Managing wireless communication with limited channels
View Patent ↗Communications between a central station and plural nodes is managed at the central station. The central station has an answer channel, a number of data channels, and a data channel manager. A node transmits a channel request, which is received by the answer channel. The answer channel queries the data channel manager, which determines if a data channel is available. If so, then the answer channel passes the node's request to the open data channel, which then communicates with the node. The answer channel is freed to handle channel requests from other nodes. The node is unaware of the passing off as the node does not change the address for the central station. A data channel is freed to communicate with other nodes by either receiving a disconnect message from the node or by timing out the connection.
1. A method of managing communications between a central station and a plurality of nodes, the method comprising:
at a one of the nodes, transmitting a channel request via an answer channel to a the central station;
receiving the channel request at the central station through the answer channel;
at the central station, determining among a plurality of data channels if a data channel is available;
if a data channel is available, then passing the channel request of the one node from the answer channel to a one data channel, and freeing the answer channel to handle another channel request from a node;
the one data channel transmitting an acknowledgement of connection to the one node;
the one node transmitting data to the central station;
at the central station, the one data channel receiving the data and sending an acknowledgement to the one node;
the one node transmitting a disconnect message after sending data; and
the one data channel receiving the disconnect message and disconnecting from the one node, wherein the data channel is now capable of communicating with another node.
2. A method of managing communications between a central station and a plurality of nodes, the method comprising:
at one of the nodes, transmitting a channel request via an answer channel to a the central station;
receiving the channel request at the central station through the answer channel;
at the central station, determining among a plurality of data channels if a data channel is available;
if a data channel is available, then passing the channel request of the one node from the answer channel to a one data channel, and freeing the answer channel to handle another channel request from a node;
the one data channel transmitting an acknowledgement of connection to the one node;
the one node transmitting data to the central station;
at the central station, the one data channel receiving the data and sending an acknowledgement to the node;
after an elapsed period of time, the one node transmitting a disconnect message; and
the data channel receiving the disconnect message and disconnecting from the one node, and becoming capable of communicating with another node.
3. A central station that communicates with a plurality anodes, comprising:
a transceiver;
a database;
a processor comprising an answer channel, data channels and a data channel manager, the answer channel receiving channel requests from the Bodes and upon receiving a channel request the answer channel requests an unused data channel from the data channel manager, the data channel manager identifies a data channel that is not engaged in communicating with a node and upon identifying an unengaged data channel provides the data channel identification to the answer channel, the answer channel then passing the data channel request to the unengaged data channel, which data channel communicates with a first node, becoming an engaged channel, and the data channel manager frees the answer channel to receive other channel requests;
wherein, the engaged data channel transmits an acknowledgement of connection to the first node;
wherein, the first node transmits data to the central station;
wherein, at the central station, the first data channel receives the data and sends an acknowledgement to the first node;
wherein, the first node transmits a disconnect message after sending data; and
wherein, the data channel receives the disconnect message and disconnects from the first node, wherein the data channel is now capable of communicating with another node.
4. A central station that communicates with a plurality of nodes, comprising:
a transceiver;
a database;
a processor comprising an answer channel, data channels and a data channel manager, the answer channel receiving channel requests from the nodes and upon receiving a channel request the answer channel requests an unused data channel from the data channel manager, the data channel manager identifies a data channel that is not engaged in communicating with a node and upon identifying an unengaged data channel provides the data channel identification to the answer channel, the answer channel then passing the data channel request to the unengaged data channel, which data channel communicates with a first node, becoming an engaged data channel, and the data channel manager frees the answer channel to receive other channel requests;
wherein, the engaged data channel transmits an acknowledgement of connection to the first node;
wherein, the first node transmits data to the central station;
wherein, at the central station, the first data channel receives the data and sends an acknowledgement to the first node;
after an elapsed period of time, the first node transmits a disconnect message; and
the data channel receives the disconnect message and disconnects from the first node, wherein the data channel is now capable of communicating with another node.