Abstract: A replaceable fluorescent lamp starter unit of a fluorescent light fixture has a built-in RF transceiver, and communicates wirelessly with a motion-detecting master unit. The starter unit can be controlled to turn off and turn on the fluorescent lamp of the fixture. The starter unit is registered to the master unit so that the starter unit will not respond to wireless communications from other sources. During registration, registration information is loaded into the starter unit and stored in non-volatile memory. The stored registration information is later usable to determine whether subsequently received wireless communications are for the starter unit. Systems of existing light fixtures are retrofitted with such wireless starter units, and thereby made controllable by a master unit so that the master unit can turn off the lights to conserve energy if room occupancy is not detected. The master unit can control lamp fixtures individually or as a group.

Abstract: A low-power wireless network involves a plurality of RF-enabled fluorescent lamp starter units. In each of a plurality of intervals, a receiver of a starter unit operates in a receive mode during a beacon slot time, and for the majority of the rest of the interval operates in a low-power sleep mode. The starter unit wakes up and listens for a beacon each beacon slot time, regardless of whether a beacon is transmitted during that interval or not. A starter unit can be commanded to schedule a future action (for example, for a time between widely spaced synchronizing beacons) by making one of the beacons a scheduling beacon. The scheduling beacon includes a field that the starter unit uses to schedule the future action. If the scheduled action is to be canceled before the next widely spaced synchronizing beacon, then an action-canceling beacon is communicated in the next interval.

Abstract: A replaceable fluorescent lamp starter unit of a fluorescent light fixture has a built-in RF transceiver, and communicates wirelessly with a motion-detecting master unit. The starter unit can be controlled to turn off and turn on the fluorescent lamp of the fixture. The starter unit is registered to the master unit so that the starter unit will not respond to wireless communications from other sources. During registration, registration information is loaded into the starter unit and stored in non-volatile memory. The stored registration information is later usable to determine whether subsequently received wireless communications are for the starter unit. Systems of existing light fixtures are retrofitted with such wireless starter units, and thereby made controllable by a master unit so that the master unit can turn off the lights to conserve energy if room occupancy is not detected. The master unit can control lamp fixtures individually or as a group.

Abstract: A low-power wireless network involves a plurality of RF-enabled fluorescent lamp starter units. In each of a plurality of intervals, a receiver of a starter unit operates in a receive mode during a beacon slot time, and for the majority of the rest of the interval operates in a low-power sleep mode. The starter unit wakes up and listens for a beacon each beacon slot time, regardless of whether a beacon is transmitted during that interval or not. A starter unit can be commanded to schedule a future action (for example, for a time between widely spaced synchronizing beacons) by making one of the beacons a scheduling beacon. The scheduling beacon includes a field that the starter unit uses to schedule the future action. If the scheduled action is to be canceled before the next widely spaced synchronizing beacon, then an action-canceling beacon is communicated in the next interval.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for communication between a plurality of stations in a communication network using media access protocol, in which medium access is granted to stations obtaining a successful reservation of the medium and in which data transmission verification is performed by the protocol within the reservation. In the method a station sends a request message on the communication medium for a reservation of the medium to a recipient station in the network. The recipient station sends a reservation confirmation message back to the sending station which receives it and responds to the reservation confirmation message by sending an ordered sequence of data frames to the recipient station. After sending the ordered sequence of data frames the sending station sends an end of transmission message to the recipient station, which replies by sending back an end of transmission confirmation identifying the number of frames received in their original sequence.

Abstract: A method and means for information transmission over a medium for a wireless communication system comprising a network of stations capable of sending and receiving data transmissions over a number of communication channels. The method includes sending a data transmission in a packet including a header and a data portion, the header includes identification (ID) of the network; identification of the next channel to be used in communications; an address; a channel busy count field; and a network command.

Abstract: An internetworking node for providing internetworking services for mobile wireless nodes is disclosed. Each mobile wireless node is associated with at the most one internetworking node. Each mobile wireless node selects which internetworking node it will associate with. The internetworking node will then act for all wireless nodes associated to it in relaying messages between wireless nodes or between a wired LAN and the wireless nodes. A tracking mechanism for such a system which maintains a table of all the internetworking nodes the wireless node has recently heard and deleting all such internetworking nodes which have not been heard recently is disclosed. A switching mechanism for such a system for determining when the wireless mobile node should switch its association from one internetworking node to another is also disclosed.

Abstract: In communication systems which include high speed wired local area networks (LANs) and low speed wireless LANs, the bandwidth of the wireless LANs can be severely impacted. It has been found that many broadcast or multicast messages which are forwarded to the wireless LANs are not required as the mobile terminals which would receive the messages are not required to act on them. The present invention provides a means and method to filter out unneeded messages so that they do not impact the bandwidth of the wireless network. Each access point for each wireless LAN maintains a table of parameters for each associated mobile terminal in the connected wireless LAN. The parameters in that table are compared to the parameters in message frames received by the access point and only those messages having parameters found in the table are put on the wireless LAN. The level of filtering can be controlled by specifying which parameters are to be used for filtering messages.

Abstract: A method of routing packets through a fixed source routing communications network from and to mobile units. With this invention an initial access point is determined when a communications session is established to or from a mobile unit through the network. Location information is updated each time the mobile unit moves out of the range of one access point and into the range of another access point of the network. When packets for the session are to be transmitted to the mobile unit from the wired network, the packets are forwarded from the initial access point to a current access point, which by definition is in the range of the mobile unit. When packets for the session are to be transmitted from the mobile unit and to the wired network, the access point intercepts these packets and routes them to their destination and/or initiates route discovery to those destinations. When packets are to be transmitted between mobiles at different access points.