METHOD FOR ACCESSING HYBRID NETWORK, AND GATEWAY APPARATUS, WIRELESS TERMINAL AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM THEREOF

• US 20100074117A1
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hidetoshi Kayama, Lan Chen, Lei Du, Yong Bai
• Original Assignee: Hidetoshi Kayama, Lan Chen, Lei Du, Yong Bai
• Inventors: Kayama, Hidetoshi, Du, Lei, Bai, Yong, Chen, Lan
• Granted Patent: US 8,311,022 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/14 using user query or user detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method for accessing a hybrid network including a wide area network and a distributed network, a gateway apparatus, a wireless terminal and a gateway communication system are disclosed for reducing the power consumption of the wireless terminal which is an access gateway. The method comprises: sensing by a gateway apparatus a relay request slot on a downlink common control channel of the wide area network; transmitting by a wireless terminal a relay request signal requesting to relay a data packet to be transmitted, in the relay request slot on the downlink common control channel; and if the relay request signal from the wireless terminal is sensed in the relay request slot, establishing by the gateway apparatus a connection with the wireless terminal in a distributed network environment. As such, the gateway apparatus accesses the wireless distributed network only when the surrounding wireless terminals require data relay, without sensing signals on both networks simultaneously, in order to reduce the power consumption.

Claims

1. A method for accessing a hybrid network including a wireless wide area network and a wireless distributed network, comprising the steps of:

regularly transmitting by a base station of the wireless wide area network a synchronization signaling for synchronizing with a downlink common control channel, on a transmission frequency band of the wireless distributed network;

transmitting by a wireless terminal a relay request signal requesting to relay a data packet to be transmitted, after receiving the synchronization signaling;

starting by a gateway apparatus to access the wireless distributed network to receive the relay request signal from the wireless terminal at a time instant corresponding to the synchronization signaling sensed on the downlink common control channel; and

establishing by the gateway apparatus a connection with the wireless terminal in the distributed network environment.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting by the wireless terminal a data packet to the gateway apparatus through the connection; and

relaying by the gateway apparatus the data packet received from the wireless terminal to the wireless wide area network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of establishing a connection with the wireless terminal comprises:

transmitting by the gateway apparatus a reply signal to the wireless terminal after receiving the relay request signal;

determining by the wireless terminal a gateway apparatus through which a relay operation is to be made by measuring channel conditions, and transmitting a selection signal containing an address of the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made; and

after receiving the selection signal, transmitting a permit signal by the gateway apparatus corresponding to the address included in the selection signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the gateway apparatus performs data packet transmissions with multiple wireless terminals around in a polling manner.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein if the wireless terminal receives no reply signal in a predetermined time, then a contention window is enlarged and a random period is backed-off;

and the relay request signal is retransmitted on a relay request slot detected after the back-off time period.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the wireless terminal compares conditions of channels indicated in the reply signal, and selects a gateway apparatus with the best condition of channel as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the wireless terminal selects a gateway apparatus which needs the lowest transmission power for directly communicating therewith as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the wireless terminal selects a gateway apparatus with the highest signal to interference and noise ratio as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the wireless terminal selects the nearest gateway apparatus as the gateway apparatus through which the relay is to be made.

10. The method according to claim 3, wherein once the gateway apparatus detects that a power level in a sensed time interval is larger than a noise power, it transmits the reply signal in the distributed network environment.

11. The method according to claim 3, wherein once the gateway apparatus detects a high level in a sensed time interval, it transmits the reply signal to the wireless terminal.

12. The method according to claim 3, wherein after successfully receiving the data packet to be relayed, the gateway apparatus transmits an acknowledgement signal to the wireless terminal.

13. The method according to claim 3, wherein the downlink common control channel is a broadcast channel.

14. A gateway apparatus for accessing a hybrid network including a wireless wide area network and a wireless distributed network, comprising:

a wide area network transceiving unit for transmitting and receiving signals in the wireless wide area network;

a distributed network transceiving unit for transmitting and receiving signals in the wireless distributed network;

a timer unit for detecting whether current time is an integer multiple of a periodic time, and periodically enabling a sensing unit to sense a channel of the wireless distributed network; and

the sensing unit for sensing the channel of the wireless distributed network at the enabling time instant instructed by the timer unit.

15. The gateway apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a transmission control unit for controlling transmission and reception of the wireless distributed network according to information received from the sensing unit; and

a delay unit for receiving an instruction from the transmission control unit and delaying.

16. The gateway apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising:

a transmission storage unit for storing packets to be transmitted.

