Using synchronization frames for mesh networking with piconets

Abstract

Certain aspects provide a technique for managing transmissions in a wireless network. The technique generally provides for an access terminal to transmit synchronization packets containing timing information regarding an existing piconet. The synchronization packets may contain an indication of resources of the piconet allocated to the access terminal by an access point.

1 . A method of wireless communication, comprising:
 receiving, from a first node in a first piconet, a first synchronization packet containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the first piconet;   determining interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for nodes in the first piconet, based on the timing information; and   establishing a second piconet by allocating available resources to nodes in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the first piconet.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 periodically monitoring transmissions from nodes in the second piconet to detect potential interference with transmissions in the first piconet; and   adjusting the allocation of resources in the second piconet to avoid interference with transmissions in the first piconet.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, from one or more nodes in a third piconet, synchronization packets containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the third piconet;   determining interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the third piconet, based on the timing information associated with the third piconet; and   adjusting the allocation of resources in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the third piconet.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising selecting whether to synchronize to timing of a piconet coordinator (PNC) of the first piconet or a PNC of the third piconet based on corresponding PNC address values included in synchronization packets received from nodes in the first and third piconets. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first node comprises a node that is not acting as a piconet coordinator (PNC). 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first node comprises an access terminal. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first synchronization packet comprises a time stamp indicating a start time of a preamble of a frame to be transmitted in the first piconet. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 performing ranging operations based on a difference between a time when the first synchronization packet was received and a time indicated by the time stamp.   
     
     
         9 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive, from a first node in a first piconet, a first synchronization packet containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the first piconet;   a scheduler configured to determining interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for nodes in the first piconet, based on the timing information; and   logic configured to establish a second piconet by allocating available resources to nodes in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the first piconet.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 logic configured to periodically monitor transmissions from nodes in the second piconet to detect potential interference with transmissions in the first piconet and adjust the allocation of resources in the second piconet to avoid interference with transmissions in the first piconet.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the receiver is further configured to receive, from one or more nodes in a third piconet, synchronization packets containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the third piconet;   the scheduler is configured to determine interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the third piconet, based on the timing information associated with the third piconet; and   the apparatus further comprises logic configured to adjust the allocation of resources in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the third piconet.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising logic configured to select whether to synchronize to timing of a piconet coordinator (PNC) of the first piconet or a PNC of the third piconet based on corresponding PNC address values included in synchronization packets received from nodes in the first and third piconets. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the first node comprises a node that is not acting as a piconet coordinator (PNC). 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the first node comprises an access terminal. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the first synchronization packet comprises a time stamp indicating a start time of a preamble of a frame to be transmitted in the first piconet. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 ranging logic configured to perform ranging operations based on a difference between a time when the first synchronization packet was received and a time indicated by the time stamp.   
     
     
         17 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
 means for receiving, from a first node in a first piconet, a first synchronization packet containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the first piconet;   means for determining interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for nodes in the first piconet, based on the timing information; and   means for establishing a second piconet by allocating available resources to nodes in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the first piconet.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 means for periodically monitoring transmissions from nodes in the second piconet to detect potential interference with transmissions in the first piconet; and   means for adjusting the allocation of resources in the second piconet to avoid interference with transmissions in the first piconet.   
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 means for receiving, from one or more nodes in a third piconet, synchronization packets containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the third piconet;   means for determining interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the third piconet, based on the timing information associated with the third piconet; and   means for adjusting the allocation of resources in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the third piconet,   
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , further comprising means for selecting whether to synchronize to timing of a piconet coordinator (PNC) of the first piconet or a PNC of the third piconet based on corresponding PNC address values included in synchronization packets received from nodes in the first and third piconets. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the first node comprises a node that is not acting as a piconet coordinator (PNC). 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the first node comprises an access terminal. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the first synchronization packet comprises a time stamp indicating a start time of a preamble of a frame to be transmitted in the first piconet. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 means for performing ranging operations based on a difference between a time when the first synchronization packet was received and a time indicated by the time stamp.   
     
     
         25 . A wireless node capable of assuming a role of a Piconet Coordinator (PNC), comprising:
 at least one antenna;   a receiver configured to receive via the at least one antenna, from a first node in a first piconet, a first synchronization packet containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the first piconet;   a scheduler configured to determining interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for nodes in the first piconet, based on the timing information; and   logic configured to establish a second piconet by allocating available resources to nodes in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the first piconet.   
     
     
         26 . A computer-program product for wireless communications, comprising a computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable to:
 receive, from a first node in a first piconet, a first synchronization packet containing timing information regarding allocation of resources in the first piconet;   determine interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for nodes in the first piconet, based on the timing information; and   establish a second piconet by allocating available resources to nodes in the second piconet based on the determined interference time slots corresponding to allocated transmissions times for the nodes in the first piconet.   
     
     
         27 . A method of wireless communication, comprising:
 performing ranging operations for a destination node that is to receive wirelessly distributed video; and   adjusting at least one of a bandwidth or resolution of the wirelessly distributed video based on results of the ranging operations.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein performing ranging operations comprise:
 receiving, from the destination node, a synchronization packet containing a time stamp indicating a transmission time of the synchronization packet; and   calculating a result based on a difference between a time when the synchronization packet was received and a time indicated by the time stamp.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the adjusting comprises:
 increasing the resolution of the wirelessly distributed video if the results of the ranging operations indicate a wireless video source and the destination node are in relatively close proximity to each other.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the adjusting comprises:
 decreasing the resolution of the wirelessly distributed video if the results of the ranging operations indicate a wireless video source and the destination node are not in relatively close proximity to each other.   
     
     
         31 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
 ranging logic configured to perform ranging operations for a destination node that is to receive wirelessly distributed video; and   adjusting logic configured to adjust at least one of a bandwidth or resolution of the wirelessly distributed video based on results of the ranging operations.   
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the ranging logic is configured to:
 receive, from the destination node, a synchronization packet containing a time stamp indicating a transmission time of the synchronization packet; and   calculate a result based on a difference between a time when the synchronization packet was received and a time indicated by the time stamp.   
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the adjusting logic is configured to:
 increase the resolution of the wirelessly distributed video if the results of the ranging operations indicate a wireless video source and the destination node are in relatively close proximity to each other.   
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the adjusting logic is configured to:
 decrease the resolution of the wirelessly distributed video if the results of the ranging operations indicate a wireless video source and the destination node are not in relatively close proximity to each other.   
     
     
         35 . An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
 means for performing ranging operations for a destination node that is to receive wirelessly distributed video; and   means for adjusting at least one of a bandwidth or resolution of the wirelessly distributed video based on results of the ranging operations.   
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the means for performing ranging is configured to:
 receive, from the destination node, a synchronization packet containing a time stamp indicating a transmission time of the synchronization packet; and   calculate a result based on a difference between a time when the synchronization packet was received and a time indicated by the time stamp.   
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the means for performing ranging is configured to:
 increase the resolution of the wirelessly distributed video if the results of the ranging operations indicate a wireless video source and the destination node are in relatively close proximity to each other.   
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the means for adjusting is configured to:
 decrease the resolution of the wirelessly distributed video if the results of the ranging operations indicate a wireless video source and the destination node are not in relatively close proximity to each other.   
     
     
         39 . A wireless video source, comprising:
 at least one antenna;   ranging logic configured to perform ranging operations, based on packets received via the at least one antenna, for a destination node that is to receive wirelessly distributed video; and   adjusting logic configured to adjust at least one of a bandwidth or resolution of the wirelessly distributed video based on results of the ranging operations.   
     
     
         40 . A computer-program product for wireless communications, comprising a computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable to, comprising:
 perform ranging operations for a destination node that is to receive wirelessly distributed video; and   adjust at least one of a bandwidth or resolution of the wirelessly distributed video based on results of the ranging operations.