METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DATA COMMUNICATION IN A NETWORK

• US 20160066208A1
• Filed: 08/27/2015
• Published: 03/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: BARON, STPHANE, GUIGNARD, ROMAIN, VIGER, PASCAL
• Granted Patent: US 10,028,306 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/085 collision avoidance

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication device and a method of sending data over a communication network. The communication device includes a controller for accessing the network using contention type access mechanism based on computation of back-off values, and includes a plurality of traffic queues for serving data traffic at different priorities. The controller includes a plurality of back-off engines, each associated with one traffic queue and configured to compute a back-off value in accordance with the priority of the associated traffic queue. One or more back-off engine may be adjusted to prevent the back-off value of such back-off engine to reach zero. When an access to the network is obtained for the device. a traffic queue may be selected based on its associated back-off value, and data may be transmitted from the selected traffic queue.

Claims

1. A communication device for a communication network, comprising:

a controller for accessing the communication network using contention type access mechanism based on computation of back-off values;

a plurality of traffic queues for serving data traffic at different priorities;

the controller comprising a plurality of back-off engines, each associated with one traffic queue and configured to compute a back-off value in accordance with the priority of the associated traffic queue;

means for adjusting at least one of the plurality of back-off engines, thereby preventing the back-off value of the at least one back-off engine to reach zero;

and when an access to the network is obtained for the device;

means for selecting a traffic queue based on its associated back-off value; and

means for transmitting data from the selected traffic queue.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for selecting a traffic queue is configured to select the traffic queue having the lowest associated back-off value.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the access to the network being implemented through an allocated timeslot, and wherein the means for selecting a traffic queue is configured to select at least one further traffic queue according to the duration of the allocated timeslot.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting means comprises means for applying one or more offset values for adjusting the at least one adjustable back-off unit.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the access to the network being obtained by another device, and wherein the offset value/s is/are determined based on a back-off threshold corresponding to the minimum back-off value from traffic queues of said another device.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the device comprises means for obtaining said minimum back-off value.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the access to the network is obtained by another communication device sharing a timeslot with said device.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the means for adjusting at least one of the plurality of back-off engines is configured to prevent the back-off value of the at least one back-off engine to reach zero before a back-off value of said other device reaches zero.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a scheduler implementing a time division access mechanism for a group of devices.

10. A method of sending data over a communication network by a communication device using a contention type access mechanism based on computation of back-off values and further using a plurality of traffic queues for serving data traffic at different priorities, the method comprising:

computing back-off values in accordance with the priority of each associated traffic queue;

adjusting at least one of the back-off values, thereby preventing the back-off value of the at least one traffic queue to reach zero;

wherein, when an access to the network is obtained for the device;

selecting a traffic queue based on its associated back-off value; and

transmitting data from the selected traffic queue.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the selecting step comprises selecting the traffic queue having the lowest associated back-off value.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the access to the network is implemented through an allocated timeslot and wherein the selecting step further comprises selecting at least one further traffic queue according to the duration of the allocated timeslot.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the adjusting step comprises applying one or more offset values for adjusting the back-off values.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the access to the network is obtained by another device and wherein the offset value is/are determined based on the minimum back-off value from traffic queues of said another device.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein said minimum back-off value is obtained by the device though an additional timeslot inserted in a timeslot obtained for the transmission or by a distributed mechanism.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein the access to the network is obtained by another communication device sharing a timeslot with said device.

17. The method according to claim 16 wherein the step of adjusting at least one of the of back-off values comprises preventing the back-off value of the at least one traffic queue to reach zero before a back-off value of said another device reaches zero.

18. The method according to claim 10, implementing a time division access mechanism for a group of devices for transmitting data onto the network.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program which, when executed by a microprocessor or computer system in a communication device of a communication network, causes the communication device to perform the method of claim 10.