A range extended forwarding wireless communication method and system

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of range extension forwarding wireless communication method and system.Pairing relationship is established between first node and multiple second nodes;Each second node selects the frequency point of residence;First node sends message to destination node, and after receiving the ACK information that destination node replies in the frame structure frame tail of this message, enters dormant state, and the destination node is one of multiple second nodes paired with first node;Destination node parses message, and when the message indicates that it is the message that needs range extension forwarding, according to the indication, message is forwarded to other second nodes, and the message is forwarded once on all preset channels.The application can ensure the effective transmission of data under lower power consumption, can effectively avoid the situation that single frequency point working mode cannot communicate normally when encountering interference, complete sending and confirmation in the same frame structure, effectively ensure the timeliness and delivery rate of message transmission, and save power consumption.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication, in particular to a range-extended forwarding wireless communication method and system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Home automation and intelligentization increasingly affect people's lives and bring a lot of convenience to people. Many families will install intelligent home control systems on the electrical appliances and household goods in their homes before or after moving in, in order to achieve automatic control and intelligentization.

[0003] In the development process of smart home, the technical solution of network communication management has gradually transitioned and upgraded from the earliest wired connection to wireless communication. The traditional wired communication has good effect, but the implementation cost is high, the system complexity is high, and the maintenance cost is also high, which is not conducive to large-scale promotion and application.

[0004] With the development of wireless communication technology, the implementation cost, maintenance convenience and deployment difficulty of the smart home system have been greatly reduced. This has greatly improved the social acceptance of home intelligentization. Both front-end and rear-end control systems can achieve home intelligentization.

[0005] In the case of transition of system communication mode to wireless, how to perform reliable wireless communication, ensure correct data transmission, protect data security, and also consider the ease of maintenance and cost control of the system has become the main contradiction to be solved at present.

[0006] At present, some basic communication protocols commonly used in home environment, such as ZigBee and Bluetooth solutions, are greatly limited in access quantity and transmission distance. WiFi is also a commonly used communication method in home environment, which can provide large data communication capacity, but the power consumption and penetration of WiFi also have great limitations on application scenarios. At the same time, the above several communication solutions all need a central node to uniformly access and manage the system. System encryption and secure network management also need to be reinforced. In general, the current communication protocols cannot well balance the power consumption of the data sending end and the data transmission effect. SUMMARY

[0007] The purpose of the present application is to provide a range-extended forwarding wireless communication method to ensure that the data transmission effect is optimal under the condition of minimum power consumption of the message sending end.

[0008] The technical solution adopted by the present application is as follows:

[0009] A range-extended forwarding wireless communication method, comprising:

[0010] The first node and the plurality of second nodes establish a pairing relationship;

[0011] Each of the second nodes selects a frequency point to reside;

[0012] The first node sends a message to a destination node, and enters a sleep state after receiving ACK information replied by the destination node at a frame tail of a frame structure of the message, the destination node being one of the plurality of second nodes paired with the first node;

[0013] The destination node analyzes the message, and forwards the message to another second node according to an indication of the message when the message indicates a message requiring range extension forwarding, the message being forwarded once on all preset channels.

[0014] The first node as a message sending end can send the message out by using a smaller power and a shorter sending time, and the message successfully reaches the target second node through the forwarding of the intermediate nodes, that is, the message sending end reaches the optimal data transmission effect (message transmission success rate) of the system with the least power consumption (message transmission power and transmission time).

[0015] Preferably, the first node sends a message to a destination node, and enters a sleep state after receiving ACK information replied by the destination node at a frame tail of a frame structure of the message, the destination node being one of the plurality of second nodes paired with the first node, and the method further comprises:

[0016] The first node sends the message to the destination node through a channel of a previous normal communication, the destination node being one of the paired second nodes;

[0017] If the first node does not receive the ACK message replied by the destination node at the frame tail of the frame structure of the message, the first node switches a channel in the preset channels to send the message to the destination node again;

[0018] If the first node does not receive the ACK message replied by the destination node at the frame tail of the frame structure of the message after trying all the preset channels, the first node takes another second node as the destination node to re-perform the process of sending the message (i.e., the process after sending the message from the channel of the previous normal communication) until the first node receives the ACK message replied by the destination node at the frame tail of the frame structure of the message, and then enters the sleep state.

