in a network comprising an access node coupled to a computer and a plurality of radio nodes coupled to sensing devices, such as a utility meter, is disclosed. Inbound message consolidation includes a radio node receiving two or more inbound messages that are consolidated. The radio node wirelessly transmits the consolidated message to a radio node logically closer to the access node or directly to the access node if the access node is within the transmission range of the radio node. The access node extracts the individual messages from the consolidated message upon receipt. For outbound messages, the access node consolidates original messages having common routes and transmits the consolidated message to a last node in the common route. The last node in the common route splits the consolidated message into the original messages and transmits each one to a destination radio node.

Claims

1. A method for a radio node coupled to a sensing device or an actuator to consolidate messages in a network of radio nodes that communicate data to an access node coupled to a computer, comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of messages during a communication receive period at a first radio node, the plurality of messages received from a plurality of radio nodes logically further from the access node than the first radio node;

constructing a consolidated message containing each of the plurality of messages received from the plurality of radio nodes logically further from the access node than the first radio node; and

transmitting wirelessly the consolidated message from the first radio node to another radio node logically closer to the access node or directly to the access node if the access node is within the transmission range of the first radio node during a communication transmit time for the first radio node, wherein each of the plurality of messages are extracted from the consolidated message upon receipt at the access node.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

discarding each of the plurality of messages received after constructing the consolidated message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing device is a utility meter and each of the plurality of messages contain data corresponding to utility consumption information for the utility meter coupled to the radio node logically further from the access node than the first radio node that transmits to the first radio node.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the consolidated message contains a single packet preamble.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a second radio node logically closer to the access node than the first radio node creates a further consolidated message containing the consolidated message transmitted from the first radio node and one or more additional messages received from other radio nodes logically further from the access node than the second radio node.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the access node receives one message from a radio node within the broadcast range of the access node containing one or more additional messages, and wherein one or more of the additional messages may be the consolidated message.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

receiving a single acknowledgement message from the access node subsequent to receipt of the consolidated message by the access node.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

sending an acknowledgement message to the plurality of radio nodes logically further from the access node than the first radio node during the communication receive period at a first radio node subsequent to receipt of the plurality of messages.

9. A method for an access node coupled to a computer to consolidate outbound messages to a plurality of radio nodes in a network of radio nodes each coupled to a sensing device or an actuator, comprising the steps of:

determining whether two or more original outbound messages addressed to separate destination radio nodes contain one or more common route segments;

constructing a consolidated outbound message containing each original outbound message that is addressed to a separate radio node and has a common route segment with another original outbound message, wherein the consolidated message contains a common route and a remaining route portion for each original outbound message that is part of the consolidated outbound message;

transmitting wirelessly the consolidated outbound message along the common route to a radio node that is a last radio node in the common route;

splitting the consolidated message at the last radio node in the common route into the original outbound messages; and

transmitting wirelessly the original outbound messages from the last radio node in the common route to each of the separate destination radio nodes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the access node transmits one consolidated message to a particular radio node on a first logical layer of radio nodes within the broadcast range of the access node for each additional radio node that utilizes the particular radio node on a first logical layer as a repeater.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

configuring each radio node to examine the consolidated message to determine whether the consolidated message contains an indicator indicating that the examining radio node is the last radio node in the common route.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the consolidated message is transmitted during an outbound transmit time by a radio node that comprises part of the common route to a radio node that is on a logical layer that is logically further from the access node.

13. A method for an access node coupled to a computer to consolidate outbound messages to a plurality of radio nodes in a network of radio nodes each coupled to a sensing device or an actuator, comprising the steps of:

determining whether two or more original outbound messages addressed to separate destination radio nodes contain one or more common route segments;

constructing a consolidated outbound message containing each original outbound message that is addressed to a separate radio node and has a common route segment with another original outbound message, wherein the consolidated message contains a remaining route portion for each original outbound message that is part of the consolidated outbound message;

transmitting wirelessly the consolidated outbound message along the common route to a radio node that is a last radio node in the common route;

splitting the consolidated message at the last radio node in the common route into two or more split messages, wherein one or more of the split messages contains a plurality of original outbound messages;

transmitting wirelessly the one or more of the split messages containing a plurality of original messages from the last radio node in the common route to a last radio node in a continued common route;

separating the one or more of the split messages containing a plurality of original messages at the last radio node in the continued common route into the original outbound messages; and

transmitting wirelessly the original outbound messages from the last radio node in the continued common route to each of the separate destination radio nodes.

14. A system for communicating consolidated outbound messages wirelessly transmitted from an access node coupled to a back end computer to a plurality of radio nodes coupled to data collectors, comprising:

logic configured to examine each original outbound message to determine whether one or more common route segments exist for at least two original outbound messages;

logic configured to consolidate each original outbound message that has a common route segment with another original outbound message into a consolidated outbound message, wherein the consolidated outbound message contains a common route and a remaining route portion for each original outbound message that is part of the consolidated outbound message;

a transceiver configured to wirelessly transmit the consolidated outbound message, wherein the outbound consolidated message is communicated along the common route to a radio node that is a last radio node in the common route;

logic in the last radio node in the common route configured to split the consolidated message into one or more original outbound messages; and

a transceiver in the last radio node in the common route configured to wirelessly transmit each of the one or more original outbound messages to a destination radio node.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the split consolidated message contains a combined message containing a plurality of original outbound messages.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the transceiver in the last radio node in the common route transmits the combined message to along a continued common route so that the combined message reaches a last node in the continued common route, and wherein one or more original outbound messages are extracted from the combined message and communicated to a destination radio node.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the predetermined route of each original outbound message is examined according to a predetermined table of routes contained in the access node.