PLC Network Route Determination via Timeout Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In power line communication networks, existing routing protocols face challenges in determining reliable routes due to disturbances and interruptions, particularly when destination routers are reinitialized after power failures, leading to inconsistent sequence numbers and high network load with unsuccessful communication attempts.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves broadcasting route request messages with attached time limits, verifying the expiration of these limits, and retaining the most recent route if the limit has not expired, ensuring consistent route determination even after router reinitialization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a routing protocol uses sequence numbers to identify the most recent route reply message, then route determination reliability is improved, but router reinitialization after power failures causes sequence number inconsistency leading to communication failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing a timeout mechanism that pre-expires stored route information before potential sequence number conflicts occur. When a router is reinitialized, the timeout ensures that stale route replies with inconsistent sequence numbers are automatically invalidated, preventing communication failures without requiring complex sequence number synchronization protocols.
2Measurement precision
If the protocol retains all received route reply messages for comparison, then route selection accuracy is improved, but network load increases due to high memory usage and processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential timing information (timeout duration) from route reply messages rather than storing complete message histories. By comparing only the timeout status and basic route metrics rather than retaining all received messages, the system maintains route selection accuracy while significantly reducing memory consumption and processing overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation from storing complete route reply messages to storing only critical parameters (timeout duration and route quality metrics). This parameter reduction allows the router to maintain accurate route selection capability while minimizing memory usage and network load.
3Speed
If the protocol immediately updates the route upon receiving a better route reply message, then route optimization speed is improved, but network stability deteriorates due to frequent route changes during disturbances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by implementing a timeout mechanism that acts as a buffer against premature route updates. Instead of immediately updating routes upon receiving reply messages, the timeout provides a cushioning period that filters out transient disturbances and prevents unnecessary route changes, thereby maintaining network stability while still enabling timely route optimization when genuinely better paths become available.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method allowing a router called the initiating router to determine a route between itself and a destination router over a powerline communication network, said method including steps in which: said initiating router sends at least one route request message over said network and receives a response message called the current response message; a time limit is attached to the response message; it is checked, on reception of a current response message, whether the time limit attached to the response message received beforehand has expired; and a route is retained, this route either being that identified by the response message most recently transmitted by said destination router if the time limit attached to said response received beforehand has not expired, or that identified by the current response message if the time limit attached to said response received beforehand has expired.