Radio frequency local area network

• US 20050086399A1
• Filed: 09/08/2003
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1991
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innovatio IP Ventures LLC
• Original Assignee: Robert C. Meier, Ronald E. Luse, Ronald L. Mahany
• Inventors: Meier, Robert C., Mahany, Ronald L., Luse, Ronald E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,552,246 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/18
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0225 User interface arrangements, e.g. keyboard, display; Interfaces to other computer systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1098 the scanning arrangement having a modular construction
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/007 specially adapted for indoor communication
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/241 used in mobile communications, e.g. GSM H01Q1/247, H01Q1/248 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1615 Switching on; Switching off, e.g. remotely battery saving circuits associated with selective call operation H04W52/00; details of power consumption reduction in a PLL, H03L7/0802, H03L7/14, H03L2207/08, H03L2207/18; muting amplifiers by gain control see H03G3/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3833 Hand-held transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/69 Spread spectrum techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/0085 using test signal generators
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0007 by modifying the frame length
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0014 by adapting the source coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0071 Use of interleaving interleaving per se H03M13/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0097 Relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 : Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 : Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/44 : Distributed routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/48 : Routing tree calculation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/488 : using root node determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/6225 : Fixed service order, e.g. Round Robin
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 : Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9057 : Arrangements for supporting packet reassembly or resequencing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 : Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 : Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 : in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/325 : in the network layer [OSI layer 3], e.g. X.25 H04L69/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/326 : in the transport layer [OSI layer 4] H04L69/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/08 : based on transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/10 : based on available power or energy
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 : Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 : Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/26 : for hybrid routing by combining proactive and reactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/30 : for proactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/36 : due to handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 : using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/029 : reducing the clock frequency of the controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 : User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 : Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 : Backbone network devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for routing data in a radio data communication system having one or more host computers, one or more intermediate base stations, and one or more RF terminals organizes the intermediate base stations into an optimal spanning-tree network to control the routing of data to and from the RF terminals and the host computer efficiently and dynamically. Communication between the host computer and the RF terminals is achieved by using the network of intermediate base stations to transmit the data.

Claims

1-29. -29. (canceled)

30. A method of controlling a node having a low power state in a wireless network comprising:

waking a node in the low power state at a timed interval to receive a broadcast packet;

receiving at the node at least one broadcast packet transmitted periodically; and

synchronizing the node to a broadcast packet to allow the node to receive a message intended for the node.

31. A method as recited in claim 30 wherein the node receives the message immediately following the broadcast packet.

32. A method as recited in claim 30 wherein a received broadcast packet includes one or more values to allow a node to determine a time that a subsequent broadcast packet is expected to be received.

33. A method as recited in claim 30 including determining at the node from information received in a broadcast packet when to expect a subsequent broadcast packet.

34. A method of controlling a node having a low power state in a wireless network comprising:

waking a node in the low power state at a time when a broadcast polling message is expected to be received;

receiving at the waken node a broadcast polling message; and

synchronizing the node to a received broadcast polling message to allow the node to receive a subsequent message.

35. A method as recited in claim 34 including determining at the node, from information received in a broadcast polling message, a time to expect receipt of a subsequent message.

36. A method as recited in claim 34 wherein a received broadcast packet includes one or more values to allow a node to determine a time that a subsequent broadcast polling message is expected to be received.

37. A method of controlling anode having a low power state comprising:

calculating at a node a time at which a broadcast message is expected to be received;

waking a node in the low power state at a time at which a broadcast message is expected to be received;

synchronizing the node to a received broadcast message to allow the node to receive a subsequent message stored in the network for the node.

38. A method of controlling a node in a wireless network to communicate with another node having a low power state comprising:

storing at a node a message intended for another node while the other node is in a low power state;

broadcasting from a node at least one polling packet in a polling packet time slot; and

transmitting the stored message to the other node following the broadcast polling packet.

39. A method as recited in claim 38 wherein the stored message is transmitted immediately following a polling packet.

40. A method of controlling a node in a wireless network to communicate with another node having a low power state comprising:

broadcasting from a node at periodic intervals at least one message to which another node can synchronize to when the other node wakens in a low power state;

receiving a response from the other node indicating that the other node has synchronized to the broadcast message; and

subsequently transmitting to the other node a message that was stored while the other node was in the low power state.

41. A method as recited in claim 40 wherein the broadcast message includes values to allow the other node to calculate when a subsequent message is expected to be broadcast.

42. A component for communicating in a wireless network comprising:

a node having a network interface for receiving and transmitting messages and a software control for waking the node in a low power state at a timed interval to allow the node to receive a broadcast message, the node synchronizing to a received broadcast message to allow the node to receive a subsequent message.

43. A component for communicating in a wireless network comprising:

a first node for broadcasting at periodic intervals one message to which a second node can synchronize to when the second node wakes in a low power state; and

the second node waking in a low power state at a timed interval to receive a broadcast message, the second node synchronizing to the broadcast message to allow the second node to receive a message following the broadcast message.