Wireless communication network including plural migratory access nodes

• US 6,104,712 A
• Filed: 02/22/1999
• Issued: 08/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bruno G. Robert
• Original Assignee: Bruno G. Robert
• Inventors: Robert, Bruno G., Proto, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Dang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sam, Phirin
• Application Number:
  US09/253,690
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 370/389, 370/313, 370/315, 370/316, 370/319, 370/326, 370/328, 370/334, 370/337, 370/338, 370/339, 370/344, 370/347, 370/442, 370/483, 370/487, 370/493, 370/519, 342/58, 342/56, 342/57, 342/76, 342/89, 342/90, 342/95, 342/96, 342/114, 342/109, 342/139, 342/191, 343/712, 343/754, 343/731, 455/426, 455/428, 455/432, 455/434
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0073 Special arrangements for feedback channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/06 using space diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/06 based on characteristics of available antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/08 based on transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 based on geographic position or location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/28 for reactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/30 for proactive routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/36 due to handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

An amorphous communication network having no traditional wireless backbone has plural roving or migratory access node or terminal devices that are carried or transported along with individuals. Each wireless node has a user interface and a local ID, e.g., an IP address, URL, telephone number. Voice, data, or video is transferred to other migratory nodes or to a conventional land-based telephone or data terminal via a PSTN, Internet, ATM network, etc. A geolocation detector in the node, such as a GPS, keeps track of the instantaneous position, which is conveyed to a locally or remotely stored database. A local processor accesses this database to determine node-to-node paths to a destination when said node operates as a source. A node captures a transmitted message when the destination address in the message matches its local address, or otherwise forwards the message towards a destination if the address does not match. Acknowledgements are sent between nodes upon successful receipt of information. The node'"'"'s wireless transceiver also adapts to the environment and terrain to control transmission and reception characteristics according to bandwidth, inter-node spacing, signal strength, bit error rate, node population density, frequency spectrum, data rate and/or air interface protocol. Nodes may periodically or randomly unicast or broadcast its ID and/or position data to update a database, which then may be propagated to other databases throughout the network. A database may reside locally within a node or at fixed regional locations that are linked together to form a global database.

Claims

1. An autonomously operating migratory node that provides migratory access points of a wireless network, said node comprising:

a user interface capable of receiving a destination ID and a payload message from a user, said destination ID being indicative of a destination node to which said payload message is to be sent,

a local ID indicative of said migratory node,

a geolocation detector that detects an instantaneous position of said migratory node,

a database that receives instantaneous position fixes of other migratory nodes,

a wireless transmitter capable of transmitting said payload message to at least another node,

a wireless receiver capable of receiving a payload message from at least another node,

a processor that effects assembly of a network packet containing said instantaneous position, a source ID indicative of said local ID, a destination ID indicative of said destination node, and said payload message; and

said processor further including a routine that obtains position fixes of said ether migratory nodes from said database and that effects determination of a node-to-node path from a source to a destination based on information in said database when said migratory node operates as said source, that effects capture of a payload message when the ID of a received network packet matches said local ID, and that otherwise effects forwarding of said network packet to said destination according to information contained in said network packet.

2. The migratory node as recited in claim 1, wherein said destination ID comprises at least one of an IP address, a telephone number, and a hardware device address;

and said payload message comprises a representation of data, voice signals, or video information.

3. The migratory node as recited in claim 2, further including a keyboard, a numeric pad, and/or a telephone handset for generating representations of data.

4. The migratory node as recited in claim 1, wherein said geolocation detector comprises at least one of a GPS receiver, triangulation system, satellite navigation system, and a manual position input for producing said instantaneous position.

5. The migratory node as recited in claim 4, wherein said geolocation detector generates a representation of position according to one of a Cartesian coordinate and polar reference system.

6. The migratory node according to claim 4, wherein said processor determines a path from said source to said destination by computing a route of intermediate nodes lying therebetween based on instantaneous position fixes indicative of the positions of said intermediate nodes.

7. The migratory node as recited in claim 6, wherein plural migratory nodes in the network periodically emit position information indicative of position, said position information being propagated throughout the network for storage in a local memory of each said plural migratory nodes, and said processor consults said local memory for obtaining information to determine the respective positions of intermediate nodes between said source and destination.

8. The migratory node as recited in claim 6, wherein said processor determines said path to said destination according to an expected position based on at least one of speed, direction of travel, and terrain in the vicinity of said destination node.

9. The migratory node as recited in claim 4, wherein said processor effects a return transmission of an acknowledgement packet to a transmitting node during internodal communication.

