Method and device for establishing communication links and detecting interference between mobile nodes in a communication system

A wireless communication network comprising:

• a plurality of mobile nodes each comprising a transceiver, a directional antenna connected to said transceiver, and a controller connected to said transceiver and comprising
• a time slot scheduling unit to schedule time slots to establish a communication link with each neighboring mobile node,
• an antenna aiming unit to aim said directional antenna toward each neighboring mobile node during communication therewith, and
• an interference detection unit to detect interference in time slots for communication with neighboring mobile nodes,
• said controller coordinating the scheduling of time slots based upon detected interference.

A mobile node for a wireless communication network, the mobile node comprising:

• a transceiver;
• a directional antenna connected to said transceiver;
• and
• a controller connected to said transceiver and comprising
• a time slot scheduling unit to schedule time slots to establish a communication link with neighboring mobile nodes,
• an antenna aiming unit to aim said directional antenna toward each neighboring mobile node during communication therewith, and
• an interference detection unit to detect interference in time slots for communication with neighboring mobile nodes,
• said controller coordinating the scheduling of time slots based upon detected interference.

A method for establishing communication links for a plurality of mobile nodes, each mobile node comprising a transceiver, a directional antenna connected to the transceiver, and a controller connected to the transceiver, the method comprising for each mobile node:

• scheduling a respective semi-permanent time slot for each time frame to establish a communication link with a neighboring mobile node and leaving at least one available time slot in each time frame;
• scheduling the at least one available time slot to also serve the communication link with a neighboring mobile node based upon link communications demand;
• aiming the directional antenna toward each neighboring mobile node during communication therewith;
• detecting interference in time slots for communication with neighboring mobile nodes;
• and
• coordinating the scheduling of new time slots based upon detected interference.