Patent ID: 8976728
Filing Date: 2015-03-10
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of transmitting messages or traffic from a radio or node for reception by one or more other nodes in a communications network, comprising: generating a serialized network frame having first, second, and third blocks of time slots for the communications network, and providing a first time slot in the first block of time slots for allowing an outside node to enter the network; the serialized network frame containing a number of second time slots of known duration in the second block of time slots for allowing a given node in the network to acquire medium access by assigning the node one or more of the second time slots in the second block of time slots according to a node access multiple access (NAMA) protocol; the serialized network frame containing a number of third time slots of known duration in the third block of time slots for allowing the given node to acquire medium access by scheduling a set of one or more of the third time slots in the third block of time slots after the given node generates a corresponding reservation initiation message (RIM) requesting the set of third time slots and fails to receive a counter reservation initiation message (CRIM) from other nodes receiving the RIM representing a conflict with the requested set of third time slots; wherein each of the other nodes receiving the RIM (a) determines which, if any, of the requested set of third time slots is reserved according to maps maintained by each of the RIM receiving nodes for identifying each of the third time slots as being either available or reserved, (b) transmits a CRIM to the given node if the RIM receiving node determines one or more of the requested set of third time slots are reserved, and (c) includes in the CRIM a map of third time slots known to be available, thus allowing the given node to request a revised set of third time slots for scheduling from among the time slots included in CRIMs received by the given node as being available; configuring the given node to select a transmission protocol that is most adept at handling a given type of message or traffic from among (1) high volume streaming data including multimedia streams, voice, and high rate data streams, (2) sporadic messages including relatively small, unscheduled bursts of data, and (3) low volume periodic streams including network maintenance and control messages; and selecting, at the given node, the transmission protocol from among (i) using one or more of the second time slots assigned to the node in the second block of time slots, (ii) using one or more third time slots to be scheduled by the node in the third block of time slots, and (iii) acquiring medium access by contention during one or more third time slots for which no scheduled reservation exists in the third block of time slots.