KR100946920B1 - Communication system and method using directional antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a communication system and method using a directional antenna. The communication system includes a control signal receiver for receiving a control signal from a neighboring communication system and a network allocation vector manager for managing a network allocation vector (NAV) based on the received control signal.

Directional Antenna, Request To Send (RTS), Clear To Send (CTS) MAC Protocol

Description

Communication system and method using directional antenna {COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD USING DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA}

The present invention relates to a communication system and method using a directional antenna.

The MAC protocol using a directional antenna is a protocol using a directional antenna instead of an omnidirectional antenna in IEEE 802.11, and transmits packets for request to send (RTS), clear to send (CTS), data, and acknowledgment (ACK) only in a directional manner. This allows for space reuse.

An example of a MAC protocol using such a directional antenna is DBTMA / DA (Dual Busy Tone Multiple Access Protocol using Directional Antenna). DBTMA / DA is a DBTMA (Directional Busy Tone-Based MAC Protocol) applied to a directional antenna MAC protocol to prevent a collision between a control packet (for example, the above-described RTS and CTS) and a data packet in a MAC protocol using a directional antenna. As a protocol, the communication channel is divided into a control channel for transmitting a control packet and a data channel for transmitting actual data, thereby improving space reuse and channel capacity.

The present invention provides a communication system and a communication method capable of identifying a communication state of another communication system by managing a network allocation vector (NAV) of another communication system based on a control signal transmitted in all directions.

The present invention can improve the performance of a node-to-node communication environment in which a topology changes dynamically by identifying a communication state of another communication system by using a destination address of the control signal and the network allocation vector included in the control signal. It provides a communication system and a communication method that can be.

The present invention provides a communication system and a communication method capable of efficiently using bandwidth by enabling space reuse by transmitting data through a directional antenna.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a communication system includes a control signal receiver configured to receive a control signal from a neighboring communication system, and a network allocation vector manager configured to manage a network allocation vector (NAV) based on the received control signal. Include.

According to one aspect of the invention, the network allocation vector management unit checks the destination address of the received control signal, if the destination address and the predetermined address is different, the network allocation vector included in the received control signal and The destination address can be maintained in association with each other.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the communication system includes a communication state checking unit for checking a communication state of a neighbor communication system based on the network allocation vector and a data transmitter for transmitting data based on the communication state of the neighbor communication system. It may further include.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the data transmitter is a neighbor communication system determiner for determining a neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted based on the communication state, and a control signal including a destination address of the determined neighbor communication system. It may include a control signal transmitter for transmitting in all directions and a transmitter for transmitting the data in a specific direction according to the response control signal to the transmitted control signal.

A communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control signal transmitter for transmitting a control signal in all directions and a data transmitter for transmitting data in a specific direction.

A communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of receiving a control signal from a neighbor communication system, managing a network allocation vector based on the received control signal, and transmitting data based on the network allocation vector. It includes.

According to the present invention, the communication state of the other communication system can be grasped by managing the network allocation vector (NAV) of the other communication system based on the control signal transmitted in all directions.

According to the present invention, the communication status of the other communication system is determined by using the destination address of the control signal and the network allocation vector included in the control signal, thereby improving the performance of the node-to-node communication environment in which the topology changes dynamically. Can be improved.

According to the present invention, by transmitting data through the directional antenna, it is possible to use space efficiently by enabling space reuse.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view showing an overview of a communication method using a directional antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, an overview of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example of communicating between four nodes 101 to 104 as shown in FIG. 1. Assuming that all nodes 101 to 104 know the exact location information of neighboring nodes, in one embodiment of the present invention may be similar to the MAC protocol using a basic directional antenna. However, unlike the MAC protocol using the directional antenna, when receiving a packet that does not correspond to the directional antenna when using the directional antenna, the network allocation vector table instead of setting a network allocation vector (NAV) state for the directional antenna angle. By using to maintain the network allocation vector state of the neighboring nodes can confirm the communication state of the neighboring nodes. At this time, all nodes 101 to 104 transmit control packets such as Request To Send (RTS) and Clear To Send (CTS) in all directions in order to update the communication status of the neighbor nodes in the network allocation vector table. Can be.

