Packet retransmission for mimo systems using multipath transmission
First Claim
1. A method of transmitting data between a transmitter (10) and a receiver (20), comprising the steps of:
- transmitting, by the transmitter, a data packet onto multiple paths (13-18) of a network (5) between the transmitter and the receiver, at least one of the paths including at least one repeater transceiver node (30, 40);
issuing a NACK signal over the network, by the receiver (20), in the event that the data packet is not properly received; and
retransmitting the data packet onto the network by at least one of the repeater nodes (30, 40) upon receipt of the NACK signal.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A protocol for forwarding data packets over a network. An originating transmitter sends a data packet over the network to a destination receiver. The packet is Transmit forwarded by one or more repeaters within the network. The repeaters assume responsibility for originating re-transmissions of the packet if the packet is not correctly received by the destination receiver (eg. if a NACK signal is returned from the receiver or if no type of acknowledgement signal is returned from the receiver). Re-transmission of the packet by multiple repeaters effectively modifies the data paths by which the data packet travels to the receiver increasing probability that the packet gets through to the receiver. The transmitter may be configured not to respond to any NACK signals for packets it has sent, thereby transferring retransmission overhead and signalling overhead to the repeaters. This originating transmitter is a battery-powered device and the repeaters are not power limited.
134 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of transmitting data between a transmitter (10) and a receiver (20), comprising the steps of:
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transmitting, by the transmitter, a data packet onto multiple paths (13-18) of a network (5) between the transmitter and the receiver, at least one of the paths including at least one repeater transceiver node (30, 40);
issuing a NACK signal over the network, by the receiver (20), in the event that the data packet is not properly received; and
retransmitting the data packet onto the network by at least one of the repeater nodes (30, 40) upon receipt of the NACK signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A repeater node (30, 40) for forwarding data packets, received from a transmitter node (10), to a receiver node (20) that is the end destination of the packet, in a network (5), comprising:
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a receive module (61) for receiving data packets originating from the transmitter;
a transmit module (62) for forwarding the data packet to another node in the network;
a pending packet buffer for storing forwarded data packets; and
retransmission means for retransmitting over the network previously forwarded data packets for which NACK signals are received. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A network of communicating nodes including a transmitter (10), a receiver (20) and at least one repeater (30, 40) for forwarding data packets, received from a transmitter node (10), to the receiver node (20) that is the end destination of the packet, comprising:
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a receive module (61) in the repeater node for receiving data packets originating from the transmitter;
a transmit module (62) in the repeater node for forwarding the data packet to another node in the network;
a pending packet buffer (63) in the repeater node for storing forwarded data packets; and
retransmission means in the repeater node (30, 40) for retransmitting, over the network (5), previously forwarded data packets for which NACK signals are received. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification