Wireless network medium access control protocol

• US 20030231607A1
• Filed: 05/30/2002
• Published: 12/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Chui, Tze-Yeung, Scanlon, WilliamGiles
• Granted Patent: US 7,193,986 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A device for use in a packet-oriented transmission network comprises a transmitter arranged to transmit a sequence comprising at least one data packet and a receiver arranged to receive a sequence comprising at least one data packet. At least one data packet in one of the transmitted or received sequence of data packets includes at least one pointer to indicate when a designated data packet in the sequence is to be received and/or transmitted. The designated data packet includes an indication of at least one other device connected to the packet-oriented transmission network.

Claims

1. A master wireless network device including a wireless medium adaptor and a component implementing a medium access protocol, said component being arranged to cause said adaptor to transmit temporally spaced packets of information, and said component being arranged to receive packets of information through said adaptor from slave network devices, at least some of said transmitted packets including a pointer indicating the relative time before which a designated packet of information will be transmitted, said designated packet of information including an indication of the slave network devices participating in said network and respective indications as to when participating slave network devices should transmit packets of information for reception by said master wireless network device.

2. A master wireless network device according to claim 1 wherein said component is adapted to receive packets of information from one or more slave network devices not participating in said network during a predetermined time period between packets of information transmitted by said master wireless network device.

3. A master wireless network device according to claim 1 wherein said component is arranged provide said respective indications as to when participating slave network devices should transmit packets of information, so that packets of information transmitted by said master wireless network device alternate with packets of information transmitted by respective slave network devices

4. A master wireless network device according to claim 3 wherein at least some of the packets of information transmitted by said master wireless network device include a further pointer indicating to a slave device which is to transmit a packet next, when said master wireless network device is to transmit a packet for said slave device next.

5. A master wireless network device according to claim 1 wherein said component is arranged to cause said wireless medium adaptor to transmit packets of information on different frequencies.

6. A master wireless network device according to claim 5 wherein said component is arranged to cause said wireless medium adaptor to transmit packets of information on frequencies which are a function of the identity of said master wireless network device.

7. A master wireless network device according to claim 1 wherein said component is arranged to include in at least some transmitted packets of information an indication of the frequency on which said designated packet of information will be transmitted.

8. A master wireless network device according to claim 1 wherein said component is arranged to include in said designated packet of information an indication of network services offered by said master wireless network device.

23. A wireless network system comprising a master network device according to claim 1 and one or more slave network devices according to claim 9.

9. A slave wireless network device including a wireless medium adaptor and component implementing a medium access protocol, said component being arranged to cause said adaptor to transmit temporally spaced packets of information, and said component being arranged to receive packets of information through said adaptor from one or more master network devices, at least some of said received packets including a pointer indicating the relative time before which a designated packet of information will be transmitted by said master network device, said designated packet of information including an indication of the slave network devices participating in said network and respective indications as to when participating slave network devices should transmit packets of information for reception by said master wireless network device.

10. A device for use in a packet-oriented transmission network, the device comprising:

a transmitter arranged to transmit a sequence comprising at least one data packet;

a receiver arranged to receive a sequence comprising at least one data packet;

wherein at least one data packet in one of said sequences of data packets includes at least one pointer to indicate when a designated data packet in the sequence is to be received and/or transmitted, and

wherein said designated data packet includes an indication of at least one other device registered in said packet-oriented transmission network.

11. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein each said at least one data packet in said sequence includes at least one pointer to indicate when a designated data packet in the sequence is to be received and/or transmitted.

12. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the designated data packet further includes an indication of when said at least one other device is to transmit a sequence comprising at least one data packet to said device.

13. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said pointer comprises at least one bit in a payload of a said data packet.

14. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said device is a master device and at least one of said at least one other devices is a slave device to said master device.

15. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said device is a slave device to at least one master device, wherein at least one of said master devices comprises one of said at least one other devices.

16. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said indication of at least one other device is provided within a header of said at least one data packet.

17. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said sequence comprising at least one data packet comprises a superframe comprising consecutive pairs of application data packets.

18. A device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said superframe further provides a scheduled network registration element.

19. A device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said superframe further provides a contention indicator element.

20. A device as claimed in claim 10, wherein said packet-oriented transmission network incorporates time-division multiplexing of data packets in time-slots of predetermined duration, and wherein said at least one pointer provides an indication of time-slot in which said designated data packet is to be transmitted/received.

21. A method operable in a device for use in a packet-oriented transmission network, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a sequence comprising at least one data packet;

receiving a sequence comprising at least one data packet;

wherein at least one data packet in one of said sequence of data packets includes at least one pointer to indicate when a designated data packet in the sequence is to be received and/or transmitted, and

wherein said designated data packet includes an indication of at least one other device registered in said packet-oriented transmission network.

22. A computer program product operable in a device for use in a packet-oriented transmission network to implement a medium access protocol, said computer program product comprising:

computer-program means to cause said device to transmit a sequence comprising at least one data packet;

computer-program means to cause said device to receive a sequence comprising at least one data packet;

wherein at least one data packet in one of said sequence of data packets includes at least one pointer to indicate when a designated data packet in the sequence is to be received and/or transmitted, and

wherein said designated data packet includes an indication of at least one other device registered in said packet-oriented transmission network.