For example, if Node B 102 wishes to transmit data to Node C 103, Node B 102 may transmit the RTS similar to the MAC protocol using a basic directional antenna. In this case, the RTS may be transmitted in all directions, and thus, both the node A 101 and the node C 103 may receive the RTS. The node A 101 checks the destination address of the RTS at the time point 105 when the RTS is received to determine whether the RTS corresponds to the RTS. Since the RTS has the address of the node C 103 as the destination address, the node A 101 associates the network allocation vector included in the RTS with the address of the node C 103, which is the destination address of the RTS, and assigns the network. You can keep it in a vector table. That is, the node A 101 can confirm the communication state of the node C 103.

Meanwhile, after receiving the RTS, the Node C 103 may transmit the CTS in response to the RTS. In this case, the CTS may also be transmitted in all directions. That is, both Node B 102 and Node D 104 can receive the CTS. Even in this case, the node D 104 that has received the CTS that does not correspond to itself maintains the network allocation vector and the destination address in the network allocation vector table in association with each other, thereby maintaining the communication state of the node B 102. You can check. After receiving the CTS, the Node B 102 may directionally transmit the data to be transmitted first to the Node C 103, and the Node C 103 receiving the data transmits the data to the Node B 102. Data transmission from the Node B 102 to the Node C 103 may be performed by transmitting a response message 'ACK' indicating that it has been received. That is, the RTS and the CTS are transmitted in all directions so that any node can be used to check the communication status of another node, and the data is directional, i.e., transmitted in a specific direction, thereby allowing for higher spatial reuse. This can lead to an improvement in reuse.

As another example, when node A 101 wishes to send data to node B 102, when node C 103 receives a CTS that does not correspond to it, and node D 104 If node B 102 wishes to transmit data to node C 103, node C 103 and node B 102 are each node A 101, even at time 108 when node B 102 receives a CTS not applicable to it. And the communication status of the node D 104 can be confirmed.

The network allocation vector table thus maintained may be used to confirm the communication status of the node to which the data is to be transmitted, if any node wishes to transmit the data.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method using a directional antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In step S210, the communication system receives a control signal from a neighbor communication system. Herein, the communication system and the neighbor communication system may correspond to respective nodes described with reference to FIG. 1, and the control signal may be a control packet such as the RTS and the CTS transmitted in all directions as described with reference to FIG. 1. It may have a form.

In step S220, the communication system manages a network allocation vector based on the received control signal. At this time, the communication system checks the destination address of the received control signal in step S220 for managing the network allocation vector (S221) and when the destination address is different from the predetermined address, the reception And maintaining the network allocation vector included in the control signal and the destination address in association with each other (S222). Here, the predetermined address may be an address of the communication system itself. That is, the communication system may check the destination address of the control signal to confirm that the control signal does not correspond to itself when the destination address and its own address are different from each other. Therefore, the communication system maintains the network allocation vector included in the control signal in association with the destination address, thereby determining the communication status of the communication system corresponding to the destination address. In this case, the destination address and the network allocation vector may be maintained in association with each other through the network allocation vector table described with reference to FIG. 1.

In step S230, the communication system transmits data based on the network allocation vector. In this case, the communication system may check the network allocation vector table before transmitting the data to confirm the communication state of the communication system to which the data is to be transmitted, and then transmit the data. To this end, the communication system confirms the communication state of the neighbor communication system based on the network allocation vector (S231) and transmitting data based on the communication state of the neighbor communication system (S230). S232) can be performed.

Here, step S210, step S220, and step S230 may be performed when data is transmitted or when a control signal is received, regardless of the execution order.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting data based on a communication state of a neighbor communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, steps S301 to S303 may be performed by being included in step S232 described with reference to FIG. 2.

In step S301, the communication system determines a neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted based on the communication state. For example, when the communication system operates as one node of an ad-hoc network such as a sensor network, the communication state of the neighbor communication system may be used for setting up a path to transmit data. have.

In step S302, the communication system transmits omnidirectionally a control signal including the determined destination address of the neighboring communication system. In this case, the control signal may be a control packet such as the RTS described with reference to FIG. 1.

In step S303, the communication system transmits the data in a specific direction according to a response control signal to the transmitted control signal. Here, the specific direction may include a direction corresponding to the neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted, and the response control signal may use a control packet such as the CTS described with reference to FIG. 1 as an example.

As such, by transmitting the control signal in all directions in the communication system, it is possible to inform other neighboring communication systems of the communication status of the neighboring communication system and to transmit space in a specific direction, thereby improving space reuse. Can be.

