New frame structure for bridging operation in high-speed wireless personal area network and data transmitting method thereof

• US 20050113102A1
• Filed: 07/15/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Song, Jae-Yeon, Lee, Jong-Hwa, Kim, Jin-Hee, Kwon, Seo-Won, Lee, Yoon-Sun, Lim, Se-Youn
• Granted Patent: US 7,515,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements

Abstract

Disclosed is a frame structure in a high-speed wireless personal area network (WPAN) and a message transmitting method thereof which enable communications among devices existing in different piconets by using a device that provides a bridging function in the IEEE 802.15.3 WPAN. In a high-speed WPAN system which includes a parent piconet having a plurality of devices and a child piconet using time slots allocated by the devices located in the parent piconet, and a bridge device located in the child piconet, that broadcasts information about the devices of the parent piconet and information about the devices of the child piconet to the devices included in the high-speed WPAN, and operates to perform a data transfer between a first specified device in the child piconet and a second specified device in the parent piconet. A specified device included in the high-speed WPAN constructs a MAC (Media Access Control) header data structure for a data transmission so that the data structure includes a source piconet identification (ID) field for indicating the piconet to which the specified device belongs, and a destination piconet ID field for indicating the destination piconet to which the destination device, to which the specified device intends to transmit data, belongs.

Claims

1. A data structure for a bridging operation in a high-speed wireless personal area network (WPAN) system that includes a parent piconet having a plurality of devices, a child piconet using time slots allocated by the devices located in the parent piconet, and a bridge device, located in the child piconet that broadcasts information about the devices of the parent piconet and information about the devices of the child piconet to the devices included in the high-speed WPAN, and operates to perform a data transfer between a first specified device included in one piconet and a second specified device included in a second piconet, wherein

a specified device included in the high-speed WPAN constructs a MAC (Media Access Control) header data structure for a data transmission so that the data structure includes a source piconet identification (ID) field for indicating the piconet to which the specified device belongs, and a destination piconet identification (ID) field for indicating the destination piconet to which the destination device, to which the specified device intends to transmit data, belongs.

2. The data structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bridge device performs an operation that includes:

a first step of receiving data from the first specified device;

a second step of comparing a value of the source piconet ID field included in the data from the first specified device with a value of the destination piconet ID field;

a third step of terminating a bridging operation with respect to the data if the value of the source piconet ID field is equal to the value of the destination piconet ID field as a result of comparison at the second step;

a fourth step of buffering the data if the value of the source piconet ID field is different from the value of the destination piconet ID field as a result of comparison at the second step; and

a fifth step of receiving a time allocation message from the destination piconet, and transmitting the buffered data at a time allocated by the time allocation message.

3. The data structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bridge device operates as a piconet coordinator of the child piconet.

4. The data structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein both the source piconet ID field and the destination piconet ID field are each composed of one byte.

5. The data structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein information about the devices included in the high-speed WPAN system is broadcast through the bridge device, so that overlapping of device IDs among the devices is prevented.

6. A data transmitting method in a high-speed wireless personal area network (WPAN) that includes a parent piconet having a plurality of devices, a child piconet using time slots allocated by the devices located in the parent piconet, and a bridge device located in the child piconet, that broadcasts information about the devices of the parent piconet and information about the devices of the child piconet to the devices included in the high-speed WPAN so that the respective devices store device information, and operates to perform a data transfer between a first specified device included in the child piconet and a second specified device included in the parent piconet, the data transmitting method comprising the steps of:

allocating the first specified device with a first channel time for a data transmission from a first piconet coordinator, which is a piconet coordinator of the child piconet, and transmitting data to the first piconet coordinator at the first channel time;

buffering the transmitted data in the first piconet coordinator; and

allocating the first piconet coordinator with a second channel time for a data transmission from a second piconet coordinator that is a piconet coordinator of the parent piconet, and transmitting the data to the second specified device at the second channel time.

7. The data transmitting method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the step of allocating a first channel times comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the first specified device, a channel time of the first piconet coordinator that is the piconet coordinator of the child piconet;

confirming in the first piconet coordinator, which has received the channel time request, whether resources can be used, and responding to the channel time request;

forming a beacon that includes the first channel time in the first piconet coordinator, which has responded to the channel time request, , and transferring the beacon to the first specified device; and

transferring, by the first specified device, the data to the first piconet coordinator at the first channel time.

8. The data transmitting method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the step of allocating a second channel time comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the first piconet coordinator, a channel time of the second piconet coordinator that is a piconet coordinator of the parent piconet;

confirming in the second piconet coordinator, which has received the channel time request, whether resources can be used, and responding to the channel time request;

forming a beacon that includes the second channel time in the second piconet coordinator, which has responded to the channel time request, , and transferring the beacon to the first piconet coordinator; and

transferring, by the first piconet coordinator, the data to the second device at the second channel time.

9. The data transmitting method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first piconet coordinator is the bridge device.

10. A data transmitting method in a high-speed wireless personal area network (WPAN) which includes a parent piconet having a plurality of devices, a child piconet using time slots allocated by the devices located in the parent piconet, and a bridge device located in the child piconet, that broadcasts information about the devices of the parent piconet and information about the devices of the child piconet to the devices included in the high-speed WPAN so that the respective devices store device information, and operates to perform a data transfer between a first specified device included in the child piconet and a second specified device included in the parent piconet, the data transmitting method comprising the steps of:

allocating in the second specified device a first channel time for a data transmission from a first piconet coordinator, which is a piconet coordinator of the parent piconet, and transmitting data to a second piconet coordinator, which is a piconet coordinator of the child piconet at the first channel time;

buffering the transmitted data; and

allocating, in the second piconet coordinator, a second channel time for the data transmission, and transmitting the data to the second specified device at the second channel time.

11. The data transmitting method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the step of allocating a first channel time comprises the steps of:

requesting, by the second specified device. a channel time of the first piconet coordinator that is the piconet coordinator of the parent piconet;

confirming in the first piconet coordinator, which has received the channel time request, whether resources can be used, and responding to the channel time request;

forming a beacon that includes the first channel time by the first piconet coordinator, which has responded to the channel time request, and transferring the beacon to the first specified device; and

transferring, by the first specified device, the data to the second piconet coordinator at the first channel time.

12. The data transmitting method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the step of allocating a second channel time comprises the steps of:

forming a beacon that includes the second channel time in the second piconet coordinator; and

transferring, by the second piconet coordinator, the data to the second specified device at the second channel time.

13. The data transmitting method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second piconet coordinator is the bridge device.