Patent ID: 7902996

Claim:
A node comprising: a processor; a transceiver in communication with the processor for receiving and transmitting signals, the transmitted and received signals being via a wireless transmission medium; wherein the processor for identifying the received signals as including either a received signal transmitted by another node acting as a central node or not including a received signal transmitted by another node acting as a central node; wherein when the received signals include a received signal transmitted by another node acting as a central node the processor; extracting information from the received signal transmitted by another node acting as a central node and determining whether the another node has capacity to add the node as a member of a group coordinated by the another node acting as a central node; transmitting a signal to the another node acting as a central node indicating that the node wishes to become a member of the group coordinated by the another node acting as a central node when the extracted information indicates capacity to add the node; receiving a signal from the another node acting as a central node indicating that the request for the node to become a member of the group coordinated by the another node acting as a central node has been accepted and configuring upon acceptance a first aspect of the node in dependence upon information contained with the acceptance signal; and when the received signals do not include a received signal transmitted by another node acting as a central node the processor for at least one of; determining to become at least one of a further central node and an unassigned node; generating a signal for transmission from the transceiver indicating that the node is acting a central node when the determination to become a central node; and configuring a second aspect of the node upon the determination.