主权项 |
1. In a commodity processing and/or power distribution system having distributed network components, hereinafter nodes, each node having communication capability, a method for affecting message communication between the nodes, the method comprising:
grouping a plurality less than all of the nodes into a first tier of a communication network and grouping the remaining nodes into at least a second tier of the communication network; determining, relative to each node, intra-tier family nodes, wherein designation for each family node includes an address and a location indicator, and wherein each family node is so designated based on at least one of the criteria; a node that has sufficient received signal strength to provide reliable connectivity with another node using minimum transmit power; a node that has sufficient received signal strength to provide reliable connectivity with another node using medium transmit power; and a node that has sufficient received signal strength to provide reliable connectivity with another node using medium to maximum transmit power; initiating a route request from a second tier source node to a first tier or second tier destination node, the route request including the address of the destination node and the location indicator for the destination node; and unicasting the route request (RREQ) to a family node of the source node based upon the location indicator to establish an inter or intra-tier route, wherein the route request including a latency requirement indication, and wherein the destination node is responsive to receipt of the route request (RREQ) and the latency requirement indication to provide a route reply message (RREP) or a route error message (RERR), the source node being responsive to the route reply message (RREP) to begin data communication and further being responsive to the route error message (RERR) to resend the route request. |