Patent ID: 8737378

Claim:
A method of operating a node, comprising: timing a synchronization timeout period on a clock of the node, wherein a duration of the synchronization timeout period is set at least in part as a function of: a number of beacon requests received over a period of time; and a number of beacon requests sent over the period of time; listening for a beacon during the synchronization timeout period, the listening including reception of radio frequency (RF) signals on a control channel defined in a mesh network; sending a beacon request, upon a conclusion of the synchronization timeout period and when no beacon has been received, the sending including RF transmission on the control channel of a packet addressed to a parent of the node; receiving a beacon from the parent, in response to the beacon request, the beacon providing a time indicator; updating the clock of the node according to the time indicator; restarting the synchronization timeout period; and classifying the node as a leaf node when the node has not received a beacon request in a leaf-indicating period of time measured by the clock.