Method and apparatus for routing packets
First Claim
1. A method for routing packets between a source and a destination in a heterogeneous communications network for a set of packets including at least one packet to be transmitted from a sending node, said sending node being able to handle communication according to at least two wireless access technologies, the method comprising:
- for each packet in the set of packets, the sending node selecting a first wireless access technology among said at least two wireless access technologies for use when transmitting the packet, wherein said first wireless access technology selected for each packet is independent of said first wireless access technology selected for any other packet in the set of packets;
for each packet in the set of packets, the sending node selecting a first receiving node in the network to which to transmit the packet among nodes in the network that are able to handle said first wireless access technology selected for the packet;
for each packet in the set of packets, the sending node transmitting the packet to the selected first receiving node using the first wireless access technology; and
when the first receiving node is a relay node, the relay node selecting a second wireless access technology independent of the first wireless access technology, selecting a second receiving node that is able to handle the second wireless access technology, and transmitting the received packet to the second receiving node using the second wireless access technology,wherein for each packet, said first receiving node is selected based on said selected first wireless access technology.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Packets may be routed in a heterogeneous communications network as follows: for a set of packets comprising at least one packet to be transmitted from a sending node, said sending node being able to handle communication according to at least two access technologies,—selecting in a selection unit in the sending node an access technology for use when transmitting the set of packets,—selecting a receiving node in the network to which to transmit the set of packets among nodes in the network that are able to handle said selected access technology—transmitting the set of packets to the selected receiving node using the selected access technology. Alternatively, a set of packets may be transmitted to one or more nodes using at least two different access technologies. Depending on the transmission quality, one node may be selected to forward the set of packets.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for routing packets between a source and a destination in a heterogeneous communications network for a set of packets including at least one packet to be transmitted from a sending node, said sending node being able to handle communication according to at least two wireless access technologies, the method comprising:
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for each packet in the set of packets, the sending node selecting a first wireless access technology among said at least two wireless access technologies for use when transmitting the packet, wherein said first wireless access technology selected for each packet is independent of said first wireless access technology selected for any other packet in the set of packets; for each packet in the set of packets, the sending node selecting a first receiving node in the network to which to transmit the packet among nodes in the network that are able to handle said first wireless access technology selected for the packet; for each packet in the set of packets, the sending node transmitting the packet to the selected first receiving node using the first wireless access technology; and when the first receiving node is a relay node, the relay node selecting a second wireless access technology independent of the first wireless access technology, selecting a second receiving node that is able to handle the second wireless access technology, and transmitting the received packet to the second receiving node using the second wireless access technology, wherein for each packet, said first receiving node is selected based on said selected first wireless access technology. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for routing packets between a source and a destination in a heterogeneous communications network for a set of packets including at least one packet to be transmitted from a sending node, said sending node being able to handle communication according to at least two wireless access technologies, the method comprising:
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for each packet in the set of packets, concurrently transmitting the packet from said sending node to at least two receiving nodes using said at least two wireless access technologies; for each packet, the sending node receiving acknowledgements for a successful reception of the packet that applies to the transmission to the at least two receiving nodes from the at least two receiving nodes; and for each packet, the sending node selecting one of the at least two receiving nodes that is to forward the packet to a next receiving node, based on the acknowledgement information indicative of the successful reception. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A sending node for use in a heterogeneous communications network in which packets are routed between a source and a destination, said sending node being arranged to receive packets according to at least a first wireless access technology and forward the packets to at least two receiving nodes in the network and said sending node arranged to handle communication according to at least the first wireless access technology, said sending node comprising:
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a communication unit for receiving a set of packets including at least one packet using the first wireless access technology; a selection unit for selecting for each packet in the set of packets a second wireless access technology for use when transmitting the packet, said second wireless access technology being selected independent of said first wireless access technology; the selection unit also for selecting for each packet a receiving node in the network to which to transmit the packet among nodes in the network that are able to handle said second wireless access technology selected for the packet; and the communication unit also for transmitting each packet of the set of packets to the receiving node selected for the packet using the second wireless access technology selected for the packet, wherein for each packet, said selection unit selects said receiving node based on said selected second wireless access technology. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A sending node for use in a heterogeneous communications network in which packets are routed between a source and a destination, said sending node being arranged to forward a set of packets including at least one packet to at least two receiving nodes in the network and said node being arranged to handle communication according to at least two wireless access technologies, said node comprising;
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a communication unit for performing, for each packet in the set of packets, concurrently transmitting the packet to at least two receiving nodes using said at least two wireless access technologies; the communication unit also for receiving for each packet an acknowledgement information from each of the at least two receiving nodes regarding the transmission of the packet; and a selection unit for selecting for each packet one of the at least two receiving nodes from which the packet is to be forwarded to a next receiving node, based on the acknowledgement information. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A node in a heterogeneous communications network in which packets are routed between a source and a destination, the node comprising:
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a communication unit arranged to receive from a sending node a packet using a first wireless access technology, and arranged to transmit to a receiving node the packet using a second wireless access technology; and a selection unit arranged to select the second wireless access technology among plural wireless access technologies, and arranged to select the receiving node among plural other nodes in the network, wherein the communication unit is capable of communication with other nodes in the network using each of the plural wireless access technologies, wherein the plural wireless access technologies include the first and second wireless access technologies, and wherein for each packet received by the communication unit, the selection unit is arranged to select the second wireless access technology for the packet independent of the second wireless access technology selected for any other packet, wherein for each packet received by the communication unit, the selection unit is arranged to select the receiving node based on the selected second wireless access technology. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification