Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Cooper Technologies Company

Andrew Corporation

Comsat Corporation

Roger Kirk Alexander

Sergey Sukhobok

Jianming Yuan

Tzeta Tsao

Shravan Rangaraju

Shashikant Chowdhary

Steven Baigal

Sharif M Redwan Siddiqui

James Livingston

A mesh network includes a plurality of nodes and a network head. The plurality of nodes includes a first node structured to generate and output a message to the network head in response to an event. The message includes at least one first information item associated with the first node, the electrical device monitored by the first node, or the section of the electrical distribution system monitored by the first node. The plurality of nodes includes a second node disposed on a communication path between the first node and the network head and being structured to add at least one second information item associated with the second node, the electrical device monitored by the second node, or the section of the electrical distribution system monitored by the second node to the message and to output the message to the network head.

Enhanced status notification and outage detection systems and methods for electric utility networks

Endpoint device, central data collection point, and associated methods for collecting data over a communication network between endpoints and the central collection point. Actual measurements from a sensor are obtained by the endpoint device at a relatively fine time granularity. The endpoint device generates reports for receipt by a central data collection point. The reports include regular reports containing a portion of the actual measurements representing sensor measurements at a relatively coarse time granularity, and exception reports, containing information representing one or more of the actual measurements that differ in frequency or granularity of regular report measurements. Each of the exception reports is generated in response to a determination that at least one of the actual measurements differs from a predicted value for that at least one of the one or more actual measurements by an amount that exceeds a pre-established limit.

System and method for efficient data collection in distributed sensor measurement systems

Methods and devices for facilitating communications in an ad-hoc multi-hop wireless network during outage conditions are described herein. In one exemplary embodiment, an initiating device attempts to send a communication to a target destination by first sending a synchronization request to an intermediate device using a unicast transmission. If the initiating device determines that the first synchronization request failed, a second synchronization request is sent to any potential candidate device neighbors using an anycast transmission protocol. The initiating device receives an acknowledgment message from at least one of those devices. The transmission of acknowledgment messages by potential candidate responders are prioritized in a self-organizing manner relating to priority indicator information conveyed in the anycast transmission. The acknowledgment message indicates that a device has accepted the anycast synchronization request and, after synchronizing with that device, the initiating device sends a communication to the destination via the responding device using a unicast transmission protocol.

Autonomous, power-dictated message routing for multi-hop mesh network outage communications

In a self-organizing wireless multihop network, each node device selects operation among short-range (SR) and long-range (LR) communication modes, among which the SR mode uses a higher data rate than the LR mode. Each node device advertises connectivity link availability for neighboring node devices, and selectively initiates a link in response to connectivity availability advertised by at least one neighboring node device. The availability advertising is performed in the SR and the LR communication modes, according to a periodicity that is dynamically-variable in response to prevailing circumstances in the local neighborhood. The link initiation is selectively performed in one of either the SR or the LR communication mode based on selection criteria that include data throughput performance associated with different neighboring node devices with which connectivity is available via a certain communication mode.

Dynamically-selectable multi-modal modulation in wireless multihop networks

A sensor data collection system includes a plurality of sensors operatively coupled to a corresponding set of endpoints, the endpoints configured to communicate sensor data to a central data collection point via a data communication protocol. A proxy service-enabled endpoint facilitates interoperability with the data collection system for the benefit of endpoints that are otherwise incompatible with the data communication protocol. The endpoint includes a remote endpoint interface module configured to receive communications from at least one of the incompatible endpoints containing incompatible endpoint sensor data. A remote endpoint virtualization module operatively coupled to the remote endpoint interface module and associated with the at least one of the incompatible endpoints. The remote endpoint virtualization module is uniquely addressable according to a corresponding virtual endpoint address, and configured to store the incompatible endpoint sensor data and to communicate that data to the central data collection point via the data communication protocol.

System and method for support of one-way endpoints in two-way wireless networks

Systems and methods for performing predictive frequency searches in ad-hoc multi-hop wireless networks is described herein. In one exemplary embodiment, a predicted frequency is selected and a synchronization request is sent from an initiating node to a target node on the predicted frequency. If the transmitted synchronization request is the last synchronization request for the predictive frequency search mode sequence, then the initiating node enters into a receiving mode to receive a synchronization response message from the target node. If not, the initiating node selects a new predicted frequency, and sends a new synchronization request to the target node on that frequency. This repeats until the transmitted synchronization request is the last predictive synchronization request, and the initiating node enters into the receiving mode. The initiating node in the selection of synchronization request transmission frequencies can adaptively alternate between predictive and full spectrum frequency searches.

Adaptive, predictive synchronization for reducing connection establishment delays in ad-hoc frequency hopping spread spectrum networks

In a wireless multihop network having node devices within communication range neighboring node devices in a corresponding local neighborhood, the node devices initiate repeated message broadcasts of a first message as a connection-less broadcast into the local neighborhood. Initiation of message broadcasts is governed such that the message broadcasts are permitted only at specified transmission times within a plurality of transmission time windows. Each of the node devices determines whether any of the connection-less-broadcasted messages are duplicates of the first message, and generate a count of those duplicates received during each of the transmission windows. Based on counts of the duplicates, initiation of a message broadcast of the first message in a current transmission window is suppressed in response to a corresponding count of duplicates of the first message received during the first transmission window exceeding a suppression limit.

Controlled flooding mechanism to facilitate message broadcast in wireless multihop networks

In a wireless multihop network having node devices within communication range neighboring node devices in a corresponding local neighborhood, the node devices generate visibility messages to be transmitted via connection-less broadcast. The visibility messages include at least an identifier of the corresponding node device. Visibility messages received by each of the node devices from the one or more neighboring node devices are processed to determine a measure of density of the local neighborhood. This measure of density also accounts for the heterogeneous transmit power capabilities of node devices and is used for updating of one or more operational parameter of the node device relating to utilization of the radio communications medium by that node device. A degree of utilization of the medium through the control of transmission data rate and power is adjusted based on an inverse relation to the measure of density determined from the received visibility messages.

Informational broadcast messages and its uses in wireless multihop networks

In a wireless multi-hop network, packet routing paths are determined for a first node device based on passive measurement of data messages over a wireless link formed between the first node device and a neighboring second node device. The first node device transmits a first data message to the second node device via the wireless link. At least one of the first node device and the second node device monitors at least one transmission performance parameter corresponding to only a selected subset of frames of the first data message. The selected subset of frames has structural similarity to selected subsets of frames of other data messages communicated and monitored by other node devices of the network. A link cost associated with the wireless link is determined based on at least one transmission performance parameter value produced as a result of the monitoring, which can be used to update the packet routing paths.

Non-intrusive in-band link cost estimation in multihop networks

A system described herein can include a first node within an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network. The first node can be configured to be installed within a portion of a meter device. The system can also include an adapter configured to function as a second node within the AMI network. The adapter can be configured to translate a signal defined based on a platform of a premise network into a signal defined based on a platform of the AMI network. The adapter can be configured to be a meter-independent device.

Methods and apparatus related to an adapter between a premise network and an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network

In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to a method for locating a mobile terminal in a communication network. The method includes: receiving a request data frame for locating the mobile terminal; uniquely encoding at least a portion of the request data frame (at an LCS client); determining the location of the mobile terminal (by a PDE); communicating the location information of the mobile terminal in a response data frame having an encrypted portion; and decrypting the location information of the mobile terminal (at the LCS client).

Method and apparatus for transparent invocation and transport of encrypted position location data

A system and method for achieving least cost call routing (i.e., shortest terrestrial path between mobile terminal and a fixed terminal) for a mobile communications system by integrating a cellular satellite communications system with an existing GSM network to form an extended satellite GSM system and an enhanced satellite GSM system. The extended satellite GSM system incorporates the advantages facilitated by the GSM network with the extended coverage capability of the mobile satellites, and achieves least cost call routing by registering a mobile terminal with one designated gateway (i.e., home gateway). In accordance with another embodiment, the enhanced satellite GSM system achieves least cost call routing for all mobile terminal originated and terminated calls by minor modifications to the mobile terminal and home location register. The resulting arrangement has minimal impact on the GSM network system operation because the modification incorporates standard GSM procedures and protocols and implements data stored at the mobile terminal. Specifically, the resulting arrangement makes no modification to the operation of the mobile switching center or visitor location register (MSC/VLR) used within the GSM network.

Growing community of inventors

Rockville, MD, United States of America

Roger Kirk Alexander