Method of multicasting and transmitting data in PLC network and an apparatus thereof

• US 8,130,672 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2006
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Ju-han, Chang, Seung-gi, Lee, Joon-hee, Choi, Jun-hae, Kim, In-hwan, Kim, Ji-hoon, You, Ho-jeong
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBERTS, BRIAN S
• Application Number:
  US11/601,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20070195718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,933 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5408 using protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/545 Audio/video application, e.g. interphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks

Abstract

A method of transmitting data more effectively, and more particularly, a method of transmitting data to a group comprising a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data from a transmission station when the stations communicate the data in a power line communication (PLC) network, and an apparatus to do the same. According to the method, a transmission station transmits data to a group including a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data at a time, to prevent a channel bandwidth from being wasted, and to prevent a station that does not desire to receive the data from receiving the data.

Claims

1. A data transmission method of a coordinator device of a data transmission system, the method comprising:

forming a group comprising a plurality of reception stations to receive same data;

transmitting data from the coordinator device to the formed group;

after forming the group, allowing at least one another reception station to join the group by a join request thereof;

determining with the coordinator device whether the at least one another reception station joins the group when the coordinator device receives the join request from the at least one another reception station; and

performing a channel estimation with the coordinator device between the at least one another reception station that requests to join the group and the coordinator device that receives the join request, and selecting optimum channels with the coordinator device to transmit data to the group according to a result of the channel estimation,

wherein the channel estimation is an estimation of at least one of data traffic, a travelling time, and unavailability, and

wherein the coordinator device receives a data frame including a field that requests information on all groups included in a power line communication (PLC) cell from at least one of the plurality of reception stations of the formed group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting of the optimum channels comprises selecting a channel that transmits the data to the group from the optimum channels within a channel range where all reception stations included in the group can communicate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, before requesting to join the group, the at least one another reception station requests information on groups included in the power line communication (PLC) cell.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one another reception station determining whether to join the group based on the information on the groups, if there is no group to join, requesting the coordinator device to generate a new group, and, if there is an existing group to join, requesting the coordinator device to allow the at least one another station to join the group.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one another reception station requesting to leave from the group.

6. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program, to execute a method comprising:

forming a group comprising a plurality of reception stations to receive same data;

transmitting data from a transmission station to the formed group;

after forming the group, allowing at least one another reception station to join the group by a join request thereof;

determining with a coordinator device whether the at least one another reception station joins the group when the coordinator device receives the join request from the at least one another reception station; and

performing a channel estimation with the coordinator device between the at least one another reception station that requests to join the group and the coordinator that receives the join request, and selecting optimum channels with the coordinator device to transmit data to the group according to a result of the channel estimation,

wherein the channel estimation is an estimation of at least one of data traffic, a travelling time, and unavailability, and

wherein the coordinator device receives a data frame including a field that requests information on all groups included in a power line communication (PLC) cell from at least one of the plurality of reception stations of the formed group.

7. A coordinator device usable in a data transmission system, comprising:

a processor to form a group comprising a plurality of reception stations that receive same data in response to a request frame from at least one station that requests to form the group comprising the plurality of reception stations that receive the same data, to generate a response frame in response to the request frame, to determine whether to allow at least one another station, if the at least one another station requests to join the group, to perform a channel estimation that includes an estimation of at least one of data traffic, a travelling time, and unavailability between the at least one another station that requests to join the group and the coordinator device that receives a join request, to select optimum channels that transmit data to the group according to a result of the channel estimation, and to receive a data frame including a field that requests information on all groups included in a power line communication (PLC) cell from at least one of the plurality of reception stations of the formed group; and

a transmitter to transmit the response frame to the at least one station.

8. The coordinator device of claim 7, wherein a channel that transmits the data to the group is selected from the optimum channels within a channel range where all stations included in the group can communicate.

9. The coordinator device of claim 7, wherein the processor further comprises:

a group information storage unit to store information on all groups included in the power line communication (PLC) cell.

10. A station device usable in a data transmission system, comprising:

a frame generator processor to generate a data frame including a field that requests to form a group comprising a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data;

a transmitter to transmit the data frame to a coordinator device; and

a receiver to receive a response frame in response to the data frame from the coordinator device,

wherein the frame generator processor generates another data frame including another field that requests information on all groups included in a power line communication (PLC) cell.

11. The station device of claim 10, wherein the frame generator processor generates another data frame including another field that requests to join the group.

12. The station device of claim 10, wherein the frame generator processor generates another data frame including another field that requests to leave the group.

13. A data transmission system, comprising:

a station device having a frame generator processor to generate a data frame including a field to request to form a group including a plurality of reception stations that receive the same data;

a coordinator device having a processor to form the group according to the data frame and to generate a response frame, so that the station device communicates with the group for data transmission upon receiving the response frame, to allow at least one other reception station to join the group by a join request thereof, to determine whether the at least one other reception station joins the group upon receiving the join request from the at least one other reception station, to perform a channel estimation that includes an estimation of at least one of data traffic, a travelling time, and unavailability between the at least one other reception station that requests to join the group and the coordinator device that receives the join request, to select optimum channels that transmit data to the group according to a result of the channel estimation, and to receive a second data frame including a second field that requests information on all groups included in a power line communication (PLC) cell from at least one of the plurality of reception stations of the formed group.