Apparatus and method of routing data in a radio frequency local area network
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A communication network for exchanging communication packets between a plurality of network computing devices, said communication network comprising:
- a first ethernet subnet;
a plurality of intermediate wireless access points utilizing routing tables indexed by ethernet address entries to provide wireless routing pathways within the communication network;
a first wired access point connected both directly to said first ethernet subnet and wirelessly to at least one of said plurality of intermediate wireless access points, said first wired access point utilizing a first forwarding table indexed by ethernet address entries to provide bridging between said first ethernet subnet and said plurality of intermediate wireless access points; and
said first wired access point and said plurality of intermediate wireless access points, together, forming a spanning tree to communicatively couple network computing devices.
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Abstract
An apparatus and a method for routing data in a radio data communication system having one or more host computers, one or more intermediate base stations, and one or more RF terminals organizes the intermediate base stations into an optimal spanning-tree network to control the routing of data to and from the RF terminals and the host computer efficiently and dynamically. Communication between the host computer and the RF terminals is achieved by using the network of intermediate base stations to transmit the data.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A communication network for exchanging communication packets between a plurality of network computing devices, said communication network comprising:
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a first ethernet subnet; a plurality of intermediate wireless access points utilizing routing tables indexed by ethernet address entries to provide wireless routing pathways within the communication network; a first wired access point connected both directly to said first ethernet subnet and wirelessly to at least one of said plurality of intermediate wireless access points, said first wired access point utilizing a first forwarding table indexed by ethernet address entries to provide bridging between said first ethernet subnet and said plurality of intermediate wireless access points; and said first wired access point and said plurality of intermediate wireless access points, together, forming a spanning tree to communicatively couple network computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A communication network for exchanging communication packets that have ethernet addresses identified therein, said communication network comprising:
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a first ethernet subnet; a plurality of computing devices each of which having a unique ethernet address; a plurality of access points utilizing tables indexed by ethernet addresses to deliver communication packets along pathways between said plurality of computing devices; each of said plurality of access points providing wireless communication with select others of said plurality of access points; at least one of said plurality of access points providing direct, hard-wired communication to said first ethernet subnet; and said plurality of access points dynamically arranging and rearranging the pathways to maintain efficient delivery of communication packets among said plurality of computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A communication network for exchanging communication packets, each communication packet having a destination field for storing an address of a destination device, comprising:
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a first wired subnet; a plurality of terminal devices, each of said plurality of terminal devices having a unique address associated with said first wired subnet; a plurality of access points utilizing tables indexed by the unique addresses of said plurality of terminal devices, said tables providing pathway information for delivering communication packets to said plurality of terminal devices; each of said plurality of terminal devices constructs communication packets with the destination field containing the unique address of a selected other of said plurality of terminal devices; each of said plurality of access points providing wireless communication with select others of said plurality of access points; at least one of said plurality of access points providing direct, hard-wired communication to said first wired subnet; and said plurality of access points dynamically arranging and rearranging the pathway information in said tables to maintain efficient delivery of communication packets among said plurality of terminal devices. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A communication network for exchanging communication packets, each communication packet having a destination field for storing an address of a destination device, comprising:
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a plurality of wired subnets; a plurality of terminal devices, each of said plurality of terminal devices having a unique address associated with said plurality of wired subnets; a plurality of access points utilizing tables indexed by the unique addresses of said plurality of terminal devices, said tables providing information for delivering communication packets to said plurality of terminal devices; each of said plurality of terminal devices constructs communication packets with the destination field containing the unique address of a selected other of said plurality of terminal devices; each of said plurality of access points providing wireless communication with at least one of the other of said plurality of access points; for each of said plurality of wired subnets, at least one of said plurality of access points providing direct, hard-wired communication thereto; and said plurality of access points providing communication pathways for exchanging communication packets between said plurality of terminal devices. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification