Distributed wireless access method based on network allocation vector table and apparatus of the same

• US 7,522,576 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2005
• Issued: 04/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Du, Lei, Chen, Lan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phuong; Dai A
• Application Number:
  US11/286,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20060114867A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• Field of Search: 370310-350
• US Class Current: 370/349
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/002 Transmission of channel access control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention include a wireless access method based on a NAVT (Network allocation vector table), which is applied to a distributed wireless mobile communication system comprising a plurality of nodes, the NAVT comprises a packet type field and a duration field and is stored in the respective nodes of the communication system, comprising: on a transmitting side, determining whether only a RTS (request to send) item is contained in the NAVT when a packet arrives; sensing channel to judge whether the channel is busy after determining that only the RTS item is contained in the NAVT; sending a RTS packet based on the RTS item to the receiving side after determining that the channel is busy; and on a receiving side, determining whether the NAVT is empty or not when the RTS packet is received; sending a CTS (clear to send) packet back to the transmitting side after determining that the NAVT is empty.

Claims

1. A wireless access method based on Network allocation vector table (NAVT), which is applied to a distributed wireless mobile communication system comprising a plurality of nodes, the NAVT comprises a packet type field indicating whether a packet comes from a transmitting node or from a receiving node and a duration field indicating an expected length of a data transmission and is stored in the respective nodes of the communication system, comprising:

on a transmitting side,

determining whether only a request to send (RTS) item indicating that a packet comes from a transmitting node is contained in the NAVT when a packet to be transmitted by the transmitting side arrives;

sensing a channel to determine whether the channel is busy after determining that only the RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

fitting a data length of the packet to be transmitted by the transmitting side to a length shorter than a length of a data transmission obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the value indicated by the RTS item when it is determined that the channel is busy;

sending a RTS packet including the fitted data length of the packet to be transmitted by the transmitting side, or a data packet with fitted data length; and

on a receiving side,

determining the contents of the NAVT is empty when the RTS packet is received; and

sending a clear to send (CTS) packet back to the transmitting side based on a determination of the contents of the NAVT.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 using no channel splitting,

wherein on a receiving side,

determining the contents of the NAVT comprises determining whether the NAVT is empty or not when the RTS packet is received;

and

wherein sending the RTS packet comprises sending the clear to send packet back to the transmitting side after determining that the NAVT is empty.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein on the transmitting side, further comprising:

continued sensing of the channel after determining that the channel is idle.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein on the transmitting side, further comprising:

sensing a channel to determine whether the channel is busy or not after determining that the NAVT is empty; and

sending the RTS packet after the channel is idle for the duration of the distributed coordination function interframe space (DIFS) period, otherwise, entering a backoff procedure, and sending the RTS packet after the termination of the backoff procedure.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein on the receiving side, further comprising:

terminating operation after determining that the NAVT is not empty.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 using channel splitting, wherein on transmitting side,

sensing the RTS packet comprises sensing a data channel (DCH), to determine whether the DCH is busy when only the RTS item is contained in the NAVT, and

comprises sending the RTS packet on a signaling channel (SCH) to the receiving side after determining that the DCH is busy;

on receiving side,

determining the contents of the NAVT comprises determining whether only a CTS item indicating that a packet comes from a receiving node is contained in the NAVT when the RTS packet is received;

and further comprising prior to the step of sending fitting a data length, when only the CTS item is contained in the NAVT or the NATV is empty.

7. The method as claimed in claim 2 or 6, wherein the NAVT is a two-dimension data table, wherein the packet type field indicates packet types including a RTS item and a CTS item, and the duration field indicates the duration time for CTS item and the RTS item.

8. The method as claimed in claim 2 or 6, wherein when the value of the duration field is reduced to zero, the RTS item or the CTS item in the NAVT corresponding to this duration is emptied.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein on the transmitting side, further comprising:

sensing the SCH to determine whether the SCH is busy or not after determining that the NAVT is empty; and

sending a RTS packet on the SCH after the SCH is idle for the duration of the DIFS period, otherwise, entering a backoff procedure, and sending a RTS packet after the termination of the backoff procedure.

10. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein on the receiving side, further comprising:

sending on the SCH a Reject (REJ) packet indicating the rejection of a response to the packet transmitted by the transmitting side during the time indicated by the duration field of the REJ packet, wherein the value of the duration field is equal to the subtraction of the time necessary for transmitting the REJ packet on the SCH from the duration of the CTS item in the NAVT after determining that a RTS item is contained in NAVT.

11. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein on the receiving side, further comprising:

transmitting a CTS packet on the SCH when the NAVT is empty.

12. The method as claimed in claim 2 or 6, wherein on the receiving side, further comprising:

updating the NAVT by a non-receiving node when it receives the RTS packet.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein updating by a non-receiving node comprises the steps of:

determining whether a RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

adding a RTS item in the NAVT, and duplicating the duration in the received RTS packet into the duration field of the RTS item in the NAVT when no RTS item is contained in the NAVT; and

selecting the larger one between the duration in the received RTS packet and the duration of the RTS item stored in the NAVT to update the duration of the RTS item in the NAVT when a RTS item is contained in the NAVT.

