System for distributing updates throughout a wireless network of microcontroller devices such as meters

摘要

Disclosed is a wireless network (120) of microcontroller devices (114) which receive memory updates wirelessly. The network (120) comprises a control node (116) and a plurality of device nodes (114a, 114b) in communication with the control node (116). Each of the device nodes (114a, 114b) has a wireless communication path to the control node (116) that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate device nodes (114a) which serve as relays. Each device node (114a, 114b) has a corresponding device comprising an embedded microcontroller with a flash memory. The device nodes (114a, 114b) comprise broadcast nodes (114a) that are configured to receive a microcontroller flash memory update via a broadcast transmission and non-broadcast nodes (114b) that are not configured to receive updates via a broadcast transmission. The control node (116) transmits a microcontroller flash memory update to the plurality of broadcast nodes (114a) over the wireless network (120). The update is first transmitted to broadcast nodes (114a) with direct communication paths to the control node (116). The update is then relayed to by one or more of the broadcast nodes (114a) to other broadcast nodes until it has been transmitted to each broadcast node (114a) in the network (120). The control node (116) determines when all of the broadcast nodes (114a) have received the update and, based on this determination, sends a command to transmit the update from one or more broadcast nodes (114a) to each non-broadcast node (114b).