Automatic timing synchronization for wireless radio networks

Abstract

Radios synchronize their timing mechanisms using a timing signal that those radios propagate from one radio to another. Radios that are close to each other transmit only during times that none of the other nearby radios is trying to receive. In one scheme, a 'master' radio initiates communication while another 'slave' radio responds in a pre-determined manner. The master generates and propagates an inverted timing signal to the slave, which propagates approximately the same inverted timing signal to other radios in the slave's cluster. Each radio can be in one of three different modes: “source,” “auto,” and “recipient” modes. A “source” radio generates a timing signal independently. A “recipient” radio uses a received timing signal and forwards it to other radios. An “auto” radio behaves as a “recipient” radio while a timing signal is detectable, but behaves as a “source” radio if the timing signal is lost.