Ad-hoc peer-to-peer mobile radio access system interfaced to the PSTN and cellular networks

• US 20060233184A1
• Filed: 10/31/2005
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Strong Force IoT Portfolio 2016, LLC (Strong Force Intellectual Capital, LLC)
• Original Assignee: MeshNetworks, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stanforth, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 8,180,351 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/08 based on transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/30 for proactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An ad-hoc, peer-to-peer radio access system for cellular communications systems using time division duplex as a way of maximizing the bits/hz/km2 for cellular systems. The network architecture of the ad-hoc system allows the radio access to be integrated with the fixed components of a conventional cellular system, PSTN or ISP. The objective is to make the system of the invention transparent to the features and services provided by the external network. The advantages of such a system to a cellular operator are that significantly less infrastructure is required, and that the RF spectrum is more efficiently utilized resulting in much lower building and operating costs. The system architecture is comprised of remote terminals, routers, gateways, and at least one gateway controller that interfaces the ad-hoc system to a cellular network system. The ad-hoc system of the invention allows for both voice and data transmissions and receptions.

Claims

1. An ad-hoc radio system comprising:

a series of remote radio terminals each comprising a radio transceiver and a control processor, said control processor comprising software means for determining a routing path of a call, for communicating with other said radio terminals, and for establishing the respective said radio terminal as a hop for other said radio terminals during a call-connection;

at least one gateway in operative communication with said series of remote radio terminals;

a plurality of wireless routers in operative connection between said series of remote terminals and said at least one gateway for wirelessly interconnecting said series of radio terminals and for wirelessly interconnecting said series of radio terminals to said at least one gateway, whereby said remote radio terminals may indirectly communicate with each other through one or more said wireless routers and said at least one gateway.

2. In an ad-hoc radio system comprising a series of remote radio terminals each comprising a radio transceiver and a control processor, said control processor comprising software means for determining a routing path of a call, for communicating with other said radio terminals, and for establishing the respective said radio terminal as a hop for other said radio terminals during a call-connection, at least one gateway in operative communication with said series of remote radio terminals, a plurality of wireless routers in operative connection between said series of remote terminals and said at least one gateway, a method of connecting a call from a radio terminal of the ad-hoc radio system, comprising:

(a) routing the call to said radio terminal via a said wireless router;

(b) relaying the call from the said wireless router to said at least one gateway;

(c) connecting the call via said at least one gateway to another said radio terminal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein step (c) comprises routing the call through at least one wireless router.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising before said step (a):

(d) registering the radio terminal with said at least one gateway;

(e) said step (d) comprising determining a routing table for the path of connection to the gateway, and sending authentication information to the gateway.

5. In an ad-hoc radio system comprising a series of remote radio terminals each comprising a radio transceiver and a control processor, said control processor comprising software means for determining a routing path of a call, for communicating with other said radio terminals, and for establishing the respective said radio terminal as a hop for other said radio terminals during a call-connection, at least one gateway in operative communication with said series of remote radio terminals, a plurality of wireless routers in operative connection between said series of remote terminals and said at least one gateway, a method of connecting an outgoing call of a radio terminal of the ad-hoc radio system, comprising:

(a) routing the call to a said radio terminal via a said wireless router;

(b) relaying the call from the said wireless router to said at least one gateway;

(c) connecting the call via said at least one gateway to another said radio terminal.

6. The method of making an outgoing call from a radio terminal of an ad-hoc radio system according to claim 5, wherein said ad-hoc radio system further comprises a gateway controller in operative communication with said at least one of gateway, said gateway controller comprising call control and routing means for directing calls to a destination, and interconnecting means for connecting said series of remote radio terminals to an external network, said method further comprising:

(d) connecting the outgoing call to one of a;

switched cellular network, a PSTN, and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) through said gateway controller.