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US4864563A
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Method for establishing and maintaining a nodal network in a communication system
Assignee: Raytheon Co
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Filing: 1989-01-09
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Granted: 1989-09-05
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Expires: 2009-01-09
Abstract
Abstract A method for establishing and maintaining a nodal network in a communication system is described using a network connectivity matrix at each node of the network. The network connectivity matrix has a plurality of channels each corresponding to a node of the network and storing nodal information about the connectivity status of the node in the network. Each channel (row) of the network connectivity matrix at each node includes a first field for storing data indicating whether a usable line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path exists between the node and each other node of the network, a second field for storing data indicating when the row was last revised, a third field for storing the identification of the most recent transmission received by the node and a fourth field for storing data indicating a quality of the transmission path between the node and each node within LOS of the node. A method of routing information uses the network connectivity matrix to control distribution of messages throughout the network in a global fashion as well as between specific source and destination nodes.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles F. Pavey
- 👤 Billy R. Poston
- 👤 Arthur M. Richard
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 15:48
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L45/00; H04L45/02; H04L45/44; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S370/00; Y10S370/912
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
191 words
A method for adding a node to a network of existing nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; generating repeatedly to the network a sign-on message from the node to be added to the network; computing for each existing node of the network whether each existing node has received the sign-on message from the node to be added; when an existing node has received the sign-on message from the node to be added, transmitting a status message from the existing node to the node to be added, the status message including the network connectivity matrix of the existing node; adding the node in the network when status messages from existing nodes in the network have been received and after a predetermined number of sign-on messages have been generated by the node to be added; and transmitting a global status message from the added node to each other node in the network to indicate that the node has been added to the network.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
191 words
A method for adding a node to a network of existing nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; generating repeatedly to the network a sign-on message from the node to be added to the network; computing for each existing node of the network whether each existing node has received the sign-on message from the node to be added; when an existing node has received the sign-on message from the node to be added, transmitting a status message from the existing node to the node to be added, the status message including the network connectivity matrix of the existing node; adding the node in the network when status messages from existing nodes in the network have been received and after a predetermined number of sign-on messages have been generated by the node to be added; and transmitting a global status message from the added node to each other node in the network to indicate that the node has been added to the network.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of adding a node to a network as described in claim 1 including the steps of: combining the network connectivity matrices in the status messages received by the added node from the existing nodes of the network to generate a network connectivity matrix of the added node; and adding data bits to be network connectivity matrix of the added node representing the status of the node in the network.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of adding a node to a network as described in claim 1 wherein the global status message transmitted from the added node includes the network connectivity matrix of the added node.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of adding a node to a network as described in claim 1 further including the step of: generating an acknowledge message from the node to be added to an existing node acknowledging receipt of the status message.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of adding a node to a network as described in claim 4 including the step of: inhibiting an existing node from responding to repeated sign-on messages from the node to be added for a predetermined time after the existing node transmits the status message.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of adding a node to a network as described in claim 1 further including the steps of: when an existing node has received the global status message transmitted from the added node, updating the network connectivity matrix of the existing node to reflect that the node has been added to the network.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
114 words
A method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes of a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix of each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits for storing information defining the connection of the node in a network; transmitting a query message from a source node to a destination node in response to a query message, evaluating if a node connection change has occurred; and when a connection change has occurred between the source node and the destination node, updating the network connectivity matrices of the source node and destination node to reflect that a connection change between nodes has occurred.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
114 words
A method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes of a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix of each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits for storing information defining the connection of the node in a network; transmitting a query message from a source node to a destination node in response to a query message, evaluating if a node connection change has occurred; and when a connection change has occurred between the source node and the destination node, updating the network connectivity matrices of the source node and destination node to reflect that a connection change between nodes has occurred.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
75 words
The method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 7 wherein the step of evaluating a connection change includes: determining whether the source node received a response message to a query message from the destination node; and if the source node did not receive a response to the query message, updating the network connectivity matrix of the source node to reflect that a connectivity change has occurred.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 7 wherein data bits of the network connectivity matrix at each node includes data indicating the existence of a usable line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path between the source node and each other node of the network.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 9 wherein the step of updating the network connectivity matrix of the source node includes: changing the LOS transmission path data in the first field of data bits of the source node network connectivity matrix corresponding to a destination node.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
77 words
The method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 9 wherein data bits of the network connectivity matrix at each node further includes a second field indicating when the last revision occurred, a third field indicating the most recent transmission received by the node, and a fourth field indicating a quality of the LOS transmission path between the source node and each node within LOS of the source node.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 11 wherein the step of updating the network connectivity matrix of the source node further includes: incrementing the connectivity data in the second field of data bits of the source node network connectivity matrix corresponding to the destination node.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 10 further including the step of: transmitting a global status message from the destination node to each other node in the network to indicate that a connectivity change between the source node and the destination node has occurred.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method for identifying connectivity changes between nodes in a network of nodes as described in claim 13 wherein the global status message includes the updated network connectivity matrix of the source node.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
