System and method for dynamically scheduling wireless transmissions without collision

• US 10,039,128 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2016
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IsoLynx LLC
• Original Assignee: IsoLynx LLC
• Inventors: Bennett, Justin Emrys, Ciholas, Mike Etienne, Hollinger, Herbert Alan, Aldridge, Jeremy Wayne, Blankenship, Mason Thomas, Morris, Daniel Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Robert
• Application Number:
  US15/208,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20170019897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

A system and method dynamically schedule wireless transmissions without collision. A master transmitter periodically transmits a time mark during a first predefined time slot of a plurality of consecutive time slots that form a transmission block. Multiple consecutive transmission blocks form a frame. An announcement transmission from a wireless transmitting device is received via at least one receiver during a second predefined time slot of the plurality of time slots. An allocator allocates, at least partly based upon the received announcement transmission, a third time slot of the plurality of time slots to the wireless transmitting device. A time slot reservation area of at least one subsequently transmitted time mark includes indication of the allocation of the third time slot to the wireless transmitting device. The wireless transmitting device receives the subsequently transmitted time mark and transmits only during the third time slot of subsequent frames.

Claims

1. A system for dynamically scheduling wireless transmissions without collision within a repeating frame, wherein each frame is divided into a plurality of consecutive blocks and each block is divided into a plurality of consecutive time slots, wherein a first predefined time slot in each block is used for announcement transmissions, said system comprising:

a master transmitter for transmitting a master time mark during a second predefined time slot in each block, wherein the master time mark includes a time slot reservation area for indicating dynamic allocation of time slots;

a processor communicatively coupled with the master transmitter;

a memory communicatively coupled with the processor;

a time slot reservation table stored within the memory for tracking the predefined time slots and dynamically allocating the time slots within each block; and

an allocator, implemented as machine readable instructions stored in the memory and executed by the processor, for;

allocating, based upon the time slot reservation table, at least one unallocated time slot in at least one of the plurality of blocks for use by a transmitting device in response to an announcement message received from the transmitting device during the first predefined time slot;

updating the time slot reservation area and the time slot reservation table to indicate allocation of the at least one time slot to the transmitting device;

wherein the master transmitter is configured via the processor; and

wherein the transmitting device receives a subsequent master time mark and is configured to transmit only during the indicated at least one time slot of a subsequent frame.

2. The system of claim 1, the allocator adapted to calculate an interval value and a phase value for the at least one time slot, wherein the interval value and the phase value indicate in which of the plurality of blocks of each frame the at least one time slot occurs.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the interval value is a positive integer defining a block interval period, and wherein the phase value is an integer having a range of zero to the interval value minus one and defines within which of the interval value blocks the at least one time slot occurs.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein each frame has a duration tf, each block has a duration tb, and each time slot has a duration tt, the allocator further comprising machine readable instructions executable by the processor for calculating the interval value and the phase value based upon tf, tb, and tt and a desired transmission ping rate of the transmitting device.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one slave transmitter communicatively coupled with the processor and configured for transmitting a slave time mark during a third predefined time slot of each block, the slave time mark including a copy of the time slot reservation area, wherein the at least one slave transmitter is located to extend the transmission range of the master transmitter.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one receiver in communication with the processor and located to receive transmissions from the master transmitter and the one transmitting device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitting device is attached to an object to be tracked at a sporting event.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitting device determines the timing of the at least one time slot based upon a time of receiving each master time mark and a time slot counter stored within the master time mark.

9. The system of claim 1, the master transmitter further configured for automatically incrementing a time slot counter stored within the master time mark.

10. A method for dynamically scheduling wireless transmissions without collision, said method comprising:

periodically transmitting, via a master transmitter, a time mark during a first predefined time slot of a plurality of consecutive time slots that form a transmission block, wherein a plurality of consecutive transmission blocks form a frame;

receiving, via at least one receiver and during a second predefined time slot of the plurality of time slots, an announcement transmission from a wireless transmitting device;

allocating, at least partly based upon the received announcement transmission, a third time slot of the plurality of time slots to the wireless transmitting device; and

including indication of the allocation of the third time slot to the wireless transmitting device within a time slot reservation area of at least one subsequently transmitted time mark;

wherein the wireless transmitting device is configured to receive the subsequently transmitted time mark and transmits data during the third time slot of subsequent frames.

11. The method of claim 10, the step of allocating further comprising calculating an interval value and a phase value for the third time slot based upon a desired ping rate of the wireless transmitting device, wherein the interval value and the phase value indicate in which of a plurality of subsequent transmission blocks of each frame the third time slot occurs.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the interval value is a positive integer defining a block interval period, and wherein the phase value is an integer having a range of zero to the interval value minus one and defines within which of the interval value blocks of each frame the third time slot occurs.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein each frame has a duration df, each block has a duration tb, and each time slot has a duration tt, the step of calculating comprising calculating the interval value and the phase value based upon tf, tb, and tt and the desired ping rate of the wireless transmitting device.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising storing indication of the allocated time slots within a time slot reservation table, wherein the step of allocating utilizes the time slot reservation table to allocate an un-allocated time slot to the wireless transmitter.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the first predefined time slot and the second predefined time slot are invariant within each transmission block.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the third time slot is not concurrently allocated to other wireless transmitting devices.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting from at least one slave transmitter a slave time mark during a fourth predetermined time slot of each block, wherein the slave time mark is based upon the time mark, and wherein the slave transmitter is positioned to extend the operational range of the master transmitter.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising automatically incrementing, within the master transmitter, a time slot counter and including the time slot counter within the master time mark, wherein the time slot counter indicates a sequential number of the most recent time slot.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the wireless transmitting device determines timing of the third time slot based upon receiving each master time mark.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the wireless transmitting device is attached to an object to be tracked at a sporting event.