Patent ID: 7346030

Claim:
A wireless communication system for processing utility consumption data, the system comprising: multiple transmitting nodes, each configured to wirelessly transmit a substantially similar message multiple times and according to one of multiple different frequency hopping tables, wherein each of the transmitting nodes receives utility consumption data from an associated utility meter; and a mobile receiving node configured to wirelessly receive at least one of the transmitted messages on one frequency from one of the transmitting nodes, and to perform a first routine at least twice to determine which one of the multiple different frequency hopping tables the one transmitting node is employing, wherein the routine includes: guessing a next frequency on which the one transmitting node will next transmit a message, and listening at the next frequency for the next transmission of a message, and wherein the mobile receiving node wirelessly receives and stores at least two of the transmitted messages after determining the one frequency hopping table employed by the one transmitting node, and wherein the receiving node performs a second routine to decode the at least two received and stored messages, wherein the second routine comprises: applying a mathematical operation to the two received and stored messages to produce an improved message, and decoding at least a portion of the improved message.