US20190199435A1 - Method and Apparatus for Low-Power, Long-Range Networking - Google Patents
Method and Apparatus for Low-Power, Long-Range Networking Download PDFInfo
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- US20190199435A1 US20190199435A1 US16/290,301 US201916290301A US2019199435A1 US 20190199435 A1 US20190199435 A1 US 20190199435A1 US 201916290301 A US201916290301 A US 201916290301A US 2019199435 A1 US2019199435 A1 US 2019199435A1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04B—TRANSMISSION
- H04B7/00—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field
- H04B7/24—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field for communication between two or more posts
- H04B7/26—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field for communication between two or more posts at least one of which is mobile
- H04B7/2643—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field for communication between two or more posts at least one of which is mobile using time-division multiple access [TDMA]
- H04B7/2656—Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field for communication between two or more posts at least one of which is mobile using time-division multiple access [TDMA] for structure of frame, burst
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
- H04L41/06—Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
- H04L41/0695—Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications the faulty arrangement being the maintenance, administration or management system
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L43/00—Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
- H04L43/16—Threshold monitoring
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W40/00—Communication routing or communication path finding
- H04W40/24—Connectivity information management, e.g. connectivity discovery or connectivity update
- H04W40/244—Connectivity information management, e.g. connectivity discovery or connectivity update using a network of reference devices, e.g. beaconing
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W72/00—Local resource management
- H04W72/04—Wireless resource allocation
- H04W72/044—Wireless resource allocation based on the type of the allocated resource
- H04W72/0446—Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
- H04W48/16—Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W72/00—Local resource management
- H04W72/02—Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W72/00—Local resource management
- H04W72/20—Control channels or signalling for resource management
- H04W72/23—Control channels or signalling for resource management in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02D—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
- Y02D30/00—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks
- Y02D30/70—Reducing energy consumption in communication networks in wireless communication networks
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- Y02D70/00—
Definitions
- Certain embodiments of the invention relate to networking. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for low-power, long-range networking.
- a system and/or method is provided for low-power, long-range networking, substantially as illustrated by and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.
- FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary wireless communication network.
- FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary low-power, long-range network endpoint.
- FIG. 3A depicts a plurality of access windows of a network for which access is time-division multiplexed.
- FIG. 3B depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots.
- FIG. 3C depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots.
- FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary packet structure utilized for a low-power, long range wireless network.
- FIG. 5 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps performed by an endpoint in a low-power, long-range network.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint.
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint.
- circuits and circuitry refer to physical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/or firmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by the hardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware.
- code software and/or firmware
- and/or means any one or more of the items in the list joined by “and/or”.
- x and/or y means any element of the three-element set ⁇ (x), (y), (x, y) ⁇ .
- x, y, and/or z means any element of the seven-element set ⁇ *(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z) ⁇ .
- the terms “block” and “module” refer to functions than can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of one or more thereof.
- the term “exemplary” means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration.
- the term “e.g.,” introduces a list of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations.
- FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary wireless communication network. Shown is a cell 108 associated with a base station 102 . Within the cell are controllers 106 1 - 106 3 and endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 .
- the base station 102 may comprise circuitry for communicating wirelessly, and managing overall synchronization and access to the wireless network within the cell 108 .
- the base station 102 may transmit and receive wireless signals in accordance with any one or more protocols.
- Such protocols may include, for example, protocols defined in the ISO 18000-7 standard, and/or protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011.
- the base station 102 may communicate with the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 utilizing a first one or more protocols, and communicate with the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 utilizing a second one or more protocols.
- An exemplary base station is described below with respect to FIG. 2 .
- Each of the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 may comprise circuitry for communicating wirelessly with one or more endpoints that are within the coverage area of the controller (i.e., “in-range endpoints”).
- endpoints 104 1 - 104 4 are within the coverage area 110 1 of the controller 106 1
- endpoints 104 5 - 104 7 are within the coverage area 110 2 of the controller 106 2
- endpoints 104 16 - 104 20 are within the coverage area 110 3 of controller 106 3 .
- Each of the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 may communicate with in-range endpoints in accordance with any one or more protocols.
- Such protocols may include, for example, protocols defined in the ISO 18000-7 standard, and/or protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011.
- An exemplary controller 106 is described below with respect to FIG. 2 .
- Each of the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 may comprise circuitry for communicating wirelessly.
- Each of the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 may communicate with in-range endpoints in accordance with any one or more protocols.
- Such protocols may include, for example, protocols defined in the ISO 18000-7 standard, and/or protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011.
- An exemplary endpoint 104 is described below with respect to FIG. 2 .
- access to one or more channels in the airspace within the cell 108 may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of windows.
- a first of the windows may be utilized for endpoints to transmit connectionless beacons which may be received by the base station 102 , the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 , and/or other endpoints.
- a second window may be utilized for endpoints to transmit connectionless alarm signals which may be received by the base station 102 .
- a third window may be an open-access window in which bidirectional communications between the base station 102 and the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 , bidirectional communications between the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 and the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 , and/or bidirectional communications among endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 may take place. Additional details of such an exemplary windowing scheme are described below with respect to FIGS. 3A-3C .
- Beacons transmitted by the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 during assigned timeslots may be utilized by the base station 102 and/or the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 to detect and/or verify the presence and/or status of the devices 104 1 - 104 20 .
- Alarm signals transmitted by the endpoints during an alarm window may alert network administrators that the endpoint which transmitted an alarm signal has detected a condition that needs to be addressed.
- bidirectional communications between the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 and controllers 106 1 - 106 3 and/or the base station 102 may configure the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 (which may include resynchronizing the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 to a network clock), upload data from the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 , and/or download data to the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 .
- bidirectional communications among two or more of the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 may take place during an open-access window. Such communication among endpoints may be utilized for synchronizing the local clocks of the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 and/or transferring data among the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 .
- the beacon signals and alarm signals may be transmitted utilizing different protocols than those utilized for signals communicated as part of bidirectional communications during the open-access window(s). Accordingly, packets transmitted during the open-access window may be, e.g., formatted differently, encoded differently, transmitted on different frequencies, and/or transmitted utilizing different modulation than the beacon signals and alarm signals transmitted during other windows.
- FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary low-power, long-range network endpoint.
- the exemplary base station 102 comprises a clock 202 , CPU 204 , a memory 206 , a radio 207 , and an antenna 210 .
- the exemplary controller 106 comprises a clock 224 , CPU 224 , a memory 226 , a radio 227 , and an antenna 230 .
- the exemplary endpoint 104 comprises a clock 204 , CPU 214 , a memory 216 , a radio 217 , an antenna 220 , and one or more sensors 221 .
- the base station 102 may be relatively more complex than the controller 106 which, in turn, may be relatively more-complex than the endpoint 104 . Accordingly, the base station 102 may comprise more-expensive components than the controller 106 which, in turn, may comprise more-expensive components than the endpoint 104 .
- the clock 202 may comprise an oscillator which generates a periodic signal and/or may comprise a date/time clock.
- the clock 202 may provide a reference for synchronous circuitry of the base station 102 .
- the clock 202 may provide the network clock for a network controlled by the base station 102 .
