Appeal No. 2006-2754
Application No. 10/108,109
plurality of communication devices of the wireless network.
First, a device on each node initiates a self-assessment of its
ability to operate as a cluster head by evaluating two or more
factors representative of the node characteristics ranging from
its state of connectivity (e.g. waiting time for establishing
connection to neighboring nodes) to its available energy and
processing capacity. Then, a formula is used to assign different
weights to the selected factors for each node in order to
generate a list of nodes that have a higher ability to serve as
cluster heads. Further, the formula assigns a random value to
the nodes that can potentially serve as cluster heads. Upon
selection of a cluster head, the selected device signals its
cluster head status to other devices at neighboring nodes, and
invites them to participate in the formation of a cluster.
Claim 8 is representative of the claimed invention and is
reproduced as follows:
8. A communication device for selective operation as a
cluster head in a communication network, comprising:
a transmitter;
a memory, comprising:
at least two factors representative of operational
characteristics of the communication device;
operating instructions for self-initiating a self-assessment
of ability level based on a formula that assigns different
2
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