[0019] The application predefines the selectable channels, and the design of the multiple frequency points enables the communication system to select a channel with less interference to perform communication, thereby increasing the success rate of communication and improving the data transmission effect.

[0020] Preferably, the method further comprises:

[0021] If the first node polls all the second nodes and does not receive the ACK message from the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message after sending the message, the first node broadcasts the message to all the second nodes, and the broadcasting of the message is performed once in all the preset channels. That is, the first node cannot transmit the message to all the second nodes after trying all the channels, and then the first node performs the broadcasting transmission. Preferably, the first node broadcasting the message can be repeated a certain number of times to ensure the successful delivery of the message.

[0022] Preferably, the method further comprises:

[0023] When the message indicates that the message does not need to be forwarded, the destination node executes the instruction in the message to reselect the frequency point for camping. That is, the destination node itself is the target node of the unicast message, and the message does not need to be forwarded at this time. After executing the related instruction, the destination node performs the periodic frequency scanning operation to reselect the optimal frequency point for camping.

[0024] Preferably, the method for the second node to select the frequency point for camping comprises:

[0025] The second node periodically scans the frequency point environment according to the configured parameters, and selects the frequency point with the lowest RSSI in the scanning result for camping.

[0026] Preferably, the destination node forwards the message to other second nodes according to the indication of the message, and the method comprises:

[0027] The destination node forwards the message to a specific second node, a second node under a specific group, or all the second nodes according to the indication of the message. That is, the target node of the message to be forwarded can be a certain second node, a certain group of nodes, or all the second nodes.

[0028] In another aspect, the application also provides a range-extended forwarding wireless communication system, which comprises a first node and a plurality of second nodes; wherein a pairing relationship is established between the first node and each of the second nodes;

[0029] The first node is configured to:

[0030] send a message to a destination node, and enter a sleep state after receiving an ACK message from the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message, the destination node being one of the plurality of second nodes paired with the first node;

[0031] The second node is configured to:

[0032] select a frequency point for camping at system initialization; and

[0033] receiving the message sent by the first node or receiving the message forwarded by the other second node; and

[0034] In response to receiving the message sent by the first node, parsing the message, when the message indicates a message requiring range extension forwarding, forwarding the message to the other second node according to the indication of the message, and forwarding the message once on all preset channels.

[0035] Preferably, the first node is configured to: starting from one of the paired second nodes as a destination node, cyclically performing the following processes until entering a dormant state after receiving an ACK message replied by the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message:

[0036] sending the message to the destination node through the channel of the last normal communication;

[0037] In response to not receiving the ACK message replied by the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message, switching the channel in the preset channels to resend the message to the destination node;

[0038] In response to not receiving the ACK message replied by the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message after trying all the preset channels, taking the next second node as the destination node.

[0039] Preferably, the first node is further configured to:

[0040] In response to not receiving the ACK message replied by the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message after polling all the second nodes, broadcasting the message to all the second nodes, and broadcasting the message once in all the preset channels.

[0041] Preferably, the second node is further configured to:

[0042] When the message indicates a message not requiring range extension forwarding, executing the instruction in the message to reselect the frequency point for camping.

[0043] In summary, due to the adoption of the above technical solutions, the present application has the following advantages:

[0044] 1. The present application can ensure the effective transmission of data under the condition of low power consumption of the message sending end. Through the range extension transmission mode, the data is forwarded by the intermediate node to improve the success rate of data arrival under the condition of using small power and short transmission time of the sending end.

[0045] 2、The application can effectively avoid the situation that single frequency point working mode cannot normally communicate when encountering interference. Through dynamic scanning evaluation of multiple frequency points, the system can select a channel with less interference to communicate, thereby increasing the communication success rate.