- the clock 212 may comprise an oscillator which generates a periodic signal and/or may comprise a date/time clock.
- the clock 212 may be a local clock that provides a time reference for synchronous circuitry of the device 104 .
- the clock 212 may be less complex than the clock 202 . Consequently, the clock 212 may be relatively inaccurate/less-stable compared to the clock 202 (e.g., may exhibit relatively significant drift over relatively short periods of time). Accordingly, the local clock 212 may occasionally need to be resynchronized to the network clock 202 .
- the clock 222 may comprise an oscillator which generates a periodic signal and/or may comprise a date/time clock.
- the clock 222 may be a local clock that provides a time reference for synchronous circuitry of the device 106 .
- the clock 222 may be relatively less accurate/stable than the clock 202 but more accurate/stable than the clock 212 .
- the CPU 204 may comprise circuitry operable to control operation of the base station 102 .
- the CPU 204 may, for example, execute an operating system and/or other programs.
- the CPU 204 may generate one or more control signals for controlling the operation of the base station 102 .
- the CPU 204 may, for example, control a mode of operation of the base station 102 .
- the CPU 214 may comprise circuitry operable to control operation of the second device 104 .
- the CPU 214 may be substantially similar to the CPU 204 .
- the CPU 204 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, utilize less memory, etc.) than the CPU 214 .
- the CPU 204 may comprise a RISC or ARM processor, and the CPU 214 may comprise a state-machine having a relatively small number of states (e.g., four states).
- the CPU 224 may comprise circuitry operable to control operation of the controller 106 .
- the CPU 224 may be substantially similar to the CPU 204 .
- the CPU 224 may be less-complex than the CPU 204 but more complex than the CPU 214 .
- the radio 207 may comprise a processor 208 and an analog front-end (AFE) 209 .
- the processor 208 may comprise circuitry operable to interface with the AFE 209 to receive and transmit data, and to process received and to-be-transmitted data.
- the processor 208 may be operable to receive data from the CPU 204 and/or memory 206 , packetize and/or otherwise process the data to prepare it for transmission in accordance with one or more wireless protocols, and output the data to the AFE 209 for transmission.
- the processor 208 may be operable to receive data via the AFE 209 , process the received data and output received data to the memory 206 and/or the CPU 204 .
- Exemplary protocols which may be supported by the radio 207 include the ISO 18000-7 standard, and protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011.
- the radio 217 may comprise a processor 218 and an analog front-end (AFE) 219 .
- the processor 218 may comprise circuitry operable to interface with the AFE 219 to receive and transmit data, and to process received and to-be-transmitted data.
- the processor 218 may be substantially similar to the processor 208 .
- the processor 218 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, utilize less memory, etc.) than the processor 208 .
- the processor 208 may be operable to implement more complex signal processing algorithms than the processor 218 .
- the radio 227 may comprise a processor 228 and an analog front-end (AFE) 229 .
- the processor 228 may comprise circuitry operable to interface with the AFE 229 to receive and transmit data, and to process received and to-be-transmitted data.
- the processor 228 may be substantially similar to the processor 208 . In those or other instances the processor 228 may be less-complex than the processor 208 but more-complex than the processor 218 .
- the analog front-end (AFE) 209 may comprise circuitry suitable for processing received and/or to-be-transmitted data in the analog domain. For transmission, the AFE 209 may receive digital data from the processor 208 , process the data to generate corresponding RF signals, and output the RF signals to the antenna 210 . For reception, the AFE 209 may receive RF signals from the antenna 210 , process the RF signals to generate corresponding digital data, and output the digital data to the processor 208 .
- the AFE 219 may comprise circuitry suitable for processing received and/or to-be-transmitted data in the analog domain. In some instances, the AFE 219 may be substantially similar to the AFE 209 . In instances that the device 104 is resource-constrained, the AFE 219 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, utilize less memory, etc.) than the AFE 209 . In one embodiment, for example, the AFE 209 may comprise a more-sensitive receiver, and a more powerful transmitter than the AFE 219 .
- the AFE 229 may comprise circuitry suitable for processing received and/or to-be-transmitted data in the analog domain. In some instances, the AFE 229 may be substantially similar to the AFE 209 . In those or other instances the AFE 229 may be less-complex than the AFE 209 but more-complex than the AFE 219 .
- Circuitry of the memory 206 may comprise one or more memory cells and may be operable to store data to the memory cell(s) and read data from the memory cell(s).
- the one or more memory cell may comprise one or more volatile memory cells and/or one or more non-volatile memory cells.
- Circuitry of the memory 216 may comprise one or more memory cells and may be operable to read data from the memory cell(s) and/or store data to the memory cell(s). In some instances, the memory 216 may be substantially similar to the memory 206 . In instances that the device 104 is resource-constrained, the memory 216 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, etc.) than the memory 206 .
- Circuitry of the memory 226 may comprise one or more memory cells and may be operable to read data from the memory cell(s) and/or store data to the memory cell(s). In some instances, the memory 226 may be substantially similar to the memory 206 . In those or other instances the memory 226 may be less-complex than the memory 206 but more-complex than the memory 216 .
- Each of the antennas 210 , 220 , and 230 may be operable to transmit and receive electromagnetic signals in one or more frequency bands.
- the antennas 210 and 220 may be operable to transmit and receive signals in the ISM frequency band centered at 433.92 MHz.
- the sensor(s) 221 may comprise one or more of: an acoustic sensor operable to sense, e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, spectrum and/or wave velocity of acoustic waves; a chemical operable to sense, e.g., the presence of any one or more elements and/or compounds in solid, gas, and/or liquid form; an electrical sensor operable to detect, e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, and/or spectrum of a current and/or voltage, conductivity, and/or permittivity; a magnetic sensor operable to, e.g., detect flux, permeability, amplitude, phase, and/or polarization of a magnetic field; a mechanical sensor operable to detect, e.g., position, acceleration, force, stress, pressure, strain, mass, density, moment, torque, shape, roughness, orientation, and/or stiffness; an optical sensor operable to detect, e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, and/or
- the device 104 may listen for network parameters from the base station 102 . Such parameters may, for example, be transmitted onto a predetermined control channel by the base station 102 . Additionally or alternatively, an administrator of the device 104 may, for example, manually program parameters into the device 104 and/or download parameters to the device 104 (e.g., via a wired connection to the base station 102 , and/or the Internet and/or a LAN).
- the parameters configured in the device 104 may include one or more parameters for synchronizing the clock 212 to the clock 202 .
- the parameters configured in the device 104 may include one or more parameters which identify a timeslot to which the device 104 has been assigned. The device 104 may then proceed to normal operation.
- normal operation may comprise the device 104 occasionally and/or periodically receiving signals transmitted from the base station 102 and/or one or more other devices 104 , occasionally and/or periodically listening to transmissions between other devices and utilizing those transmissions to adjust its clock 212 , transmitting connectionless beacon signals during the timeslot assigned to the device 104 , and participating in connection-oriented communications during an open-access time window.
- Normal operation may also comprise monitoring, via the sensor(s) 221 for an alarm condition.
- the device 104 may enter an alarm-mode of operation.
