Flexible MAC superframe structure and beaconing method
US8467357B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 5, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jun 18, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 17, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W28/06
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A flexible wireless system and method that support both centralized and distributed modes of MAC protocols, use a new recurring MAC superframe comprising: a beacon period, a data/sense/sleep period for data selective communication, sleep and channel sensing for detecting primary users in cognitive systems; and a signaling window used for exchanging network entry messages and channel reservation requests, the system including beacon operation, a peer beacon device in distributed mode and a master beacon device in centralized mode which are used to selectively participate in the beacon operation, as well as a slave beacon device associated with the master device. The system may employ controlled channel access for the beacon period, the channel access being reservation based. The invention provides a unified MAC protocol that can be adopted in the standards, and supports flexible operation in distributed mode or centralized mode, and seamless transfer from one to the other.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.