Motorola Corporation

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Intel Corporation

Nxp B.v.

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.

Lance Eric Hester

Yan Huang

Jian C Huang

Qicai Shi

Edgar Herbert Callaway, Jr

Vernon Anthony Allen

Priscilla L Chen

Matthew R Perkins

Oleg Andric

Chung-Chieh Lee

Padmaja Ramadas

Philip Orlik

Zafer Sahinoglu

Lakshman Krishnamurthy

Ralph Michael Kling

Jasmeet Chhabra

Yong Liu

Spyros Kyperountas

Robert J O'Dea

Feng Niu

Chunhui Zhu

Myung Jong Lee

Monique J Bourgeois

Xuhui Hu

Phil A Jamieson

Phil Rudland

Zachary Smith

A method and apparatus for providing quality of service over a contention access period of a wireless personal area network is provided herein. Particularly, the layers above the MAC are allowed to reserve portions of a contention access period (CAP) in order to schedule their QoS actions cooperatively thereby avoiding the dependence on the MAC for QoS performance. By using cooperative scheduling, a node can send a QoS packet from the QoS_Layer to the MAC, and know that it will be transmitted according to the specified QoS requirement. As a result, whenever a node sends a QoS packet in the reserved portion of the CAP, the channel will be guaranteed to be free from competing nodes' packets because those competing nodes will delay their transmissions based on the shared schedule.

Method and apparatus for providing quality of service over a contention access period of a wireless personal area network

The disclosure is a routing method for data in a personal area network. The personal area network includes a plurality of nodes. The method includes receiving a frame at a node, determining whether the node contains a routing table entry for the frame destination, and when the node contains a routing table entry, determining a route for the frame based on a first routing protocol. The method further includes, when the node does not contain a routing table entry for the frame destination, determining whether a route should be discovered for the frame destination, and when a route should not be discovered, determining a route for the frame based on a second routing protocol.

Methods and apparatuses for routing data in a personal area network

A low power consumption protocol for low power communication devices attached to an asynchronous network is described. In this protocol, one or more mediation devices (MDs) facilitate data processing capabilities in the network, whether in a dedicated MD or distributed MD network environment. These capabilities may be provided by the functions of packet caching, removal of replicated packets, and multiple communication types performed by the one or more MDs in accordance with a common synchronization schedule () managed by the one or more MDs and communicated to other devices in the network ().

Media access control and distributed data processing using mediation devices in an asynchronous network

Mediation devices in an asynchronous network of low power consumption communication devices are leveraged through the use of new protocols () that analyze relevant QoS parameters () in order to provide a better than best effort service in the network. These protocols invoke adaptive quality of service (QoS) mechanisms to capitalize on the strength and flexibility provided to the network by the presence of one or more MDs, as described above. Expanded functionality of the MD includes control information messaging and service differentiation for the purpose of improving QoS of the network.

Quality of service (QOS) control mechanisms using mediation devices in an asynchronous network

A method for peer-to-peer ranging and discovery of a rigid body existing in a scatternet having piconets and nodes includes the steps of defining a node () in a piconet () to be a piconet controller (PNC) having controller functions, locating a rigid body seed including the node (), and discovering a rigid body by sequentially downloading controller functions of the piconet controller () to at least one border node. Also provided is a communications node including a receiver for receiving communications from other communications nodes in a communications range (R), a transmitter for sending communications to other communications nodes in the communications range (R), a memory storing at least ranging information and a unique identification for describing the node, and a processor connected to the receiver, to the transmitter, and to the memory, the processor being programmed to carry out the method according to the present invention.

Method for rigid body discovery and peer-to-peer ranging in a scatternet and communications node

A wireless network () and method () for assigning a set of channels to a set of wireless devices (-) in the network where there are less channels than devices such that wireless devices are grouped in channel groups such that the wireless devices assigned to each channel group are positioned so as not to interfere with each other. In assigning an nth wireless device to a kth channel group, the nth and preferably one member of the kth channel group at a time are instructed to transmit simultaneously in order to ascertain if the nth wireless device interferes with or is interfered with by any member of the kth channel group.

Non interfering group based wireless network protocols

A communication device () determines whether to operate as a cluster head in a network of communication devices (). The device performs a self-assessment regarding its ability to operate as a cluster head based on a formula that assigns weights to factors related to its capabilities and preferably its environment (). The ability of the device is combined with a random value component in determining whether to operate as a cluster head (). In the preferred embodiment, upon assumption of cluster head status, the device communicates with neighboring devices to signal its cluster head status, and to invite others to participate in the formation of a cluster.

Method and apparatus for a communication network with nodes capable of selective cluster head operation

Protocols for ad-hoc wireless networks () that use mediation devices () to facilitate communication between low power, low duty cycle wireless devices () are provided. In order to avoid premature battery exhaustion in particular devices, devices operating as mediation devices () report their communication load to low duty cycle wireless devices () that are positioned to be able to use the mediation devices (). Based on the information as to communication load received from multiple mediation devices (), and optionally on a virtual hop count that is a predictor of how rapidly the use of a route through a particular mediation device will lead to battery exhaustion, low duty cycle wireless devices () choose a mediation device () to use or proportion use of mediation devices () in order to delay battery exhaustion in the network.

Wireless network with improved sharing of high power consumption tasks

An apparatus and method for a spanning tree network. A communication device can connect to a piconet network and the communication device can transmit at least one available piconet identifier prior to receiving a request for the available piconet identifier from a dependent communication device, the available piconet identifier providing a parent piconet coordinator identification for the dependent communication device. A dependent communication device can connect to the piconet network, determine if the communication device can support a dependent piconet, and receive at least one available piconet identifier prior to requesting information regarding establishing a dependent piconet, the available piconet identifier providing parent piconet identification for the communication device for the dependent piconet.

Piconet spanning tree network

A network protocol for low-cost, low-power devices coupled to a self-organizing wireless network using a spanning tree backbone architecture is described. In this protocol, physical and logical network construction and maintenance operations, which supports efficient data routing in the network, are performed. The construction phase in conjunction with the maintenance phase insures the self-organizing capability of the network. At the same time, the maintenance operations provide a self-healing mechanism so that the network can recover from node failures and a self-updating mechanism so that the network can expand as more nodes enter the system. Also, the logical backbone hierarchy will facilitate multi-hop communication. The construction of a logical layered spanning tree backbone architecture from an underlying physical topology allows seamless data communication routing between all nodes in the network.

Protocol for self-organizing network using a logical spanning tree backbone

In order to discover neighboring nodes () within a particular piconet, a first node () determines a list of all nodes () within its piconet () and then transmits to each node within the piconet, a message requiring a response. Depending upon which nodes are heard from, a list is formulated by the first node comprising those nodes neighboring the first node. In order for neighboring nodes within other piconets to 'discover' the first node, the first node will also scan its environment to determine piconet identifications for other piconets, and then broadcast a 'discovery' message having a piconet identification of a neighboring piconet. In a similar manner, the first node will also scan its environment to determine discovery messages transmitted by other nodes, thus determining neighboring nodes outside its piconet.

Method and apparatus for discovering neighbors within a piconet communication system

The invention provides methods ( ) for organizing and assigning network address to network nodes in clusters ( ), and forming new clusters and also provides a method for routing messages in clusters. According to the invention, clusters are organized into hierarchical tree arrangements, with addresses assigned in a manner that facilitates routing messages.

Growing community of inventors

Sunrise, FL, United States of America

Lance Eric Hester