- An alarm-mode of operation may comprise, for example, determining a timeslot of an alarm window during which an alarm signal may be transmitted, and then transmitting the alarm signal during that timeslot.
- FIG. 3A depicts a plurality of access windows of a network for which access is time-division multiplexed.
- access to the medium is time-division multiplexed into three repeating windows 302 , 304 , and 306 .
- the windows 302 , 304 , and 306 may be separated by idle time having duration ⁇ , where d may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. For illustration, it is assumed that there are D endpoints 104 which communicate over the time-division multiplexed medium, where D is an integer.
- Each instance of window 302 may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots 322 .
- Any particular timeslot 322 is represented herein as 322 n,i , where i is the instance of the window 302 , n is the index of the timeslot within the window instance i, 1 ⁇ i ⁇ I, 1 ⁇ n ⁇ N, and n, N, i, and I are integers.
- the index n wrap to 1 after reaching N, and the index i wraps to 1 after reaching I.
- One or more timeslots 322 1,1 - 322 N,1 may be assigned to each of one or more endpoints 104 1 - 104 J .
- the sequence of windows may be as follows: a first instance of window 302 corresponding to timeslots 322 1,1 - 322 N,1 , a window 304 , a window 306 , a second instance of window 302 corresponding to timeslots 322 1,2 - 322 N,2 , a window 304 , a window 306 , a first instance of window 302 corresponding to timeslots 322 1,1 - 322 N, 1 , and so on.
- Each instance of window 304 may be time-division multiplexed into timeslots 332 1 - 332 M , where M is an integer.
- the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 , the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 , and the base station 102 may be prohibited from transmitting during the window 304 unless they are experiencing an alarm condition or have experienced an alarm condition during a pertinent time period, where the pertinent time period may be configurable and/or implementation-specific.
- each of the timeslots 332 1 - 332 M may not be reserved for any particular endpoint 104 but may be available for use by any endpoint 104 that is currently experiencing an alarm condition.
- An endpoint 104 which has experienced an alarm condition during the pertinent time period may determine which of the timeslots 332 1 - 332 M of the window 304 to utilize for transmitting an alarm signal based on which of the timeslots 322 1,1 - 322 N,1 the endpoint 104 has been assigned, and on a hash function.
- use of the hash function may enable J endpoints to share M timeslots, even where M is less than J.
- J endpoints can effectively share M timeslots while the risk that there will be more than M devices detecting an alarm condition during any given time period can be kept below a desired threshold, which may be configurable and/or implementation-specific.
- FIG. 3B depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots. Shown in FIG. 3B is an instance, i, of the window 302 described with respect to FIG. 3A .
- the window 302 is time-division multiplexed into slots 322 1,i - 322 N,i .
- each timeslot 322 n,i comprises idle time D on either side of a packet time A.
- each timeslot 322 n,i is of duration A+2D.
- the value of one or more of A and D, and/or the unit of measurement of A and/or D may be configurable and/or implementation-specific.
- Time instants referenced to the network clock 202 , and corresponding to boundaries between timeslots, are labeled as time instants 324 1 - 324 N+1 .
- a packet 320 of a beacon signal is transmitted during each of the timeslots 322 1,i - 322 N,i .
- a beacon signal may be only one packet in length.
- FIG. 3C depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots. Shown in FIG. 3C is an instance of the window 304 described with respect to FIG. 3A .
- the window 304 is time-division multiplexed into slots 332 1 - 332 M .
- each timeslot 332 m where m is an integer between 1 and M, inclusive, comprises idle time D on either side of a packet time A.
- each timeslot 332 m is of duration A+2D.
- each timeslot 322 n,i comprises idle time D on either side of a packet time A.
- each timeslot 322 n,i is of duration A+2D.
- the value of one or more of A and D, and/or the unit of measurement of A and/or D may be configurable and/or implementation-specific.
- Time instants, referenced to the network clock 202 , and corresponding to boundaries between timeslots, are labeled as time instants 334 1 - 334 M+1 .
- a packet 330 of an alarm signal is transmitted during each of the timeslots 332 1 - 332 M .
- a beacon signal may be only one packet in length.
- FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary packet structure utilized for a low-power, long range wireless network.
- the structure of the packet 400 depicted in FIG. 4 may be utilized for beacon packets 320 and/or for adjusting the local clock 212 of one or more endpoints 104 .
- the packet 400 comprises a fore chirp 452 , a data portion 454 , and a post chirp 456 .
- the data portion 454 may, in turn, comprise a device ID field 460 , a duration field 462 , a shift magnitude field, a shift period field, and a payload 468 .
- Each of the fore chirp 452 and the post chirp 456 may comprise a sequence of two or more bits with high autocorrelation properties which may be used as a reference for measuring duration.
- the fore chirp 452 may be different than the post chirp 456 such that an endpoint can distinguish between the two.
- the device ID field 460 may comprise a number and/or string that is/are uniquely associated with the endpoint 104 that generated the packet 400 .
- the duration field 462 may comprise a numeric value corresponding to the amount of time since the last time point at which the endpoint identified by the device ID field 460 had been assigned a timeslot 322 n,i .
- the unit of measurement of the duration field 462 can may be configurable and/or implementation specific.
- the shift magnitude field 464 may comprise a numeric value indicating the magnitude of one or more adjustments of the clock 212 of the endpoint which generated the packet 400 .
- the shift magnitude field 464 may indicate the magnitude of a most-recent adjustment and/or an average value of a plurality of adjustments of the clock 212 .
- the shift magnitude field 464 may be a signed number.
- the unit of measurement of the shift magnitude field 464 may be configurable and/or implementation-specific.
- the shift period field 466 may comprise a numeric value indicating a number of instances of the window 302 between successive adjustments of the clock 212 of the endpoint which generated the packet 400 .
- the shift period field 466 may indicate the number of window instances between the last two clock adjustment and/or an average number of windows between adjustments over multiple adjustments.
- the unit of measurement of the shift period field 466 may be configurable and/or implementation-specific.
- the payload 468 may comprise device, application, and/or implementation specific data.
- FIG. 5 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps performed by an endpoint in a low-power, long-range network.
- an endpoint 104 desires to join the network cell 108 managed by the base station 102 .
- the endpoint 104 may receive and/or be programmed with the necessary parameters. These parameter may include, for example: clock synchronization information; the number of timeslots, N, that fit into a window 302 ; the number, J, of devices 104 in the cell; the number, I, of iterations of window 302 that are needed to accommodate the J devices in the cell 108 ; a hash function utilized for selecting which of the timeslots 332 during which to transmit an alarm signal; the packet duration A; the idle time D; the idle time, d, between windows; and/or the duration, ⁇ , of the open-access window 306 .
- clock synchronization information the number of timeslots, N, that fit into a window 302 ; the number, J, of devices 104 in the cell; the number, I, of iterations of window 302 that are needed to accommodate the J devices in the cell 108 ; a hash function utilized for selecting which of the timeslots 332 during which to transmit an alarm signal; the packet duration A; the idle time
- the endpoint 104 may adjust its clock 212 to synchronize to the network clock 202 .