17. The gateway apparatus according to claim 15, wherein when the sensing unit detects that there is a data transmission in the wireless distributed network in a sensed time interval, the transmission control unit is instructed to communicate with surrounding wireless terminals in the wireless distributed network.

18. The gateway apparatus according to claim 17, wherein after a relay request signal requesting to relay a data packet to be transmitted by the wireless terminal is received, a reply signal is transmitted to the wireless terminal by the distributed network transceiving unit, and after a selection signal containing an address of the gateway apparatus is received the wireless terminal, a permit signal for permitting the wireless terminal to transmit a data packet to be relayed is transmitted to the wireless terminal.

19. The gateway apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the gateway apparatus performs data packet transmissions with multiple wireless terminals around in a polling manner.

20. The gateway apparatus according to claim 17, wherein if the sensing unit detects a power level larger than a noise level at a time instant corresponding to the synchronization signaling on the downlink common control channel within the sensed time interval, the delay unit is instructed to delay a random period for performing a back-off operation, and after backing-off the period, a reply signal is transmitted in the distributed network environment.

21. The gateway apparatus according to claim 20, wherein once the sensing unit detects a high level in the sensed time interval, it transmits the reply signal to the wireless terminal.

22. The gateway apparatus according to claim 17, wherein when the signals received by the distributed network transceiving unit indicate that a data packet is received, the transmission control unit instructs the distributed network transceiving unit to transmit an acknowledgement signal.

23. The gateway apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the downlink common control channel is a broadcast channel.

24. The gateway apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the wide area network transceiving unit comprises:

a wide area network transmission unit for transmitting signals in the wireless wide area network; and

a wide area network reception unit for receiving signals from the wireless wide area network.

25. The gateway apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the distributed network transceiving unit comprises:

a distributed network transmission unit for transmitting signals in the wireless distributed network; and

a distributed network reception unit for receiving signals from the wireless distributed network.

26. A communication system including the gateway apparatus according to claim 14.

27. A wireless terminal which performs communication through a relay of a gateway apparatus in a hybrid network including a wireless wide area network and a wireless distributed network, the wireless terminal comprising:

a distributed network transceiving unit for transmitting and receiving signals in the wireless distributed network;

a transmission control unit for controlling transmission and reception of signals in the wireless distributed network, and clocking;

a delay unit for receiving an instruction from the transmission control unit and delaying; and

a transmission storage unit for storing packets to be transmitted;

if there is a packet to be transmitted in the transmission control unit, and when the distributed network transceiving unit receives a synchronization signaling for synchronizing with a downlink common control channel regularly transmitted on a transmission frequency band of the wireless distributed network by a base station of the wireless wide area network, the transmission control unit orders the distributed network transceiving unit to transmit a relay request signal requesting to relay a data packet to be transmitted by the wireless terminal after receiving the synchronization signaling.

28. The wireless terminal according to claim 27, wherein

when receiving a reply signal from a gateway apparatus, the wireless terminal determines a gateway apparatus through which a relay operation is to be made by measuring channel conditions, and transmits a selection signal containing an address of the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made;

and

after receiving the selection signal, the gateway apparatus corresponding to the address in the selection signal transmits a permit signal for permitting the wireless terminal to transmit a data packet to be relayed to the wireless terminal.

29. The wireless terminal according to claim 27, wherein if the distributed network transceiving unit receives no reply signal in a reception threshold time, then the delay unit is enabled to enlarge a contention window and back-off a random period;

and the relay request signal is retransmitted after detecting the synchronization signal posterior to the ending of the back-off time period.

30. The wireless terminal according to claim 27, wherein the transmission control unit compares conditions of channels indicated in the reply signal, and selects a gateway apparatus with the best condition of channel as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

31. The wireless terminal according to claim 30, wherein the transmission control unit selects a gateway apparatus which needs the lowest transmission power for directly communicating with the wireless terminal as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

32. The wireless terminal according to claim 30, wherein the transmission control unit selects a gateway apparatus with the highest signal to interference noise ratio as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

33. The wireless terminal according to claim 30, wherein the transmission control unit selects the nearest gateway apparatus as the gateway apparatus through which the relay operation is to be made.

34. The wireless terminal according to claim 27, wherein the downlink common control channel is a broadcast channel.

35. The wireless terminal according to claim 27, wherein the distributed network transceiving unit comprises:

a distributed network transmission unit for transmitting signals in the wireless distributed network; and

a distributed network reception unit for receiving signals from the wireless distributed network.

36. A communication system including the wireless terminal according to claim 27.