Synchronized beacon for network having multiple radios
First Claim
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1. A network comprising:
- a backbone;
a plurality of radio terminals connected to said backbone, each of said plurality of radios being configured to establish at least one two-way data communication session, and configured to delay sending a transmission when another ongoing transmission is detected, at least two of said plurality of radio terminal being located remotely from each other;
a controller connected to said backbone and configured to;
transmit a signal along said backbone to each of said plurality of radio terminals to determine a transmission delay, said transmission delay comprising a time to transmit from said controller to said wireless access point along said network;
determine a maximum transmission delay from said transmission delays;
calculate a beacon delay for each of said plurality of wireless access points using said maximum transmission delay and said transmission delays;
transmit said beacon delay to each of said radio terminals; and
transmit a synchronization signal along said backbone to each of said plurality of radio terminals;
wherein each of said plurality of radio terminals being configured to transmit a beacon signal at the same time and on the same channel.
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Abstract
A network having multiple radios transmits a beacon signal from several radios substantially simultaneously. One embodiment includes a network having a communications backbone that connects several radio transceivers. Another embodiment includes a single station having multiple radio transceivers, which may or may not have directional antennas. Various methods for synchronizing the beacon signals may be used, including transmitting a heartbeat signal along the network so that the beacon signals are broadcast substantially simultaneously.
17 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A network comprising:
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a backbone; a plurality of radio terminals connected to said backbone, each of said plurality of radios being configured to establish at least one two-way data communication session, and configured to delay sending a transmission when another ongoing transmission is detected, at least two of said plurality of radio terminal being located remotely from each other; a controller connected to said backbone and configured to; transmit a signal along said backbone to each of said plurality of radio terminals to determine a transmission delay, said transmission delay comprising a time to transmit from said controller to said wireless access point along said network; determine a maximum transmission delay from said transmission delays; calculate a beacon delay for each of said plurality of wireless access points using said maximum transmission delay and said transmission delays; transmit said beacon delay to each of said radio terminals; and transmit a synchronization signal along said backbone to each of said plurality of radio terminals; wherein each of said plurality of radio terminals being configured to transmit a beacon signal at the same time and on the same channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method comprising:
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establishing communications between a controller and a plurality of wireless access points connected on a network; determining a transmission delay for each of said plurality of wireless access points connected on said network, said transmission delay comprising a time to transmit from said controller to said wireless access points along said network; determining a maximum transmission delay from said transmission delays; calculating a beacon delay for each of said plurality of wireless access points using said maximum transmission delay and said transmission delays; sending a synchronization signal from said controller to said plurality of wireless access points via said network; and transmitting a beacon signal from each of said plurality of wireless access points at the same time and on the same channel using said heartbeat and said beacon delay for each of said plurality of wireless access points. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification