Network architecture for data communication
View Patent ↗This invention relates to a network architecture for data communication between data sources and data destinations via network nodes and at least one data concentrator. According to the invention the nodes ( 2, 4 ) are conceived to communicate with a data concentrator ( 1 ) in both directions either via a permanently operative network ( 8 ) in the multihop mode or via an occasionally operative network ( 5 ) in wireless connection with mobile user nodes ( 6 ) in the nomadic mode. Means for commutation are provided to detect faulty multihop nodes and to activate nomadic nodes instead until the fault disappears, in order to maintain the overall functionality of the network. Moreover the network according to the invention allows to share the data collected by mobile users with other mobile users, thus forming a peer-to-peer network.
1. A method, comprising:
communicating, from a mobile user node, a poll message to one or more nodes within a communication range, the poll message being configured such that:
a first node of one or more nodes within the communication range configured to operate in a first mode is caused to respond to the poll message by communicating data collected by the first node to the mobile user node; and
a second node of one or more nodes within the communication range configured to operate in a second mode is caused to ignore the poll message;
receiving a data dump request from a data concentrator within the communication range; and
communicating, in response to the data dump request, an amount of data collected by the mobile user node to the data concentrator.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the first mode is a nomadic mode; and
the second mode is a multihop mode.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the amount of data comprises all data collected by the mobile user node since a previous data dump request was received from a previously-encountered data concentrator.
4. A method, comprising:
receiving, at a network node operating in a first mode, a query message communicated by a data concentrator;
in response to receiving the query message, converting the network node from operating in the first mode to operating in a second mode;
forwarding the received query message to at least one other network node; and
performing one of the following:
in response to receiving a response message from the at least one other network node during a predetermined amount of time, storing at least a portion of the contents of the response message and transmitting an answer message to the concentrator; or
in response to not receiving a response from the at least one other network node during the predetermined amount of time, transmitting an answer message to the concentrator.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising converting the network node from operating in the second mode to operating in the first mode.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
the first mode is a nomadic mode; and
the second mode is a multihop mode.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one other network node is within a predefined communication range of the network node.