POWER CONSERVATION IN CHANNEL HOPPING WIRELESS NETWORK BY INDEPENDENT DEFINITION OF SLEEP INTERVALS AT EACH NODE

摘要

Power conservation is provided in a network of globally unsynchronized wireless communication devices that use asynchronous channel hopping. Each wireless communication device defines its own channel hopping schedule. The channel hopping schedules include channel hop intervals when the device's receiver is active for receiving transmissions, and sleep intervals when the receiver is in a low power sleep state. Parameters associated with the sleep intervals are defined by each wireless communication device independently of external constraint.

主权项

1. A method of limiting power consumption in a network of globally unsynchronized wireless communication devices that use asynchronous channel hopping over multiple channels, comprising:
at each wireless communication device, defining for the wireless communication device a channel hopping schedule for receiving transmissions, wherein the channel hopping schedule includes sleep intervals associated with a low power sleep state, wherein said defining includes defining parameters for the sleep intervals independently of external constraint, and wherein said parameters include rate of occurrence of the sleep intervals, respective durations of the sleep intervals, and respective temporal locations of the sleep intervals; broadcasting from each of the wireless communication devices the associated channel hopping schedule; and receiving at each of the wireless communication devices the channel hopping schedules respectively associated with the other wireless communication devices.