- the endpoint 104 may enter a non-alarm mode of operation. While in the non-alarm mode (i.e., while an alarm condition is not present), the endpoint 104 may transmit beacon packets only during its assigned timeslot 322 n,i , the endpoint 104 may periodically and/or occasionally adjust its clock to maintain synchronization with network timing, and/or may communicate with a controller 106 and/or other endpoint 104 during the open-access window 306 . Upon the endpoint 104 detecting an alarm condition, the exemplary steps may advance to step 510 .
- the endpoint 104 may determine which of the timeslots of window 304 to utilize for transmitting an alarm signal. The determination may be made by inputting an identifier (e.g., the indices n and i) of the endpoint's assigned timeslot 322 n,i , to a hash algorithm.
- an identifier e.g., the indices n and i
- the endpoint 104 may transmit the alarm signal during the determined timeslot of window 304 .
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint.
- the base station 102 and/or the controllers 106 1 - 106 3 may transmit (e.g., broadcast) synchronization for the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 to utilize in synchronizing their local clocks 212 to the clock 202 .
- endpoint 104 20 may listen during one or more timeslots 322 to which it is not assigned. That is, it may receive beacons transmitted by one or more of the endpoints 104 2 - 104 19 .
- the endpoint may adjust its clock 212 based on the beacons received from the other endpoints.
- the steps may return to step 604 .
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint.
- endpoint 104 j may listen to a channel of the network cell 108 during a time interval beginning at T LC -D and ending at time instant T LC +D, where D is the idle time between the end of a first packet (e.g., packet 320 n in FIG. 3B ) and a timeslot boundary (e.g., timeslot boundary 324 n+1 of FIG. 3B ), D is also the idle time between the timeslot boundary and the beginning of a second packet (e.g., packet 320 n+1 in FIG.
- T LC is a value of the local clock 212 of device 104 j that is supposed to correspond to the timeslot boundary (That is, if clock 212 is accurately synchronized to the clock 202 , then T LC aligns with the timeslot boundary).
- the endpoint 104 j may do this for one or more values of T LC .
- the endpoint may characterize the signals received during the one or more time intervals.
- the endpoint 104 j may adjust its clock based on the result of the characterization in step 706 .
- the characterization may comprise determining a ratio of (i) post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols received during the one or more time intervals to (ii) fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols received during the one or more time intervals.
- the ratio may be greater than a threshold value (e.g., ‘1’) because, for example, T LC is not aligned with the timeslot boundary, but occurs before the timeslot boundary.
- the ratio may be less than a threshold value (e.g., ‘1’) because, for example, T LC is not aligned with the timeslot boundary, but occurs after the timeslot boundary.
- the threshold value may be configurable and/or implementation specific.
- Configurability of the threshold may enable compensating for system biases and/or non-idealities.
- the clock may, for example, be adjusted in a first direction (e.g., a positive direction) if the ratio is greater than the threshold, adjusted in a second direction (e.g., a negative direction) if the ration is less than the threshold, and may not be adjusted if the ratio is equal to the threshold.
- the characterization may comprise comparing how many post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals and (ii) how many fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals.
- the clock may, for example, be adjusted in a first direction (e.g., a positive direction) if the more post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols than fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals, be adjusted in a second direction (e.g., a negative direction) if the less post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols than fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals, and may not be adjusted if the same (or approximately the same) number of post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols and fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals.
- a first direction e.g., a positive direction
- a second direction e.g., a negative direction
- a communication system may comprise one or more circuits operable to transmit and receive data wirelessly.
- the communication system may be assigned (e.g., via download, via manual programming, and/or via wireless signal(s) from a base station) a first timeslot (e.g., timeslot 332 n,i ) during which transmission can occur when an alarm condition is not present.
- the one or more circuits may be operable to detect the presence of an alarm condition.
- the one or more circuits may be operable to determine a second timeslot (e.g., timeslot 332 m ) based on the first timeslot and based on a hash function.
- the one or more circuits may be operable to transmit an alarm signal during the second timeslot.
- a communication system may comprise one or more circuits operable to transmit and receive over a medium to which access is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of repeating windows (e.g., windows 302 , 304 , and 306 ).
- a first window (e.g., window 302 ) of the plurality of repeating windows may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots (e.g., timeslots 322 1,1 - 322 N,1 ).
- a second window (e.g., window 304 ) of the plurality of repeating windows may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots (e.g., timeslots 332 1 - 332 M ).
- the assigned first timeslot may be one of the plurality of timeslots of the first window.
- the second timeslot may be one of the plurality of timeslots of the second window.
- the second timeslot may occur in the first instance of the second window to occur after the detection of the alarm condition.
- the first timeslot may not occur in every instance of the first window.
- a third window (e.g., window 306 ) of the plurality of windows may not be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots.
- the first timeslot may be reserved for transmissions of a first type (e.g., beacon packets) and the third window is utilized for transmissions of one or more second types (e.g., endpoint configuration data, data uploads from an endpoint, data downloads to an endpoint).
- the one or more circuits may comprise one or more acoustic, chemical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, optical, and/or thermal sensors for performing the detection of the alarm condition.
- a communication system may comprise a clock (e.g., clock 212 ) and may be operable to transmit and receive data via a wireless network (e.g., the network 108 ).
- the communication system may communicate over a medium to which access is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots (e.g., timeslots 332 1,1 - 332 N,1 ).
- the o communication system may be operable to receive signals during one or more time intervals (e.g., a time interval from T LC -D to T LC +D).
- the communication system may be operable to characterize the signals received during the one or more time intervals.
- the communication system may be operable to adjust the clock based the characterization.
- the characterization may comprise determining a ratio of (i) end-of-timeslot bits, bytes, or symbols (i.e., bits, bytes, or symbols, such as, for example, the post chirp 456 , that are transmitted at or near the end of a timeslot such as, for example, a timeslot 322 ) received during the one or more time intervals to (ii) beginning-of-timeslot bits, bytes, or symbols (i.e., bits, bytes, or symbols, such as, for example, the post chirp 456 , that are transmitted at or near the beginning of a timeslot such as, for example, a timeslot 322 ) received during the one or more time intervals.
- Access to the wireless network may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of repeating windows.
- the one or more time intervals may occur during a first window of the plurality of repeating windows.
- the signals received during the one or more time intervals may have been transmitted by other endpoints (e.g., other ones of the endpoints 104 1 - 104 20 ) in the wireless network.
- the communication system may be operable to transmit an alarm signal during a second window of the plurality of repeating windows.
- the communication system may comprise a clock and may be operable to synchronize the clock (e.g., clock 212 ) to a network clock (e.g., clock 202 ) during a third window of the plurality of repeating windows.
- inventions may provide a non-transitory computer readable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for low-power, long-range networking.
- the present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
- the present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computing system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computing systems. Any kind of computing system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited.
- a typical combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computing system with a program or other code that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computing system such that it carries out the methods described herein.
- Another typical implementation may comprise an application specific integrated circuit or chip.
- the present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods.
- Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
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Abstract
Description
- This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/037,405, filed on Jul. 17, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/809,176, filed on Nov. 10, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/193,766, filed on Jun. 27, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/719,401, filed on May 22, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/267,621, filed on Oct. 6, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,042,353, which in turn makes reference to, claims priority to, and claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/404,541, filed on Oct. 6, 2010, now expired. Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
- This patent application also makes reference to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011. The above stated application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
- Certain embodiments of the invention relate to networking. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for low-power, long-range networking.
- Existing wireless networks consume too much power and/or are too-limited in terms of range. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.
- A system and/or method is provided for low-power, long-range networking, substantially as illustrated by and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.
- These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings.
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FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary wireless communication network. -
FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary low-power, long-range network endpoint. -
FIG. 3A depicts a plurality of access windows of a network for which access is time-division multiplexed. -
FIG. 3B depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots. -
FIG. 3C depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots. -
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary packet structure utilized for a low-power, long range wireless network. -
FIG. 5 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps performed by an endpoint in a low-power, long-range network. -
FIG. 6 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint. -
FIG. 7 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint. - As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer to physical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software and/or firmware (“code”) which may configure the hardware, be executed by the hardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in the list joined by “and/or”. For example, “x and/or y” means any element of the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. Similarly, “x, y, and/or z” means any element of the seven-element set {*(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the terms “block” and “module” refer to functions than can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination of one or more thereof. As utilized herein, the term “exemplary” means serving as a non-limiting example, instance, or illustration. As utilized herein, the term “e.g.,” introduces a list of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations.
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FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary wireless communication network. Shown is acell 108 associated with abase station 102. Within the cell are controllers 106 1-106 3 and endpoints 104 1-104 20. - The
base station 102 may comprise circuitry for communicating wirelessly, and managing overall synchronization and access to the wireless network within thecell 108. Thebase station 102 may transmit and receive wireless signals in accordance with any one or more protocols. Such protocols may include, for example, protocols defined in the ISO 18000-7 standard, and/or protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011. In an embodiment of the invention, thebase station 102 may communicate with the controllers 106 1-106 3 utilizing a first one or more protocols, and communicate with the endpoints 104 1-104 20 utilizing a second one or more protocols. An exemplary base station is described below with respect toFIG. 2 . - Each of the controllers 106 1-106 3 may comprise circuitry for communicating wirelessly with one or more endpoints that are within the coverage area of the controller (i.e., “in-range endpoints”). In
FIG. 1 , endpoints 104 1-104 4 are within the coverage area 110 1 of thecontroller 106 1, endpoints 104 5-104 7 are within the coverage area 110 2 of thecontroller 106 2, and endpoints 104 16-104 20 are within the coverage area 110 3 ofcontroller 106 3. Each of the controllers 106 1-106 3 may communicate with in-range endpoints in accordance with any one or more protocols. Such protocols may include, for example, protocols defined in the ISO 18000-7 standard, and/or protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011. Anexemplary controller 106 is described below with respect toFIG. 2 . - Each of the endpoints 104 1-104 20 may comprise circuitry for communicating wirelessly. Each of the controllers 106 1-106 3 may communicate with in-range endpoints in accordance with any one or more protocols. Such protocols may include, for example, protocols defined in the ISO 18000-7 standard, and/or protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011. An
exemplary endpoint 104 is described below with respect toFIG. 2 . - In an embodiment of the invention, access to one or more channels in the airspace within the
cell 108 may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of windows. In an exemplary windowing scheme, there may be three windows which cyclically repeat. A first of the windows may be utilized for endpoints to transmit connectionless beacons which may be received by thebase station 102, the controllers 106 1-106 3, and/or other endpoints. A second window may be utilized for endpoints to transmit connectionless alarm signals which may be received by thebase station 102. A third window may be an open-access window in which bidirectional communications between thebase station 102 and the controllers 106 1-106 3, bidirectional communications between the controllers 106 1-106 3 and the endpoints 104 1-104 20, and/or bidirectional communications among endpoints 104 1-104 20 may take place. Additional details of such an exemplary windowing scheme are described below with respect toFIGS. 3A-3C . - Beacons transmitted by the endpoints 104 1-104 20 during assigned timeslots may be utilized by the
base station 102 and/or the controllers 106 1-106 3 to detect and/or verify the presence and/or status of the devices 104 1-104 20. Alarm signals transmitted by the endpoints during an alarm window may alert network administrators that the endpoint which transmitted an alarm signal has detected a condition that needs to be addressed. - During an open access window, bidirectional communications between the endpoints 104 1-104 20 and controllers 106 1-106 3 and/or the
base station 102 may configure the endpoints 104 1-104 20 (which may include resynchronizing the endpoints 104 1-104 20 to a network clock), upload data from the endpoints 104 1-104 20, and/or download data to the endpoints 104 1-104 20. Similarly, in some instances, bidirectional communications among two or more of the endpoints 104 1-104 20 may take place during an open-access window. Such communication among endpoints may be utilized for synchronizing the local clocks of the endpoints 104 1-104 20 and/or transferring data among the endpoints 104 1-104 20. - The beacon signals and alarm signals may be transmitted utilizing different protocols than those utilized for signals communicated as part of bidirectional communications during the open-access window(s). Accordingly, packets transmitted during the open-access window may be, e.g., formatted differently, encoded differently, transmitted on different frequencies, and/or transmitted utilizing different modulation than the beacon signals and alarm signals transmitted during other windows.
