Facilitating Asynchronous Transmissions Using a Protocol Having Asynchronous and Synchronous Portions

• US 20110216689A1
• Filed: 03/04/2010
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Chamberlain Group LLC
• Original Assignee: The Chamberlain Group, Inc. (The Chamberlain Group LLC)
• Inventors: Jenkins, Jeremy E., Study, Robert S. III, Keller, Robert R. JR., Tien, Hamin
• Granted Patent: US 8,953,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/315
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2656 for structure of frame, burst
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

One or more repeaters enable the conveyance of both asynchronous and synchronous transmissions. This can comprise receiving, via a first carrier, a transmission from a message source that is asynchronous with respect to a time slot partitioning of the communication protocol and then, when the asynchronous transmission is received during an asynchronous source transmission portion, buffering a corresponding message until a next available synchronous time slot opportunity during the asynchronous source transmission portion and then transmitting the message via the first carrier to at least attempt to forward the message.

Claims

1. A method to facilitate conveying asynchronous transmissions from a message source to a message destination via a communications protocol having a synchronous source transmission portion and an asynchronous source transmission portion, comprising:

at a wireless repeater;

receiving, via a first carrier, a transmission from the message source that is asynchronous with respect to a time slot partitioning of the communication protocol;

when the asynchronous transmission is received during the asynchronous source transmission portion, buffering a corresponding message until a next available synchronous time slot opportunity during the asynchronous source transmission portion and then transmitting the message via a second carrier to at least attempt to forward the message.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the asynchronous source transmission portion has at least twice the temporal duration of the synchronous source transmission portion.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the asynchronous source transmission portion has at least thrice the temporal duration of the synchronous source transmission portion.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the next available synchronous time slot opportunity comprises an opportunity that is reserved, as amongst other wireless repeaters that may be similarly supported by the communications protocol, for transmissions of the wireless repeater regardless of whether the wireless repeater has a need to transmit.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the communications provides for transmission of a beacon message during the synchronous source transmission portion and wherein the method further comprises:

at the wireless repeater;

receiving the beacon message;

partitioning at least the synchronous source transmission portion into a plurality of time slots as a temporal function of the beacon message.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein partitioning at least the synchronous source transmission portion into a plurality of time slots comprises, at least in part, partitioning at least the synchronous source transmission portion into a plurality of time slots where some, but not all, of the plurality of time slots are uniquely reserved for transmissions of the wireless repeater as against transmissions of other repeaters that are observing the communication protocol.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

at the wireless repeater;

also partitioning the asynchronous source transmission portion into a plurality of time slots as a temporal function of the beacon message.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein partitioning at least the synchronous source transmission portion into a plurality of time slots as a temporal function of the beacon message comprises forming a beacon message frame, a command frame, and an acknowledgement frame.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein also partitioning the asynchronous source transmission portion into a plurality of time slots as a temporal function of the beacon message comprises forming a plurality of asynchronous transmission frames which together constitute the asynchronous source transmission portion.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the plurality of asynchronous transmission frames have a temporal duration that is at least twice a temporal duration for the synchronous source transmission portion.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein forming a beacon message frame, a command frame, and an acknowledgement frame comprises further forming follow-on command frame and acknowledgement frame pairs to accommodate redundant command message and acknowledgement message transmissions.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

at the wireless repeater;

frequency hopping pursuant to a frequency hopping schedule specified by the communications protocol a plurality of times when receiving during a single synchronous source transmission portion.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

at the wireless repeater;

receiving using only a single carrier frequency during a single asynchronous source transmission portion.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

at the wireless repeater;

readjusting a carrier frequency starting point for the frequency hopping schedule as a function of beginning one of the synchronous source transmission portions.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein readjusting the carrier frequency starting point comprises precessing within the frequency hopping schedule with respect to a last carrier frequency starting point.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the first carrier and the second carrier are a same frequency.