Method and apparatus for communicating between coordinator-based wireless networks connected through backbone network

• US 20050220063A1
• Filed: 04/01/2005
• Published: 10/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Hong, Jin-woo, Sung, Hyun-ah, Bae, Dae-gyu
• Granted Patent: US 7,430,194 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4604 LAN interconnection over a backbone network, e.g. Internet, Frame Relay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for communication among many coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a wired backbone network using wired/wireless connecting devices. According to the method and apparatus, communication is allowed between wireless devices belonging to different coordinator-based wireless networks through wired/wireless connecting devices using physical addresses, whose uniqueness is ensured across the whole network, instead of using ID information assigned by a PNC, as physical addresses of a destination network device and a source belonging to different coordinator-based wireless networks.

Claims

1. A method for communication between coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a backbone network, the method comprising:

acquiring a physical address of a destination network device belonging to a first coordinator-based wireless network;

generating a frame containing the physical address of the destination network device; and

transmitting the frame to a connecting device connecting a second coordinator-based wireless network containing a source network device with the backbone network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the acquiring of the physical address of the destination network device comprises:

transmitting a physical address request frame requesting the physical address of the destination network device;

receiving a physical address response frame containing the physical address of the destination network device from the connecting device in response to the physical address request frame; and

extracting the physical address of the destination network device from the physical address response frame.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the frame containing the physical address comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and information about a physical address type and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the frame including the physical address comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and information about a physical address type.

5. A method for communication between coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a backbone network, the method comprising:

receiving a physical address request frame from a connecting device connecting the backbone network with a coordinator-based wireless network to which a destination network device belongs;

transmitting a physical address response frame to the connecting device in response to the physical address request frame; and

receiving a frame including the physical address of the destination network device after transmitting the physical address response frame to the connecting device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the frame including the physical address comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and information about a physical address type and physical addresses of a source network device and the destination network device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the frame including the physical address comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and information about a physical address type.

8. A method for communication between coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a backbone network, the method comprising:

transforming a frame received from a network device into a first transformed frame having a format supported by the backbone network;

sending the first transformed frame to the backbone network;

transforming the first transformed frame received from the backbone network into a second transformed frame having a format supported by a coordinator-based wireless network; and

sending the second transformed frame to a network device within the coordinator-based wireless network.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising storing the frame received from the network device before sending the first transformed frame to the backbone network.

10. The method of claim 8, firther comprising storing the first transformed frame received from the backbone network before sending the second transformed frame to the network device within the coordinator-based wireless network.

11. A network device comprising:

a control module which generates a physical address request frame requesting a physical address of a destination network device connected to a different coordinator-based wireless network than a coordinator-based wireless network to which a source network device belongs, extracts the physical address of the destination network device from a physical address response frame received in response to the physical address request frame, and generates a frame including the physical address of the destination network device;

a transceiver module which transmits the physical address request frame generated by the control module or the frame including the physical address of the destination network device and receives the physical address response frame in response to the physical address request frame; and

a storage module which stores the frames generated by the control module or provided by the transceiver module.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the frame including the physical address of the destination network device comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and a physical address type and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the frame including the physical address comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and information about a physical address type.

14. A network device comprising:

a control module which generates a physical address response frame including a physical address of a destination network device in response to a physical address request frame received from a connecting device connecting a backbone network with a coordinator-based wireless network to which the destination network device belongs;

a transceiver module which transmits the physical address response frame generated by the control module and receives the physical address request frame or the frame including the physical address of the destination network device; and

a storage module which stores the frames generated by the control module or provided by the transceiver module.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the frame including the physical address of the destination network device comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and a physical address type and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the frame including the physical address comprises a frame body including data to be transmitted and physical addresses of the source network device and the destination network device, and a header including information about the data to be transmitted and information about a physical address type.

17. A connecting device connecting a coordinator-based wireless network with a backbone network, the connecting device comprising:

a transceiver module which transmits a frame received from the coordinator-based wireless network to the backbone network and transmits a frame received from the backbone network to the coordinator-based wireless network;

a control module which transforms the frame received from the coordinator-based wireless network into a frame in a format supported by the backbone network and transforming the frame received from the backbone network into a frame in a format supported by the coordinator-based wireless network; and

a storage module which stores the frames provided by the transceiver module or transformed by the control module.

18. A recording medium having a computer readable program recorded therein for causing a computer to implement a method for communication between coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a backbone network, the method comprising:

acquiring a physical address of a destination network device belonging to a first coordinator-based wireless network;

generating a frame containing the physical address of the destination network device; and

transmitting the frame to a connecting device connecting a second coordinator-based wireless network containing a source network device with the backbone network.

19. A recording medium having a computer readable program recorded therein for causing a computer to implement a method for communication between coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a backbone network, the method comprising:

receiving a physical address request frame from a connecting device connecting the backbone network with a coordinator-based wireless network to which a destination network device belongs;

transmitting a physical address response frame to the connecting device in response to the physical address request frame; and

receiving a frame including the physical address of the destination network device after transmitting the physical address response frame to the connecting device.

20. A recording medium having a computer readable program recorded therein for causing a computer to implement a method for communication between coordinator-based wireless networks connected together through a backbone network, the method comprising:

transforming a frame received from a network device into a first transformed frame having a format supported by the backbone network;

sending the first transformed frame to the backbone network;

transforming the first transformed frame received from the backbone network into a second transformed frame having a format supported by a coordinator-based wireless network; and

sending the second transformed frame to a network device within the coordinator-based wireless network.