Mesh Node Outage Detection Using Beacons, Ping, and Alarm Escalation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing networked systems face challenges in consistently detecting and reporting node outages due to premature breakdowns of smart devices powered by supercapacitors and lossy communication across the network, leading to inadequate detection and reporting of communication, premise power, or grid power outages.
Innovation Solution
A method involving nodes that detect RF alive beacons and communication messages to track the operational status of other nodes, with a ping process to confirm outage status and transmit alarm messages through the network layers when no response is received, utilizing advanced RF alive beacons for validation and minimizing false-positive detections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If nodes rely on supercapacitor to transmit outage indication after power loss, then outage detection is enabled, but supercapacitor breakdown leads to premature node failure and detection failure
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having nodes continuously transmit alive beacons and maintain communication before actual outage occurs. This allows the network to detect outages through absence of expected signals rather than relying on supercapacitor-based emergency transmission, thereby avoiding the supercapacitor's premature failure issue while maintaining reliable outage detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces communication messages and alive beacons as intermediary signals between nodes. Instead of directly relying on supercapacitor state, nodes use these intermediary communication signals to indicate operational status. The absence or anomaly of these intermediary signals serves as the actual outage detection mechanism, decoupling the detection system from the supercapacitor's limited lifespan
2Adaptability or versatility
If the network uses lossy communication to transmit outage indications, then communication flexibility is maintained, but detection accuracy deteriorates due to signal loss
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where nodes continuously monitor for alive beacons and communication messages from other nodes. This continuous feedback loop allows the network to maintain high detection accuracy despite lossy communication conditions, as the persistent exchange of validation signals enables reliable status confirmation without requiring perfect signal transmission
Solution Approach 2:
Nodes transmit alive beacons periodically at defined intervals rather than continuously. This periodic action maintains communication flexibility and reduces network overhead while ensuring that outage detection accuracy is preserved through regular status validation. The periodic nature allows the system to tolerate some signal loss while maintaining reliable detection through consistent rhythm monitoring
3Reliability
If nodes transmit outage alarm messages through multiple network layers, then comprehensive outage reporting is achieved, but communication overhead and detection time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the outage detection and reporting function into distinct layers: local detection by tracking nodes, regional aggregation by parent nodes, and central consolidation by root nodes. This segmentation allows parallel processing of outage information across multiple layers simultaneously, achieving comprehensive reporting without sequential delays. Each layer operates independently to validate and forward outage information, reducing overall detection time while maintaining completeness
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges outage detection, validation, and reporting functions across multiple network layers into a coordinated unified process. Rather than separate sequential operations, the multi-layered nodes simultaneously perform detection, validate through cross-checking, and aggregate reports. This merging of functions across layers achieves comprehensive outage reporting while minimizing time loss through parallel execution
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting node outages in a mesh network. A tracking node in the mesh network detects a set of signals originating from a tracked node in the mesh network. The set of signals includes beacons and communication messages transmitted by the tracked node. The tracking node determines that a threshold number of the alive beacon intervals have passed since receiving a most recent signal from the tracked node. The tracking node then outputs a ping to the tracked node requesting a response to the ping. When the response to the ping is not received from the tracked node, the tracking node transmits an outage alarm message to a next topologically higher layer of the mesh network, the outage alarm message comprising an identification of the tracked node.