Patent ID: 7345998
Filing Date: 2008-03-18
Classification: H04B,H04J,H04L,H05B,Y02B

Abstract:
1. A communication module for use in a system including a plurality of said communication modules, said communication module comprising: circuitry for storing a number, referred to as a module address, designating an address for said communication module; circuitry for sending and receiving messages over at least one communications medium; circuitry and software for generating messages and for receiving and deciphering messages; each of said messages comprising a first number field, referred to as an originator address, designating the module address of the module originating the message, a second number field, referred to as a recipient address, designating the module address of an intended recipient module, a third number field, referred to as message flags, designating the type of message, a fourth number field, referred to as a maximum retransmission count, designating the maximum number of retransmissions for the message, a fifth number field, referred to as a current retransmission count, designating how many times the message has already been retransmitted, a sixth number field, referred to as a command field, designating an action, and a seventh number field, referred to as a message validator, designating a message integrity validation; circuitry and software for determining if a received message has reached all of its intended recipients by inspecting said message flags and by comparing said recipient address to said module address; circuitry and software for determining if a received message has already been retransmitted a maximum number of times for that message by comparing said maximum retransmission count and said current retransmission count; and circuitry and software for retransmitting a received message with said current retransmission count altered by one, but only if said received message has not reached all of its intended recipients and has not already been retransmitted the maximum number of times.