Patent ID: 8780763
Filing Date: 2014-07-15
Classification: G01D,H04L,H04Q,H04W,Y02B,Y02D,Y04S

Abstract:
1. A method of optimizing communication paths within a mesh network, comprising: initiating a mesh network, the mesh network including a first mesh device, a second mesh device and an access point, the mesh devices each including a neighbor information table and a temporary path table; receiving registration information and periodically transmitted information by the access point from each mesh device, wherein the periodically transmitted information comprises the neighbor information table associated with a respective mesh device; storing the received registration information and the periodically transmitted information in an accessible memory of the access point; responsive to a predetermined trigger, calculating, by the access point, an optimal path from the first mesh device to the access point, wherein the optimal path is calculated using the received periodically transmitted information and includes a set of mesh device addresses corresponding to a set of intermediate mesh devices along which a message can be forwarded; and transmitting the calculated optimal path by the access point to the first mesh device and the set of intermediate mesh devices; the method further comprising: transmitting a first message from the first mesh device to the access point, wherein each of the first mesh device and a set of intermediate mesh devices forward the first message to a respective next mesh device selected from the neighbor information table as being closer to the access point; storing, by each of the mesh devices receiving the first message from a transmitting mesh device, an entry in the temporary path table including the respective transmitting mesh device; and transmitting a second message from the access point to the first mesh device by forwarding the second message according to the entries in the respective temporary path tables of the mesh devices that received the first message.