MULTI-PATH RADIO TRANSMISSION INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICES, NETWORK, SYSTEMS AND METHODS WITH ON DEMAND, PRIORITIZED ROUTING PROTOCOL

• US 20120275490A1
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Natbreway Pty Ltd
• Original Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Courtice, Harry John
• Granted Patent: US 8,599,759 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/133
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/122 by minimising distances, e.g. by selecting a route with minimum of number of hops
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/12 based on transmission quality or channel quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/28 for reactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Devices, networks, systems and methods for coordinating communications on multi-path radio transmission mesh networks include delaying replies to route requests based on available path metrics to ensure the best available connection routes through the network can be understood and utilized.

Claims

1. An input/output device comprising:

a transmitter configured to generate a radio frequency signal transmission;

a receiver configured to receive a radio frequency signal transmission; and

a processor-based control coordinating transmissions of radio frequency signal transmissions in response to received signal transmissions in a multi-signal path transmission network, the processor-based control configured to;

receive a route request including a destination for a proposed communication over the network;

determine whether the input/output device is the destination, and, if so, generate and transmit a route reply message without delay; and

if the input/output device is not the destination, determine whether a signal path to the destination from the input/output device to the destination is available, and if a signal path to the destination is available, generate and transmit a route reply message after at least a first predetermined amount of delay.

2. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the processor based control is further configured to identify a metric corresponding to a desirability of the available signal path to the destination, and increase the first predetermined amount of delay in accordance with the metric.

3. The input/output device of claim 2, wherein the metric comprises an integer representing a number of radio station signal paths required to complete a communication to the destination from the input/output element, and wherein the processor based control is configured to proportionally increase the first predetermined amount of delay by an amount equal to the integer.

4. The input/output device of claim 2, wherein the metric corresponds to a distance between the input/output element and the destination.

5. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the processor based control is further configured to introduce a first additional amount of delay to the first predetermined amount of delay, the additional amount of delay being randomly determined.

6. The input/output device of claim 5, wherein the first additional amount of delay is less than a time required to complete transmission of the RREP message.

7. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the processor based control is further configured to, if no path from the input/output device to the destination is available, forward the route request message after at least a second predetermined amount of delay.

8. The input/output device of claim 7, wherein the second predetermined amount of delay exceeds the first predetermined amount of delay for any input/element in the network receiving the route request plus the required time for completing the route reply message.

9. The input/output device of claim 7, wherein the processor based control is further configured to introduce a second additional amount of delay to the second predetermined amount of delay, the second additional amount of delay being randomly determined.

10. The input/output device of claim 9, wherein the second additional amount of delay is selected to optimize the performance of the network with respect to forwarding of request messages.

11. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the processor based control is further configured to accept an input of at least one sensor, and the processor based control further configured to transmit a data packet including the signal input to a remote location.

12. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the processor based control is further configured to provide a signal output to at least one control device, and the processor based control further configured to receive a data packet from a remote location, the data packet including an instruction to the control device and the processor based control configured to output the instruction to the control device.

13. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the first predetermined amount of delay is determined by one of a plurality of successive response windows, and the processor based control is further configured to select one of the plurality of windows to provide a prioritized transmission of a route reply message.

14. The input/output device of claim 1, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are combined as a transceiver.

38. The input/output device of claim according to claim 5, wherein the first additional amount of delay corresponds to a randomly selected one of a number of time slots for response.

39. The input/output device of claim 7, wherein the second additional amount of delay corresponds to one of a number of time slots for forwarding the route request message.

42. The input out device of claim 1, wherein the processor based control is configured to coordinate transmissions of radio frequency signal transmissions in a multi-signal path transmission network having a frequency hopping spread spectrum mesh topology.

15. A multi-path radio communications network for monitoring and controlling an industrial process, the network comprising

a plurality of processor-based radio devices configured to wirelessly communicate in a mesh network wherein each radio communicates with multiple other radio devices in the mesh network, and at least one of the plurality of processor-based radio device is configured to:

receive a route request including a destination for a proposed communication over the network;

determine whether a path to the destination exists from the input/output device to the destination; and

if a path to the destination exists, generate and transmit a route reply message according to a prioritized communication protocol after at least a predetermined time delay, the time delay being dependent on a path metric corresponding to the path.

16. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the path metric corresponds to a desirability of the signal path to the destination.

17. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the metric comprises an integer representing a number of radio station signal paths required to complete a communication to the destination, and wherein the predetermined time delay is equal to the product of the integer and a predetermined time duration.

18. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the path metric corresponds to a distance between each processor based radio device and the destination.

19. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the plurality of processor based radio devices are further configured to introduce a randomly determined additional amount of delay to the predetermined amount of delay.

20. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the processor based radio devices are further configured to, if no available path exists to the destination, forward the route request message at a point in time after all route reply messages are sent.

21. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 20, wherein the processor based radio devices are further configured to introduce a randomly determined amount of delay to the point in time after all route reply messages are sent, and forward the route request message after the randomly determined amount of delay expires.

22. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the processor-based radio devices is further configured to:

if the radio device is the destination device, generate and transmit a route reply message without delay.

23. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 15, wherein the predetermined time delay corresponds to a selected one of a plurality of successive response time windows.

40. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 19, wherein the randomly determined additional amount of delay corresponds to a randomly selected one of a number of time slots for response.

41. The multi-path radio communications network of claim 20, wherein the processor based radio devices are further configured to introduce an additional amount of delay to the point in time after all route reply messages are sent, the additional amount of delay corresponding to a randomly selected one of a number of time slots for response.

24. A multi-path radio communications system comprising:

a plurality of processor based radio devices configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in a mesh network having a frequency hopping spread spectrum topology, each of the plurality of processor based radio devices configured to;

receive a route request including a destination for a proposed communication over the network;

determine whether a path to the destination exists to the destination; and

if only an indirect path to the destination exists, generate and transmit a route reply message according to a prioritized communication protocol utilizing a selected one of a plurality of predetermined time windows for response.

25. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 24, each of the plurality of processor based radio devices further configured to:

if a direct path to the destination exists, generate and transmit a route reply message without delay.

26. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 24, each of the plurality of processor based radio devices further configured to:

if no path to the destination exists from the input/output device to the destination exists, forward the route request after expiration of the plurality of predetermined time windows for response.

27. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 24, wherein a path metric is associated with each one of the plurality of predetermined time windows for response, and the path metrics correspond to a desirability of an indirect signal path to the destination.

28. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 27, wherein the path metric is an integer representing a number of radio station signal paths required to complete a communication to the destination.

29. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 27, wherein the path metric corresponds to a distance between each processor based radio device and the destination.

30. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 29, wherein successive ones of the plurality of predetermined time windows for response define an increased delay in transmission of the route reply message.

31. The multi-path radio communications system of claim 24, wherein the plurality of processor based radio devices are further configured to introduce a randomly determined additional amount of delay prior to transmitting the route reply message in each of the plurality of predetermined time windows for response.

32. A method for prioritizing communications between radio devices in a multi-path radio communications system including a plurality of processor based radio devices configured to wirelessly communicate with one another in a mesh network, the method implemented in process based radio devices and comprising:

receiving, with multiple processor based station radio devices, a route request generated by a source radio, wherein the route request includes a destination for a proposed communication over the network;

determining whether a path to the destination exists from the multiple processor based station radio devices to the destination; and

prioritizing the transmission of route replies to the source radio from respective ones of the multiple processor based station radio devices wherein paths to the destination are determined to exist, wherein prioritizing the transmission of route replies comprises delaying transmission of route replies based on a path metric for each respective one of the processor based station radio devices.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising, if paths are not determined to exist from the processor based station radio devices to the destination, delaying transmission of forwarded RREQ messages by the processor based station radio devices until after all route replies have been transmitted.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein delaying transmission of forwarded RREQ messages after all route replies have been transmitted further comprises adding an additional amount of delay after all route replies have been transmitted.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein delaying transmission comprises retrieving the path metric by each radio device and responding with each respective route reply for the processor based station radios in one of a predetermined plurality of route reply transmission windows based on the path metric.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein delaying transmission of route replies further comprises introducing an additional amount of delay prior to responding with each respective route reply in each window.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein prioritizing the transmission of route replies to the source radio comprises sending a route reply without delay when one of the processor based station radio devices is the destination.