Patent ID: 7450553

Claim:
A method for selecting a starting point to transmit a beacon from a coordinator and a first node in a communication system comprising the coordinator, a first node group comprising at least one node having the first node which receives the beacon from the coordinator, and a second node group comprising at least one node having a second node which receives the beacon from the first node, the method comprising: the coordinator selecting a beacon window size and an initial beacon transmission starting point (BTSP) within the beacon window size to transmit the beacon; the coordinator transmitting to the first node, a beacon containing information on the selected beacon window size and the initial BTSP, at the initial BTSP; and the first node selecting a first BTSP within the beacon window size so as not to overlap with the initial BTSP contained in the received beacon, wherein the first node transmits to the second node group and neighbor nodes of the first node group, a beacon containing information on the selected beacon window size, and the initial and first BTSPs, and wherein the second node selects a second BTSP within the beacon window size so as not to overlap with the initial and first BTSPs.