Patent ID: 7383019

Claim:
A field data collection and relay station, comprising: a plurality of directional antennas, each of said plurality of directional antennas being focused to transmit energy in a unique direction; a plurality of wireless bridges corresponding in number to said plurality of directional antennas, each of said plurality of wireless bridges coupled to one of said plurality of directional antennas; a network access point; an omni-directional antenna coupled to said access point adapted to receive sensor data transmitted wirelessly from a location lying within a region approximately centered on said omni-directional antenna, wherein said sensor data is passed to said access point; and switching means coupled between said plurality of wireless bridges and said access point for distributing said sensor data passed to said access point to at least one of said plurality of directional antennas through corresponding ones of said plurality of wireless bridges, wherein said sensor data is wirelessly transmitted in at least one said unique direction.