Method and Apparatus Pertaining to Wireless Communications Systems
AssigneeThe Chamberlain Group, Inc.
InventorsJeremy E. Jenkins, Robert R. Keller, JR., Robert S. Study, III, Madhurima Thevanathan, Hamin Tien
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Abstract
A pool of identifiers are individually used by corresponding particular ones of a repeaters. A communications protocol as used by the repeaters provides time slots to be used by these repeaters when making their transmissions. Each of the time slots is associated with individual corresponding ones of the identifiers, though the time slots are allocated unequally amongst the identifiers such that at least one of the identifiers has more time slots allocated to that identifier, over a given beacon cycle, than others of the identifiers.
Claims18
A method to facilitate repeating messages in a wireless communication system to accommodate a plurality of repeaters, the method comprising:
- providing a pool of identifiers;
- facilitating usage of particular ones of the identifiers by corresponding particular ones of the plurality of repeaters;
- providing a communications protocol to be used by the plurality of repeaters wherein the protocol provides time slots for use by the repeaters to make their transmissions, wherein each of the time slots are associated with individual corresponding ones of the identifiers and wherein the time slots are allocated unequally amongst the identifiers such that at least one of the identifiers has more time slots allocated to that identifier, over a given beacon cycle, than others of the identifiers.
A method comprising:
- correlating each of a plurality of wireless repeaters to a corresponding unique identifier;
- establishing a non-repeating order of the unique identifiers to provide a sequence of identifiers;
- for a cyclical signaling opportunity having a plurality of time slots to be assigned for use by the wireless repeaters, sequentially assigning each of the time slots within a given sequence of the time slots to a corresponding one of the unique identifiers by tracking the sequence of unique identifiers followed in a partially over-lapping manner by tracking the sequence of unique identifiers in a reversed order.
A method to facilitate using a carrier to transmit a message from a message source to a message destination via a plurality of repeaters that each have a unique identifier, wherein the repeaters each observe a shared protocol that provides time slots for use by the repeaters to make their transmissions, wherein each of the time slots are associated with individual corresponding ones of the identifiers and wherein the time slots are allocated unequally amongst the identifiers such that at least one of the identifiers has more time slots allocated to that identifier, over a given beacon cycle, than others of the identifiers, the method comprising:
- at the message source:
- providing a message to be transmitted to the message destination;
- using the carrier to transmit the message asynchronously with respect to the time slot allocations and regardless of whether the message may occupy at least one of the time slots and may collide with a repeater's transmission in such a time slot.
A wireless repeater to facilitate repeating messages in a wireless communication system, the wireless repeater comprising:
- a wireless transceiver;
- a memory having an identifier stored therein, wherein the identifier comprises one of a plurality of identifiers that are each uniquely correlated to a corresponding one of a plurality of repeaters in the wireless communication system;
- a control circuit operably coupled to the memory and the wireless transceiver and configured to use a communications protocol to transmit repeated messages, which communications protocol provides time slots for use by the plurality of repeaters to make their transmissions, wherein each of the time slots are associated with individual corresponding ones of the identifiers and wherein the time slots are allocated unequally amongst the identifiers such that at least one of the identifiers has more time slots allocated to that identifier, over a given beacon cycle, than others of the identifiers.
A wireless repeater to facilitate repeating messages in a wireless communication system, wherein the wireless repeater comprises one of a plurality of repeaters within the wireless communication system and wherein at least one of the plurality of repeaters has more allocated time slots over a given beacon cycle than at least one other of the plurality of repeaters, the wireless repeater comprising:
- a memory having a repeater identifier stored therein;
- a control circuit that is operably coupled to the memory and that is configured to utilize the repeater identifier to determine which time slots are allocated to the wireless repeater when repeating the messages within the wireless communication system.
A method to facilitate using a carrier to transmit a message from a message source to a message destination via a plurality of repeaters that each have a unique identifier, wherein the repeaters each observe a shared protocol that provides time slots for use by the repeaters to make their transmissions, wherein each of the time slots are associated with individual corresponding ones of the identifiers and wherein the time slots are allocated unequally amongst the identifiers such that at least one of the identifiers has more time slots allocated to that identifier, over a given beacon cycle, than others of the identifiers, the method comprising:
- at the message source:
- providing a message to be transmitted to the message destination;
- using the carrier to transmit, within a particular beacon cycle, the message synchronously with respect to the time slot allocations allowing for utilization of the repeaters within the particular beacon cycle after transmission of the message.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.