Patent ID: 8855311

Claim:
A method of providing secure wireless-to-IP communication, in a system including a set of air interface protocols (AIPs), between conveyance-mounted security sensors and one or more remote data consolidation centers employing a global ad-hoc network topology, the method comprising: providing one or more on-conveyance sensing devices; providing one or more on-conveyance wireless communications devices; providing one or more wireless-to-IP bridging devices providing one or more internet-addressable remote data centers; wherein each remote data center contains computer instructions for: commanding secure AIP-compliant operations; maintaining a data base of security sensor-related events interfacing to an embedded or external encryption key management facility, wherein the AIP enables a distributed battery-powered sensor network to: conduct passive network discovery; passively check for waiting data; conduct RF spectrum scan for optimal battery conservation; employ a network access device announcement message based on the IEEE Standard 802.15.4 data frame to maximize payload size; enable use of CSMA/CA for transmission medium access; enable end-to-end encryption between distributed sensor network and remote data center(s) independent of transport layers; employ variable network access device announcement intervals for optimizing battery conservation strategy of distributed sensor network; the set of AIPs further comprising: a connectionless wireless secure wireless network that eliminates all network management messaging and requires no device association and which allows for; connectionless message exchange wherein computing capability and resources of the end devices are highest among all devices comprising the connectionless network; connectionless message exchange from end devices whose addresses are unknown by network access device in advance; connectionless message exchange supporting network discovery and status message exchange requirements for end-devices randomly moving in and out of network access device coverage; connectionless message exchange implementing a set of reduced MAC-layer messaging protocols to minimize RF channel traffic and coexistence with commercial standard 802.11 systems; connectionless message exchange while adhering to a tag talks last guidelines for international commercial shipping environments.