[0046] 3、The in-band confirmation mechanism (in-frame ACK check) designed in the application can effectively ensure the timeliness and arrival rate of system message transmission, save system waiting time, and save power consumption.

[0047] 4、The application can realize that data sent at low power at a message source reaches a farther receiving point. It is very suitable for scenarios in which the message sending source needs to be powered by a small power supply. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0048] The application will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0049] Figure 1 is an embodiment of a variety of execution scenarios of the range-extended forwarding wireless communication method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] All features disclosed in this specification, or all steps of any methods or processes disclosed in this specification, can be combined in any manner, except where features or steps are mutually exclusive.

[0051] Any feature disclosed in this specification, unless stated otherwise, can be replaced by an alternative feature serving the same, or a similar, purpose.

[0052] The concept of the application is as follows:

[0053] 1、The wireless communication system can have unicast capability of point-to-point communication and broadcast capability of one-to-many. Under different communication needs, the sending mode of the message can be switched.

[0054] 2、The original sending end of the information often needs to maintain a relatively low power consumption. Therefore, the power consumption of data transmission is relatively sensitive.

[0055] 3、To ensure normal transmission of data and prevent normal communication from being unable to be achieved due to interference of a specific frequency in the air, the receiving end can reside in one of multiple network frequency points according to system configuration; the receiving end can periodically evaluate the signal quality of the air frequency point and switch the residing frequency point.

[0056] 4、For data communication with specific points, such as the situation of point-to-point message from A to B, A directly sends the message to B through unicast. At this time, other terminals will not receive and process the message.

[0057] 5. When B receives a unicast message from A, it will reply with an acknowledgment at the ACK position at the end of the message frame (acknowledgment is completed within the same communication frame, which can effectively shorten the acknowledgment time). In this way, A can complete both sending and receiving acknowledgment within the frame structure of a single message.

[0058] 6. If A does not receive an ACK message after sending the message, and still fails after a limited number of attempts, A will switch to a new network configuration and retry until the message is successfully sent, all configuration attempts fail, or the cumulative attempt time expires, at which point the sending process will end.

[0059] 7. For one-to-many broadcast data transmission requirements, sender A has two operation modes: unicast to a specific terminal for forwarding, or direct broadcast. The workflow is as follows: A sends unicast data to a specific terminal B in the system. After B successfully receives the data, A completes the sending task and can perform other operations such as sleeping. Upon receiving the message, B checks whether extended-range broadcasting or forwarding is required based on the message type. If so, it performs secondary data transmission externally using the broadcast and forwarding parameters configured in the system, and can retries multiple times. When A fails to send unicast data to B, A can initiate extended-range transmission messages to other terminals, such as node C in the system, to achieve data transmission. After receiving A's message, C performs the same operation as B. If there is no suitable forwarding node in the system, A can also perform broadcast sending itself, repeating it a certain number of times to ensure normal data delivery.

[0060] Example 1

[0061] This embodiment introduces a range-extended forwarding wireless communication method. The method uses a switch command message as an example to illustrate the implementation process of the method.

[0062] like Figure 1 As shown, with node A as the first node and nodes B, C, and D as the second nodes, the method includes:

[0063] Step 1: System setup. Establish pairing relationships between all nodes (including nodes A, B, C, and D). After pairing, each node will record the node information of the other nodes it is paired with.

[0064] Step 2: The system has preset working frequencies / channels. Nodes B, C, and D periodically scan the frequency environment. Based on the configured parameters, the system selects the lowest frequency to stay on according to the RSSI of the scan results. The same method is followed when reselecting a frequency to stay on in subsequent steps.

[0065] Scenario 1: Type I unicast control

[0066] Step 3.1: Node A is in a low-power sleep state by default. After being woken up by external stimulus or other wake-up operations, it sends a unicast message to Node C through the default channel 2. This message is only for Node C, so only Node C can receive and decode it.

[0067] Step 3.2: After receiving the message, node C returns an ACK message to node A at the end of the same frame structure as the message.

[0068] After receiving the ACK message, node A ends the communication process and enters a sleep state.

