Method of exchanging message and devices in wireless network

• US 8,493,948 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2010
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jeon, Beom Jin, Kim, Joong Heon
• Primary Examiner(s): Sinkantarakorn, Pao
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Richard K
• Application Number:
  US12/897,730
• Publication Number:
  US 20110019645A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,023 Days
• Field of Search: 370/331, 370/338, 370/328, 455/434
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method of exchanging messages at a device in a wireless network comprises transmitting a change request message for requesting a change of a beacon position among configuration parameters of the wireless network to a coordinator; and receiving a response message in response to the request message from the coordinator.

Claims

1. A method of exchanging messages at a coordinator in a wireless network in which a coordinator alone is broadcasting beacons to control the wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving a change request message for requesting a change of a beacon position upon which a beacon is to be sent by the coordinator among configuration parameters of the wireless network from a device associated with the wireless network, wherein the change request message comprises a beacon position change field indicating an offset value representing a shift distance between an original beacon position and a requested new beacon position;

transmitting a response message to the device in response to the change request message; and

transmitting a plurality of beacons to the device, each of the plurality of beacons comprising a parameter change information element (IE),

wherein the parameter change IE comprises a change type field indicating that a type of the parameter to be changed is the beacon position, a change beacon number field comprising a beacon number of a superframe when the change of the beacon position takes effect, a unique number that identifies the parameter change IE, and a network parameter field comprising information about a changed beacon position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request message comprises a command ID field comprising a unique number that identifies the request message and a length field indicating a length of the request message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the response message comprises a command ID field comprising a unique number that identifies the response message, a length field indicating a length of the response message and a reason code field comprising a reason code.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information about the changed beacon position is an offset between an expected beacon transmission time and a time when a beacon will be transmitted after the change of the beacon position.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a last beacon among the plurality of beacons is broadcasted by the coordinator right before a beacon corresponding to the beacon number is broadcasted.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein if the change of the beacon position is not possible, the reason code field comprises a reason for failure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the change request message and the response message is included in a media access control (MAC) packet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless network further comprises a high rate physical channel and a low rate physical channel.

9. The method of claim 2, further comprising transmitting to the device a beacon to which the changed beacon position is applied.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein if the reason code field comprises the reason code of “

SUCCESS”

, the coordinator transmits a plurality of beacons through the transmitting module to the device.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the reason for failure is any one of “

Unsupported Feature”

, “

Already synchronized with higher priority stream”

, “

Network shutdown in progress”

, “

Channel change in progress”

, “

Coordinator handover in progress” and

“

Other failure”

.

12. A coordinator of a wireless network in which the coordinator alone is broadcasting beacons to control the wireless network, the coordinator comprising:

a transmitting module;

a receiving module configured to receive a change request message for requesting a change of a beacon position upon which a beacon is to be sent by the coordinator among configuration parameters of the wireless network from a device of the wireless network, wherein the request message comprises a beacon position change field indicating an offset value representing a shift distance between an original beacon position and a requested new beacon position; and

a control module configured to generate a response message in response to the request message, to transmit the response message to the device via the transmitting module, and to transmit a plurality of beacons to the device via the transmitting module, each of the plurality of beacons comprising a parameter change information element (IE),

wherein the parameter change IE comprises a change type field indicating that a type of the parameter to be changed is the beacon position, a change beacon number field comprising a beacon number of a superframe when the change of the beacon position takes effect, a unique number that identifies the parameter change IE, and a network parameter field comprising information about a changed beacon position.

13. The coordinator of claim 12, wherein the response message comprises a command ID field comprising a unique number that identifies the response message, a length field indicating a length of the response message and a reason code field comprising a reason code.

14. The coordinator of claim 12, wherein the wireless network further comprises a high rate physical channel and a low rate physical channel.

15. The coordinator of claim 13, wherein if the reason code field comprises the reason code of “

SUCCESS”

, the coordinator transmits a plurality of beacons through the transmitting module to the device.

16. The coordinator of claim 15, wherein the coordinator transmits to the device a beacon to which the changed beacon position is applied, through the transmitting module.