US Patent 7852761 Duty cycle control for networks of nodes

Data packets from a network node may be monitored at a relay station associated with the network that is configured to forward the data packets to a base station. The network node may transmit the data packets according to a first duty cycle. At least one transmission parameter associated with transmission of the data packets from the network node to the relay station may be determined, and then may be related to at least one reference value to obtain a normalized transmission parameter. The normalized transmission parameter may be compared to a set-point value, and a duty cycle change command may be generated for the network node to forward subsequent data packets according to a second duty cycle, based on the comparison.