METHOD AND SIGNALING PROCEDURE FOR TRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY USAGE IN A WIRELESS MESH NETWORK

• US 20070248117A1
• Filed: 04/24/2007
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Interdigital Technology Corporation (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Interdigital Technology Corporation (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rudolf, Marian, Levy, Joseph, Zuniga, Juan, Grandhi, Sudheer
• Granted Patent: US 8,081,658 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1263 Mapping of traffic onto schedule, e.g. scheduled allocation or multiplexing of flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/08 Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the present invention comprises a method for using the remaining TxOP time by the peer node to forward traffic to a different destination, a method for using the remaining TxOP time by the original node to send traffic to a different destination, a method for using the remaining TxOP time by a neighbor to send traffic to the original node, a method for using the remaining TxOP time by a neighbor to send traffic to another node, a method to signal the reuse rules of the remaining TxOP time, and a method to efficiently relinquish/truncate a TxOP to reset the NAV for the neighborhood.

Claims

1. A method for communicating in a wireless mesh network comprising:

obtaining a transmission opportunity (TxOP) at an originator mesh point (MP) including a duration time; and

exchanging control of said TxOP with another MP when the time used by the originator MP is less than said duration time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said exchanging step comprises indicating in a packet that control of said TxOP has been passed on.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said packet includes an enhanced mesh forwarding control header, said control header including reverse direction signaling information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said packet comprises a control field, wherein said control field comprises reverse direction grant (RDG) signaling.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said control field further comprises control signaling other than RDG signaling.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said control field further comprises a RDG/More-Physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) bit, wherein said RDG/More-PPDU bit indicates the type of information that can be sent on the reverse direction.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein there is no constraint on the reverse direction when said RDG/More-PPDU bit is zero.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said exchanging step comprises indicating in a packet that control of said TxOP has been passed on to a group of mesh points.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein said control of said remaining TxOP is passed on to a receiver MP.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said receiver MP transmits said packet to a MP other than said originator MP within said remaining TxOP.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said receiver MP transmits a packet, other than the packet received from the originator MP, to a MP other than said originator MP.

12. The method of claim 3, wherein said control is passed back to the originator MP, said originator MP transmitting a packet other than the received packet, to a MP other than a receiver MP that received said first packet.

13. The method of claim 3, wherein said control is passed to a responder MP other than said receiver MP or said originator MP,

said responder MP transmitting a packet, other than the packet from the originator MP, to said originator MP within said remaining TxOP.

14. The method of claim 3, wherein one or more neighboring MPs of said originator MP contend for said remaining TxOP.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said one or more neighboring MPs are a one hop mesh point away from said originator MP.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising terminating a reverse transmission of said receiver MP in the remaining time of the TxOP by said receiver MP transmitting a Contention Free-End (CF-End) frame.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the CF-End frame is followed by a transmission of CF-End frames from one or more neighboring MPs to said receiver MP.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting a CF-End frame by the originator MP after receiving back control of the TxOP to terminate a reverse direction TxOP.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the CF-End frame is followed by a transmission of CF-End frames from one or more neighboring MPs to said originator MP.

20. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting a CF-End frame by the originator MP to terminate the use of the remaining time in said TxOP.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the CF-End frame is followed by a transmission of CF-End frames from one or more neighboring MPs to said originator MP.

22. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), configured as a mesh point (MP) in a wireless communication system, comprising:

a processor for obtaining a transmission opportunity (TxOP) including a duration time, and exchanging control of said TxOP with another MP in the system when the TxOP time used is less than said duration time.

23. The WTRU of claim 22, wherein said processor indicates in a packet that control of said TxOP has been passed on.

24. The WTRU of claim 23, wherein said packet includes an enhanced mesh forwarding control header, said control header including reverse direction signaling information.

25. The WTRU of claim 24, wherein said packet comprises a control field, wherein said control field comprises reverse direction grant (RDG) signaling.

26. The WTRU of claim 25, wherein said control field further comprises control signaling other than RDG signaling.

27. The WTRU of claim 25, wherein said control field further comprises a RDG/More-Physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) bit, wherein said RDG/More-PPDU bit indicates the type of information that can be sent on the reverse direction.

28. The WTRU of claim 27, wherein there is no constraint on the reverse direction when said RDG/More-PPDU bit is zero.

29. The WTRU of claim 22, wherein said processor indicates in a packet that control of said TxOP has been passed on to a group of mesh points.

30. The WTRU of claim 23, wherein said control of said remaining TxOP is passed on to a receiver MP.

31. The WTRU of claim 22, wherein said processor transmits a Contention Free-End (CF-End) frame to terminate use of the TxOP.

32. The WTRU of claim 31, wherein the CF-End frame is followed by a transmission of CF-End frames from one or more neighboring MPs.

33. The WTRU of claim 22, wherein said processor comprises a database for storing a configuration of the TxOP usage.

34. The WTRU of claim 33, wherein said configuration includes rules defining where TxOP control is passed on.