Patent ID: 7978717

Claim:
A system for reducing power consumption in a wireless mesh communication network, comprising: a plurality of follower nodes; and a leader node in communication with the plurality of follower nodes, the leader node being operable to transmit a sleep command to the plurality of follower nodes thereby causing the plurality of follower nodes to transition from an awake mode to a sleep mode, the leader node and the plurality of follower nodes consuming less power in the sleep mode than when in the awake mode, wherein the leader node is configured to synchronize, via the sleep command, a transition of the plurality of nodes from the awake mode to the sleep mode, wherein the sleep command is a multicast message, and wherein each of the plurality of follower nodes is operable to transition to the sleep mode in response to the sleep command without further communicating with the leader node prior to transitioning to the sleep mode, wherein the leader node is operable to transmit a notification to the plurality of follower nodes, the notification indicating when a transmission of a future sleep command is expected, wherein the plurality of followers nodes are operable to elect a new leader node if the leader node fails to transmit the future sleep command within a grace period of a time indicated by the notification for the transmission of the future sleep command.