Patent ID: 7269138
Filing Date: 2007-09-11
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method for reducing communications in a peer-to-peer wireless network having nodes, which comprises: sending an RTS-TOA ranging communication from a first node in a group of the nodes to a second different node in the group; receiving the RTS-TOA ranging communication with the second node and sending a multi-cast CTS-TOAIRTS-TOA ranging communication from the second node as a reply to the received RTS-TOA ranging communication; successively and sequentially repeating the multi-cast sending step for each of the group of nodes carrying out the sending step by sending a CTS-TOA message of the multi-cast ranging communication from the second node to the first node as a reply to the received RTS-TOA message of the multi-cast ranging communication; sending the RTS-TOA ranging communication from the second node to a third node in the group different from the first node and the second node; repeating the multi-cast sending step for all of the nodes in the group; providing at least each node in the group with a memory to hold a Time-of-Arrival status list, a range-status list, and a range list; providing the network with M reference nodes and N unknown nodes; and providing the Time-of-Arrival-status list in each node with an individual entry for each of the other nodes in the group; providing the range-status list in each node with an individual range-status entry for each of the other nodes in the group; providing the range list in each node with an individual range entry for each of the other nodes in the group; and setting a dimension of each of the Time-of-Arrival-status list, the range-status list, and the range list equal to M+N−1.