Wireless Mesh Network Addressing for Power-Efficient Routing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless mesh networks face challenges in determining the lowest cost transmission route efficiently, especially with high power consumption and bandwidth usage due to the need for maintaining neighbor lists and broadcasting updates.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to organize the network into a tree-like structure with dynamically allocated network addresses, allowing for cross-branch connections and minimizing the number of nodes messages must pass through, using a discovery process to form direct links between non-immediate neighbors, and incorporating both battery-powered and mains-powered nodes for efficient message routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each node maintains a routing table and broadcasts updates of neighboring nodes, then the network can determine transmission routes, but power consumption and bandwidth usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the routing table maintenance function from each individual node and centralizes it in a control node. Instead of every node broadcasting its neighboring node list, only the control node maintains the comprehensive routing information and manages route determinations, thereby eliminating redundant power consumption and bandwidth usage across the network.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the routing information from all nodes into a single centralized routing table at the control node. This consolidation allows the network to determine routes through one central entity rather than having each node independently maintain and update its own routing table, reducing overall power consumption and bandwidth usage while maintaining route determination capability.
2Reliability
If each node maintains and broadcasts neighbor lists, then network connectivity is maintained, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the neighbor list maintenance and broadcasting function from each node and centralizes it at the control node. The control node maintains a comprehensive view of network connectivity and manages route determinations without requiring continuous broadcasting from individual nodes, thereby maintaining network connectivity while significantly reducing bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The control node performs multiple functions including maintaining the routing table, determining routes, and managing network connectivity information for all nodes. This universal approach allows a single node to handle connectivity management for the entire network, eliminating the need for each node to independently broadcast its neighbor list and reducing overall bandwidth usage.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the network uses a tree-like structure with derived addresses, then power consumption is reduced, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a tree-like network structure where nodes are pre-organized with hierarchical relationships and addresses are pre-assigned in a systematic manner. This preliminary organization allows nodes to determine routes based on their hierarchical position rather than requiring complex real-time negotiations, reducing power consumption while the control node manages the structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control node acts as an intermediary that manages the complex tree-like structure and routing information. Individual nodes don't need to understand or manage the overall network complexity; instead, they communicate with the control node which handles route determination based on the hierarchical structure, thereby reducing power consumption at individual nodes while the control node manages the structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a method of operating a wireless mesh network. The method comprises: seeding the network from a first node; allocating a network address to each member node of the network to form a tree-like structure of the nodes, such that the network address is reversibly derived from the network address of the member node from which it is derived in the tree-like structure; and mapping out cross-branch network connections between nodes that are determined not to be immediate neighbour nodes according to the addresses of the tree-like structure. Further related system embodiments are also disclosed.