207 results about "Beacon period" patented technology

A protocol, method, and apparatus for managing network communications which are particularly well suited for ATM communications across a wireless medium. Contiguous time slots within a frame are allocated to each node having traffic to send. Each node is assured a nominal bandwidth, and excess bandwidth is distributed by demand. The allocation of excess bandwidth can be dependent upon the size of the buffer at each node, as well as the time-criticality of each message. Nodes communicate their requests for allocation by appending such control information to the first of their transmitted packets. The allocation, of each node's transmit and receive time slots, is transmitted to all the nodes at the beginning of each frame. Thereafter, each node need not participate on the network until their allocated time periods, thereby allowing portable devices to enter inactive states to conserve power. The network is operated in a connection mode; connections are established in a relatively non-interfering manner by the use of periodically occurring beacons. Inactive, unconnected, nodes need only monitor the network during these beacon periods, further allowing for power conservation.

A system and method for providing a variety of medium access and power management methods are disclosed. A defined frame structure allows a hub and a node to use said methods for secured or unsecured communications with each other. Contended access is available during a random access phase. The node uses an alternate doubling of a backoff counter to reduce interference and resolve collisions with other nodes attempting to communicate with the hub in the random access phase. Non-contended access is also available, and the hub may schedule reoccurring or one-time allocation intervals for the node. The hub and the node may also establish polled and posted allocation intervals on an as needed basis. The node manages power usage by being at active mode at times during the beacon period when the node is expected to transmit or receive frames.

A method synchronizes transmissions through a channel in a wireless communications network including a device and a multiple coordinators within transmission range of the device. A superframe is defined to include a beacon period, a contention access period, and a contention free period. The beacon period includes multiple slots. In each coordinator, a particular beacon slot is selected to be non-conflicting with beacon slots selected by other coordinators. Beacons are then transmitted to the device by the coordinators at time periods associated with the selected slots.

A method of negotiating channel sharing between adjacent cells when there are a plurality of cells in a power line communication (PLC) network. The method includes attempting to negotiate the channel sharing during a minimum contention access period (CAP) which starts after a maximum beacon period ends and ends before a CAP of each PLC cell ends, wherein the maximum beacon period indicates a maximum size that a beacon frame in a super-frame transmitted from a coordinator of each PLC cell can have. When an attempt to negotiate the channel sharing is made using this method, interference does not occur during channel sharing negotiation, and effective channel sharing can be achieved, thereby eliminating interference between adjacent cells.

In network groups adjacent to each other constructed by communication apparatuses notifying beacons, the communication apparatuses can exchange necessary data between themselves, avoiding interference. Communication stations in a group set one beacon period to operate the network group. A communication station in the group acquires a beacon period and a reservation period of an adjacent group, sets its own reservation period avoiding the acquired beacon period and reservation period, and as necessary, enters the adjacent group to exchange necessary data. A device shared by a plurality of users does not belong to any group, and a communication apparatus in a different group temporarily enters the beacon period as necessary to exchange data.

Multiple nodes communicate using repeating patterns of superframes, where each of the superframes includes a beacon period. A beacon slot in a first Media Access Slot (MAS) is reserved by the plurality of nodes. This reserved slot occurs in the beginning of the beacon period and is used for communicating information relating to the superframe configuration. This information may involve adjustments to the number of MASs reserved for beaconing.

A communication bandwidth is divided into a beacon period in which all master stations compete for transmission of a beacon packet, a first carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) period in which only authorized specific stations are allowed to compete for access, and a second CSMA period in which all stations are allowed to compete for access. The master stations exchange information with each other about a communication bandwidth being used in the first CSMA period, thereby calculating a communication bandwidth which can be used by each communication system in the first CSMA period, based on the information.

The present application describes a system and method of managing beacon periods in a distributed wireless network. According to an embodiment, devices move their beacons to earliest available beacon slots in the beacon period and contract their beacon periods to increase data periods for higher data throughput of the wireless network. According to another embodiment, devices detect and resolve their beacon collision to maintain the integrity of their beacons for effective exchange of medium access and control messages as needed in a distributed wireless network.

There is provided a powerline network that includes a number of stations including a central coordinator for coordinating transmissions of each of the stations. The central coordinator is configurable to transmit a beacon at an interval based on a phase of a powerline cycle. The interval of the beacon can be substantially equal to two periods of the powerline cycle. The interval of the beacon includes a reserved region including a persistent allocation region and a non-persistent allocation region. The beacon also includes a broadcast message including a persistent schedule and a non-persistent schedule. The persistent schedule is valid for a current beacon period and a number of subsequent beacon periods as indicated by the beacon, while the non-persistent schedule is valid for a single beacon period. The persistent allocation region and the non-persistent allocation region are determined based on the persistent schedule and the non-persistent schedule, respectively.

