LORAWAN GATEWAY NETWORK AND METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to the extension of a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN), especially a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), specification for wireless battery powered systems in a regional, national or even global network to provide a solution, with which LoRaWAN-compatible end devices also benefit from range extension, which is achieved by dividing the gateways into several front-end gateways communicating with each other and with each other via a wireless multi-hop communication network and at least one border gateway.

Claims

1. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) with at least one network server (NS), several gateways (G) and several end devices (ED), characterised in that a gateway (G) has an ACK signal generation unit (ACK).

2. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the ACK signal generation unit (ACK) has a processor and a memory.

3. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) has different gateway types (Gn).

4. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 3, characterised in that the LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) has a border gateway (BGD) and a front-end gateway (FGD).

5. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the front-end gateway (FGD) has the ACK signal generation unit (ACK).

6. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the front-end gateway (FGD) has a first front-end gateway communication port for communication with an end device (ED) and a second front-end gateway communication port for communication with another front-end gateway (FGD) and/or a border gateway (BGD).

7. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that each front-end gateway (FGD) is suitable for wireless point-to-point communication with a variety of end devices (EDn) using single-hop LoRa or FSK using the LoRaWAN protocol.

8. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the front-end gateway (FGD) and the border gateway (BGD) are combined with a plurality of mesh gateway devices (MGD) and at least one of the mesh gateway devices (MGD) does not have a direct IP connection (IP).

9. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that a border gateway (BGD) is provided for communication by means of a standard IP connection and using the LoRaWAN protocol with the network server (NS).

10. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 9, characterised in that the border gateway (BGD) has a first border gateway communication port for communication with a network server (NS) and a second border gateway communication port for communication with a front-end gateway (FGD).

11. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 4, characterised in that the front-end gateways (FGD) are each integrated with a border gateway (BGD) in a mesh gateway (MGD).

12. LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) is a multi-hop wireless network.

13. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1), wherein the LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) has a plurality of end devices (ED), a plurality of gateways (Gn) and a network server (NS), comprising the steps of Generation of a message in a end device (ED) Sending the message from the end device (ED) to a gateway (G) Receiving the message on the gateway (G) Generation of an ACK signal in the gateway (G) Sending the ACK signal from the gateway (G) to the end device (ED)

14. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that the message is sent from the end device (ED) to the gateway (G) via a single-hop connection.

15. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that the ACK signal is sent from the gateway (G) to the end device (ED) via a single-hop connection.

16. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that the first gateway (G) forwards the message to a second gateway (G) and/or the network server (NS).

17. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that the ACK signal is generated and/or sent by a front-end gateway (FGD).

18. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that the network communicates with the network server (NS) via a standard IP connection (IP) using the LoRaWAN protocol.

19. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that at least one front-end gateway (FGD) communicates with at least one border gateway (BGD) via a wireless point-to-point connection.

20. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that at least one of the front-end gateways (FGD) communicates with at least one of the border gateways (BGD) via a wired network connection.

21. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that at least one of the front-end gateways (FGD) communicates with at least one of the border gateways (BGD) via a WLAN network.

22. Method for communication in a LoRaWAN mesh gateway network (1) according to claim 13, characterised in that at least one of the front-end gateways (FGD) communicates with at least one of the border gateways (BGD) via an LTE network.

Description

[0063] The invention is explained in more detail below by way of example with reference to the drawings. These show in

[0064] FIG. 1 Standard LoRa network

[0065] FIG. 2 LoRaWAN network with end devices, a network server and mesh gateways with an ACK generation unit

[0066] FIG. 3 a Schematic structure of an end device

[0067] FIG. 3 b Schematic structure of a front-end gateway

[0068] FIG. 3 c Schematic structure of a border gateway

[0069] FIG. 3 d Schematic structure of a mesh gateway

[0070] FIG. 4 LoRaWAN network with end devices, front-end gateways, border gateways and a network server

[0071] FIG. 5 LoRaWAN network with end devices, mesh gateways and a network server

[0072] FIG. 1 shows a standard LoRa network with the typical star topology, in which one or more end devices EDn are connected directly (single hop) via communication using LoRa modulation or FSK modulation FSK to gateways MGD1, MGD2 and communicate via gateways MGD3-7 with the internet network server NS using a standard internet protocol IP.

[0073] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention in which front-end gateways FGDn and border gateways BGDn are combined in one device. These so-called mesh gateways MGDn consist of a combination of front-end gateways FGDn and border gateways BGDn. The mesh gateways MGDn communicate with each other via multi-hop communication network MHF and at least one mesh gateway MGD is connected to the network server NS via the standard internet protocol IP.

[0074] While in a conventional standard LoRa network end devices EDn are directly connected to the gateways Gn by means of a single-hop communication network, according to the invention the gateways Gn are divided into several front-end gateways FGDn and border gateways BGDn. The front-end gateways FGDn now communicate with each other via a multi-hop communication network MHD, while at least one of the front-end gateways FGDn also communicates with a border gateway BGDn. This then sends the data directly to the network server NS by means of an Internet protocol IP. Alternatively and in a particularly advantageous embodiment, the front-end gateways FGDn and the border gateways BGDn are combined in one device, namely in so-called “mesh gateways” MGD. Hereby, the integrated front-end gateways FGDn communicate with each other by means of a multi-hop communication network MHD, while at least one integrated border gateway BGDn is connected to the network server NS via the standard Internet protocol IP.