14. The method as claimed in claim 2 or 6, wherein further comprising:

updating the NAVT by a non-transmitting node when it receives a CTS packet after the CTS packet is sent back to the transmitting side.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein updating by the non-transmitting node comprises:

determining whether a CTS item is contained in the NAVT;

adding a CTS item in the NAVT and duplicating the duration included in the received CTS packet into the duration field of the CTS item in the NAVT when no CTS item is contained in the NAVT; and

selecting the larger one between the duration in the received CTS packet and the duration of the CTS item stored in the NAVT to update the duration of the CTS item in the NAVT when a CTS item is contained in the NAVT.

16. A node in a distributed wireless mobile communication system comprising a plurality of nodes, comprising:

a Network allocation vector table (NAVT) storage timer unit to store a NAVT comprising a packet type field indicating whether a packet comes from a transmitting node or from a receiving node and a duration field indicating an expected length of a data transmission;

a transmitting device to determine whether only a request to send (RTS) item indicating that a packet comes from a transmitting node is contained in the NAVT when a packet to be transmitted by the transmitting device arrives;

sensing channel to determine whether the channel is busy after determining that only the RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

fitting a data length of the packet to be transmitted by the transmitting device to a length shorter than a length of a data transmission obtained by subtracting a predetermined value from the value indicating by the RTS item when it is determined that the channel is busy; and

sending a RTS packet including the fitted data length of the packet to be transmitted by the transmitting device, or data packet with fitted data length; and

a receiving device to determine the contents of the NAVT when the RTS packet is received; and

sending clear to send (CTS) packet back to the transmitting side on the basis of the determination of the contents of the NAVT.

17. The node as claimed in claim 16 in a distributed wireless mobile communication system using no channel splitting, wherein

the receiving device is for determining whether the NAVT is empty or not when the RTS packet is received;

and sending a CTS packet back to the transmitting after determining that the NAVT is empty.

18. The node as claimed in claim 17, wherein the transmitting device comprising:

a transmitting storage unit to store data packet that arrives at the node;

a detection device to determine whether a packet is to be transmitted in the transmitting storage unit, and check items of the NAVT in the NAVT storage timer unit;

a determining unit to determine whether a CTS item is contained in the NAVT and whether the NAVT is empty or not based on the result from the detection unit;

a channel sensing device to sense the channel to determine whether the channel is busy or not based on the result from the determining unit;

a data length fitting unit to fit a data length after determining by the channel sensing device that the channel is busy; and

a transmitting unit to transmit a RTS packet to the receiving side after determining by the channel sensing unit that the channel is busy in the case that only RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

sending a RTS packet after the channel is idle for the duration of the distributed coordination function interframe space (DIFS) period, entering a backoff procedure, and sending a RTS packet after the termination of the backoff procedure; and

transmitting a data packet to the receiving side when the transmitting node receives a CTS from the receiving node, and transmitting a CTS or acknowledge (ACK) packet to the transmitting side when the receiving node receives a RTS packet and a DATA packet from the transmitting node.

19. The node as claimed in claim 17 or 18, wherein the receiving device comprising:

a receiving storage unit to store a packet received externally;

a receiving unit to receive a RTS and data packet from the transmitting side, and receiving a CTS and ACK packet from the receiving side;

a detection unit to detect the correct reception for packet or packet collision, detecting whether the node is a receiving node or not when a RTS packet and data packet is received;

detecting whether the node is a transmitting node or not when a CTS and ACK packet is received; and

detecting whether the NAVT is empty or not when a RTS packet is received;

a channel sensing unit to sense the channel and transmit a CTS packet when the received result indicates that the node is a receiving node and the NAVT is empty;

an updating unit to update the NAVT when a non-receiving node or a non-transmitting side received a packet based on a determination from the determination unit; and

a determination unit to make a determination based on the result from the detection unit;

transmitting the determination result to the updating unit when the node is a non-receiving node and a packet is received;

transmitting the determination result to the updating unit when the node is a non-transmitting node and a packet is received; and

transmitting the determination result to the channel sensing unit when the node is a receiving node and the NAVT is empty; and

assuming that the CTS or ACK packet from the receiving node is correctly received when the detecting unit detects that a packet collision occur during a certain time.

20. The node as claimed in claim 17, wherein operation is terminated when the receiving device in the receiving node determines that the NAVT is not empty.

21. The node as claimed in claim 16 using channel splitting, wherein

the transmitting device further is for sending a data channel (DCH) to determine whether the DCH is busy when only the RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

and to fit a data length and send a RTS packet on signaling channel (SCH) after determining that the DCH is busy; and

a receiving device further is to determine whether only a CTS item is contained in NAVT when the receiving node receives a RTS packet; and

to fit a data length and send a CTS packet on the SCH back to the transmitting side after determining that only the CTS item is contained in the NAVT or the NATV is empty.

22. The node as claimed in claim 21, wherein the transmitting device comprising:

a transmitting storage to store data packet that arrives at the node;

a detection unit to determine whether a packet is to be transmitted in the transmitting storage unit and to check items of the NAVT stored in the NAVT storage timer unit for;

a determination unit to determine whether a CTS item is contained in the NAVT and whether the NAVT is empty or not based on the result from the detection unit;

a first channel selecting unit to select a channel based on the result from the determination unit;

selecting a SCH for sensing when the NAVT is empty, or to select a DCH for sensing when only RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

a channel sensing unit to sense the channel to determine whether the channel is busy or not based on the selection by the first channel selecting unit;

a data length fitting unit to fit a data length when it is determined by the channel sensing means that the channel is busy;

a second channel selecting unit to select a SCH when a RTS packet is to be transmitted, and selecting a DCH when a data packet is to be transmitted; and

a transmitting unit to transmit a RTS packet on the SCH to the receiving side when it is determined by the channel sensing unit that the DCH is busy in the case that only RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

to send a RTS packet on the SCH after the channel is idle for the duration of the DIFS period, otherwise, to enter a backoff procedure and send a RTS packet on the SCH after the termination of the backoff procedure; and

to transmit a data packet on the DCH to the receiving side when the transmitting node receives a CTS from the receiving node, and transmitting a CTS or ACK packet to the transmitting side when the receiving node receives a RTS packet and a DATA packet from the transmitting node.

23. The node as claimed in claim 21 or 22, wherein the receiving device comprising:

a receiving storage unit to store a packet received externally;

a receiving unit to receive a RTS packet from the transmitting side on the SCH;

to receive a data packet from the transmitting side on the DCH, and to receive a CTS and REJ packet from the receiving side on the SCH;

a detection unit to detect the correct reception for packet, to detect whether the node is a receiving node or not when a RTS packet and data packet is received on the SCH;

to detect whether the node is a transmitting node or not when a CTS and ACK packet is received on the SCH; and

to detect whether a RTS item is contained in the NAVT and whether the NAVT is empty or not when a RTS packet is received;

a data length fitting unit to fit a data length when the NAVT is not empty;

a third channel selecting unit to select a SCH when a CTS and REF packet is to be transmitted, and selecting a DCH when a data packet is to be transmitted;

a channel sensing unit to sense channel to transmit a CTS packet when the received result indicates that the node is a receiving node and no RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

an updating unit to update the NAVT when a non-receiving node or a non-transmitting node received a packet based on a determination from the determination unit; and

a determination unit to make a determination based on the result from the detection device;

transmitting the determination result to the updating means when the node is a non-receiving node and a RTS packet is received;

transmitting the determination result to the updating means when the node is a non-transmitting node and a CTS packet is received; and

transmitting the determination result to the data length fitting unit when the node is a receiving node and only CTS item is contained in the NAVT.

24. The node as claimed in claim 19 or 23, wherein when a non-receiving node receives a RTS packet, the updating unit determines whether a RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

a RTS item is added in the NAVT and the duration in the received RTS packet is duplicated into the duration field of the RTS item in the NAVT when no RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

the larger one between the duration in the received RTS packet and the duration of the RTS item stored in the NAVT is selected to update the duration of the RTS item in the NAVT when the RTS item is contained in the NAVT.

25. The node as claimed in claim 19 or 23, wherein when a non-transmitting node receives a CTS packet, the updating unit determines whether a RTS item is contained in the NAVT;

a CTS item is added in the NAVT and the duration in the received CTS packet is duplicated into the duration field of the CTS item in the NAVT when no CTS item is contained in the NAVT;

the larger one between the duration in the received CTS packet and the duration of the CTS item stored in the NAVT is selected to update the duration of the CTS item in the NAVT when the CTS item is contained in the NAVT.

26. The node as claimed in claim 17 or 21, wherein the NAVT storage timer unit includes a timer unit to control the value of the duration field in the NAVT.

27. The as claimed in claim 17 or 21, wherein the NAVT is a two-dimension data table, wherein the packet type field indicates packet types including a RTS item and a CTS item, and the duration field indicates the duration time for CTS item and the RTS item.

28. The node as claimed in claim 17 or 21, wherein when the value of the duration field is reduced to zero, the RTS item or the CTS item in the NAVT corresponding to this duration is emptied by the receiving device in the node.

29. The node as claimed in claim 21, wherein when the receiving device in the receiving node determines that a RTS item is contained in the NAVT, the transmitting device in the node transmits on the SCH a REJ packet indicating the rejection of a response to the packet transmitted by the transmitting side during the time indicated by the duration field of the REJ packet, wherein the value of the duration field is equal to the subtraction of the time necessary for transmitting the REJ packet on the SCH from the duration of the CTS item in the NAVT.