NETWORK COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WHEREIN MULTIPLE CONTROLLERS COMMUNICATE SO THAT ONE NODE CONTACTING A FIRST CONTROLLER CAN COMMUNICATE WITH ANOTHER NODE CONTACTING A SECOND CONTROLLER AND ACKNOWLEDGE BACK THAT COMMUNICATION IS SUCCESSFUL

摘要

A communication system is provided for communication between network nodes and multiple communication controllers. The communication method provides for request timeslot management, assigning request timeslots to individual nodes. In the network, when an individual node has data to transmit, the node transmits a request signal to a communication controller over an assigned timeslot. For a first node in the network area of a first controller communicating with a second node in the network area of a second communication controller, data is relayed between the first and second communication controllers to enable communication between the first and second nodes. Acknowledgement back that communication is successful is made by a node to a controller indicating a grant was successfully received by the node.