[0069] Node C parses the message, executes the instructions in the message, and then continues to listen for air interface messages. It periodically scans the channel quality (within the preset frequency points) to reselect the frequency point to camp on. The selection method is the same as above, and the reselected frequency point may be the same as the previously camped frequency point.

[0070] Example 2

[0071] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment takes the second scenario as an example to introduce another extended-range forwarding wireless communication method, which is the same as the first two steps of embodiment one.

[0072] Scenario 2: Type II unicast control

[0073] Step 4.1: After being woken up, node A sends a message to node B through the default channel 1 and waits for its reply ACK information.

[0074] Step 4.2: If node A does not receive an ACK message from node B after waiting for a certain period of time, it means that it cannot communicate with node B through channel 1. At this time, switch to channel 2, resend the message to node B and wait for its reply with ACK information.

[0075] Step 4.3: After receiving the message, node B returns an ACK message to node A at the end of the same frame structure as the message.

[0076] After receiving the ACK message, node A ends the communication process and enters a sleep state.

[0077] Node B parses the message, executes the instructions in the message, and then continues to listen for air interface messages and periodically scans the channel quality to reselect the frequency point to stay on.

[0078] Example 3

[0079] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment takes the third scenario as an example to introduce another extended-range forwarding wireless communication method, which is the same as the first two steps of embodiment one.

[0080] Scenario 3: Type 1 Extended Range Forwarding

[0081] Step 5.1: Node A sends a global control message to a specific (second) node in Node A's list of paired nodes, taking Node B as an example. This message will use the channel from the last normal communication between Node A and Node B; in this embodiment, channel 2 is used. Node A sends the message to Node B and waits for its ACK response.

[0082] Step 5.2: After receiving the message, node B replies with an ACK message at the end of the same frame structure; after node A receives the ACK message, the communication process ends and it enters a sleep state.

[0083] Steps 5.3-5.4: Node B parses the message and confirms that it requires extended-range forwarding. Based on the message's indication, it forwards the message to both Node C and Node D, and forwards it once on each channel (Channel 1 and Channel 2). If the message indicates a specific node, such as Node C, Node B performs a unicast forwarding to Node C. If the message indicates a group of nodes or all nodes, it performs a broadcast forwarding, delivering the message to these nodes. Similarly, the message forwarding is performed once on all preset channels.

[0084] Example 4

[0085] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment takes the fourth scenario as an example to introduce another extended-range forwarding wireless communication method, which is the same as the first two steps of embodiment one.

[0086] Scenario 4: Type II Extended Range Forwarding

[0087] Step 6.1: Node A sends a global control message to a specific (second) node in Node A's list of paired nodes, taking Node B as an example. This message will use the channel from the last normal communication between Node A and Node B; in this embodiment, channel 2 is used. Node A sends the message to Node B and waits for its ACK response.

[0088] Step 6.2: If node A does not receive an ACK message from node B after waiting for a certain period of time, it means that it cannot communicate with node B through channel 2. At this time, switch to channel 1, resend the message to node B and wait for its reply with ACK information.

[0089] Step 6.3, After waiting for a certain time, if node A still does not receive the ACK message returned by node B, it indicates that node A cannot communicate with node B through channel 1 either, and since the preset channels are only channel 1 and channel 2, it indicates that node A and node B cannot communicate with each other. At this time, node A polls the next node in the pairing node list, which is assumed to be node C, as the destination node. Node A transmits a message to node C on the channel on which node A and node C normally communicate last time and waits for the reply ACK information. In this embodiment, channel 2 is taken as an example.

[0090] Step 6.4, After receiving the message, node C replies with ACK information at the end of the same frame structure frame. After receiving the ACK message, node A ends the communication process and enters a sleep state.

[0091] Steps 6.5-6.5, Node C parses the message and confirms that the message is a message that needs to be range-extended forwarded. Then, according to the indication of the message, node C forwards the message to node B and node D respectively, and forwards the message once in each channel (channel 1 and channel 2). Similarly, if the message indicates a certain node, for example, node B, node C unicasts the message to node B, and if the message indicates a group of nodes or all nodes, node C broadcasts the message to these nodes. Similarly, the message is forwarded once in all preset channels.

