Patent ID: 8155055

Claim:
A method performed by a master unit for recovering a previously lost connection between said master unit and a slave unit in a frequency hopping communications system, the method comprising: causing the master unit to enter a first recovery state, which includes: repeatedly transmitting at least one ID packet from the master unit to the slave unit until a response is received from the slave unit or until a maximum time period of the first recovery state has elapsed, and gradually increasing the number of ID packets that are repeatedly transmitted from the master unit to the slave unit as time progresses, and wherein, if the maximum time period of the first recovery state has elapsed, the method further comprises: causing the master unit to enter a second recovery state, which includes: fixing the number of ID packets that are repeatedly transmitted from the master unit to the slave unit as time progresses to a maximum number of ID packets; and repeatedly transmitting the fixed number of ID packets from the master unit to the slave unit until a response is received from the slave unit, and wherein a timing selection and/or a frequency selection is performed based on clock information of the master unit from the last synchronization of the respective clocks of the master unit and the slave unit during the previous connection.