TIMING RE-SYNCHRONIZATION WITH REDUCED COMMUNICATION ENERGY IN FREQUENCY HOPPING COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- sampling a frequency hopping sequence in a communication network by a battery-operated communication device at a periodic rate corresponding to a substantially low duty cycle;
receiving, during at least one sample of the sampling, a control packet at the battery-operated communication device transmitted from a main-powered communication device, the control packet containing timing information to account for timing errors between the battery operated device and the main-powered device;
responding to the control packet with an acknowledgment to the main-powered communication device, the acknowledgment containing timing information from the battery-operated communication device; and
re-synchronizing timing between the battery-operated communication device and the main-powered communication device at the battery-operated communication device based on the timing information in the control packet.
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Abstract
In one embodiment, a battery-operated communication device “quick-samples” a frequency hopping sequence at a periodic rate corresponding to a substantially low duty cycle, and is discovered by (e.g., attached to) a main-powered communication device. During a scheduled sample, the main-powered communication device transmits a control packet to be received by the battery-operated communication device, the control packet containing timing information and transmitted to account for worst-case clock drift error between the two devices. The battery-operated communication device responds to the control packet with a link-layer acknowledgment containing timing information from the battery-operated communication device. Accordingly, the two devices may re-synchronize their timing based on the timing information in the control packet and acknowledgment, respectively.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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sampling a frequency hopping sequence in a communication network by a battery-operated communication device at a periodic rate corresponding to a substantially low duty cycle; receiving, during at least one sample of the sampling, a control packet at the battery-operated communication device transmitted from a main-powered communication device, the control packet containing timing information to account for timing errors between the battery operated device and the main-powered device; responding to the control packet with an acknowledgment to the main-powered communication device, the acknowledgment containing timing information from the battery-operated communication device; and re-synchronizing timing between the battery-operated communication device and the main-powered communication device at the battery-operated communication device based on the timing information in the control packet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method, comprising:
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discovering, by a main-powered communication device, a low duty cycle, periodic, sample schedule of a battery-operated communication device within a frequency hopping sequence in a communication network; transmitting, during a scheduled sample, a control packet from the main-powered communication device to the battery-operated communication device, the control packet containing timing information to account for timing errors between the battery operated device and the main-powered device; receiving, in response to the control packet, an acknowledgment at the main-powered communication device, the acknowledgment containing timing information from the battery-operated communication device; and re-synchronizing timing between the battery-operated communication device and the main-powered communication device at the main-powered communication device based on the timing information in the acknowledgment. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processor; a battery power supply; a transceiver configured to communicate in a communication network according to a frequency hopping sequence; and a memory configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process when executed by the processor operable to; sample the frequency hopping sequence at a periodic rate corresponding to a substantially low duty cycle; receive, during at least one sample, a control packet transmitted from a main-powered communication device, the control packet containing timing information to account for timing errors between the battery operated device and the main-powered device; respond to the control packet with an acknowledgment to the main-powered communication device, the acknowledgment containing timing information from the apparatus; and re-synchronize timing between the apparatus and the main-powered communication device based on the timing information in the control packet. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processor; a main-power power supply; a transceiver configured to communicate in a communication network according to a frequency hopping sequence; and a memory configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process when executed by the processor operable to; discover a low duty cycle, periodic, sample schedule of a battery-operated communication device; transmit, during a scheduled sample, a control packet to the battery-operated communication device, the control packet containing timing information to account for timing errors between the battery operated device and the main-powered device; receive, in response to the control packet, an acknowledgment containing timing information from the battery-operated communication device; and re-synchronize timing between the battery-operated communication device and the apparatus based on the timing information in the acknowledgment. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification