Control apparatus, control method and computer program of communication system

• US 8,477,591 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2010
• Issued: 07/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Horio, Daisuke, Inohiza, Hirohiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Masur, Paul H
• Application Number:
  US12/836,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20110044315A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: 370/203, 370/216, 370/228, 370/344, 370/480, 370/487
• US Class Current: 370/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/302 Route determination based on requested QoS

Abstract

A control apparatus of a communication system that uses a plurality of communication paths from a transmission node to a reception node to redundantly transmit data is provided. The apparatus comprises: a setting unit for setting priorities to a plurality of partial data; a calculation unit for calculating the time slot number which is required to transmit the partial data on the communication paths; a selection unit for selecting one or more combinations of the partial data and the communication path. The selection unit selects the one or more combinations in descending order of the priorities of the partial data and selects the one or more combinations in ascending order of the required time slot number if the priorities of the partial data are equal.

Claims

1. A control apparatus of a communication system that uses a plurality of communication paths from a transmission node to a reception node to redundantly transmit data, the control apparatus comprising:

an acquisition unit constructed to acquire transmission data transmitted by a communication frame;

a setting unit constructed to divide the transmission data into a plurality of partial data and to set priorities to the plurality of partial data;

a calculation unit constructed to calculate a time slot number which is required to transmit the partial data on the communication paths;

a selection unit constructed to select one or more combinations of the partial data and the communication paths based on the priority of the partial data and the required time slot number;

a determination unit constructed to determine access management information defining the partial data to be transmitted in a time slot of the communication frame and at least one of the communication paths used in the transmission, based on the selected one or more combinations; and

a notification unit constructed to notify nodes included in the communication system of the access management information,

wherein the selection unit selects the one or more combinations in descending order of the priorities of the partial data and selects the one or more combinations in ascending order of the required time slot number if the priorities of the partial data are equal,

wherein each of the acquisition unit, the setting unit, the calculation unit, the selection unit, the determination unit, and the notification unit is implemented by using one or more processors, and

wherein the one or more processors is coupled to a memory.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the acquisition unit further acquires redundancy of the communication paths required to transmit the transmission data, and

the selection unit does not select the combinations including the partial data any more if the number of combinations including the same partial data reaches the redundancy.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the selection unit terminates selecting the one or more combinations if the total number of required time slots exceeds the number of time slots of the frame when the combinations are further selected.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the calculation unit calculates the required time slot number based on a modulation class, the modulation class including at least one of a modulation scheme and a channel encoding rate used in the communication paths.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the calculation unit determines the modulation class based on a quality of at least one of the communication paths, the quality including at least one of a signal intensity, a bit error rate, and a frame error rate of data received by each node of the communication system.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the selection unit selects the one or more combinations in descending order of the communication link quality if the priorities of the partial data are equal and the numbers of required time slots are equal.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

if transmission of the partial data in at least part of a second communication path can be skipped as a result of transmission of the partial data in a first communication path and if the selection unit selects the combination of the first communication path and the partial data,

the selection unit subtracts the number of time slots required to transmit the partial data using at least the part from the number of required time slots in the transmission of the partial data using the second communication path.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for causing a computer to function as the control apparatus according to claim 1.

9. A control method of a communication system for using a plurality of communication paths from a transmission node to a reception node to redundantly transmit data, the control method comprising the steps of:

acquiring transmission data transmitted by a communication frame;

dividing the transmission data into a plurality of partial data and setting priorities to the plurality of partial data;

calculating a time slot number which is required to transmit the partial data;

selecting one or more combinations of the partial data and the communication paths based on the priority of the partial data and the required time slot number;

determining access management information defining the partial data to be transmitted in a time slot of the communication frame and at least one of the communication paths used in the transmission, based on the selected one or more combinations; and

notifying nodes included in the communication system of the access management information, wherein

in the selecting, the one or more combinations are selected in descending order of the priorities of the partial data and the one or more combinations are selected in ascending order of the required time slot number if the priorities of the partial data are equal.