10. The migratory node as recited in claim 1, wherein said transmitter is multimodal by having plural modes of operation according to at least one of frequency spectrum of operation, spectral bandwidth, data rate, density of migratory nodes in a given region, terrestrial location, and air interface protocols.

11. The migratory node according to claim 10, wherein said processor effects selection of one of said plural modes of operation of said transmitter based on one of location of said node relative to other nodes, proximity of said migratory node to another node, and population density of said nodes in said network.

12. The migratory node as recited in claim 1, wherein said processor employs a lower layer communication protocol including one of segmentation and encapsulation to effect a transparent node-to-node transfer of information packets to nodes implementing higher layer communication protocols.

13. The migratory node as recited in claim 1, wherein said processor effects transmission of unicast, multicast, or broadcast information to one or more nodes in the network.

14. An amorphous communication network that enables wireless conveyance of data in a region without requiring a fixed networking infrastructure, said amorphous communication network including:

at least one roaming access node capable of receiving data from another node and providing remote access to other nodes by forwarding said data according to destination information embodied in said data, said at least one roaming access node further including a local input channel for receiving data from a user and a geolocation system that determines the location of said at least one roaming access node,

a database in said at least one roaming access node that stores instantaneous location information of other roaming access nodes in said network, sad at least one roaming access node being operative to convey respective ID information and associated location information to databases of said other roaming access nodes, and

said at least one roaming access node further including a processor that effects querying of said database to determine routing to one of said other roaming access nodes prior to a data transmission.

15. An amorphous communication network as recited in claim 14, wherein said at least one roaming access node implements a layered communication protocol to provide access to other nodes at a network layer or lower in order to reduce latency of conveyance of data through the network.

16. An amorphous communication network as recited in claim 15, wherein said geolocation system comprises one of a GPS system, a triangulation system, a satellite navigation system, and a manual input location system.

17. An amorphous communication network as recited in claim 16, wherein said at least one roaming access node determines a path between a source and a destination based on identification and whereabouts of intermediate nodes between said source and destination.

18. An amorphous communication network as recited in claim 17, wherein said processor of a source node assembles a network data packet containing ID and associated instantaneous position fixes of successive intermediate nodes between said source and destination, and upon passage of said network data packet through said network, a processor of another node captures or forwards the packet depending on said ID and associated instantaneous position fixes contained in said data packet.

19. An amorphous communication network as recited in claim 18, wherein said processor receiving said network data packet generates and returns an acknowledgement packet upon successful receipt of said network packet.

20. A method of providing wireless communication in a distributed access network comprising:

providing plural migratory access nodes to populate a region of desire communication service,

providing a user input at each of said plural migratory access nodes,

providing a geolocation detector at each of said plural migratory access nodes,

providing each said nodes with a database of instantaneous position fixes of said plural migratory access nodes in said region,

transmitting position fixes of said migratory access nodes in said region, said database of each said node receiving said position fixes and storing said position fixes in the database of said node,

accessing said database to determine a node-to-node route between a source migratory access node and destination migratory access node,

initiating a transfer of data between said source migratory access node and said destination migratory access node,

conveying said data from said source migratory access node to said destination migratory access node by relaying said data between or among said migratory access nodes determined in said accessing step, and

receiving said data at said destination roaming access node.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, further including returning an acknowledgement packet to a transmitting node upon a successful node-to-node transfer.

22. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein said migratory nodes include respective transmitters that emit electromagnetic signals representative of network packets, and said method further includes altering transmission characteristics of said transmitter according to one of population density of said nodes, desired rate of conveyance of data, signal strength, bit error rate, environmental surroundings of intermediate access nodes, terrain, terrestrial location, and inter-node distance.

23. A method of providing wireless data communication in an amorphous access network comprising:

providing plural migratory access nodes to populate a region of desire communication service,

providing a user input at each of said plural migratory access nodes,

providing a database at each of said plural migratory access nodes,

providing a geolocation detector at said plural migratory access nodes for generating location information indicative of respective locations of said plural migratory access nodes,

transmitting location information of said plural migratory access nodes, said migratory access node receiving said location information and storing said location information in said database,

generating a database of said location information,

determining, at said migratory access nodes, a node-to-node route of migratory access nodes between a source migratory access node and a destination migratory access node according to said position information of said database,

initiating a transfer of data at said source migratory access node,

transmitting said data to said destination migratory access node according tc said node-to-node route determined in said determining step, and

receiving said data at said destination migratory access node.