-
FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary low-power, long-range network endpoint. - Shown in
FIG. 2 are anexemplary base station 102 and anexemplary endpoint 104, which may correspond to any of the devices 104 1-104 20 ofFIG. 1 . Theexemplary base station 102 comprises aclock 202,CPU 204, amemory 206, aradio 207, and anantenna 210. Theexemplary controller 106 comprises aclock 224,CPU 224, amemory 226, aradio 227, and anantenna 230. Theexemplary endpoint 104 comprises aclock 204,CPU 214, amemory 216, aradio 217, anantenna 220, and one ormore sensors 221. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, thebase station 102 may be relatively more complex than thecontroller 106 which, in turn, may be relatively more-complex than theendpoint 104. Accordingly, thebase station 102 may comprise more-expensive components than thecontroller 106 which, in turn, may comprise more-expensive components than theendpoint 104. - The
clock 202 may comprise an oscillator which generates a periodic signal and/or may comprise a date/time clock. Theclock 202 may provide a reference for synchronous circuitry of thebase station 102. Theclock 202 may provide the network clock for a network controlled by thebase station 102. - The
clock 212 may comprise an oscillator which generates a periodic signal and/or may comprise a date/time clock. Theclock 212 may be a local clock that provides a time reference for synchronous circuitry of thedevice 104. In instances that thedevice 104 is resource-constrained, theclock 212 may be less complex than theclock 202. Consequently, theclock 212 may be relatively inaccurate/less-stable compared to the clock 202 (e.g., may exhibit relatively significant drift over relatively short periods of time). Accordingly, thelocal clock 212 may occasionally need to be resynchronized to thenetwork clock 202. - The
clock 222 may comprise an oscillator which generates a periodic signal and/or may comprise a date/time clock. Theclock 222 may be a local clock that provides a time reference for synchronous circuitry of thedevice 106. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, theclock 222 may be relatively less accurate/stable than theclock 202 but more accurate/stable than theclock 212. - The
CPU 204 may comprise circuitry operable to control operation of thebase station 102. TheCPU 204 may, for example, execute an operating system and/or other programs. TheCPU 204 may generate one or more control signals for controlling the operation of thebase station 102. TheCPU 204 may, for example, control a mode of operation of thebase station 102. - The
CPU 214 may comprise circuitry operable to control operation of thesecond device 104. In some instances, theCPU 214 may be substantially similar to theCPU 204. In instances that thedevice 104 is resource-constrained, theCPU 204 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, utilize less memory, etc.) than theCPU 214. In one embodiment, for example, theCPU 204 may comprise a RISC or ARM processor, and theCPU 214 may comprise a state-machine having a relatively small number of states (e.g., four states). - The
CPU 224 may comprise circuitry operable to control operation of thecontroller 106. In some instances, theCPU 224 may be substantially similar to theCPU 204. In those or other instances, theCPU 224 may be less-complex than theCPU 204 but more complex than theCPU 214. - The
radio 207 may comprise aprocessor 208 and an analog front-end (AFE) 209. Theprocessor 208 may comprise circuitry operable to interface with theAFE 209 to receive and transmit data, and to process received and to-be-transmitted data. For transmission, theprocessor 208 may be operable to receive data from theCPU 204 and/ormemory 206, packetize and/or otherwise process the data to prepare it for transmission in accordance with one or more wireless protocols, and output the data to theAFE 209 for transmission. For reception, theprocessor 208 may be operable to receive data via theAFE 209, process the received data and output received data to thememory 206 and/or theCPU 204. Exemplary protocols which may be supported by theradio 207 include the ISO 18000-7 standard, and protocols described in the above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/464,376 filed on Mar. 2, 2011. - The
radio 217 may comprise aprocessor 218 and an analog front-end (AFE) 219. Theprocessor 218 may comprise circuitry operable to interface with theAFE 219 to receive and transmit data, and to process received and to-be-transmitted data. In some instances, theprocessor 218 may be substantially similar to theprocessor 208. In instances that thedevice 104 is resource-constrained, theprocessor 218 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, utilize less memory, etc.) than theprocessor 208. In one embodiment, for example, theprocessor 208 may be operable to implement more complex signal processing algorithms than theprocessor 218. - The
radio 227 may comprise aprocessor 228 and an analog front-end (AFE) 229. Theprocessor 228 may comprise circuitry operable to interface with theAFE 229 to receive and transmit data, and to process received and to-be-transmitted data. In some instances, theprocessor 228 may be substantially similar to theprocessor 208. In those or other instances theprocessor 228 may be less-complex than theprocessor 208 but more-complex than theprocessor 218. - The analog front-end (AFE) 209 may comprise circuitry suitable for processing received and/or to-be-transmitted data in the analog domain. For transmission, the
AFE 209 may receive digital data from theprocessor 208, process the data to generate corresponding RF signals, and output the RF signals to theantenna 210. For reception, theAFE 209 may receive RF signals from theantenna 210, process the RF signals to generate corresponding digital data, and output the digital data to theprocessor 208. - The
AFE 219 may comprise circuitry suitable for processing received and/or to-be-transmitted data in the analog domain. In some instances, theAFE 219 may be substantially similar to theAFE 209. In instances that thedevice 104 is resource-constrained, theAFE 219 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, utilize less memory, etc.) than theAFE 209. In one embodiment, for example, theAFE 209 may comprise a more-sensitive receiver, and a more powerful transmitter than theAFE 219. - The
AFE 229 may comprise circuitry suitable for processing received and/or to-be-transmitted data in the analog domain. In some instances, theAFE 229 may be substantially similar to theAFE 209. In those or other instances theAFE 229 may be less-complex than theAFE 209 but more-complex than theAFE 219. - Circuitry of the
memory 206 may comprise one or more memory cells and may be operable to store data to the memory cell(s) and read data from the memory cell(s). The one or more memory cell may comprise one or more volatile memory cells and/or one or more non-volatile memory cells. - Circuitry of the
memory 216 may comprise one or more memory cells and may be operable to read data from the memory cell(s) and/or store data to the memory cell(s). In some instances, thememory 216 may be substantially similar to thememory 206. In instances that thedevice 104 is resource-constrained, thememory 216 may be less-complex (e.g., comprise fewer gates, utilize less power, etc.) than thememory 206. - Circuitry of the
memory 226 may comprise one or more memory cells and may be operable to read data from the memory cell(s) and/or store data to the memory cell(s). In some instances, thememory 226 may be substantially similar to thememory 206. In those or other instances thememory 226 may be less-complex than thememory 206 but more-complex than thememory 216. - Each of the
antennas antennas - The sensor(s) 221 may comprise one or more of: an acoustic sensor operable to sense, e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, spectrum and/or wave velocity of acoustic waves; a chemical operable to sense, e.g., the presence of any one or more elements and/or compounds in solid, gas, and/or liquid form; an electrical sensor operable to detect, e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, and/or spectrum of a current and/or voltage, conductivity, and/or permittivity; a magnetic sensor operable to, e.g., detect flux, permeability, amplitude, phase, and/or polarization of a magnetic field; a mechanical sensor operable to detect, e.g., position, acceleration, force, stress, pressure, strain, mass, density, moment, torque, shape, roughness, orientation, and/or stiffness; an optical sensor operable to detect, e.g., amplitude, phase, polarization, and/or spectrum of an optical wave, wave velocity, refractive index, emissivity, reflectivity, and/or absorption; and/or a thermal sensor operable to detect, e.g., temperature, flux, specific heat, and/or thermal conductivity. The sensor(s) 221 may, for example, generate an interrupt to the
CPU 214 when an alarm condition is present. - In operation, prior to a
device 104 joining the network managed by thebase station 102, thedevice 104 may listen for network parameters from thebase station 102. Such parameters may, for example, be transmitted onto a predetermined control channel by thebase station 102. Additionally or alternatively, an administrator of thedevice 104 may, for example, manually program parameters into thedevice 104 and/or download parameters to the device 104 (e.g., via a wired connection to thebase station 102, and/or the Internet and/or a LAN). The parameters configured in thedevice 104 may include one or more parameters for synchronizing theclock 212 to theclock 202. The parameters configured in thedevice 104 may include one or more parameters which identify a timeslot to which thedevice 104 has been assigned. Thedevice 104 may then proceed to normal operation. - In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, normal operation may comprise the
