Industrial Wireless Relay Nodes for Network Complexity Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial wireless networks face challenges with network settling time, throughput predictability, scalability, redundancy, and complexity, particularly in maintaining power efficiency and extending range while supporting battery-operated devices.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a low energy wireless multi-hop mesh protocol, such as Bluetooth Low Energy, with dedicated relay nodes that form specific, predefined connection-oriented routing paths to connect industrial wireless instruments to network gateways, providing multi-hop, parallel, and redundant routing paths for extended range, scalability, and load-balancing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wireless mesh network is used to extend range and provide redundancy, then network coverage and reliability are improved, but network complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces relay nodes as intermediary devices that simplify network complexity by acting as dedicated proxies. Each relay node establishes specific, predefined connection-oriented routing paths between end nodes and the network gateway, transforming the complex many-to-many mesh relationships into simpler one-to-one connections. This intermediary approach maintains reliability through redundancy while reducing the computational and protocol complexity that would otherwise be required to manage dynamic mesh routing across multiple hops.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple routing paths are established for redundancy and load-balancing, then network reliability and scalability are improved, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into distinct functional components: end nodes that generate data, relay nodes that provide dedicated routing paths, and a network gateway that manages connections. Each segment operates independently with predefined roles, allowing the network to scale by simply adding more relay nodes without increasing overall system complexity. The segmentation enables parallel routing paths while maintaining manageable complexity through clear separation of concerns.
3Productivity
If connection-oriented routing paths are used, then throughput predictability is improved, but network settling time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing specific, predefined connection-oriented routing paths during network setup rather than dynamically discovering routes during operation. The relay nodes are pre-configured with knowledge of their designated end nodes and routing paths, eliminating the need for real-time route discovery and negotiation. This preliminary configuration ensures predictable throughput performance while minimizing network settling time, as the routing topology is already optimized and established before data transmission begins.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial wireless instruments network connects a plurality of industrial wireless instruments to a monitoring and control application. The network employs wireless relay nodes that operate as dedicated proxies for the wireless instruments to which they are connected in the network. In some embodiments, the wireless relay nodes are Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices that are capable of implementing Bluetooth version 4.0 or higher. In some embodiments, the relay nodes are deployed in a multi-hop arrangement to extend the range between the wireless instruments and the monitoring and control application. In some embodiments, the relay nodes are deployed in parallel so as to provide easy scale out, redundancy, and load-balancing. Such an arrangement has several advantages over conventional solutions like mesh networks.