128 words
A method for maintaining a network of nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; when a usable line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path exists between a source node and a destination node, comparing the network connectivity matrices of the source node and the destination node to determine if the network connectivity matrix of the source node has been revised later than the network connectivity matrix of the destination node; and if the network connectivity matrix of the source node has been revised later than the network connectivity matrix of the destination node, updating the network connectivity matrix of the destination node.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
128 words
A method for maintaining a network of nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; when a usable line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path exists between a source node and a destination node, comparing the network connectivity matrices of the source node and the destination node to determine if the network connectivity matrix of the source node has been revised later than the network connectivity matrix of the destination node; and if the network connectivity matrix of the source node has been revised later than the network connectivity matrix of the destination node, updating the network connectivity matrix of the destination node.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
104 words
The method for maintaining a network of nodes as described in claim 15 wherein the network connectivity matrix at each node includes a first field for storing connectivity data indicating whether a usable line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path exists between the node and each other node of the network, a second field for storing connectivity data indicating when the data was last revised, a third field for storing connectivity data about a most recent transmission received by the node, and a fourth field for storing data indicating a quality of the LOS transmission path between the node and each node within LOS of the node.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
104 words
The method for maintaining a network of nodes as described in claim 16 wherein the existence of a usable LOS transmission path between the source node and the destination node is determined by the steps of: comparing the data in the first field of data corresponding to the destination node in the source node network connectivity matrix with the data in the first field of data corresponding to the source node in the destination node network connectivity matrix; and when the compared data has the same predetermined status, indicating that a usable LOS transmission path exists between the source node and the destination node.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
100 words
The method for maintaining a network of nodes as described in claim 17 including the steps of: comparing data in the second field of data corresponding to the destination node in the source node network connectivity matrix with the data in the second field of data corresponding to the source node in the destination node network connectivity matrix; and if the data in the second field of the source node network connectivity matrix differs from the data in the second field of the destination network connectivity matrix, updating the first and second fields of the destination node network connectivity matrix.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method for maintaining a network of nodes as described in claim 16 wherein the step of updating the network connectivity matrix of the destination node includes the step of calculating the data in the fourth field indicating the quality of the LOS transmission path between the source node and the destination node.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method for maintaining a network of nodes as described in claim 15 further including the step of transmitting a global status message from the source node to each other node in the network, the global status message including the updated network connectivity matrix of the source node.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
134 words
A method for routing of information between nodes of a network of nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; transmitting from a source node a global status message which includes information to be routed between the nodes of the network; when another node in the network has received the global status message from the source node, calculating a number of relay nodes needed to transmit the global status message from the other node to additional nodes of the network; and retransmitting the global status message from the other node to the additional nodes of the network based on the calculated number of relay nodes needed.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
134 words
A method for routing of information between nodes of a network of nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; transmitting from a source node a global status message which includes information to be routed between the nodes of the network; when another node in the network has received the global status message from the source node, calculating a number of relay nodes needed to transmit the global status message from the other node to additional nodes of the network; and retransmitting the global status message from the other node to the additional nodes of the network based on the calculated number of relay nodes needed.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
197 words
A method for routing a message between a source node and a destination node of a network of nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: (a) compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node of the network, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; (b) transmitting a message from the source node to a relay node in the network, the relay node located at a location in the network intermediate of the source node and the destination node; (c) when the destination node is within a line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path of the relay node, transmitting the message from the relay node to the destination node; (d) when the destination node is not within the line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path of the relay node, calculating a location of a second relay node in the network; (e) transmitting the message from the relay node to the second relay node; and (f) repeating steps (c) and (d) for the second relay node and any additional relay nodes to identify additional relay nodes until a relay node is within the line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path of the destination node.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
197 words
A method for routing a message between a source node and a destination node of a network of nodes in a communication system, comprising the steps of: (a) compiling a network connectivity matrix at each node of the network, the network connectivity matrix comprising a plurality of data bits defining the connection of the node in the network; (b) transmitting a message from the source node to a relay node in the network, the relay node located at a location in the network intermediate of the source node and the destination node; (c) when the destination node is within a line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path of the relay node, transmitting the message from the relay node to the destination node; (d) when the destination node is not within the line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path of the relay node, calculating a location of a second relay node in the network; (e) transmitting the message from the relay node to the second relay node; and (f) repeating steps (c) and (d) for the second relay node and any additional relay nodes to identify additional relay nodes until a relay node is within the line-of-sight (LOS) transmission path of the destination node.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1992-09-04 | 1993-03-06 | 1993-09-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1996-09-04 | 1997-03-06 | 1997-09-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2000-09-04 | 2001-03-06 | 2001-09-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |