Granted Patent B2

US 12,212,463 · App. 18/200,124 · Granted Jan 28, 2025

Inventors: Matthew Flannery Knight (Boston, MA); John Douglas Penning (Washington, DC)

Assignee: Alarm.com Incorporated

H04L41/0856H04L41/084H04L41/12H04L45/02H04W40/248Y02D30/70

Abstract

Claims (59)

1. A method comprising:

monitoring, by a system, a mesh network of node devices, wherein, at a first time:

the mesh network comprises a first plurality of node devices that includes a first node device and excludes a second node device;

each of the first plurality of node devices stores information identifying a respective data routing configuration; and

the second node device is network route agnostic and does not store information identifying a particular data routing configuration;

determining, by the system, that (i) the first node device has been removed from the mesh network and (ii) the second node device has replaced the first node device in the mesh network, such that at a second time after the first time, the mesh network comprises a second plurality of node devices that excludes the first node device and includes the second node device;

accessing, by the system, network topology data that specifies one or more data routing configurations, wherein each data routing configuration:

is associated with a respective node device of the first plurality of node devices; and

specifies a set of routing instructions for the respective node device to communicate with other node devices of the first plurality of node devices;

identifying, by the system and from among the one or more data routing configurations specified by the network topology data, the particular data routing configuration that is associated with the first node device; and

providing, from the system and to the second node device, data that specifies the particular data routing configuration that is associated with the first node device to cause the second node device to become, at a third time after the second time, network route specific and maintain information identifying the particular data routing configuration.

2. The method of claim 1 , comprising providing the data from the system to the second node device over one or more networks that are separate from the mesh network.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising determining a particular communication pathway for providing, from the system to the second node device, the data that specifies the particular data routing configuration for the first node device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the particular communication pathway comprises at least part of a communication pathway that was used to communicate data between the system and the first node device at the first time.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

determining that the second node device has replaced the first node device comprises determining that the second node device has connected to the mesh network, and

accessing the network topology data is responsive to determining that the second node device has connected to the mesh network.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the second node device has replaced the first node device comprises determining that, at the second time, the second node device is within communication range to each of a set of node devices of the mesh network, the set of node devices being the same set of node devices to which the first node device was within communication range at the first time.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the second node device has replaced the first node device comprises determining that, at the second time, the second node device is capable of communicating with each of a set of node devices of the mesh network, the set of node devices being the same set of node devices with which the first node device was capable of communicating at the first time.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the second node device has replaced the first node device comprises determining that the second node device has a set of communication capabilities, the set of communication capabilities including at least one communication capability of the first node device.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the set of communication capabilities includes one or more communication channels over which the second node device is configured to communicate with other node devices.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

each of the first plurality of node devices of the mesh network is associated with:

a network identifier that uniquely identifies the mesh network; and

a device identifier that uniquely identifies the node device, and

the particular data routing configuration for the first node device specifies a device identifier for at least one other node device of the mesh network with which the first node device was to communicate.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the first node device has been removed from the mesh network comprises determining that the first node device is not in communication with any other node devices of the mesh network.

12. The method of claim 1 , comprising, prior to determining that the first node device has been removed from the mesh network, determining, by the system, to store back up data indicating the particular data routing configuration for the first node device,

wherein the network topology data accessed by the system includes the stored back up data.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

initiating, by the system, a network discovery process to cause each of the first plurality of node devices of the mesh network to determine a respective data routing configuration;

after initiating the network discovery process, receiving, by the system, data that specifies the one or more data routing configurations; and

storing, by the system, data that specifies each of the one or more data routing configurations as the network topology data.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network topology data includes one or more routing tables, linked lists, or multidimensional arrays that specify communication pathways for each of the first plurality of node devices of the mesh network, wherein each communication pathway enables a particular node device of the mesh network to communicate with another node device of the mesh network.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media coupled to at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

monitoring a mesh network of node devices, wherein, at a first time:

the mesh network comprises a first plurality of node devices that includes a first node device and excludes a second node device;

each of the first plurality of node devices stores information identifying a respective data routing configuration; and

the second node device is network route agnostic and does not store information identifying a particular data routing configuration;

determining that (i) the first node device has been removed from the mesh network and (ii) the second node device has replaced the first node device in the mesh network, such that at a second time after the first time, the mesh network comprises a second plurality of node devices that excludes the first node device and includes the second node device;

accessing network topology data that specifies one or more data routing configurations, wherein each data routing configuration:

is associated with a respective node device of the first plurality of node devices; and

specifies a set of routing instructions for the respective node device to communicate with other node devices of the first plurality of node devices;

identifying, from among the one or more data routing configurations specified by the network topology data, the particular data routing configuration that is associated with the first node device; and

providing, to the second node device, data that specifies the particular data routing configuration that is associated with the first node device to cause the second node device to become, at a third time after the second time, network route specific and maintain information identifying the particular data routing configuration.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15 , the operations comprising providing the data to the second node device over one or more networks that are separate from the mesh network.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15 , the operations comprising determining a particular communication pathway for providing, to the second node device, the data that specifies the particular data routing configuration for the first node device, wherein the particular communication pathway comprises at least part of a communication pathway that was used to communicate data to the first node device at the first time.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15 , wherein:

determining that the second node device has replaced the first node device comprises determining that the second node device has connected to the mesh network, and

accessing the network topology data is responsive to determining that the second node device has connected to the mesh network.

19. A system including one or more computers and at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more computers having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the one or more computers, causes the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

monitoring a mesh network of node devices, wherein, at a first time, the mesh network comprises a first plurality of node devices that includes a first node device and excludes a second node device;

determining that (i) the first node device has been removed from the mesh network and (ii) the second node device has replaced the first node device in the mesh network, such that at a second time after the first time, the mesh network comprises a second plurality of node devices that excludes the first node device and includes the second node device,

wherein determining that the second node device has replaced the first node device comprises determining that, at the second time, the second node device is capable of communicating with each of a set of node devices of the mesh network, the set of node devices being the same set of node devices with which the first node device was capable of communicating at the first time;

accessing network topology data that specifies one or more data routing configurations, wherein each data routing configuration:

is associated with a respective node device of the first plurality of node devices; and

specifies a set of routing instructions for the respective node device to communicate with other node devices of the first plurality of node devices;

identifying, from among the one or more data routing configurations specified by the network topology data, a particular data routing configuration that is associated with the first node device; and

providing, to the second node device, data that specifies the particular data routing configuration that is associated with the first node device.

Continuity (6)

References Cited (86)