Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.v.

Richard Chen

Chun-Ting Chou

Maulin Dahyabhai Patel

Ruediger Schmitt

Hong Zhai

Seyed-Alireza Seyedi-Esfahani

Yingwei Chen

Javier Del Prado Pavon

Hongqiang Zhai

Sai Shankar Nandagopalan

Dagnachew Birru

Kiran Srinivas Challapali

Karl R Wittig

Takashi Sato

Yong Yan

Saishankar Nandagopalan

Karl Wittig

Javier Del Prado

A system and method are provided for non-transmission specification fair air-time, NT-AirFair, allocation control by tracking the transmission time consumed by each link to detect any increase and enforcing air-time allocation based on the pattern of usage derived therefrom.

Air-time fair transmission regulation without explicit traffic specifications for wireless networks

A method for controlling access to a wireless medium in a network. The method comprises dividing an access time to the wireless medium into fixed and repeated time rounds, wherein each time round includes a plurality of superframes and each superframe includes a fixed number of time slots; allocating a global beacon period within a time round; and reserving subframes within each superframe, wherein master devices can access the wireless medium at least during the reserved subframes.

Medium access control (MAC) protocol for body area networks

A method and wireless device merge multiple unsynchronized beacon groups in a wireless network, each beacon group including at least one wireless device. A first beacon is received from at least one first wireless device in a first beacon group (S), the first wireless device having a first directional antenna. A second beacon is received from at least one second wireless device in a second beacon group that is not synchronized with the first beacon group (S), the second wireless device having a second directional antenna. A first response beacon is relocated (S) and sent (S) to the first wireless device in the first beacon group. The relocated first response beacon instructs the first wireless device to relocate the first beacon. Accordingly, the second beacon, the relocated first response beacon, and the relocated first beacon are synchronized.

Apparatus and method for merging beacon transmission and reception

Techniques for dynamically switching between synchronous and asynchronous operation modes in body area networks (BANs). One embodiment includes a method () for transitioning from an asynchronous mode to a synchronous mode in a medium access control (MAC) of a BAN. A device receiving a switch mode command (S) performs the acts comprising: setting a timer to a time period specified in the switch mode command (S); propagating the received switch mode command to other devices in the BAN (S); upon expiration of the time period, tuning to a channel selected from a set of channels reserved for the synchronous mode (S); and initializing a device to operate as either a master device or a slave device in the synchronous mode of operation (S). Another embodiment includes a method () for transitioning from a synchronous mode to an asynchronous mode in a MAC of a body area networks (BAN).

Techniques for dynamically switching between synchronous and asynchronous operation modes in body area networks

A system and method are provided for non-transmission specification fair air-time, NT-AirFair, allocation control by tracking the transmission time () consumed by each link to detect any increase and enforcing air -time allocation () based on the pattern of usage derived therefrom.

A method for transferring data among devices in a body area network (BAN). The method comprises dividing an access time to a wireless medium of the BAN into at least a contention-based period and a contention-free reservation period; allowing devices to transfer data during the contention-based period using a local prioritized contention access (LPCA) mechanism; and allowing only devices having reserved time slots to transfer data during the contention-free reservation period.

Techniques for efficient data transfers in a body area network

A system for broadcasting and receiving a beacon signal includes a beacon transmitter () and a beacon receiver (). The beacon transmitter includes a beacon signal generator () to generate a beacon signal, and a directional antenna system () to selectively transmit the beacon signal in a corresponding one of M different directions during each one of M beacon slots () during a beacon period () in each of a plurality of superframes (). The beacon receiver includes a beacon signal detector () to receive and detect the beacon signal, and a directional antenna system () having an antenna pattern including a main lobe and being adapted to selectively steer the main lobe in a selected one of N different directions during each of a plurality of receiver frames each having a time period substantially equal to a time period of one of the superframes.

Method and system of beacon transmission and reception using directional antennas

A method () for enabling compatibility of wireless devices having different regulation settings. The method includes upon initialization of a wireless device, scanning a predefined common channel (S); forming a WiNet service set (WSS) by wireless devices communicating over the predefined common channel (S); upon switching of the wireless devices in the WSS to a channel other than the predefined common channel, checking if a new wireless device attempts to join the WSS (S, S); and adding the new wireless device to the WSS if such attempt was detected (S).

