MESH INFRASTRUCTURE UTILIZING ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION PATHS

• US 20110188452A1
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Elster Solutions LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Elster Solutions LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Borleske, Andrew J., Mason, Robert T. JR.
• Application Number:
  US13/015,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20110188452A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/45 Utility meters networked together within a single building
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/04 based on wireless node resources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A wireless mesh network, method, and processor-readable storage medium for maintaining both a primary communication path and an alternative communication path for a communication node are disclosed herein. A control node determines an alternative communication path for each node in communication with the control node and stores, for each node, primary communication path information and alternative communication path information. By maintaining both primary and alternative communication path information, the control node can switch from the primary path to the alternative path when a failure in the primary path is detected. Because the control node determines and stores information relating to the alternative path before the failure occurs, switching from the primary path to the alternative path involves little, if any, delay.

Claims

1. A wireless network comprising:

a control node; and

a plurality of communication nodes in wireless communication with the control node, each of the communication nodes having a wireless communication path to the control node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more other communication nodes that serve as repeaters,

wherein, for each communication node in wireless communication with the control node, the control node determines an alternative communication path and stores primary communication path information and alternative communication path information.

2. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein the wireless network is configurable to operate in an alternative path discovery mode in which:

the control node instructs the communication nodes in wireless communication with the control node to respond to node scans; and

the control node instructs at least some of the communication nodes in wireless communication with the control node to conduct a node scan to identify other communication nodes within communication range.

3. The wireless network of claim 2, wherein, in the alternative path discovery mode, at least one communication node in wireless communication with the control node:

conducts the node scan;

identifies at least one neighboring communication node;

for each identified neighboring communication node, evaluates a quality of a communication link between the at least one communication node and the each identified neighboring communication node; and

communicates to the control node a list of neighboring communication nodes for which the quality of the communication link meets a performance criterion.

4. The wireless network of claim 3, wherein, in the alternative path discovery mode, the control node evaluates the list of neighboring communication nodes and determines the alternative communication path based on which communication path of a plurality of communication paths has a lowest-level common parent node as the primary communication path.

5. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein the control node identifies an alternative communication path parent node associated with the alternative communication path and assigns a repeater address to the alternative communication path parent node.

6. The wireless network of claim 5, wherein the alternative communication path information comprises a network identifier associated with the alternative communication path parent node.

7. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein the control node is configured to designate the alternative communication path as a new primary communication path and to identify a new alternative communication path if communication attempts using the primary communication path result in a quantity of successive communication failures that exceeds a first threshold or in a communication success rate that falls below a second threshold.

8. In a network having a control node that communicates with a plurality of communication nodes, wherein each of the communication nodes has a wireless communication path to the control node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more other communication nodes that serve as repeaters, a method of operating the network, the method comprising:

causing the control node to instruct the communication nodes in wireless communication with the control node to respond to node scans;

causing the control node to instruct a first communication node in wireless communication with the control node to conduct a node scan to identify a plurality of second communication nodes within communication range of the first communication node; and

causing the control node to determine an alternative communication path from the control node to the first communication node and to store primary communication path information and alternative communication path information associated with the first communication node.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising causing the first communication node to:

conduct the node scan;

identify at least one second communication node;

for each identified second communication node, evaluate a quality of a communication link between the first communication node and the each identified second communication node; and

communicate to the control node a list of second communication nodes for which the quality of the communication link meets a performance criterion.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, using the control node to:

evaluate the list of second communication nodes; and

determine the alternative communication path based on which communication path of a plurality of communication paths has a lowest-level common parent node as the primary communication path.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising causing the control node to:

identify an alternative communication path parent node associated with the alternative communication path; and

assign a repeater address to the alternative communication path parent node.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the alternative communication path information comprises a network identifier associated with the alternative communication path parent node.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising configuring the control node to designate the alternative communication path as a new primary communication path and to identify a new alternative communication path if communication attempts using the primary communication path result in a quantity of successive communication failures that exceeds a first threshold or in a communication success rate that falls below a second threshold.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising, before causing the control node to instruct the first communication node to conduct the node scan:

registering the first communication node with the network; and

marking the first communication node as needing an alternative communication path.

15. A processor-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to operate a wireless mesh network having a control node that communicates with a plurality of communication nodes, wherein each of the communication nodes has a wireless communication path to the control node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more other communication nodes that serve as repeaters, the processor-executable instructions comprising instructions for causing the control node to:

instruct the communication nodes in wireless communication with the control node to respond to node scans;

instruct a first communication node in wireless communication with the control node to conduct a node scan to identify a plurality of second communication nodes within communication range of the first communication node; and

determine an alternative communication path from the control node to the first communication node and to store primary communication path information and alternative communication path information associated with the first communication node.

16. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing processor-executable instructions for causing the control node to:

receive from the first communication node a list of second communication nodes that are identified by the first communication node as being within communication range of the first communication node and as having a communication link with the first communication node that has a quality that meets a performance criterion;

evaluate the list of second communication nodes; and

determine the alternative communication path based on which communication path of a plurality of communication paths has a lowest-level common parent node as the primary communication path.

17. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing processor-executable instructions for causing the control node to:

identify an alternative communication path parent node associated with the alternative communication path; and

assign a repeater address to the alternative communication path parent node.

18. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the alternative communication path information comprises a network identifier associated with the alternative communication path parent node.

19. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing processor-executable instructions for configuring the control node to designate the alternative communication path as a new primary communication path and to identify a new alternative communication path if communication attempts using the primary communication path result in a quantity of successive communication failures that exceeds a first threshold or in a communication success rate that falls below a second threshold.

20. The processor-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing processor-executable instructions for, before causing the control node to instruct the first communication node to conduct the node scan:

registering the first communication node with the network; and

marking the first communication node as needing an alternative communication path.