WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUS FOR SELECTING SUITABLE TRANSFER ROUTE ON WIRELESS NETWORK

• US 20090168690A1
• Filed: 12/26/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: YANAGIHARA, Kentarou
• Granted Patent: US 8,175,025 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/315
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/10 based on available power or energy
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/24 Connectivity information management, e.g. connectivity discovery or connectivity update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0274 by switching on or off the equipment or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A wireless communication apparatus prepared in each of wireless terminals configuring a wireless network adapted to transmit and receive a data signal and terminal information to and from peripheral wireless terminals of a subject wireless terminal; to manage the terminal information received from the peripheral wireless terminals; to determine a relay network to which the subject terminal belongs on the basis of the terminal information of the peripheral wireless terminals when the subject terminal can be connected to at least one of the relay networks provided within the wireless network; to transmit terminal information including information indicating the relay network of the subject terminal to the peripheral wireless terminal; and to use the relay network of the subject terminal as a data signal transfer route to perform forward processing. Thus, the apparatus can prepare plural transfer routes to avoid wireless signal interference and collision and balance the power consumption among the terminals.

Claims

1. A wireless communication apparatus included in a wireless terminal forming a wireless communication network, comprising:

a communication section for transmitting and receiving a data signal and terminal information to and from a peripheral wireless terminal existing in periphery of the wireless terminal;

a terminal information manager for managing the terminal information received from the peripheral wireless terminal;

a relay network determiner for referencing the terminal information of the peripheral wireless terminal, and determining, when the wireless terminal can be connected to at least one of a plurality of relay networks provided within the wireless network, a relay network to which the wireless terminal belongs;

a terminal information advertiser for transmitting terminal information including information indicating the relay network of the wireless terminal to the peripheral wireless terminal; and

a forward processor for using the relay network of the wireless terminal as a data signal transfer route to perform forward processing.

2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said relay network determiner for determining the relay network to which the wireless terminal belongs, when the wireless terminal can be connected to all of the plurality of relay networks provided within the wireless network.

3. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a relay network changer for changing in a given manner the relay network to the wireless terminal.

4. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication direction changer for changing in a given manner a communication direction of the relay network to the wireless terminal.

5. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication direction changer for changing in a given manner a communication direction of the relay network to the wireless terminal, wherein said communication direction changer distinguishes a communication route in a first communication direction and another communication route in a second communication direction in the wireless network to configure the communication routes.

6. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power controller for controlling, when the relay network to the wireless terminal is utilized, a receiver of said communication section to be powered on or off according to a condition of the peripheral wireless terminal on a basis of the terminal information.

7. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power controller for controlling, when the relay network to the wireless terminal is utilized, a receiver of said communication section to be powered on or off according to a condition of the peripheral wireless terminal on a basis of the terminal information,

wherein the condition includes at least one of a reception timing of a destination terminal to which the wireless terminal transmits the data signal, a number of the destination terminals and the number of transfer terminals which transmit the data signal to the wireless terminal.

8. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power controller for controlling, when the relay network to the wireless terminal is utilized, a receiver of said communication section to be powered on or off according to a condition of the peripheral wireless terminal on a basis of the terminal information,

wherein said power controller controls said receiver synchronously with all of the wireless terminals.

9. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power controller for controlling, when the relay network to the wireless terminal is utilized, a receiver of said communication section to be powered on or off according to a condition of the peripheral wireless terminal on a basis of the terminal information,

wherein said power controller controls said receiver according to a reception timing of the destination terminal on a basis of the terminal information.

10. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power controller for controlling, when the relay network to the wireless terminal is utilized, a receiver of said communication section to be powered on or off according to a condition of the peripheral wireless terminal on a basis of the terminal information,

wherein said power controller controls said receiver according to a reception timing of the destination terminal on a basis of the terminal information, and

said power controller moreover powers on said receiver, when there exist the destination terminals in plural, before earliest one of the reception timings among the destination terminals.

11. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power controller for controlling, when the relay network to the wireless terminal is utilized, a receiver of said communication section to be powered on or off according to a condition of the peripheral wireless terminal on a basis of the terminal information,

wherein, when transfer routes are utilized distinguishably between in a first communication direction and a second communication direction, said power controller controls said receiver at a timing for a transfer route in the first communication direction and at a timing for a transfer route in the second communication direction.

12. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal information is contained in relay network identifying information that identifies the relay network to the wireless terminal,

said relay network determiner determining the relay network to the wireless terminal on a basis of the relay network identifying information of the peripheral wireless terminal.

13. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal information includes an assigned number assigned to the wireless terminal,

said relay network determiner assigning the wireless terminal to a subject assigned number on the basis of the assigned number of the peripheral wireless terminals, said relay network determiner using the subject assigned number to determine the relay network of the wireless terminal.

14. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminal information includes an assigned number assigned to the wireless terminal,

said relay network determiner assigning the wireless terminal to a subject assigned number on the basis of the assigned number of the peripheral wireless terminals, said relay network determiner using the subject assigned number to determine the relay network of the wireless terminal, and

said relay network determiner moreover divides the subject assigned number of the wireless terminal by a predetermined value to derive a remainder value of a result from division, detects a wireless terminal capable of deriving a same value as the remainder value, and utilizes the wireless terminal detected to determine the relay network of the wireless terminal.

15. A method of communicating by a wireless communication apparatus included in a wireless terminal forming a wireless communication network, wherein the apparatus comprises a communication section, a relay network determiner, a terminal information advertiser, a forward processor and a terminal information manager for managing terminal information received from a peripheral wireless terminal,

said method comprising:

a communicating step of transmitting and receiving by the communication section a data signal and the terminal information to and from the peripheral wireless terminal existing in periphery of the wireless terminal;

a relay network determining step of referencing by the relay network determiner the terminal information of the peripheral wireless terminal, and determining, when the wireless terminal can be connected to at least one of a plurality of relay networks provided within the wireless network, a relay network to which the wireless terminal belongs;

a terminal information advertising step of transmitting by the terminal information advertiser terminal information including information indicating the relay network of the wireless terminal to the peripheral wireless terminal; and

a forward processing step of using by the forward processor the relay network of the wireless terminal as a data signal transfer route to perform forward processing.

16. A wireless communication program for use in a wireless communication apparatus included in a wireless terminal forming a wireless communication network, said program controlling a computer to operate:

a communication section to transmit and receive a data signal and terminal information to and from a peripheral wireless terminal existing in periphery of the wireless terminal;

a terminal information manager to manage the terminal information received from the peripheral wireless terminal;

a relay network determiner to reference the terminal information of the peripheral wireless terminal, and to determine, when the wireless terminal can be connected to at least one of a plurality of relay networks provided within the wireless network, a relay network to which the wireless terminal belongs;

a terminal information advertiser to transmit terminal information including information indicating the relay network of the wireless terminal to the peripheral wireless terminal; and

a forward processor to use the relay network of the wireless terminal as a data signal transfer route to perform forward processing.