COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

• US 20090262756A1
• Filed: 05/22/2006
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Next Magic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Next Magic Incorporated
• Inventors: Tsunoda, Shingo, Nishio, Suguru, Hagiwara, Shu
• Granted Patent: US 7,769,013 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0079 Formats for control data H04L1/16 takes precedence; training sequences H04L25/00 and H04L27/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0097 Relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9094 Arrangements for simultaneous transmit and receive, e.g. simultaneous reading/writing from/to the storage element
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding

Abstract

A communication apparatus according to the invention can be applied to constitute each of relay nodes in a novel wireless communication network, in which the number of relaying stages formed with the relay nodes can be freely set without restriction by the amount of communication information to be processed, and consequently, a multistage-relayed communication extending over a long distance can be carried out to realize a long-distance communication. The communication apparatus comprises temporary and main managing portions 16 and 18 for controlling temporary and main memory means 15 and 17 and an operation control portion 20, wherein the operation control portion 20 is operative to cause the temporary and main managing portions 16 and 18 to perform control operations for transform an input data frame to be a modified data frame containing transfer mode information representing one of diffusion, percolation and convergence transfer modes determined based on original transfer mode information and particular identification information contained in the detected data frame and history information preserved in the main memory means 17, for causing the modified data frame of the diffusion or convergence transfer mode to be subjected to relay and for causing the modified data frame of the percolation transfer mode to be subjected to relay at a predetermined probability or to deletion.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a signal receiving and transmitting portion operative to receive an input communication signal for obtaining an input information signal and to transmit an output communication signal based on an output information signal;

a reassembling and segmenting portion operative to cause the input information signal to be subjected to reassembling process for obtaining first framed data which form a data frame containing a header segment and an information segment and to cause second framed data which form a data frame containing a processed header segment and an information segment to be subjected to segmenting process for obtaining the output information signal;

temporary memory means for storing temporarily the first framed data obtained from the reassembling and segmenting portion and for storing temporarily the second framed data and then discharging the second framed data stored therein to the reassembling and segmenting portion;

main memory means for storing therein identification information contained in the data frame formed by the first framed data stored in the temporary memory means, preserving the stored identification information as history information, as occasion demands, and discharging one of the stored identification information and the stored identification information having been subjected to modifying process to the temporary memory means as processed identification information so as to be provided in the processed header segment contained in the data frame formed by the second framed data;

a temporary managing portion operative to control operations in the temporary memory means for storing temporarily therein the first and second framed data;

a main managing portion operative to control operations in the main memory means for storing therein the identification information, preserving the history information and discharging the processed identification information; and

an operation control portion operative, when the data frame formed by the first framed data obtained form the reassembling and segmenting portion is detected, to cause the temporary managing portion and the main managing portion to carry out one of a first control operation, with which the detected data frame is transformed to be a modified data frame containing a header segment wherein a transfer mode information representing one of a diffusion transfer mode, a percolation transfer mode and a convergence transfer mode, which is determined based on original transfer mode information and particular identification information both provided in the header segment contained in the detected data frame and the history information preserved in the main memory means, the modified data frame containing the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing one of the diffusion transfer mode and the convergence transfer mode is provided is positively discharged in the form of the second framed data from the temporary memory means to the reassembling and segmenting portion, and the modified data frame containing the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the percolation transfer mode is provided is discharged at a predetermined probability in the form of the second framed data from the temporary memory means to the reassembling and segmenting portion or deleted without being discharged, and a second control operation, with which the detected data frame is deleted in response to a transfer mode information and a predetermined identification information both provided in the header segment contained in the detected data frame and the history information preserved in the main memory means;

wherein, in the diffusion transfer mode, the data frame containing the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the diffusion transfer mode is provided is identical with one of a data frame transmitted from a transmission source and a data frame transmitted diffusively, in the percolation transfer mode, the data frame containing the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the percolation transfer mode is provided is identical with a data frame transmitted at a predetermined probability, and in the convergence transfer mode, the data frame containing the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the convergence transfer mode is provided is identical with a data frame transmitted convergently toward a destination thereof.

2. A communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said particular identification information is one of information representing one of the transmission source and the destination and information representing a value which varies at every transmission of the detected frame data after the first transmission thereof at the transmission source.

3. A communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operation control portion is operative further to cause the temporary managing portion and the main managing portion to perform one of a third control operation for preventing the transfer mode information provided in the header segment contained in the modified data frame from changing and a fourth control operation for changing the transfer mode information provided in the header segment contained in the modified data frame into a different transfer mode information.

4. A communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operation control portion is operative further, when the detected data frame contains the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the convergence transfer mode, to cause the temporary managing portion and the main managing portion to perform one of a third control operation for setting the detected data frame to be transmitted to the destination and a fourth control operation for setting the detected data frame to be discharged in the form of the second framed data from the temporary memory means to the reassembling and segmenting portion, in response to identification information of the destination contained in the header segment in the detected data frame and the history information preserved in the main memory means.

5. A communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operation control portion is operative further, when the detected data frame contains the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the percolation transfer mode, to cause the temporary managing portion and the main managing portion to perform one of a third control operation for modifying the detected data frame to contains the header segment wherein the transfer mode information representing the convergence transfer mode and for setting the modified detected data frame to be discharged in the form of the second framed data from the temporary memory means to the reassembling and segmenting portion, and a fourth control operation for setting the detected data frame to be discharged in the form on the second framed data at a predetermined probability from the temporary memory means to the reassembling and segmenting portion or deleted without being discharged, in response to identification information of the destination contained in the header segment in the detected data frame and the history information preserved in the main memory means.

6. A communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operation control portion is operative, when the data frame formed by the first framed data obtained from the reassembling and segmenting portion is detected as one of a reflected data frame and a duplicate data frame, to cause the temporary managing portion and the main managing portion to perform a third control operation for deleting the detected data frame.