Provided is a method and apparatus, for wirelessly transmitting large data in a more efficient and stable manner. In particular, provided is a data slot allocation method used to transmit uncompressed audio / video (AV) data. The data slot allocation method includes transmitting a first superframe during a first beacon period; receiving a data slot request frame from at least one wireless device, which belongs to a network, during a data slot reservation period included in the first superframe; transmitting a response frame to the at least one wireless device during the data slot reservation period in response to the data slot request frame; and transmitting a-second superframe including one or more data slots allocated to the at least one wireless device during a second beacon period.

Multiple nodes communicate using repeating patterns of superframes, where each of the superframes includes a beacon period. A beacon slot in a first Media Access Slot (MAS) is reserved by the plurality of nodes. This reserved slot occurs in the beginning of the beacon period and is used for communicating information relating to the superframe configuration. This information may involve adjustments to the number of MASs reserved for beaconing.

A method for synchronizing communications between first and second piconets is provided. It is determined whether superframes corresponding to the first and second piconets are synchronized according to respective beacon period start times from the detected beacons. When the superframes are not synchronized, a type of overlap is determined. The type of overlap includes 1) an overlap between beacon periods, 2) an overlap between reservation periods and 3) an overlap between beacon periods and reservation periods of the superframes. The first and second piconets are merged into a single piconet according to rules based on the determined type of overlap.

The embodiment of the invention discloses a data transmission method and a data transmission apparatus, and is used for switching channels, shortening switching periods and improving data interaction reliability by virtue of a frequency hopping-retransmission mechanism established in a superframe CPF (Content Free Period). The method of the embodiment of the invention comprises the following steps of: selecting two channels as a convention channel and a spare channel, and dividing the superframe CPF into three SCFPs (Superframe Content Free Period), wherein a second SCFP is used for retransmitting data which fails to be transmitted by a node in a first SCFP, a third SCFP is used for retransmitting the data which fails to be transmitted by the node in the second SCFP, and a time slot sequence of each node in the first SCFP is same as the time slot sequence in the second SCFP; broadcasting a beacon frame on the convention channel in a beacon period of the superframe, wherein the beacon frame contains channel selection information and time slot division information; and receiving the data sent by the node, and sending a confirmation frame.

A smart antenna steering algorithm operates in response to different functions monitored by the media access control (MAC) layer within a client station. One function is when the MAC layer indicates that the client station has been placed in a power savings mode. In response, the antenna algorithm stores an index of the currently selected antenna. Another function is when the MAC layer indicates that the client station has not been synchronized, associated and authenticated with an access point. In response, the algorithm selects an omni-directional antenna beam as the default antenna beam. Another function is when the MAC layer provides beacon period synchronization information to the antenna steering algorithm so that the algorithm can update its own timer.

Multiple nodes communicate using repeating patterns of superframes, where each of the superframes includes a beacon period. A beacon slot in a first Media Access Slot (MAS) is reserved by the plurality of nodes. This reserved slot occurs in the beginning of the beacon period and is used for communicating information relating to the superframe configuration. This information may involve adjustments to the number of MASs reserved for beaconing.

The present invention relates to a method of reducing beacon collision probability in a communication network supporting control channels comprising beacon periods divided into beacon slots, each beacon period being followed by a contention period. In the method a communication device (101) operating in the communication network first chooses (503) an available beacon slot for transmission of a first type of beacon for exchanging network topology information with other communication devices operating in the communication network. Then the communication device transmits (515) a beacon of a second type comprising an identifier of the communication device and the chosen beacon slot for the transmission of the beacon of the first type, the beacon of the second type being transmitted in the contention period.

A method for transmitting information in a communication network of multiple nodes, in which information transmission is partitioned into successive superframes, and in which each superframe is partitioned into a beacon period followed by a data period, which may consist of a contention free period (CFP), and each beacon period and CFP of the data period is partitioned into timeslots. The method includes allocating to at least a first node of the multiple nodes a designated timeslot in which to transmit data in at least one of a plurality of superframes, and allocating to at least a second node of the multiple nodes the same designated timeslot in which to transmit information during at least one subsequent superframe.

A communication band is divided into: a beacon period in which every master station transmits a beacon packet in competition with one another; a guaranteed-band period (e.g., a TDMA period or an FDMA period) in which only a specific permitted station is allowed access; and a CSMA period in which every station is allowed access in competition with one another. Each master station exchanges information of a communication band used in the guaranteed-band period, and based on the respective information, a communication band available to the master station's own communications system in the guaranteed-band period is calculated.

A system for dynamically shifting beacons in a distributed wireless network and a method thereof are disclosed. In a medium access control for a wireless personal area network based on a mobile ad-hoc network, beacons are shifted to other free lower slots in order to reduce the size of a beacon period. Also, collisions that may occur during the shifting of the beacons are detected and avoided. According to the system and method, the size of the beacon period for transmitting data can sufficiently be secured by dynamically reducing the size of the beacon period without collisions.

The present invention relates to a system and to a method for QoS (Quality of Service) support in a ubiquitous sensor network. The system for QoS support in a ubiquitous sensor network includes a mesh coordinator and nodes. The mesh coordinator organizes a super frame containing a dedicated QoS data transmission period, and synchronizes each of the nodes constituted into one network with the abovementioned super frame. The nodes create a beacon frame containing information on whether or not to set QoS, to broadcast the beacon frame in a dedicated beacon period of the super frame if QoS data transmission is needed, to create a QoS data frame with a set priority, and to transmit the QoS data frame to the dedicated QoS data transmission period of the super frame in the case of transmitting QoS data. The present invention divides QoS data from general data to improve the quality of data transmission and ensure stability, and prioritizes QoS data to transmit the most important data among QoS data in a quick and stable manner.

A wireless network system using a cyclic frame including a beacon period (BP), a mesh contention access period (MCAP), and a slot period (SP). The cyclic frame has a frame structure that shares a channel hopping sequence of a node, thereby sharing the channel hopping sequence that operates as an existing mesh node without generating an additional channel hopping sequence, and supporting mesh and star type topologies together in order to efficiently operate a network.

In network groups adjacent to each other constructed by communication apparatuses notifying beacons, the communication apparatuses can exchange necessary data between themselves, avoiding interference. Communication stations in a group set one beacon period to operate the network group. A communication station in the group acquires a beacon period and a reservation period of an adjacent group, sets its own reservation period avoiding the acquired beacon period and reservation period, and as necessary, enters the adjacent group to exchange necessary data. A device shared by a plurality of users does not belong to any group, and a communication apparatus in a different group temporarily enters the beacon period as necessary to exchange data.

A method of transmitting data over a plurality of channels, said channels forming a bonded channel comprising a bonded channel superframe, the bonded channel superframe comprising a bonded channel beacon period and a bonded channel data period;broadcasting a control message on a bonded channel superframe, said control message indicating that subsequent transmission will be over distinct channels, each of said channels comprising a distinct superframe comprising a beacon period and a data period, andtransmitting in each of the distinct channels a sequence of superframes, each superframe comprising a distinct beacon period followed by a distinct data period.

A system and method for minimizing or preventing interference between wireless networks is disclosed. A network hub broadcasts a beacon signal within repeating beacon periods. The position of the beacon signal shifts within each beacon period based upon a predetermined pseudo-random sequence. The beacon signal includes data identifying the current beacon shift sequence and the current phase of the sequence. Neighboring hubs independently or jointly determine and broadcast their own beacon shift sequences and phases for their respective networks from a predetermined list. Nodes connected with the network hubs are assigned allocation intervals having a start time that is set relative to the beacon signal. The start time and duration of the allocation interval wraps around the beacon period if the allocation-interval would otherwise start or continue in a next beacon period.

A method of managing channel allocation for uncompressed isochronous data transmission includes broadcasting a first superframe for a first beacon period, the first superframe containing a control section and a data slot section; receiving a request frame from at least one wireless device belonging to a network via the control section, the request frame requesting addition of a data slot for uncompressed isochronous data transmission; transmitting a response frame to the at least one wireless device via the control section in response to the request frame; and broadcasting a second superframe for a second beacon period, the second superframe containing the data slot added to the at least one wireless device.

A communication bandwidth is divided into a beacon period in which all master stations compete for transmission of a beacon packet, a first carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) period in which only authorized specific stations are allowed to compete for access, and a second CSMA period in which all stations are allowed to compete for access. The master stations exchange information with each other about a communication bandwidth being used in the first CSMA period, thereby calculating a communication bandwidth which can be used by each communication system in the first CSMA period, based on the information.

The invention provides a scheduling method and system, access points and stations, and relates to the field of communications. The scheduling method comprises the following steps: a. the stations monitor a first beacon frame which includes a DTIM for indicating the beacon periods distributed to each group of stations in the current scheduling period; b. the beacon periods distributed to the stations in the current scheduling period are confirmed according to the DTIM included in the first beacon frame; c. the stations monitor a second beacon frame which includes a scheduling message for indicating the data transmission time frames of each group of stations in the frame period distributed to the stations, wherein at least one group of stations include two stations; d. the stations transmit data in the time frame distributed to the group of the stations according to the indication of the scheduling message in the current beacon period when data transmission is needed. By means of the scheduling method and system, the utilization rate of the time frames is improved, time resource is saved, and transmission efficiency is improved.