Multi-hop communication system, radio control station, radio station and multi-hop communication method

• US 7,619,998 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2004
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshino, Hitoshi, Otsu, Toru, Takeda, Shinji, Fujiwara, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah; Charles N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Karikari; Kwasi
• Application Number:
  US10/782,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20040166853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/452.1, 455/452.2, 455/434, 455/464, 370/400, 370/406, 370/329, 370/342, 370/312, 370/432, 370/338, 370/475, 370/473, 370/401
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/302 Route determination based on requested QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

The multi-hop communication system according to the present invention is configured by a radio control station 1 connected to a core network, and radio stations 21, 22, 31-33. The radio control station 1 has a control signal TX/RX unit 12 which transmits/receives the control signal, an information signal TX/RX unit 13 which transmits/receives the information signal, and a communication channel controller 15 which transmits a “usage notification” indicating usage of communication channels managed by the radio control station 1 to the radio stations 21, 22, 31-33 using the control signal. The radio station has a control signal TX/RX unit 42 which transmits/receives the control signal, and an information signal TX/RX unit 43 which transmits/receives the information signal.

Claims

1. A radio station, comprising:

a control signal reception unit configured to receive a control signal, broadcast from a radio control station, for communication connection with the radio control station;

a reception level measuring unit configured to measure a reception level of the control signal broadcast from the radio control station, at the radio station;

a relay controlling unit configured to receive a relay control signal to which a reception level of the control signal at an other radio station is added, the relay control signal being transmitted from a source radio station to the radio control station so as to set a communication route from the source radio station to the radio control station via at least one radio station; and

an information signal transmission/reception unit configured to relay an information signal, which is different from the control signal, to an other radio station according to the communication route in which the relay control signal is relayed, wherein

when the reception level added to the relay control signal is smaller than the reception level at the radio station, the relay controlling unit adds the reception level at the radio station to the received relay control signal, and relays the relay control signal, to which the reception level at the radio station is added, to other neighboring radio stations;

when the radio station is a source of the information signal, the information signal transmission/reception unit transmits the information signal according to the communication route notified by a response relay control signal which is transmitted by a direct radio station capable of transmitting the information signal to the radio control station directly; and

the response relay control signal is transmitted by the direct radio station in response to receiving the relay control signal at the direct radio station.

2. The radio station according to claim 1, further comprising:

a decision unit configured to decide whether or not communication is directly conducted with the radio control station based on a reception level of the control signal received by the control signal reception unit.

3. The radio station according to claim 2, wherein the decision unit changes a threshold for the reception level according to a transmission speed of the information signal and decides whether or not communication is directly conducted with the radio control station based on a result of comparison of the reception level and the threshold.

4. The radio station according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communication route selector configured to select an optimal communication route satisfying a prescribed condition regarding a communication state if a plurality of response relay control signals indicating different communication routes respectively are transmitted from the direct radio station.

5. The radio station according to claim 4, wherein an information indicating a number of hops from the source radio station to the radio control station is included in the response relay control signal, and the communication route selector selects the optimal communication route based on the number of hops included in the response relay control signal.

6. The radio station according to claim 4, wherein an information indicating an interference level is included in the response relay control signal, and the communication route selector selects the optimal communication route based on the interference level included in the response relay control signal.

7. The radio station according to claim 4, wherein information indicating a required transmission power is included in the response relay control signal, and the communication route selector selects the optimal communication route based on the required transmission power included in the response relay control signal.

8. The radio station of claim 4, wherein the communication route selector is configured to determine the optimal communication route for the information signal, which minimizes a total transmission power of radio stations relaying the information signal.

9. The radio station of claim 4, wherein the communication route selector is configured to determine the optimal communication route for the information signal by selecting a radio station having a smallest relative transmission power.

10. The radio station of claim 4, wherein the communication route selector is configured to determine the optimal communication route for the information signal to maximize a signal-to-interference ratio while minimizing a number of hops in the communication route.

11. A multi-hop communication system configured by a radio control station and a plurality of radio stations, wherein, one radio station included in the plurality of the radio stations comprises:

a control signal reception unit configured to receive a control signal, broadcast from the radio control station, for communication connection with the radio control station;

a reception level measuring unit configured to measure a reception level of the control signal broadcast from the radio control station, at the one radio station;

a relay controlling unit configured to receive a relay control signal to which a reception level of the control signal at an other radio station is added, the relay control signal being transmitted from a source radio station to the radio control station so as to set a communication route from the source radio station to the radio control station via at least one radio station; and

an information signal transmission/reception unit configured to relay an information signal, which is different from the control signal, to an other radio station according to the communication route in which the relay control signal is relayed, wherein

when the reception level added to the relay control signal is smaller than the reception level at the one radio station, the relay controlling unit adds the reception level at the one radio station to the received relay control signal, and relays the relay control signal, to which the reception level at the one radio station is added, to other neighboring radio stations;

a direct radio station which can transmit the information signal to the radio control station directly, among the plurality of the radio stations, transmits a response relay control signal notifying the communication route in which the relay control signal is relayed, in response to receiving the relay control signal; and

the source radio station, which is a source of the information signal, transmits the information signal according to the route notified by the response relay control signal.

12. A multi-hop communication method for a radio control station and a plurality of radio stations comprising:

receiving, by one radio station of the plurality of radio stations, a control signal, broadcast from the radio control station, for communication connection with the radio control station;

measuring a reception level of the control signal broadcast from the radio control station at the one radio station;

receiving a relay control signal to which a reception level of the control signal at an other radio station is added, the relay control signal being transmitted from a source radio station to the radio control station so as to set a communication route from the source radio station to the radio control station via at least one radio station;

comparing, at the one radio station, the reception level added to the relay control signal with the reception level of the one radio station;

adding the reception level at the one radio station to the received relay control signal, and relaying the relay control signal, to which the reception level at the one radio station is added, to other neighboring radio stations, when the reception level added to the relay control signal is smaller than the reception level of the one radio station;

transmitting, at a direct radio station which can transmit the information signal different from the control signal to the radio control station directly, a response relay control signal notifying the communication route in which the relay control signal is relayed, in response to receiving of the relay control signal;

transmitting, at a source radio station which is a source of the information signal, the information signal according to the communication route notified by the response relay control signal; and

relaying the information signal to an other radio station according to the communication route notified by the response relay control signal.