Method for selecting operational channel of network coordinator in wireless narrow area network and coordinator using the same

• US 8,325,665 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2009
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: KT Corporation
• Original Assignee: KT Corporation
• Inventors: Kim, Yeon-Soo, Chong, Hak-Jin, KOH, Youn-Suk
• Primary Examiner(s): Riyami, Abdullah
• Application Number:
  US12/647,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20100142396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 375/260, 375/316, 375/359, 375/140, 375/354, 375/219, 375/377, 375/35, 455/423, 455/509, 455/512, 455/450, 455/452.2, 455/456.1, 455/343, 370/238, 370/350, 370/312, 370/329, 370/328, 370/336, 370/345, 370/349, 370/338, 370/248, 370/250, 370/389, 370/252, 370/432, 370/335, 370/471, 370/474, 370/341, 370/468, 370/447, 370/473, 370/436, 370/400, 370/401, 370/230, 370/229, 370/278, 370/444, 370/347, 370/392, 370/503
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method for selecting an operational channel of a wireless narrow area network, a coordinator using the same, and a computer-readable recording media recording a program for realizing the method. More particularly, a method for selecting an operational channel of a wireless narrow area network in which one radio channel is occupied by a plurality of coordinators at different timings by selecting a predetermined period of a radio channel where a coordinator of the wireless narrow area network is used by another coordinator as own operational channel, a coordinator using the same, and a computer-readable recording media recording a program for realizing the method.

Claims

1. A method for selecting an operational channel of a wireless narrow area network, comprising:

checking by a first coordinator a channel occupied state of another coordinator operated in an effective channel based on a received beacon frame in the first coordinator of the wireless narrow area network;

detecting an operable period based on a check result of the channel occupied state of the another coordinator; and

determining a time offset according to the operable period detection result of the another coordinator,

wherein the checking by the first coordinator the channel occupied state of the another coordinator includes checking whether different beacon frames are received according to a comparison result of ‘

a maximum beacon interval excluding a predetermined protection time’ and

‘

a current timer’

,

wherein the predetermined protection time is determined as a smallest superframe duration among entire superframe durations including own superframe duration.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

before said checking the channel occupied state,

checking whether a predetermined radio channel is pre-occupied;

checking whether the pre-occupied radio channel is pre-occupied by a homogeneous coordinator using a same format; and

selecting the radio channel pre-occupied by the homogeneous coordinator as the effective channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a reference slot timing for determining the time offset of the another coordinator sharing the effective channel based on the beacon frame received through the effective channel, among operational channels is determined.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reference slot timing is determined as a slot timing of a time offset ‘

0’

.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein local clock and slot synchronization are acquired and superframe information is collected through the beacon frame.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein when a received preamble is the beacon frame in comparison of ‘

the maximum beacon interval excluding the predetermined protection time’ and

‘

the current timer’

, it is checked that another beacon frame is received.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the operable period according to a non-occupied block period between superframes is detected by arranging the superframes according to a time order based on the determined reference slot timing.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said detecting the operable period, includes:

rearranging each superframe with the determined reference slot timing as a reference according to the time order;

sequentially determining a slot number by extensively transforming the rearranged superframes into ‘

a slot index on the maximum beacon interval’

; and

detecting the operable period for the own superframe duration by determining the non-occupied block period between the superframes.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the superframes are arranged according to a reference slot by moving the superframes in front of the reference slot to the end of the rearranged superframes.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the slot number is determined by comparing ‘

a summation of a slot number of an (n−

1)^th superframe and a superframe duration of the (n−

1)^th superframe’ and

‘

a time offset of an n^th superframe’

.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein when ‘

the time offset of the n^th superframe’

is larger than ‘

the summation of the slot number of the (n−

1)^th superframe and the superframe duration of the (n−

1)^th superframe’

, ‘

the time offset of the n^th superframe’

is determined as the slot number.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein when ‘

the time offset of the n^th superframe’

is smaller than ‘

the summation of the slot number of (n−

1)^th superframe and the superframe duration of the (n−

1)^th superframe’

, the slot number is determined in consideration of ‘

the time offset of the n^th superframe’ and

‘

the beacon interval of the n^th superframe’

.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the operable period is detected by comparing ‘

the non-occupied block period existing between neighboring two superframe durations’ and

‘

the own superframe duration’

.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the time offset which is its own superframe start timing, is determined by checking a slot block for the own superframe duration in the detected operable period.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said determining the time offset includes:

selecting a check period of the operable period by comparing own beacon interval with a predetermined beacon interval; and

determining the time offset by checking the slot block for the own superframe duration in the selected check period.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the check period is selected by using a large and small relation among ‘

own beacon interval’

, ‘

a minimum beacon interval’

, ‘

the maximum beacon interval’ and

‘

a beacon interval of a superframe occupying a reference slot’

.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the check period is determined as any one of ‘

the own beacon interval’

, ‘

the maximum beacon interval’ and

‘

the beacon interval of the superframe occupying the reference slot’

according to the large and small relation among the own beacon interval, ‘

the minimum beacon interval’

, ‘

the maximum beacon interval’ and

‘

the beacon interval of the superframe occupying the reference slot’

.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the time offset is determined according to whether there is the slot block usable as the operable period with respect to entire non-occupied block periods within the check period.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein after a slot number of the time offset timing is determined, the time offset is determined through a modular operation of the slot number and ‘

the beacon interval of the superframe occupying the reference slot’

.

20. A coordinator of a wireless narrow area network for selecting an operational channel, comprising:

a channel state checking means for checking a channel occupied state of another coordinator operated in an effective channel based on a received beacon frame of the wireless narrow area network;

an operable period detecting means for detecting an operable period based on a check result of the channel occupied state in the channel state checking means; and

determining a time offset according to a detection result in the operable period detecting means,

wherein the operable period detecting means detects a non-occupied block period between superframes and the operable period according to the non-occupied block period by arranging the superframes according to a time order based on a reference slot timing determined in the channel state checking means,

wherein the channel state checking means checks whether different beacon frames are received according to a comparison result of ‘

a maximum beacon interval excluding a predetermined protection time’ and

‘

a current timer’

,

wherein the predetermined protection time is determined as a smallest superframe duration among entire superframe durations including own superframe duration.

21. The coordinator of claim 20, wherein the channel state checking means determines the time offset of the another coordinator sharing the effective channel based on the beacon frame received through the effective channel, among operational channels.

22. The coordinator of claim 20, wherein the time offset determining means determines the time offset which is its own superframe start timing, by checking a slot block for the own superframe duration in the operable period detected in the operable period detecting means.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable recording media recording a program for realizing following functions in a first coordinator for selecting an operational channel of a wireless narrow area network having a processor, the program which when executed by the processor performs the functions comprising:

checking a channel occupied state of another coordinator operated in an effective channel based on a received beacon frame in the first coordinator of the wireless narrow area network;

detecting an operable period based on a check result of the channel occupied state of the another coordinator; and

determining a time offset according to the operable period detection result of the another coordinator,

wherein the checking by the first coordinator the channel occupied state of the another coordinator includes checking whether different beacon frames are received according to a comparison result of ‘

a maximum beacon interval excluding a predetermined protection time’ and

‘

a current timer’

,

wherein the predetermined protection time is determined as a smallest superframe duration among entire superframe durations including own superframe duration.