Ultra wide band communication network

• US 20050237981A1
• Filed: 06/14/2005
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tumbleweed Holdings LLC (Equitable IP Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Holding 73 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Sparrell, Carlton J., Gehring, Stephan, Rahardja, Krisnawan K., Aiello, Roberto, Lynch, William, Rogerson, Gerald
• Granted Patent: US 8,031,690 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/337
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0638 Clock or time synchronisation among nodes; Internode synchronisation synchronization for ring networks H04L12/422; data switching networks with synchronous transmission H04L12/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/04 Speed or phase control by synchronisation signals H04L7/0075 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02

Abstract

An ultra wide band communication network is provided. One embodiment ultra wide band network includes a master device and a plurality of slave devices structured to communicate with the master device using a plurality of ultra wide band pulses. The ultra wide band network also includes a medium access control protocol comprising a time division multiple access frame, the time division multiple access frame comprising a first mode for protocol exchange and a second mode for data exchange. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

Claims

1. An ultra wide band network, comprising:

a master device;

a plurality of slave devices structured to communicate with the master device using a plurality of ultra wide band pulses; and

a medium access control protocol comprising a time division multiple access frame, the time division multiple access frame comprising a first mode for protocol exchange and a second mode for data exchange.

2. The ultra wide band network of claim 1, wherein the first mode is a contention mode and the second mode is a time division multiple access mode.

3. The ultra wide band network of claim 2, wherein the contention mode is selected from a group consisting of:

an ALOHA mode;

a slotted ALOHA mode; and

a carrier sensed mode.

4. The ultra wide band network of claim 1, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a synchronization frame section, a protocol message exchange section, and a plurality of data sections.

5. The ultra wide band network of claim 1, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a plurality of data sections, with at least one data section having a variable size.

6. The ultra wide band network of claim 1, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a start-of-frame section, a command section, and a plurality of data sections.

7. The ultra wide band network of claim 6, wherein the start-of-frame section synchronizes a clock in the slave device with a clock in the master device.

8. The ultra wide band network of claim 1, wherein the ultra wide band network comprises a media selected from a group consisting of a wired media, and a wireless media.

9. An ultra wide band network, comprising:

a master device;

a plurality of slave devices structured to communicate with the master device using a plurality of ultra wide band pulses; and

a computer program product comprising a medium access control protocol that includes a time division multiple access frame.

10. The ultra wide band network of claim 9, wherein the computer program product is translated into a physical implementation.

11. The ultra wide band network of claim 10, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a first mode for protocol exchange and a second mode for data exchange.

12. The ultra wide band network of claim 11, wherein the first mode comprises a contention mode and the second mode comprises a time division multiple access mode.

13. The ultra wide band network of claim 12, where the contention mode is selected from a group consisting of:

an ALOHA mode;

a slotted ALOHA mode; and

a carrier sensed mode.

14. The ultra wide band network of claim 9, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a synchronization frame section, a protocol message exchange section, and a plurality of data sections.

15. The ultra wide band network of claim 9, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a start-of-frame section, a command section, and a plurality of data sections.

16. The ultra wide band network of claim 15, wherein the start-of-frame section synchronizes a clock in the slave device with a clock in the master device.

17. An ultra wide band network, comprising:

a master device;

a plurality of slave devices structured to communicate with the master device using a plurality of ultra wide band pulses; and

a medium access control protocol comprising a time division multiple access frame, the time division multiple access frame including a plurality of data sections, with at least one data section having a variable size.

18. The ultra wide band network of claim 17, wherein the variable size data section comprises a variable-length data slot.

19. The ultra wide band network of claim 17, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a synchronization frame section, a protocol message exchange section, and a plurality of data sections, with at least one data section having a variable size.

20. The ultra wide band network of claim 17, wherein the time division multiple access frame comprises a start-of-frame section, a command section, and a plurality of data sections, with at least one data section having a variable size.