[0092] Embodiment Five

[0093] As shown in the figure, this embodiment takes the fifth scenario as an example to introduce another range-extended forwarding wireless communication method, which is the same as the first two steps of embodiment one. Figure 1

[0094] Scenario Five: Range-extended Forwarding Abnormality

[0095] Step 7.1, Node A sends a global control message, and the destination node is a (second) node in the pairing node list saved by node A, which is taken as node B in this embodiment. The message will be transmitted using the channel on which node A and node B normally communicate last time. In this embodiment, channel 2 is taken as an example. Node A sends a message to node B and waits for the reply ACK information.

[0096] Step 7.2, After waiting for a certain time, if node A does not receive the ACK message returned by node B, it indicates that node A cannot communicate with node B through channel 2. At this time, it switches to channel 1, re-sends a message to node B and waits for the reply ACK information.

[0097] ​Step 7.3, after waiting for a certain time, node A still does not receive the ACK message returned by node B, which indicates that node A cannot communicate with node B through channel 1, and since the preset channels are only channel 1 and channel 2, it indicates that node A and node B cannot communicate with each other, at this time, node A polls the next node in the pairing node list, assuming that it is node C, and uses it as the destination node, node A transmits a message to node C on the channel on which node A normally communicates with node C last time and waits for the ACK information returned by node C, and the embodiment takes channel 2 as an example.

[0098] Step 7.4, after waiting for a certain time, node A does not receive the ACK message returned by node C, which indicates that node A cannot communicate with node C through channel 2.

[0099] Suppose node A also cannot communicate with node D (the message transmission process is synchronized with node C), then all the pairing nodes have been traversed and cannot forward the message of node A, at this time, referring to steps 7.5-7.6, node A broadcasts a message to nodes B, C, and D on channels 1 and 2, respectively.

[0100] In the above embodiments, it can be assumed that node A is a remote control device, and nodes B, C, and D are controllers of controlled devices. Taking a lamp control system in a smart home as an example, the system uses a WIoTa asynchronous communication protocol (which can also be other available communication protocols) and supports both unicast and broadcast communication modes.

[0101] In switch control, the system includes a control panel, a handheld remote control, a lamp control gateway, and a controller. Among them, the control panel and the handheld remote control are battery-powered, requiring high transmission efficiency and low system power consumption, and the remote control can be equivalent to node A. The controller and the lamp control gateway are powered by an external power supply, and the requirement for low power consumption is relatively low, and the controller can be used as a node B, C, or D for range extension forwarding.

[0102] The lamp control switch is divided into single lamp control and whole house control (group control), and in single lamp control, a point-to-point unicast communication mode is used. In the whole house control scenario, the control message of the switch node is forwarded by the controller in the house to achieve long-distance, multi-floor synchronous control.

[0103] Embodiment six

[0104] This embodiment introduces a range extension forwarding wireless communication system, which has the same method concept as the foregoing. The system includes a first node and a plurality of second nodes; wherein the first node and each second node have a pairing relationship, and each node saves the node information of the node paired therewith.

[0105] The first node is configured to:

[0106] sending a message to a destination node, and entering a sleep state after receiving an ACK message from the destination node in a frame tail of a frame structure of the message, the destination node being one of a plurality of second nodes paired with the first node.

[0107] The second node is configured to:

[0108] selecting a frequency point for camping at system initialization; and

[0109] receiving a message sent by the first node, or receiving a message forwarded by another second node; and

[0110] in response to receiving the message sent by the first node, parsing the message, and when the message indicates a message requiring range extension forwarding, forwarding the message to another second node according to an indication of the message, the another second node being a specific second node or all second nodes, and the forwarding of the message being performed once on all preset channels; and when the message does not indicate a message requiring range extension forwarding, executing an instruction in the message to reselect a frequency point for camping.

[0111] Specifically, the process performed by the first node is detailed as follows: starting from one of the paired second nodes as a destination node, the first node performs the following process in a loop until entering a sleep state after receiving an ACK message from the destination node in a frame tail of a frame structure of a message:

[0112] sending a message to the destination node through a channel of a previous normal communication;

[0113] in response to not receiving an ACK message from the destination node in a frame tail of a frame structure of the message, switching a channel in the preset channels to re-send the message to the destination node;

[0114] in response to not receiving an ACK message from the destination node in a frame tail of a frame structure of the message after trying all the preset channels, taking a next second node as a destination node, and then returning to the execution process of initially sending the message.

[0115] Since the first node may not successfully find a second node capable of forwarding after polling all the second nodes, the first node is further configured to: in response to polling all the second nodes and not receiving an ACK message from the destination node in a frame tail of a frame structure of the message after sending the message, broadcasting the message to all the second nodes, and the broadcasting of the message being performed once on all the preset channels.

[0116] In the system of the embodiment, the second node camps on a frequency point in the same manner as in the method embodiment, and thus is not described in detail in the embodiment.

[0117] The application is not restricted to the foregoing specific embodiments. The application extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification, and to any novel method or process disclosed in this specification or any novel combination thereof.

Claims

1. A range-extended relay wireless communication method, characterized in that, include: Establish pairing relationships between the first node and multiple second nodes; Each of the second nodes periodically scans the frequency point environment according to the configured parameters and selects the frequency point with the lowest RSSI ranking in the scan results to stay there; The first node uses one of the paired second nodes as the destination node and sends a message to that destination node through the channel of the previous normal communication. If the first node does not receive an ACK message from the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message, it switches channels in the preset channels and resends the message to the destination node. If the first node tries all the preset channels and still does not receive an ACK message from the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message, it polls the pairing node list, selects the next second node as the destination node, and re-executes the above message sending process until it receives an ACK message from the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message, and then enters a sleep state. If the first node polls all the second nodes and does not receive an ACK message from the destination node at the end of the frame structure of the message after sending the message, then the first node broadcasts the message to all the second nodes, and the broadcast of the message is performed once in all the preset channels; The destination node parses the message. When the message indicates that it is a message that requires extended-range forwarding, the destination node forwards the message to other second nodes according to the message's indication. The forwarding of the message is performed once on all preset channels.

2. The extended-range relay wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: When the message indicates that it is not a message requiring extended range forwarding, the destination node executes the instructions in the message and reselects the frequency point to reside on.

3. The extended-range relay wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The destination node, based on the instructions in the message, forwards the message to other second nodes, including: The destination node forwards the message to a specific second node, a second node under a specific group, or a second node across the entire domain, according to the instructions in the message.

4. A range-extended relay wireless communication system, characterized in that, It includes a first node and multiple second nodes; wherein, the first node and each of the second nodes are paired together. The first node is configured as follows: Using one of the paired second nodes as the destination node, a message is sent to that destination node through the channel used in the previous normal communication. If no ACK message is received from the destination node at the end of the message's frame structure, the message is resent to the destination node via a preset channel. If no ACK message is received from the destination node at the end of the message's frame structure after trying all preset channels, the paired node list is polled, and the next second node is selected as the destination node. The above message sending process is repeated until an ACK message is received from the destination node at the end of the message's frame structure, after which the process enters a sleep state. If no ACK message is received from the destination node at the end of the message's frame structure after polling all second nodes, the message is broadcast to all second nodes, and this broadcast is performed once on all preset channels. The second node is configured as follows: During system initialization, based on the configured parameters, the frequency point environment is periodically scanned, and the frequency point with the lowest RSSI ranking in the scan results is selected for stationing; and Receive messages sent by the first node, or receive messages forwarded by other second nodes; and In response to receiving a message sent by the first node, the message is parsed. If the message indicates that it is a message that requires extended-range forwarding, the message is forwarded to other second nodes according to the indication of the message. The forwarding of the message is performed once on all preset channels.

5. The extended-range relay wireless communication system as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The second node is also configured as follows: If the message indicates that it is not a message requiring extended range forwarding, execute the instructions in the message and reselect the frequency point to reside on.

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