device 104 occasionally and/or periodically receiving signals transmitted from thebase station 102 and/or one or moreother devices 104, occasionally and/or periodically listening to transmissions between other devices and utilizing those transmissions to adjust itsclock 212, transmitting connectionless beacon signals during the timeslot assigned to thedevice 104, and participating in connection-oriented communications during an open-access time window. Normal operation may also comprise monitoring, via the sensor(s) 221 for an alarm condition. When an alarm condition is present, thedevice 104 may enter an alarm-mode of operation. An alarm-mode of operation may comprise, for example, determining a timeslot of an alarm window during which an alarm signal may be transmitted, and then transmitting the alarm signal during that timeslot. -
FIG. 3A depicts a plurality of access windows of a network for which access is time-division multiplexed. InFIG. 3A , access to the medium is time-division multiplexed into three repeatingwindows instances 300 of thewindows windows D endpoints 104 which communicate over the time-division multiplexed medium, where D is an integer. - Each instance of
window 302 may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots 322. Any particular timeslot 322 is represented herein as 322 n,i, where i is the instance of thewindow 302, n is the index of the timeslot within the window instance i, 1≥i≥I, 1≥n≥N, and n, N, i, and I are integers. The index n wrap to 1 after reaching N, and the index i wraps to 1 after reaching I. - One or more timeslots 322 1,1-322 N,1 may be assigned to each of one or more endpoints 104 1-104 J. In an embodiment of the invention, each device 104 j (where j is an integer between 1 and J, inclusive) is assigned to one timeslot 322 n,i. If the number of devices, J, is greater than N (the number of timeslots 322 that fit into a single instance of the window 302), then it may take multiple instances of the
window 302 for a particular endpoint's assigned timeslot to occur. That is, I=ceiling(J/N), where “ceiling( )” denotes rounding up to the next integer. To illustrate, if N=10, and J=12, then I=2, and the sequence of windows may be as follows: a first instance ofwindow 302 corresponding to timeslots 322 1,1-322 N,1, awindow 304, awindow 306, a second instance ofwindow 302 corresponding to timeslots 322 1,2-322 N,2, awindow 304, awindow 306, a first instance ofwindow 302 corresponding to timeslots 322 1,1-322 N, 1, and so on. - Each instance of
window 304 may be time-division multiplexed into timeslots 332 1-332 M, where M is an integer. In an embodiment of the invention, the endpoints 104 1-104 20, the controllers 106 1-106 3, and thebase station 102 may be prohibited from transmitting during thewindow 304 unless they are experiencing an alarm condition or have experienced an alarm condition during a pertinent time period, where the pertinent time period may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. - In an embodiment of the invention, each of the timeslots 332 1-332 M may not be reserved for any
particular endpoint 104 but may be available for use by anyendpoint 104 that is currently experiencing an alarm condition. Anendpoint 104 which has experienced an alarm condition during the pertinent time period may determine which of the timeslots 332 1-332 M of thewindow 304 to utilize for transmitting an alarm signal based on which of the timeslots 322 1,1-322 N,1 theendpoint 104 has been assigned, and on a hash function. In this regard, use of the hash function may enable J endpoints to share M timeslots, even where M is less than J. That is, use of a hash function may take advantage of the fact that, statistically speaking, only a certain percentage of the J endpoints will detect an alarm condition at any given time. Therefore, J endpoints can effectively share M timeslots while the risk that there will be more than M devices detecting an alarm condition during any given time period can be kept below a desired threshold, which may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. -
FIG. 3B depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots. Shown inFIG. 3B is an instance, i, of thewindow 302 described with respect toFIG. 3A . Thewindow 302 is time-division multiplexed into slots 322 1,i-322 N,i. In an embodiment of the invention, each timeslot 322 n,i comprises idle time D on either side of a packet time A. Thus, in such an embodiment, each timeslot 322 n,i is of duration A+2D. In an embodiment of the invention, the value of one or more of A and D, and/or the unit of measurement of A and/or D may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. Time instants, referenced to thenetwork clock 202, and corresponding to boundaries between timeslots, are labeled as time instants 324 1-324 N+1. InFIG. 3B , a packet 320 of a beacon signal is transmitted during each of the timeslots 322 1,i-322 N,i. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a beacon signal may be only one packet in length. -
FIG. 3C depicts a window of time which is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots. Shown inFIG. 3C is an instance of thewindow 304 described with respect toFIG. 3A . Thewindow 304 is time-division multiplexed into slots 332 1-332 M. In an embodiment of the invention, each timeslot 332 m, where m is an integer between 1 and M, inclusive, comprises idle time D on either side of a packet time A. Thus, in such an embodiment, each timeslot 332 m is of duration A+2D. In an embodiment of the invention, each timeslot 322 n,i comprises idle time D on either side of a packet time A. Thus, in such an embodiment, each timeslot 322 n,i is of duration A+2D. In an embodiment of the invention, the value of one or more of A and D, and/or the unit of measurement of A and/or D may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. Time instants, referenced to thenetwork clock 202, and corresponding to boundaries between timeslots, are labeled as time instants 334 1-334 M+1. InFIG. 3C , a packet 330 of an alarm signal is transmitted during each of the timeslots 332 1-332 M. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a beacon signal may be only one packet in length. -
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary packet structure utilized for a low-power, long range wireless network. The structure of thepacket 400 depicted inFIG. 4 may be utilized for beacon packets 320 and/or for adjusting thelocal clock 212 of one ormore endpoints 104. Thepacket 400 comprises afore chirp 452, adata portion 454, and apost chirp 456. Thedata portion 454 may, in turn, comprise adevice ID field 460, aduration field 462, a shift magnitude field, a shift period field, and apayload 468. - Each of the
fore chirp 452 and thepost chirp 456 may comprise a sequence of two or more bits with high autocorrelation properties which may be used as a reference for measuring duration. Thefore chirp 452 may be different than thepost chirp 456 such that an endpoint can distinguish between the two. - The
device ID field 460 may comprise a number and/or string that is/are uniquely associated with theendpoint 104 that generated thepacket 400. - The
duration field 462 may comprise a numeric value corresponding to the amount of time since the last time point at which the endpoint identified by thedevice ID field 460 had been assigned a timeslot 322 n,i. The unit of measurement of theduration field 462 can may be configurable and/or implementation specific. - The
shift magnitude field 464 may comprise a numeric value indicating the magnitude of one or more adjustments of theclock 212 of the endpoint which generated thepacket 400. In an embodiment of the invention, theshift magnitude field 464 may indicate the magnitude of a most-recent adjustment and/or an average value of a plurality of adjustments of theclock 212. In an embodiment of the invention, theshift magnitude field 464 may be a signed number. The unit of measurement of theshift magnitude field 464 may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. - The
shift period field 466 may comprise a numeric value indicating a number of instances of thewindow 302 between successive adjustments of theclock 212 of the endpoint which generated thepacket 400. In an embodiment of the invention, theshift period field 466 may indicate the number of window instances between the last two clock adjustment and/or an average number of windows between adjustments over multiple adjustments. The unit of measurement of theshift period field 466 may be configurable and/or implementation-specific. - The
payload 468 may comprise device, application, and/or implementation specific data. -
FIG. 5 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps performed by an endpoint in a low-power, long-range network. - In
step 502, anendpoint 104 desires to join thenetwork cell 108 managed by thebase station 102. - In
step 504, theendpoint 104 may receive and/or be programmed with the necessary parameters. These parameter may include, for example: clock synchronization information; the number of timeslots, N, that fit into awindow 302; the number, J, ofdevices 104 in the cell; the number, I, of iterations ofwindow 302 that are needed to accommodate the J devices in thecell 108; a hash function utilized for selecting which of the timeslots 332 during which to transmit an alarm signal; the packet duration A; the idle time D; the idle time, d, between windows; and/or the duration, γ, of the open-access window 306. - In
