Medium access control for retro-reflectors
First Claim
1. A communication method for a retro-reflector device, the method comprising:
- receiving, at the retro-reflector device, a first frame encoded in an input beam;
creating and sending, from the retro-reflector device, a second frame in a first reflected beam, the first reflected beam being formed by the retro-reflector device reflecting the input beam along a path closely aligned with a path of the input beam, whereinat least one of the first frame or the second frame includes medium access control information;
receiving, at a plurality of retro-reflector devices, respective first frames encoded in respective input beams;
creating and sending, from the plurality of retro-reflector devices, respective second frames in respective first reflected beams formed by each of the plurality of retro-reflector devices reflecting the respective input beam along a path closely aligned with a respective path of the respective input beam, whereinfor each of the retro-reflector devices, at least one of the respective first frame or the respective second frame includes medium access control information;
including, in at least some of the respective first frames, an indication of a data rate for a message within one of the at least some of the respective first frames and at least some of the respective second frames; and
wherein the indication of the data rate for one retro-reflector device is different than the indication of the respective data rate for another retro-reflector device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, a device and a system for communications to and from a retro-reflector device (302) is provided. The retro-reflector device (302) receives a first frame (400) encoded in an input beam (106). The retro-reflector device (302) creates and sends a second frame (420) in a first reflected beam (108) formed by the retro-reflector device (302) reflecting the input beam (106) along a path closely aligned with a path of the input beam. At least one of the first frame (400) and the second frame (420) includes medium access control information. In some implementations, the first frame (400) may include a data throughput rate (404, 406), a preamble (402) and an error correction code (412).
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A communication method for a retro-reflector device, the method comprising:
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receiving, at the retro-reflector device, a first frame encoded in an input beam; creating and sending, from the retro-reflector device, a second frame in a first reflected beam, the first reflected beam being formed by the retro-reflector device reflecting the input beam along a path closely aligned with a path of the input beam, wherein at least one of the first frame or the second frame includes medium access control information; receiving, at a plurality of retro-reflector devices, respective first frames encoded in respective input beams; creating and sending, from the plurality of retro-reflector devices, respective second frames in respective first reflected beams formed by each of the plurality of retro-reflector devices reflecting the respective input beam along a path closely aligned with a respective path of the respective input beam, wherein for each of the retro-reflector devices, at least one of the respective first frame or the respective second frame includes medium access control information; including, in at least some of the respective first frames, an indication of a data rate for a message within one of the at least some of the respective first frames and at least some of the respective second frames; and wherein the indication of the data rate for one retro-reflector device is different than the indication of the respective data rate for another retro-reflector device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A communication method for a retro-reflector device, the method comprising:
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receiving, at the retro-reflector device, a first frame encoded in an input beam; creating and sending, from the retro-reflector device, a second frame in a first reflected beam, the first reflected beam being formed by the retro-reflector device reflecting the input beam along a path closely aligned with a path of the input beam, wherein at least one of the first frame or the second frame includes medium access control information; receiving, at a plurality of retro-reflector devices, respective first frames encoded in respective input beams; creating and sending, from the plurality of retro-reflector devices, respective second frames in respective first reflected beams formed by each of the plurality of retro-reflector devices reflecting the respective input beam along a path closely aligned with a respective path of the respective input beam, wherein for each of the retro-reflector devices, at least one of the respective first frame or the respective second frame includes medium access control information; wherein at least some of the respective second frames include a desired future time interval for receiving a frame in an input beam; and informing each of the retro-reflector devices of a scheduled time, based at least in part on the desired future time intervals, by sending an indication of a next time interval, to each of the retro-reflector devices, via an input beam.
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20. A retro-reflector device comprising:
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a receiving portion configured to receive an incoming beam from a device and to decode a first frame encoded in the incoming beam, the first frame including an indication of a next time for the retro-reflector device to receive an incoming beam; and a reflecting portion configured to form a reflected beam by reflecting the incoming beam along a path closely aligned with a path of the incoming beam and to encode a second frame in the reflected beam; and wherein a transmission rate of data included in the second frame is determined by a data rate indication in the first frame. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A device configured to send an incoming beam to at least one retro-reflector device, the device comprising:
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a transmitter configured to provide a carrier as an incoming beam to the at least one retro-reflector device and to encode a first frame onto the carrier; and a receiver configured to receive and decode a reflected beam from the at least one retro-reflector device, the reflected beam including a second frame, wherein; one of the first frame or the second frame includes medium access control information; the first frame includes time information indicating a next time when the device will direct the incoming beam to the at least one retro-reflector device; the second frame includes a desired time period when the at least one retro-reflector device desires to transmit or receive data, and the device is further configured to consider the desired time period before generating a new time information for a next first frame to be sent to the at least one retro-reflector device. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A system for controlling communications, the system comprising:
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a probe device configured to send a first frame modulated onto a carrier as an incoming beam; and a plurality of retro-reflector devices, each of the retro-reflector devices being configured to receive the first frame, encode and modulate a second frame onto a reflected beam, and transmit the second frame to the probe device, wherein; each of the retro-reflector devices is configured to encode and modulate the second frame onto the reflected beam, responsive to receiving the first frame in the incoming beam, and one of the first frame or the second frame includes medium access control information; each of the retro-reflector devices is further configured to include, in a respective second frame, a next desired time for receiving another frame; and the probe device is configured to collect the next desired times in the second frames from the retro-reflector devices, create a schedule based on the next desired times, and transmit a new time information in a frame to each respective one of the retro-reflector devices. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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Specification