Method of multicasting and transmitting data in PLC network and an apparatus thereof

• US 20070195718A1
• Filed: 11/20/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Joon-hee, Lee, Ju-han, Choi, Jun-hae, Kim, In-hwan, Chang, Seung-gi, Kim, Ji-hoon, You, Ho-Jeong
• Granted Patent: US 8,130,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/260
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5408 using protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/545 Audio/video application, e.g. interphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks

Abstract

A method of transmitting data more effectively, and more particularly, a method of transmitting data to a group comprising a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data from a transmission station when the stations communicate the data in a power line communication (PLC) network, and an apparatus to do the same. According to the method, a transmission station transmits data to a group including a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data at a time, to prevent a channel bandwidth from being wasted, and to prevent a station that does not desire to receive the data from receiving the data.

Claims

1. A data transmission method of a coordinator device of a data transmission system, the method comprising:

forming a group comprising a plurality of reception stations to receive same data; and

transmitting data from a transmission station to the formed group.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after forming the group, allowing at least one another reception station to join the group.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one another reception station joins the group by a join request thereof.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

controlling a coordinator to determine whether the at least one another reception station joins the group upon receiving the join request from the at least one another reception station.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

controlling the coordinator to perform a channel estimation between the at least one another reception station that requests to join the group and the coordinator that receives the join request, and to select optimum channels that transmit data to the group according to a result of the channel estimation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the selecting of the optimum channels comprises selects a channel that transmits the data to the group from the optimum channels within a channel range where all stations included in the group can communicate.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein, before requesting to join the group, the at least one another reception station requests information on groups included in a power line communication (PLC) cell.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one another reception station determines whether to join the group based on the information on the groups, if there is no group to join, requests the coordinator to generate a new group, and, if there is an existing group to join, requests the coordinator to allow the at least one another station to join the group.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one another reception station requests to leave from the group.

10. A computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program, to execute a method:

forming a group comprising a plurality of reception stations to receive same data; and

transmitting data from a transmission station to the formed group.

11. A coordinator device usable in a data transmission system, comprising:

a group generator forming a group comprising a plurality of reception stations that receive same data in response to a request frame from a station that requests to form the group comprising the plurality of reception stations that receive the same data; and

a response frame generator and transmitter to generate a response frame in response to the request frame and to transmit the response frame to the station.

12. The coordinator device of claim 11, further comprising:

a group join determiner to determine whether to allow the at least one station to join the group, if at least one station requests to join the group.

13. The coordinator device of claim 12, further comprising:

a channel estimator to perform a channel estimation between the at least one station that requests to join the group and the coordinator device that receives a join request, and to select optimum channels that transmit data to the group according to a result of the channel estimation.

14. The coordinator device of claim 13, wherein a channel that transmits the data to the group is selected from the optimum channels within a channel range where all stations included in the group can communicate.

15. The coordinator device of claim 11, further comprising:

a group information storage unit to store information on all groups included in a PLC cell.

16. A station device usable in a data transmission system, comprising:

a request frame generator to generate a data frame including a field that requests to form a group comprising a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data;

a request frame transmitter to transmit the request frame to a coordinator device; and

a response frame receiver to receive a response frame in response to the request frame from the coordinator device.

17. The station device of claim 16, wherein the request frame generator generates another data frame including another field that requests to join the group.

18. The station device of claim 16, wherein the request frame generator generates another data frame including another field that requests to leave the group.

19. The station device of claim 16, wherein the request frame generator generates another data frame including another field that requests information on all groups included in a PCL cell.

20. A data transmission system, comprising:

a station device to generate a data frame including a field to request to form a group including a plurality of reception stations that receives the same data; and

a coordinator device to form the group according to the data frame and to generate a response frame, so that the station communicates with the group for data transmission upon receiving the response frame.