METHOD FOR MEASURING NODE LOCATION USING MAC LAYER OF WIRELESS PERSONAL AREA NETWORK

• US 20100278060A1
• Filed: 09/24/2008
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Lee, Cheolhyo, Nam, Hongsoon
• Granted Patent: US 8,451,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Provided is a method for measuring a node location using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer of a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). The method, includes: requesting ranging measurement to the mobile node by broadcasting an MAC frame where ranging measurement start is displayed according to a ranging measurement request message for a mobile node transmitted from outside; and receiving ranging measurement information measured in the mobile node as a response to the broadcasted MAC frame and broadcasting an MAC frame where ranging measurement end is displayed.

Claims

1. A method for measuring a node location using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer in a coordinator node, comprising:

requesting ranging measurement to the mobile node by broadcasting an MAC frame where ranging measurement start is displayed according to a ranging measurement request message for a mobile node transmitted from outside; and

receiving ranging measurement information measured in the mobile node as a response to the broadcasted MAC frame and broadcasting an MAC frame where ranging measurement end is displayed.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the received ranging measurement information to an external positioning system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

setting up a data communication zone having the maximum radius required for performing data communication according to a star topology and a ranging measurement zone having a radius required for performing ranging measurement between the mobile node and a reference node.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the ranging measurement zone is partially formed of a mesh network on Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein it is determined by checking a reserved field of the received ranging measurement request message whether the request is from the positioning system or the mobile node.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

when the received ranging measurement request message is the ranging measurement request message requested by the mobile node, receiving location information of the mobile node operated in the external positioning system and transmitting the location information of the mobile node to the mobile node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the ranging measurement start is displayed by changing a bit of the ranging broadcast field in the reserved field of the MAC frame.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the ranging measurement end is displayed by changing the bit of the ranging broadcast field in the reserved field of the MAC frame.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the MAC frame includes addresses of a mobile node related to the ranging measurement and reference nodes.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein ranging measurement is performed between a beacon frame period and a contention access period (CAP) within a super frame according to the node ranging measurement method.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the node ranging measurement method is performed in the contention access period within the super frame.

12. A method for measuring a node location using a Media Access Control (MAC) layer in a mobile node, comprising:

receiving a request for ranging measurement from a coordinator node through a broadcasted MAC frame and displaying on the MAC frame whether the ranging measurement is in progress after receiving the request for the ranging measurement;

creating ranging measurement information on a distance with reference nodes based on the MAC frame displaying whether the ranging measurement is in progress; and

transmitting the created ranging measurement information to the coordinator node.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

requesting ranging measurement to the coordinator node by displaying the request for own ranging measurement on a reserved field of the MAC frame; and

receiving own location information from the coordinator node after performing said receiving a request for ranging measurement, said creating ranging measurement information on a distance with reference nodes, and said transmitting the created ranging measurement information.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

when there is no own address in a node address field of the broadcasted MAC frame, temporarily stopping data transmission; and

restarting the temporarily stopped data transmission upon receiving an MAC frame displaying ranging measurement end from the coordinator node.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said receiving a request for ranging measurement through a broadcasted MAC frame includes:

displaying on the reserved field of the MAC frame whether the ranging measurement is in progress after receiving the request for the ranging measurement.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the ranging measurement information includes any one of a distance operation value or a time measurement value on the distance with the reference nodes and any one reference node of the reference nodes is a coordinator node.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein reference nodes located in a ranging measurement zone set up by the coordinator node is selected and ranging measurement information on a distance with the selected reference nodes is created.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the ranging measurement method in the mobile node is performed between a beacon frame period and a contention access period (CAP) within a super frame.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the ranging measurement method in the mobile node is performed in the contention access period within the super frame.