[0075] FIG. 3 shows schematically the structure of the components arranged in the network. An end device ED (FIG. 3 a) comprises, in addition to the other components owed to the actual function of the end device, a communication port only to a gateway FGD, MGD, the connection is wireless via LoRa (chirp frequency spread modulation) or FSK (frequency modulation).

[0076] A front-end gateway FGD (FIG. 3 b) has a communication port both to an end device ED for exchanging data and sending the ACK signal, and to a border gateway BGD. The connection to the border gateway BGD can in particular be made via a meshed multi-hop network, while the connection to the end device ED is a single-hop connection. The two communication ports of the front-end gateway FGD use different communication channels, so that the sender can be assigned via the communication channel used.

[0077] A border gateway BGD (FIG. 3 c) has one communication ports each to a front-end gateway FGD and to the network server NS. The border gateway BGD then sends the data of an end device ED, which was sent to the border gateway BGD via single-hop and multi-hop connection, directly to the network server NS by means of an Internet protocol IP. The communication of the border gateway BGD with the network server NS can be wired or wireless. Each communication port of the border gateway BGD uses its own communication channel, which is different from the other communication ports.

[0078] A mesh gateway MGD is a combination of front-end gateway FGD and border gateways BGD in one device. Therefore, the mesh gateway MGD has one communication port each to an end device ED for exchanging data and sending the ACK signal, to a gateway FGD, MGD and to the network server NS. The communication ports of the mesh gateway MGD use different communication channels so that the sender can be assigned via the communication channel used.

[0079] FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the invention in the LoRaWAN network, in which it divides the gateways Gn into several front-end gateways FGDn and at least one border gateway BGDn, where the front-end gateways FGDn communicate with each other via a multi-hop communication network MHF and at least one of the front-end gateways FGDn communicates with a border gateway BGDn, which then exchanges data directly with the network server NS using Internet protocol IP. A front-end gateway FGDn has an ACK signal generation unit and, upon receiving a message from a end device EDn, sends an ACK signal ACK to the end device EDn that sent the message. This ensures that a message from the end device EDn to a front-end gateway FGDn is correctly sent to the mesh gateway MGDn. The end device does not require to have a permanently active download receive window and therefore be permanently active, as with a class C end device, but can also be, for example, a class A or B end device according to the LoRaWAN specification. The power consumption and the operating time of the end device EDn are thus increased. The failure of an end device EDn due to an internal error is avoided.

[0080] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention in which front-end gateways FGDn and border gateways BGDn are combined in one device. These so-called mesh gateways MGDn consist of a combination of front-end gateways FGDn and border gateways BGDn. The mesh gateways MGDn communicate with each other via multi-hop communication network MHF and at least one mesh gateway MGD is connected to the network server NS via the standard internet protocol IP. A mesh gateway MGDn has an ACK signal generation unit and, upon receiving a message from an end device EDn, sends an ACK signal ACK to the end device EDn that sent the message. This ensures that a message from the end device EDn to a mesh gateway MGDn is correctly sent to the mesh gateway MGDn. The end device does not need to have a permanently active download receive window and therefore be permanently active, as in a class C end device, but can also be, for example, a class A or B end device according to the LoRaWAN specification. The power consumption and the operating time of the end device EDn are thus increased. The failure of an EDn end device due to an internal error is avoided.

[0081] As can be seen from the examples, this type of communication and division of the gateways Gn into front-end gateways FGDn and border gateways BGDn considerably expands the LoRaWAN network, whereby LoRaWAN-compatible end devices EDn can still be used, which can be distributed and networked far into impassable areas that cannot be reached with conventional communication networks.

[0082] The front-end gateways FGDn and the border gateways BGDn are connected to each other via a meshed multi-hop communication network MHD. This means that the front-end gateway FGDn does not need a direct internet connection 8 while it communicates with the standard end devices EDn. The range of the LoRaWAN mesh gateway network 1 is significantly extended because the front-end gateway FGDn is connected to the border gateways BGDn via the meshed multi-hop communication network MHF and can forward the data of the end devices EDn to the internet network server NS. This removes the range limitation of the direct connection between end devices EDn and gateways Gn envisaged by the LoRaWAN standard.

[0083] At the same time, the invention provides full compatibility with commercially available LoRa end devices EDn because the front-end gateway FGDn and the standard LoRaWAN communication protocol adhere to the standard LoRa connection. On the other hand, the border gateway BGDn also uses the standard Internet protocol IP for communication with the LoRaWAN network server NS, so that complete compatibility is also established on this side. The invention therefore enables range extension of LoRaWAN networks by interposing a multi-hop communication network MHF by means of front-end gateways FGDn, thereby maintaining full compatibility with the LoRaWAN specification. This type of LoRaWAN mesh gateway network 1 is particularly suitable in remote, rural areas where there is neither a wired internet connection nor suitable mobile network coverage (5G, 4G/LTE, 3G) and thus the star-shaped network topology envisaged by the LoRa network, in which the gateway Gn requires a direct internet connection IP, is not possible.

[0084] Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. Further embodiments are possible without abandoning the basic idea.

REFERENCE LIST

[0085] 1 LoRaWAN mesh gateway network [0086] ED, EDn End devices [0087] G, Gn Gateways [0088] NS Internet network server [0089] IP Internet Protocol [0090] FGD, FGDn Front-end gateways [0091] BGD, BGDn Border Gateways [0092] MHF Multi-hop communication network [0093] MGD Mesh gateways [0094] FSK FSK modulation [0095] WN Wired connection