Contention groups for hidden nodes
First Claim
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1. A method for communicating among stations in a network, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a first station in the network from remaining respective stations in the network, information indicating which other stations from which that respective station is capable of reliably receiving transmissions;
determining, at the first station, a schedule for communicating among the stations based on the information from the remaining respective stations and transmitting the schedule over the network; and
assigning the stations to contention groups based on respective station levels, wherein at least one contention group includes stations from two different, consecutive levels;
wherein, in the at least one contention group, the first station is at a first level, wherein each other station is at one level higher than the lowest level of stations from which it is capable of reliably receiving transmissions;
wherein the schedule includes a plurality of time slots, wherein respective contention groups are each assigned to one of the plurality of time slots, wherein stations in the same contention group contend with each other to communicate over the network using a contention-based protocol.
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Abstract
Communicating among stations in a network includes, from each of multiple stations in the network, transmitting information indicating which other stations from which that station is able to reliably receive transmissions. A schedule for communicating among the stations is determined based on the information from the stations and transmitting the schedule over the network. The schedule includes a plurality of time slots during which respective sets of stations are assigned to communicate using a contention-based protocol.
170 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method for communicating among stations in a network, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a first station in the network from remaining respective stations in the network, information indicating which other stations from which that respective station is capable of reliably receiving transmissions; determining, at the first station, a schedule for communicating among the stations based on the information from the remaining respective stations and transmitting the schedule over the network; and assigning the stations to contention groups based on respective station levels, wherein at least one contention group includes stations from two different, consecutive levels; wherein, in the at least one contention group, the first station is at a first level, wherein each other station is at one level higher than the lowest level of stations from which it is capable of reliably receiving transmissions; wherein the schedule includes a plurality of time slots, wherein respective contention groups are each assigned to one of the plurality of time slots, wherein stations in the same contention group contend with each other to communicate over the network using a contention-based protocol. - 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)
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24. A method for communicating among stations in a network, the method comprising:
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assigning stations to contention groups based on respective station levels, wherein at least one contention group includes stations from two different, consecutive levels; wherein, in the at least one contention group, a first station is at a first level, wherein each other station is at one level higher than the lowest level of stations from which it is capable of reliably receiving transmissions; and determining a schedule for communicating among the stations and transmitting the schedule over the network, wherein said determining the schedule is performed at least in part based on the contention groups; wherein the schedule includes a plurality of time slots, wherein respective contention groups are each assigned to one of the plurality of time slots, wherein stations in the same contention group contend with each other to communicate over the network using a contention-based protocol. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system for communicating among stations in a network, the system comprising:
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a first set of multiple stations assigned to a first contention group, wherein stations in the first contention group contend with each other to communicate over a network using a contention-based protocol; a second set of multiple stations assigned to a second contention group, wherein stations in the second contention group contend with each other to communicate over the network using a contention-based protocol; and a third set of multiple stations assigned to a third contention group, wherein stations in the third contention group contend with each other to communicate over the network slot using a contention-based protocol; wherein at least one contention group of the first, second, and third contention groups includes stations from two different, consecutive levels; wherein, in the at least one contention group, a first station is at a first level, wherein each other station is at one level higher than the lowest level of stations from which it is capable of reliably receiving transmissions; wherein each of multiple stations in the network is configured to transmit information indicating which other stations from which that station is able to reliably receive transmissions, at least one station in the first set is capable of reliably communicating with at least one station in the second set, and none of the stations in the first set is capable of reliably communicating with any of the stations in the third set, and wherein at least one station in the network is configured to determine a schedule for each contention group to communicate using the network and to transmit the schedule over the network, the schedule includes at least a first time slot and a second time slot, wherein stations in the first contention group are scheduled in the first time slot, stations in the second contention group are scheduled in the second time slot, and stations in the third contention group are scheduled in the first time slot.
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Specification