Beacon-enabled communications for variable payload transfers

Abstract

Systems and methods for designing, using, and/or implementing beacon-enabled communications for variable payload transfers are described. In various embodiments, these systems and methods may be applicable to power line communications (PLC). For example, a method may include implementing a superframe having a plurality of beacon slots, a plurality of intermediate slots following the beacon slots, and a poll-based Contention Free Period (CFP) slot following the intermediate slots. Each of the beacon slots and each of the intermediate slots may correspond to a respective one of a plurality of frequency subbands, and the poll-based CFP slot may correspond to a combination of the plurality of frequency subbands. The method may also include receiving a poll request over a first of the plurality of frequency subbands during the poll-based CFP slot, and then transmitting a data packet over a second of the plurality of frequency subbands during the poll-based CFP slot.

1 . A method comprising:
 defining a superframe that includes:
 a set of beacon periods, each associated with a respective subband of a set of subbands; 
 a set of contention access periods following the set of beacon periods, each associated with a respective subband of the set of subbands; and 
 a polling contention free period following the set of contention access periods; 
   transmitting, by a first network device, a beacon during each of the set of beacon periods;   determining, by the first network device, whether a response to the beacon was received in each of the set of contention access periods;   based on the first network device receiving a response from a second network device during at least one period of the set of contention access periods, allocating a first subband for downlink communication between the first network device and the second network device and a second subband for uplink communication between the first network device and the second network device;   transmitting, by the first network device to the second network device, a subband allocation message indicating the allocation of the first subband and the second subband to the second network device; and   communicating between the first network device and the second network device using the first subband and the second subband.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the subband allocation message is performed during at least one period of: the set of contention access periods or the polling contention free period. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the superframe is a first superframe; and   the transmitting of the subband allocation message is performed during at least one period of: a set of contention access periods of a second superframe or a polling contention free period of the second superframe.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communicating between the first network device and the second network device is performed during at least one period of: the set of contention access periods or the polling contention free period. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the superframe is a first superframe; and   the communicating between the first network device and the second network device is performed during at least one period of: a set of contention access periods of a second superframe or a polling contention free period of a second superframe.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the response from the second network device indicates a subset of the set of beacon periods during which the second network device received a beacon. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the first subband is selected based on the subset of the set of beacon periods during which the second network device received a beacon. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the response from the second network device indicates a signal-to-noise ratio of each subband of the set of subbands. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second subband is selected based on the at least one period of: the set of contention access periods during which the response from the second network device is received. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitting of the beacon, the receiving of the response, the transmitting of the subband allocation message, and the communicating between the first network device and the second network device occur over a power line. 
     
     
         11 . A device comprising:
 a transceiver;   a processor coupled to the transceiver; and   a memory coupled to the processor that stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
 define a superframe that includes:
 a set of beacon periods, each associated with a respective subband of a set of subbands; 
 a set of contention access periods following the set of beacon periods, each associated with a respective subband of the set of subbands; and 
 a polling contention free period following the set of contention access periods; 
 
 cause the transceiver to transmit a beacon during each of the set of beacon periods; 
 cause the transceiver to listen for a response to the beacon during each of the set of contention access periods; and 
 based on receiving a response from a downstream network device during at least one period of the set of contention access periods: 
 allocate a first subband for transmitting to the downstream network device and a second subband for receiving from the downstream network device; 
 cause the transceiver to transmit a subband allocation message indicating the allocation of the first subband and the second subband; and 
 cause the transceiver to communicate with the downstream network device using the first subband and the second subband. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions are such that the subband allocation message is transmitted during at least one period of: the set of contention access periods or the polling contention free period. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the superframe is a first superframe; and   the instructions are such that the subband allocation message is transmitted during at least one period of: a set of contention access periods of a second superframe or a polling contention free period of the second superframe.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions are such that the transceiver communicates with the downstream network device during at least one period of: the set of contention access periods or the polling contention free period. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the superframe is a first superframe; and   the instructions are such that the transceiver communicates with the downstream network device during at least one period of: a set of contention access periods of a second superframe or a polling contention free period of a second superframe.   
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the response from the downstream network device indicates a subset of the set of beacon periods during which the downstream network device received a beacon. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the first subband is selected based on the subset of the set of beacon periods during which the downstream network device received a beacon. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the transceiver is a power line communication transceiver. 
     
     
         19 . A device comprising:
 a transceiver;   a processor coupled to the transceiver; and   a memory coupled to the processor that stores instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
 define a first superframe and a second superframe that each include:
 a set of beacon periods, each associated with a respective subband of a set of subbands; 
 a set of contention access periods following the set of beacon periods, each associated with a respective subband of the set of subbands; and 
 a polling contention free period following the set of contention access periods; 
 
 cause the transceiver to listen for a beacon associated with an upstream network device on a first subband of the set of subbands during the first superframe; 
 based on the transceiver not receiving a beacon during the first superframe, cause the transceiver to listen for a beacon on a second subband of the set of subbands during the second superframe; and 
 based on the transceiver receiving the beacon during the first superframe:
 cause the transceiver to provide a response to the upstream network device; 
 receive, via the transceiver, a subband allocation message indicating an allocation of a third subband for receiving from the upstream network device and a fourth subband for transmitting to the upstream network device; and 
 communicate with the upstream network device via the transceiver using the third subband and the fourth subband. 
 
   
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the instructions are such that the processor causes the transceiver to provide the response to the upstream network device during each period of the set of contention access periods.