Method and apparatus for accessing a wireless computer network communication channel by accessing quiet intervals in network frames

• US 7,093,015 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2003
• Issued: 08/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Inventors: Patra, Nirmalendu Bikash, Gubbi, Rajugopal, EKAMBARAM, NATARAJAN
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILLETT, STEPHAN F
• Application Number:
  US10/361,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20050262241A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,282 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/225, 709/226, 709/232
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/16 in which the return channel carries supervisory signals, e.g. repetition request signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/108 Source integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management

Abstract

Admission to a computer network is provided by having a network device listen to a communication channel communicatively coupling two or more components of the computer network. In some cases, the network device may then transmit a connection request to a controller of the computer network within a designated time slot of the communication channel. In other cases, the connection request may be transmitted without requiring the network device to be polled. The connection request may be confirmed by transmitting the connection request from the controller to network device periodically, until a response from the first network device is received by the controller. Upon confirmation, the controller may send to the network device, a connection agreements package, which includes information regarding time slots within the communication channel to be used by the controller for transmitting information to the first network device. The connection agreement packet may further include information regarding time slots within the communication channel to be used by the network device when transmitting information to the controller. Thus, during normal communications, data from the network device destined for the controller may be transmitted in the time slots designated in the connection agreement packet. In some cases, the information sent between the network device and the controller includes packets and, in such cases, the connection agreement may include information regarding a maximum number of bytes the network device can send or expect to receive in each packet, for each type of data included in a packet.

Claims

1. A method for a new client joining a wireless network for accessing multimedia data and services from a server, the method comprising:

monitoring the wireless network to determine the presence of network frames, each frame having a duration approximately equal to the duration of a frame of video, and including a server transmission interval for transmissions from the server;

a client transmission interval for transmissions from existing clients to the server; and

a quiet interval during which neither the server nor the existing clients transmit;

transmitting, by a new client, a connection request message to the server during the quiet interval of the network frame;

receiving from the server an indication that the connection request message has been received by the server;

determining bandwidth requirements of the client;

assigning subintervals within the server transmission and client transmission intervals to the new client for communication between the new client and the server responsive to the bandwidth requirements of the new client and the availability of bandwidth in the wireless network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network is operable on a plurality of channels, and wherein monitoring the wireless network to determine the presence of network frames comprises monitoring each of the plurality of channels.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising broadcasting a connection request message on a channel in response to failing to detect any network frames on that channel of the wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting a connection request message in response to failing to detect any network frames on the wireless network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subintervals comprise mini-slots.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the subintervals are further partitioned into radio data frames.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning subintervals comprises

receiving the connection request from the new client;

and

transmitting a connection agreement package to the new client in response to the connection request.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising varying a length of at least one of the server transmission interval and the client transmission interval corresponding to an existing client responsive to bandwidth requirements of the new client.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising varying a length of the subintervals of at least one of server transmission and client transmission intervals responsive to the availability of bandwidth in the wireless network.