Patent ID: 7349360

Claim:
An ad-hoc network comprising: an ad-hoc network coordinator comprising: a first processor, a first memory, a first communication interface; a plurality of ad-hoc network devices, each of said ad-hoc network devices comprising: a second processor, a second memory, a second communication interface for communication with the first communication interface of said ad-hoc network coordinator or with the second communication interface of another one of said ad-hoc network devices, wherein said first memory stores for at least some of said ad-hoc network devices a complete communication route for messages from said ad-hoc network coordinator through at least one of said ad-hoc network devices to a corresponding one of said at least some of said ad-hoc network devices, wherein said second memory of each of said ad-hoc network devices stores an identification of another one of said ad-hoc network devices to forward a message from the second communication interface of a corresponding one of said ad-hoc network devices toward the first communication interface of said ad-hoc network coordinator and through the second communication interface of said another one of said ad-hoc network devices; wherein said second processor includes means for providing said identification of another one of said ad-hoc network devices to forward a message based upon quality information associated with communications between said second communication interface of said corresponding one of said ad-hoc network devices and said second communication interface of said another one of said ad-hoc network devices; and wherein said quality information is positively correlated with a quality value associated with a communication link between said second communication interface of said corresponding one of said ad-hoc network devices and said second communication interface of said another one of said ad-hoc network devices, and is negatively correlated with a count of hops from said second communication interface of said another one of said ad-hoc network devices to said ad-hoc network coordinator.