Patent Document ID: 20160021599
Application ID: 14775102
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A machine implemented method for use in a wireless mesh network, the method comprising: acquiring data packets at a source node that need to be delivered to a remote destination node through the wireless mesh network; determining a unicast route through the wireless mesh network from the source node to the destination node to support a data flow for the acquired data packets; for a link between the source node and a first relay node in the unicast route, automatically activating, based on channel conditions within the network, a helper node to assist the link in transferring data from the source node to the first relay node; generating random linear network coded (RLNC) packets at the source node for a first generation of the data flow; initiating transmission of RLNC packets from the source node to the first relay node for the first generation; overhearing and storing RLNC packets transmitted by the source node for the first generation at the helper node; re-coding overheard RLNC packets at the helper node for the first generation; after a delay, initiating transmission of re-coded RLNC packets from the helper node to the first relay node for the first generation of the data flow; and continuing to transmit RLNC packets from at least one of the source node and the helper node until the first relay node has received a sufficient number of degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) to decode the first generation of data packets.