Techniques for enabling compatibility of ultra wideband devices

A method enables a wireless device () to rendezvous with another wireless device () through a wireless network (), where activation schedules of the wireless devices are not synchronized. The method includes determining a number of time units in each cycle of multiple communication cycles, identifying active time units in each cycle during which the first wireless device enters an active mode, and identifying inactive time units in each cycle during which the first wireless device enters an inactive mode. The sum of the active time units and the inactive time units equals the number of time units in each cycle. A first active time unit in each cycle occupies a same position in the cycle as an active time unit in a previous consecutive cycle. Also, a second active time unit in each cycle occupies a different position in the cycle than any active time unit in the previous consecutive cycle.

Apparatus and method for enabling communications among unsynchronized wireless devices

A method () for controlling access to a wireless medium in a network. The method comprises dividing an access time to the wireless medium into fixed and repeated time rounds (), wherein each time round includes a plurality of superframes () and each superframe includes a fixed number of time slots () (S); allocating a global beacon period () within a time round (S); and reserving subframes () within each superframe (), wherein master devices can access the wireless medium at least during the reserved subframes (S).

A method () for coordinating access to a wireless medium among multiple co-located body area networks (BANs). The method comprises detecting, by a master device of a first BAN, at least one alien BAN using beacons received from at least one co-located BAN, wherein an alien BAN is a BAN having its round start time (RST) misaligned with a RST of the first BAN (S); recording a RST offset between the first BAN and the at least one alien BAN (S); based on the RST offset determining which of the first BAN and the at least one alien BAN is an initiator BAN and which is a target BAN (S); and realigning the RST of the initiator BAN with the RST of the target BAN (S).

Techniques for supporting harmonized co-existence of multiple co-located body area networks

Allocation of contiguous blocks of airtime for data or airtime transmission can lead to large maximum service intervals for an application stream. This may result in a large delay bound where large blocks of contiguous MAS blocks other applications from meeting their low-latency requirements. A method and network that overcomes at least the shortcomings of known methods includes transmitting information over a wireless network. This includes the steps of: organizing the superframe into allocation zones; organizing the allocation zones into iso-zones; generating an allocation map; determining a periodic service interval and medium time based on a TSPEC, a delay requirement, and local resource of an application stream; searching for transmission opportunity that accommodates the periodic service interval and the medium time required based on the allocation map; transmitting information in the superframe upon finding transmission opportunity in the searching step.

Medium time allocation and scheduling using ISO-zone structured superframe for QoS provisioning in wireless networks

A method and system for directed beaconing in a superframe structure () among devices of different types in a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). A first type device directs a second type device to transmit beacons () in a beacon group of first type devices, announcing the second type device's time slot reservations (). The method includes: making a Distributed Reservation Protocol (DRP) reservation () of a time period in every superframe; selecting two consecutive beacon slots () and indicating the two consecutive beacon slots () as occupied; informing the second type device the timing of the two occupied consecutive beacon slots during the reserved time period (); transmitting a response () in the reserved time period by the second type device; and transmitting two beacons () by the second type device in the two occupied consecutive beacon slots.

Directed beaconing using polling for devices with different capabilities

A method for transferring data among devices in a body area network (BAN). The method comprises dividing an access time to a wireless medium of the BAN into at least a contention-based period () and a contention-free reservation period (); allowing devices to transfer data during the contention-based period using a local prioritized contention access (LPCA) mechanism; and allowing only devices having reserved time slots to transfer data during the contention-free reservation period ().

A method () for pre-empting data transmissions in a discovery channel. The method comprises scanning the discovery channel to detect at least one data beacon transmitted in beacon slots () of a superframe (S); determining if at least one data beacon was detected (S); and transmitting a pre-empt beacon if the at least one data beacon was detected (S).

Growing community of inventors

Croton-on-Hudson, NY, United States of America

Richard Chen