Managing coexistence among signaling protocols on a shared medium
First Claim
1. A method for coexistence of multiple devices on a shared communication medium, the method comprising:
- in accordance with a schedule for multiple subsets of the devices that includes at least one respective time slot for each subset, transmitting from a first of the multiple devices, which is in a first subset, a presence signal associated with the first subset within the respective time slot for the first subset, wherein the presence signal is unique with respect to other presence signals each of which are associated with different ones of the subsets of the devices and wherein each of the presence signals is configured to indicate the presence of at least one device in the given subset;
scanning for the other presence signals during the time slots when the first device is not transmitting the presence signal;
synchronizing to a detected zero crossing in response to the first device receiving a resynchronization signal from a second device in a second subset different from the first subset, wherein the second device in the second subset transmits the resynchronization signal in response to an indication from at least one of the multiple devices that one or more presence signals are out of synchronization; and
communicating, by the first device, with devices in the first subset based on presence signals detected during said scanning for the other presence signals from one or more devices in at least one different subset.
23 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Communication systems that use different physical layer (PHY) protocols can coexist on a communication medium (e.g., a powerline medium) by using an Inter-PHY Protocol (IPP). The different protocols may use different signal modulation schemes but still may have some features in common. The IPP includes a resource sharing mechanism that regulates access to the communication medium by devices functioning as communication devices (for example, devices communicating over a power line). A subset of devices that communicate among each other form a logical network that shares the medium with other logical networks that use either the same PHY protocol or a different PHY protocol.
249 Citations
35 Claims
-
1. A method for coexistence of multiple devices on a shared communication medium, the method comprising:
-
in accordance with a schedule for multiple subsets of the devices that includes at least one respective time slot for each subset, transmitting from a first of the multiple devices, which is in a first subset, a presence signal associated with the first subset within the respective time slot for the first subset, wherein the presence signal is unique with respect to other presence signals each of which are associated with different ones of the subsets of the devices and wherein each of the presence signals is configured to indicate the presence of at least one device in the given subset; scanning for the other presence signals during the time slots when the first device is not transmitting the presence signal; synchronizing to a detected zero crossing in response to the first device receiving a resynchronization signal from a second device in a second subset different from the first subset, wherein the second device in the second subset transmits the resynchronization signal in response to an indication from at least one of the multiple devices that one or more presence signals are out of synchronization; and communicating, by the first device, with devices in the first subset based on presence signals detected during said scanning for the other presence signals from one or more devices in at least one different subset. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
-
-
35. A system, comprising:
-
a communication medium; a first subset of devices coupled to the communication medium, wherein the first subset of devices communicate in accordance with a first physical layer protocol; and a second subset of devices coupled to the communication medium, wherein the second subset of devices communicate in accordance with a second physical layer protocol; wherein a first of the devices in a given subset of multiple subsets of devices, including at least the first and second subsets of devices, is configured to transmit a presence signal associated with the given subset within a time slot for the given subset according to a schedule that includes at least one respective time slot for each subset, wherein a presence signal associated with a given subset is configured to indicate the presence of at least one device in the given subset and a presence signal associated with a given subset is unique with respect to presence signals associated with the other subsets, scan for the presence signals associated with the other subsets during the time slots for the given subset when the first device in the given subset does not transmit the presence signal, synchronize to a detected zero crossing in response to the first device receiving a resynchronization signal from a device in the second subset, wherein the device in the second subset transmits the resynchronization signal in response to an indication that one or more presence signals are out of synchronization, and communicate with other devices in the given subset based on presence signals detected during the scan for presence signal associated with the other subsets from one or more devices in at least one different subset.
-
Specification