Patent ID: 7349362

Claim:
A method for synchronizing a wireless network comprising a first node operable pursuant to a first time-division multiple access (TDMA) scheme and a second node operable pursuant to a second TDMA scheme, wherein the first TDMA scheme and the second TDMA scheme each comprise a plurality of ticks, and wherein the first node and the second node each comprise a tick counter for determining the time moment at which a transmission is made or at which a signal is received by the node, the method comprising: (i) sending from the first node a reply-requesting message to the second node; (ii) determining a time of arrival (TOA) of the reply-requesting message at the second node, and sending from the second node a reply message to the first node, wherein the reply message comprises information as to the determined TOA of the reply-requesting message at the second node; (iii) determining a TOA of the reply message at the first node; (iv) comparing the determined TOA values for the reply-requesting message at the second node and for the reply message at the first node, and determining a synchronization correction value; and (v) if the synchronization correction value is greater than a pre-determined value, applying the synchronization correction value to the tick counter of the first node, such that the tick counter of the first node is synchronized with the tick counter of the second node.