Simplified beaconing and channel reservation techniques for short range wireless networks
First Claim
1. A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions stored therein which upon execution instruct at least one processor to:
- generate a MAC superframe format for a wireless network, the MAC superframe format including a reserved channel access (RCA) period that is allocated exclusively to one or more simple devices for transfer or receipt of payload data within a beaconing group, the MAC superframe further comprising a distributed reservation protocol (DRP) period and a prioritized contention access (PCA) protocol period that are accessible by devices different from the one or more simple devices for transfer or receipt of payload data;
generate a beacon period including multiple beacon slots, the multiple beacon slots including one or more simplified beacon slots, the one or more simplified beacon slots used by a selected device to transmit a beacon on behalf of the one or more simple devices such that the beacon enables discovery of the one or more simple devices the one or more simple devices comprising sensor devices; and
transfer or receive payload data by the one or more simple devices substantially following the beacon period using the RCA period.
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Abstract
A system and method for wireless BANs and short-range wireless networks that support heterogeneous devices and applications are disclosed. In one example embodiment, a method of implementing a MAC superframe structure for short-range wireless networks includes transmitting multiple beacon slots (102) during a beacon period (404) wherein the multiple beacon slots (102) include one or more simplified beacon slots associated with one or more simple devices (102), and transmitting payload data during a data transfer period (410) substantially following the beacon period (404) and wherein the data transfer period (410) includes one or more RCA periods (412) associated with the one or more simple devices (102) for transmitting and/or receiving the payload data associated with the one or more simple devices (102) upon receipt of the indication that the RCA period (412) is present in the one or more simplified beacon slots associated with the simple devices (102).
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions stored therein which upon execution instruct at least one processor to:
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generate a MAC superframe format for a wireless network, the MAC superframe format including a reserved channel access (RCA) period that is allocated exclusively to one or more simple devices for transfer or receipt of payload data within a beaconing group, the MAC superframe further comprising a distributed reservation protocol (DRP) period and a prioritized contention access (PCA) protocol period that are accessible by devices different from the one or more simple devices for transfer or receipt of payload data; generate a beacon period including multiple beacon slots, the multiple beacon slots including one or more simplified beacon slots, the one or more simplified beacon slots used by a selected device to transmit a beacon on behalf of the one or more simple devices such that the beacon enables discovery of the one or more simple devices the one or more simple devices comprising sensor devices; and transfer or receive payload data by the one or more simple devices substantially following the beacon period using the RCA period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of implementing a MAC superframe for wireless networks, wherein each of the wireless networks includes multiple transceivers that communicate via wireless links, and wherein the multiple transceivers include one or more simple devices, the method comprising:
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transmitting multiple beacons during a beacon period including multiple beacon slots, the multiple beacon slots including one or more simplified beacon slots, the one or more simplified beacon slots used by a selected transceiver to transmit a beacon on behalf of the one or more simple devices such that the beacon enables discovery of the one or more simple devices within a beaconing group, the one or more simple devices comprising sensor devices; and transmitting payload data during a data transfer period substantially following the beacon period and wherein the data transfer period includes one or more reserved channel access (RCA) periods within the MAC superframe allocated exclusively to the one or more simple devices for transmitting the payload data associated with the one or more simple devices upon receipt of an indication in the one or more simplified beacon slots associated with the simple devices that the one or more RCA periods are present, the MAC superframe further comprising a distributed reservation protocol (DRP) period and a prioritized contention access (PCA) protocol period that are accessible by devices different from the one or more simple devices for transfer or receipt of payload data. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus, comprising:
multiple transceivers that communicate via wireless links in a wireless network within a beaconing group and wherein the multiple transceivers include one or more simple devices, wherein each of the transceivers operates according a MAC superframe structure, wherein the MAC superframe structure comprises a beacon period including multiple beacon slots, wherein the multiple beacon slots include one or more simplified beacon slots, the one or more simplified beacon slots used by a selected transceiver to transmit a beacon on behalf of the one or more simple devices within the beaconing group, the simplified beacon enabling discovery of the one or more simple devices within the beaconing group, the one or more simple devices comprising sensor devices; and
wherein the MAC superframe structure further comprises a data transfer period substantially following the beacon period including one or more reserved channel access (RCA) periods allocated exclusively to the one or more simple devices, the MAC superframe structure further comprising a distributed reservation protocol (DRP) period and a prioritized contention access (PCA) protocol period that are accessible by devices different from the one or more simple devices for transfer or receipt of payload data.- View Dependent Claims (13)
Specification