Gateway round-robin system

1. A gateway control system, the system comprising:

a gateway device;

heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment having components connected to the gateway device, the components forming a single HVAC system;

a remote access mechanism connected to the gateway device;

a round-robin mechanism incorporated in the gateway device;

wherein two or more of the components are configured to form a plurality of hosts;

wherein the round-robin mechanism is configured to individually sync radio frequency communication with each one of the plurality of hosts for a first duration during each round-robin cycle such that the gateway device communicates with only one host of the plurality of hosts at a time;

wherein a lock mechanism of the round-robin mechanism is configured to interrupt the round-robin mechanism to suspend normal round-robin operations of individually syncing the radio frequency communication to the plurality of hosts when a change request received from the remote access mechanism is destined for connection to a specific host;

wherein after a service request for the specific host has been completed, a quick scheduling period is started prior to resuming the round-robin mechanism; and

wherein, during the quick scheduling period, the gateway device is configured to sync the radio frequency communication with a host of the plurality of hosts for a second duration that is less than the first duration.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein, after an interruption for connection with the specific host is completed, the gateway device is configured to return to a previously connected host to complete the round robin.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first duration is a maximum amount of time for each round of the round-robin mechanism divided by the number of hosts of the plurality of hosts, minus time for switching from one host of the plurality of hosts to another host of the plurality of hosts.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein each host of the plurality of hosts is configured to reply to the gateway device at least once in every round as scheduled by the round-robin mechanism.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one host of the plurality of hosts comprises a thermostat, a heater, or a controller.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the round-robin mechanism provides a way that the gateway device synchronizes and communicates with one host of the plurality of hosts at a time to receive and send messages from the one host.

7. A method comprising:

providing a gateway device;

connecting heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment having components to the gateway device;

connecting a remote access mechanism to the gateway device and an internet cloud;

incorporating a round-robin mechanism in the gateway device;

wherein two or more of the components are configured to form a plurality of hosts;

wherein the round-robin mechanism is configured to individually sync radio frequency communication with each one of the plurality of hosts for a first duration during each round-robin cycle such that the gateway device communicates with only one host of the plurality of hosts at a time;

wherein a lock mechanism of the round-robin mechanism is configured to interrupt the round-robin mechanism to suspend normal round-robin operations of individually syncing the radio frequency communication to the plurality of hosts when a change request is destined for a specific host;

wherein after a service request for the specific host has been completed, a quick scheduling period is started prior to resuming the round-robin mechanism; and

wherein, during the quick scheduling period, the gateway device is configured to sync the radio frequency communication with a host of the plurality of hosts that is different from the specific host and for a second duration that is less than the first duration.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the gateway device is configured to regularly poll information from each host of the plurality of hosts that is enrolled in the round-robin mechanism;

the plurality of hosts are polled within a cycle having a predefined maximum amount of time; and

during a polling of the plurality of hosts, the gateway device is configured to pull up a net table associated with each host of the plurality of hosts and overwrite a net table of the gateway device with identity data from the net table of the host and clients of that host that the gateway device is seeking to communicate with at that moment.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the gateway device is configured to send a return message when a requested service of the particular host is incapable of being accomplished;

if the gateway is unable to communicate with the particular host, then a fault status is kept in a memory; and

the fault status remains until the gateway device is able to communicate with the particular host.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein a connection between the gateway device and a host of the plurality of hosts is wireless and wherein the round-robin mechanism provides a way that the gateway device synchronizes and communicates with one host of the plurality of hosts at a time to receive and send messages from the one host.

11. A gateway control system, the system comprising:

a gateway device;

heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment having components connected to the gateway device, the components located within a single building;

a remote access mechanism connected to the gateway device and connected to an internet cloud; and

a round-robin mechanism incorporated in the gateway device;

wherein two or more of the components are configured to form a plurality of hosts;

wherein the round-robin mechanism is configured to individually sync radio frequency communication with each one of the plurality of hosts for a first duration during each round-robin cycle such that the gateway device communicates with only one host of the plurality of hosts at a time;

wherein a lock mechanism is configured to interrupt the round-robin mechanism to suspend normal round-robin operations of individually syncing the radio frequency communication to the plurality of hosts when there is a service request to switch to a specific host;

wherein after the service request for the specific host has been completed, a quick scheduling period is started prior to resuming the round-robin mechanism; and

wherein, during the quick scheduling period, the gateway device is configured to sync the radio frequency communication with at least one host of the plurality of hosts that is different from the specific host and for a second duration that is less than the first duration.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein, after a connection with the specific host is completed, the gateway device is configured to return to the connection to the host of the plurality of hosts that was suspended to finish the round robin.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein:

each host of the plurality of hosts is configured to reply to the gateway device at least once in every round as scheduled by the round-robin mechanism; and

the gateway device is configured to send a return message when a requested service of at least one host of the plurality of hosts is incapable of being accomplished.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein:

at least one host of the plurality of hosts comprises a thermostat, a heater, or a controller; and

if a user on a web changes a thermostat setpoint and consequently a message indicating a new setpoint, destined for the particular host, that goes to the gateway device, then the round-robin mechanism is interrupted for synchronization with the particular host, and the gateway device sends the message of the new setpoint to the particular host which updates a setpoint and returns a report to a server.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the round-robin mechanism provides a way that the gateway device synchronizes and communicates with one host of the plurality of hosts at a time to receive and send messages from the one host.