Routing device and method

• US 9,247,481 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Joo, Seong-Soon
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bokhari, Syed M
• Application Number:
  US14/171,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20140219168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• Field of Search: 370/312, 370/252, 370/336, 370/328
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/46 Cluster building
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Disclosed herein are provided a routing device and method for configuring a Low Power Wireless Mesh Network (LPWMN) including a channel hopping time multiplexing wireless link. The routing device includes a control unit and a communication unit. The control unit sets up a virtual link, a shared link, or a dedicated link to an external device or router. The communication unit forwards a data frame to the device or router based on the set-up link.

Claims

1. A routing device for configuring a Low Power Wireless Mesh Network (LPWMN) including a channel hopping time multiplexing wireless link, the routing device comprising:

a control unit configured to set up a shared link using an inward rx timeslot and an inward tx timeslot and a dedicated link to an external device, the dedicated link including an inward dedicated link and an outward dedicated link; and

a communication unit configured to forward a data frame to the external device based on the set-up link

wherein the shared link and the dedicated link comprise superframes whose beacon interval (BI) has a contention access period (CAP) and a guaranteed time slot (GTS), and a multi-superframe,

wherein the routing device is addressed using a cluster tree,

wherein the cluster tree corresponds to a cluster ID and the routing device is addressed using a position within the cluster tree,

wherein the control unit is configured to set up a virtual link,

wherein the virtual link comprises a multi-hop link connected through the routing device which relays a routed transport frame instead of forwarding the routed transport frame.

2. The routing device of claim 1, wherein the dedicated link corresponds to relaying a routed transport frame instead of forwarding the routed transport frame.

3. The routing device of claim 1, wherein the control unit operates based on a Deterministic and Synchronous Multi-channel Extension (DSME) MAC Link Control sublayer (DLC) and a DSME MAC Link Network sublayer (DLN).

4. The routing device of claim 3, wherein the control unit performs link connection control, link management service, and data transmission on a link based on the DLC.

5. The routing device of claim 4, wherein the control unit configures the shared link and the dedicated link based on the DLC.

6. The routing device of claim 3, wherein the DLN comprises a link network formation block, an addressing block, a routing block, a link network management block, and a data processing block.

7. The routing device of claim 6, wherein the control unit is assigned an address by a higher router based on the DLN, and selects a routing path of the virtual link, the shared link, or the dedicated link.

8. A routing method for configuring a Low Power Wireless Mesh Network (LPWMN) including a channel hopping time multiplexing wireless link, the routing method comprising:

setting up a shared link using an inward rx timeslot and an inward tx timeslot and a dedicated link to an external device, the dedicated link including an inward dedicated link and an outward dedicated link;

setting up a virtual link; and

forwarding a data frame to the external device based on the set-up link,

wherein the shared link and the dedicated link comprise superframes whose beacon interval (BI) has a contention access period (CAP) and a guaranteed time slot (GTS), and a multi-superframe,

wherein the external device is addressed using a cluster tree,

wherein the cluster tree corresponds to a cluster ID and a routing device is addressed using a position within the cluster tree,

wherein the virtual link comprises a multi-hop link connected through the routing device which relays a routed transport frame instead of forwarding the routed transport frame.

9. The routing method of claim 8, the dedicated link corresponds to relaying a routed transport frame instead of forwarding the routed transport frame.

10. The routing method of claim 8, wherein the setting up is performed based on a Deterministic and Synchronous Multi-channel Extension (DSME) MAC Link Control sublayer (DLC) and a DSME MAC Link Network sublayer (DLN).

11. The routing method of claim 10, wherein the DLC provides link connection control, link management service, and data transmission on a link.

12. The routing method of claim 11, wherein the setting up configures the shared link and the dedicated link based on the DLC.

13. The routing method of claim 10, wherein the DLN comprises a link network formation block, an addressing block, a routing block, a link network management block, and a data processing block.

14. The routing method of claim 13, wherein the control unit is assigned an address by a higher router based on the DLN, and the control unit sets a routing path of the virtual link and sets a routing path of the shared link and the dedicated link.