Hierarchical Network Communication Rerouting
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Solution Overview
Problem
In hierarchical network communication, communication failures between child devices and their parent devices lead to packet loss and reduced efficiency, as no alternative routes are established, and recovering communication to the root device is time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A communication device that broadcasts and receives 'hello' packets with hierarchical numbers to register and store parent, sibling, and child devices based on their hierarchical positions, allowing for multiple parent devices and sibling devices to be used for data transmission, enabling efficient rerouting even if a primary parent device connection is lost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single parent-child relation is established in hierarchical network communication, then the network structure is simple and easy to maintain, but communication reliability deteriorates when the parent device fails or leaves the network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple parent devices into a single hierarchical level for a child device, allowing the child to communicate with multiple parents simultaneously. This merging of multiple parent relationships creates alternative communication paths, improving reliability when one parent fails without significantly increasing structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary registration of multiple parent devices and sibling devices before communication failures occur. By pre-establishing alternative routes and registering multiple potential parent devices in advance, the network can immediately switch to backup paths when failures occur, avoiding time-consuming recovery operations
2Reliability
If multiple parent devices are registered for alternative routing, then communication reliability improves during failures, but device complexity and information management increase
Solution Approach 1:
Sibling devices are registered with multi-functionality: they can serve as alternative communication paths, provide routing information, and act as potential parent devices. This universal registration approach allows a single device to fulfill multiple roles, improving reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses hello packets to broadcast and copy hierarchical number information throughout the network. Each device receives and stores copies of hierarchical information from multiple sources, creating redundant information paths that improve reliability while using simple packet-based information sharing rather than complex device configurations
3Productivity
If a single parent device is used for data transmission, then data transmission is straightforward and fast under normal conditions, but packet loss occurs and recovery time increases when the parent device fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary registration of multiple parent devices and sibling devices before communication failures occur. By pre-establishing alternative routes and registering multiple potential parent devices in advance, the network can immediately switch to backup paths when failures occur, avoiding time-consuming recovery operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where devices continuously exchange hello packets containing hierarchical number information. This feedback loop allows devices to detect parent device failures through the absence of hello packets and automatically trigger rerouting to alternative registered parents, maintaining productivity while minimizing time loss through rapid detection and response
Data Source
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AI summary
Efficiency of communication to a root device is improved. A broadcast hello packet including a hierarchical number is received; the hello packets of one or more devices are collected and an own-device-hierarchical-number is set to a value by adding one to the smallest number of the hierarchical numbers; each device having a hierarchical number smaller than the own-device-hierarchical-number by one is retained as a parent device; each device having the same hierarchical number as the own-device-hierarchical-number is retained as a sibling device; each device having a hierarchical number larger than the own-device-hierarchical-number by one or more is retained as a child device; an indication of the retaining as the parent device, as the sibling device, and as the child device are each transmitted so as to reach the parent device, the sibling device, and the child device; and a hello packet including the own-device hierarchical number is broadcast.