step 506, theendpoint 104 may adjust itsclock 212 to synchronize to thenetwork clock 202. - In
step 508, theendpoint 104 may enter a non-alarm mode of operation. While in the non-alarm mode (i.e., while an alarm condition is not present), theendpoint 104 may transmit beacon packets only during its assigned timeslot 322 n,i, theendpoint 104 may periodically and/or occasionally adjust its clock to maintain synchronization with network timing, and/or may communicate with acontroller 106 and/orother endpoint 104 during the open-access window 306. Upon theendpoint 104 detecting an alarm condition, the exemplary steps may advance to step 510. - In
step 510, theendpoint 104 may determine which of the timeslots ofwindow 304 to utilize for transmitting an alarm signal. The determination may be made by inputting an identifier (e.g., the indices n and i) of the endpoint's assigned timeslot 322 n,i, to a hash algorithm. - In
step 512, theendpoint 104 may transmit the alarm signal during the determined timeslot ofwindow 304. -
FIG. 6 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint. Instep 604, afterstart step 602, during an instance of the open-access window 306, thebase station 102 and/or the controllers 106 1-106 3 may transmit (e.g., broadcast) synchronization for the endpoints 104 1-104 20 to utilize in synchronizing theirlocal clocks 212 to theclock 202. Instep 606, during an instance of thewindow 302,endpoint 104 20 may listen during one or more timeslots 322 to which it is not assigned. That is, it may receive beacons transmitted by one or more of the endpoints 104 2-104 19. Instep 608, the endpoint may adjust itsclock 212 based on the beacons received from the other endpoints. Afterstep 608, the steps may return to step 604. -
FIG. 7 is a flowchart comprising exemplary steps for synchronization of a low-power, long-range network endpoint. Instep 704, afterstart step 702,endpoint 104 j may listen to a channel of thenetwork cell 108 during a time interval beginning at TLC-D and ending at time instant TLC+D, where D is the idle time between the end of a first packet (e.g., packet 320 n inFIG. 3B ) and a timeslot boundary (e.g., timeslot boundary 324 n+1 ofFIG. 3B ), D is also the idle time between the timeslot boundary and the beginning of a second packet (e.g., packet 320 n+1 inFIG. 3B ), and TLC is a value of thelocal clock 212 ofdevice 104 j that is supposed to correspond to the timeslot boundary (That is, ifclock 212 is accurately synchronized to theclock 202, then TLC aligns with the timeslot boundary). Theendpoint 104 j may do this for one or more values of TLC. - In
step 706, the endpoint may characterize the signals received during the one or more time intervals. Instep 708, theendpoint 104 j may adjust its clock based on the result of the characterization instep 706. - In an exemplary embodiment, the characterization may comprise determining a ratio of (i) post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols received during the one or more time intervals to (ii) fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols received during the one or more time intervals. In such an embodiment, the ratio may be greater than a threshold value (e.g., ‘1’) because, for example, TLC is not aligned with the timeslot boundary, but occurs before the timeslot boundary. In such an embodiment, the ratio may be less than a threshold value (e.g., ‘1’) because, for example, TLC is not aligned with the timeslot boundary, but occurs after the timeslot boundary. The threshold value may be configurable and/or implementation specific. Configurability of the threshold may enable compensating for system biases and/or non-idealities. The clock may, for example, be adjusted in a first direction (e.g., a positive direction) if the ratio is greater than the threshold, adjusted in a second direction (e.g., a negative direction) if the ration is less than the threshold, and may not be adjusted if the ratio is equal to the threshold.
- In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the characterization may comprise comparing how many post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals and (ii) how many fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals. The clock may, for example, be adjusted in a first direction (e.g., a positive direction) if the more post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols than fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals, be adjusted in a second direction (e.g., a negative direction) if the less post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols than fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals, and may not be adjusted if the same (or approximately the same) number of post-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols and fore-chirp bits, bytes, or symbols were received during the one or more time intervals.
- In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a communication system (e.g., an endpoint 104) may comprise one or more circuits operable to transmit and receive data wirelessly. The communication system may be assigned (e.g., via download, via manual programming, and/or via wireless signal(s) from a base station) a first timeslot (e.g., timeslot 332 n,i) during which transmission can occur when an alarm condition is not present. The one or more circuits may be operable to detect the presence of an alarm condition. In response to the detection of the alarm condition, the one or more circuits may be operable to determine a second timeslot (e.g., timeslot 332 m) based on the first timeslot and based on a hash function. The one or more circuits may be operable to transmit an alarm signal during the second timeslot.
- In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a communication system (e.g., an endpoint 104) may comprise one or more circuits operable to transmit and receive over a medium to which access is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of repeating windows (e.g.,
windows - In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a communication system (e.g., an endpoint 104) may comprise a clock (e.g., clock 212) and may be operable to transmit and receive data via a wireless network (e.g., the network 108). The communication system may communicate over a medium to which access is time-division multiplexed into a plurality of timeslots (e.g., timeslots 332 1,1-332 N,1). The o communication system may be operable to receive signals during one or more time intervals (e.g., a time interval from TLC-D to TLC+D). The communication system may be operable to characterize the signals received during the one or more time intervals. The communication system may be operable to adjust the clock based the characterization. The characterization may comprise determining a ratio of (i) end-of-timeslot bits, bytes, or symbols (i.e., bits, bytes, or symbols, such as, for example, the
post chirp 456, that are transmitted at or near the end of a timeslot such as, for example, a timeslot 322) received during the one or more time intervals to (ii) beginning-of-timeslot bits, bytes, or symbols (i.e., bits, bytes, or symbols, such as, for example, thepost chirp 456, that are transmitted at or near the beginning of a timeslot such as, for example, a timeslot 322) received during the one or more time intervals. - Access to the wireless network may be time-division multiplexed into a plurality of repeating windows. The one or more time intervals may occur during a first window of the plurality of repeating windows. The signals received during the one or more time intervals may have been transmitted by other endpoints (e.g., other ones of the endpoints 104 1-104 20) in the wireless network. The communication system may be operable to transmit an alarm signal during a second window of the plurality of repeating windows. The communication system may comprise a clock and may be operable to synchronize the clock (e.g., clock 212) to a network clock (e.g., clock 202) during a third window of the plurality of repeating windows.
- Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computer readable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for low-power, long-range networking.
- Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computing system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computing systems. Any kind of computing system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computing system with a program or other code that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computing system such that it carries out the methods described herein. Another typical implementation may comprise an application specific integrated circuit or chip.
- The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
- While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (20)
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- 2011-10-06 WO PCT/US2011/055082 patent/WO2012048098A1/en active Application Filing
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WO2012048098A1 (en) | 2012-04-12 |
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Owner name: MULTI-FLEX CIRCUITS PTY., LTD., CALIFORNIA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BLACKBIRD TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC., NOW KNOWN AS HAYSTACK TECHNOLOGIES, INC.;REEL/FRAME:052311/0240 Effective date: 20200312 |