Method and apparatus for rapid group synchronization

• US 9,166,894 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2014
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Multi-Flex Circuits Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Blackbird Technology Holdings, Inc (Haystack Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Norair, John Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Charles C
• Assistant Examiner(s): KAMARA, MOHAMED A
• Application Number:
  US14/324,411
• Publication Number:
  US 20150009967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/252, 370/254, 370311-312, 370350-351, 370328-329, 370/336, 370/503, 370/449, 370/509, 709/208, 709/248, 709/223, 455/51.2, 455 68- 69, 455 85- 86, 455/88, 455/105, 455/115.2, 455119-120, 455/161.1, 455/180.3, 455/184.1, 455208-209, 455/242.2, 455/243.1, 455258-260, 455/442, 455/452, 455/500, 455/509, 455515-516
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0061 Error detection codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0847 Transmission error
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/555 Error detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0205 at the air interface dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/023 Limited or focused flooding to selected areas of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/06 TPC algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/242 taking into account path loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/245 taking into account received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/36 : with a discrete range or set of values, e.g. step size, ramping or offsets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/54 : Signalisation aspects of the TPC commands, e.g. frame structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 : Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 : Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0025 : synchronizing potentially movable access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 : Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0473 : the resource being transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 : using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 : with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/085 : collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A first device of a network may decide to transmit a flood of packets that is longer in duration than the maximum amount of time that the first device can continuously transmit. The first device may coordinate with one or more second devices of the network such that each of the one or more second devices transmits a respective second portion of the flood of packets following transmission of a first portion of the flood of packets by the first network device. The packets may advertise a pending network event that is to occur at a time indicated by the contents of the packets. The first device may select the one or more second devices from a plurality of devices based on a location of the one or more second devices and/or how many third devices are in the network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in a first device of a wireless network;

deciding to transmit one or more synchronization frames at a first time instant and for a first duration, wherein;

said first duration is greater than a maximum permitted transmit duration by a second duration; and

a second time instant is later than said first time instant by said maximum permitted transmit duration; and

communicating with one or more second devices of said wireless network to instruct said one or more second devices to transmit one or more synchronization frames for said second duration beginning at said second time instant.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising determining said first duration based on how many devices of said wireless network are desired to be synchronized by one or more synchronization frames.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising determining said first duration based on a distance between said first device and one or more other devices of said wireless network.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising determining said first duration based on how frequently another device in said wireless network transmits.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising determining said first duration based on how frequently another devices of said wireless network performs a channel scan.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more synchronization frames decided to be transmitted by said first device advertise a scheduled event.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising determining said first duration based on amount of time until said scheduled event.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said scheduled event is transmission of a search request by said first device.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising determining said first duration based on power available to said first device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

said second duration is greater than a maximum permitted transmit duration by a third duration;

a third time instant is later than said second time instant by said maximum permitted transmit duration; and

the method comprises;

communicating with one or more third devices of said wireless network to instruct said one or more third devices to transmit synchronization frames for said third duration beginning at said third time instant.

11. A system comprising:

a first device of a wireless network comprising a processor and a radio, wherein;

said first device is operable to decide, using said processor, to transmit one or more synchronization frames at a first time instant and for a first duration, wherein;

said first duration is greater than a maximum permitted transmit duration by a second duration; and

a second time instant is later than said first time instant by said maximum permitted transmit duration; and

said first device is operable to communicate, using said radio, with one or more second devices of said wireless network to instruct said one or more second devices to transmit one or more synchronization frames for said second duration beginning at said second time instant.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said device is operable to determine said first duration based on how many devices of said wireless network are desired to be synchronized by one or more synchronization frames.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said device is operable to determine said first duration based on a distance between said first device and one or more other devices of said wireless network.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said device is operable to determine said first duration based on how frequently another device in said wireless network transmits.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said device is operable to determine said first duration based on how frequently another devices of said wireless network performs a channel scan.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein said one or more synchronization frames said first device is operable to transmit advertise a scheduled event.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said device is operable to determine said first duration based on amount of time until said scheduled event.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said scheduled event is transmission of a search request by said first device.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein said device is operable to determine said first duration based on power available to said first device.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein:

said second duration is greater than a maximum permitted transmit duration by a third duration;

a third time instant is later than said second time instant by said maximum permitted transmit duration; and

said electronic device is operable to;

communicate with one or more third devices of said wireless network to instruct said one or more third devices to transmit synchronization frames for said third duration beginning at said third time instant.