Patent ID: 8798078

Claim:
A sensor network comprising; a first plurality of sensors; a first base station; and a first series of switching devices, each switching device comprising: an upstream port; a bus coupled to the upstream port; a downstream port; a sensor port connectable to the bus; a first switch coupled to the bus and the downstream port; and a switch controller coupled to the bus and the first switch, the switch controller responsive to signals received from the upstream port to selectively connect the bus to the downstream port and disconnect the bus from the downstream port; wherein the first series of switching devices includes a first switching device and a last switching device, the upstream port of the first switching device is coupled to the first base station, the downstream port of each switching device, except the last switching device, is coupled to the upstream port of a next switching device in the first series of switching devices, and sensors of the first plurality of sensors are connected to sensor ports of the switching devices in the first series of switching devices.