Neighbor location discovery with directional antennas in a mesh network
US7664054B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 28, 2005 |
| Grant date | Feb 16, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 21, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W84/18
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Disclosed is a Neighbor Location Discovery Protocol (NLDP) that determines the relative locations of the nodes in a mesh network. In one embodiment, NLDP can be implemented for an ad-hoc wireless network where the nodes are equipped with directional antennas and are not able to use GPS. While NLDP relies on nodes having at least two RF transceivers, it offers significant advantages over previously proposed protocols that employ only one RF transceiver. In NLDP antenna hardware is simple, easy to implement, and readily available. Further, NLDP exploits the host node's ability to operate simultaneously over non-overlapping channels to quickly converge on the neighbor's location. NLDP is limited by the range of the control channel, which operates in a omni-directional fashion. However, by choosing a low frequency band, high power, and low data rate, the range of the control channel can be increased to match the range on the data channel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.