US 8,009,615 B2Granted

Multi-hop ad-hoc wireless networks that support non-multi-hop wireless terminals

AssigneeAvaya Inc.

InventorsAnjur Sundaresan Krishnakumar, P. Krishnan, Shalini Yajnik

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An apparatus and methods are disclosed that enable a non-multi-hop wireless terminal (i.e., a wireless terminal that has not been programmed to participate in multi-hop ad-hoc wireless networks) to in fact participate in a multi-hop ad-hoc wireless network, without any changes to the non-multi-hop terminal's software or hardware. In the illustrative embodiment, a wireless terminal T that already belongs to a multi-hop ad-hoc wireless network is assigned to a non-multi-hop wireless terminal W, and a signal is transmitted to terminal W that induces terminal W to use terminal T as a relay for transmitting messages. The assignment of multi-hop-capable terminals in the network to non-multi-hop terminals can be based on a variety of factors, such as signal strengths and the geo-locations of terminals.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

receiving at one or more of a plurality of wireless telecommunications terminals a signal from a wireless telecommunications terminal W, wherein said plurality of wireless telecommunications terminals belong to the same ad-hoc wireless network and are capable of participating as intermediary nodes in multi-hop routes through said ad-hoc wireless network, and wherein said wireless telecommunications terminal W is incapable of participating as an intermediate node in a multi-hop route through said ad-hoc wireless network and wherein said ad-hoc wireless network comprises a gateway;
and
transmitting, in response to said signal, a series of messages to said wireless telecommunications terminal W, wherein each of said messages of said series is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol message that is transmitted by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server, and wherein each of said series of messages specifies a respective address for said gateway, and wherein each of said series of messages is transmitted no more than Δ seconds after the transmission of the prior message, and wherein Δ>0.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/937,902Filed 9 Nov 2007 · us provisional application
Priority: 9 Nov 2006
Published: US 2008/0112355 A115 May 2008
Granted: 30 Aug 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

H04W 84/22
Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks: with access to wired networks
H04L 61/103
Of different types: across network layers, e.g. resolution of network layer into physical layer addresses or address resolution protocol [ARP]
H04L 61/5014
Internet protocol [IP] addresses: using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
H04W 40/20
Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing: based on geographic position or location