4 is an example of a network allocation vector table. In the table 400, the first column 401 may include a destination address which is an address of a communication system included in the received control signal, and the second column 402 may include a value of a network allocation vector included in the control signal. . In one example, the value may have a unit of time, and may mean a period in which a corresponding communication system is occupied for communication with another communication system.

5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a communication system using a directional antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication system 500 includes a control signal receiver 510, a network allocation vector manager 520, a communication status checker 530, and a data transmitter 540.

The control signal receiver 510 receives a control signal from a neighboring communication system. Here, the communication system 500 and the neighbor communication system may correspond to each node described with reference to FIG. 1, and the control signal is controlled such as the RTS and the CTS transmitted in all directions as described with reference to FIG. 1. It may take the form of a packet.

The network allocation vector manager 520 manages a network allocation vector based on the received control signal. At this time, the network allocation vector manager 520 checks the destination address of the received control signal to manage the network allocation vector, and when the destination address and the predetermined address are different from each other, the network allocation vector manager 520 is included in the received control signal. A network allocation vector and the destination address can be maintained in association with each other. Here, the predetermined address may be an address of the communication system 500 itself. That is, the network allocation vector manager 520 checks the destination address of the control signal and determines that the control signal does not correspond to the communication system 500 when the destination address and the communication system 500 address are different from each other. Can be. Accordingly, the network allocation vector manager 520 may determine the communication state of the communication system corresponding to the destination address by maintaining the network allocation vector included in the control signal in association with the destination address. In this case, the network allocation vector manager 520 may maintain the destination address and the network allocation vector in association with each other through a network allocation vector table.

The communication state checking unit 530 checks the communication state of the neighbor communication system based on the network allocation vector. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the destination address and the network allocation vector obtained through the control signal may be maintained in a network allocation vector table. Therefore, the communication state checking unit 530 checks the network allocation vector by searching the network allocation vector table for the address of the neighboring communication system to which the data is to be transmitted, and confirms the communication state of the neighboring communication system before transmitting the data. Can be.

The data transmitter 540 transmits data based on the communication state of the neighbor communication system. To this end, the data transmitter 540 may include a neighbor communication system determiner 541, a control signal transmitter 542, and a transmitter 543, as shown in FIG. 5.

The neighbor communication system determiner 541 determines a neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted, based on the communication state. For example, when the communication system 500 operates as one node of an ad-hoc network such as a sensor network, the communication state of the neighbor communication system may be used for setting up a path to transmit data, and thus the neighbor The communication system determiner 541 may set the path by determining the neighbor communication system.

The control signal transmitter 542 transmits the control signal including the determined destination address of the neighboring communication system in all directions. In this case, the control signal may be a control packet such as the RTS described with reference to FIG. 1.

The transmitter 543 transmits the data in a specific direction according to the response control signal to the transmitted control signal. For example, a control packet such as the CTS described with reference to FIG. 1 may be used as the response control signal.

As such, by transmitting the control signal in the omnidirectional direction in the communication system 500, it is possible to inform other neighboring communication systems of the communication status of the neighboring communication system and transmit the data in a specific direction, thereby reusing space reuse. Can be improved.

6 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a communication system using a directional antenna according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication system 600 may include a control signal transmitter 601, a data transmitter 602, a control signal receiver 603, and a network allocation vector manager 604.

The control signal transmitter 601 transmits the control signal in all directions. As described above, the control signal may include at least a destination address and a network allocation vector for a communication system corresponding to the destination address, and by transmitting the control signal in all directions, the communication system 600 may transmit a peripheral signal. The other communication systems of may notify the communication state of the communication system corresponding to the destination address.

In the same sense, the control signal receiver 603 receives a control signal from a neighboring communication system. That is, the neighbor communication system may transmit a control signal including a destination address and a network allocation vector of another communication system to which the neighbor communication system intends to transmit data in all directions, and the control signal receiving unit 603 may control the control. It can receive a signal.

The data transmitter 602 transmits data in a specific direction. Here, the specific direction may include a direction corresponding to a neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted. In this case, the data transmission unit 602 identifies the data based on a communication state checking unit (not shown) for confirming a communication state of the neighbor communication system based on the network allocation vector and the communication state of the neighbor communication system. It may include a transmission unit (not shown) for transmitting in the direction.

The network allocation vector manager 604 manages the network allocation vector based on the control signal received by the control signal receiver 603. In this case, when the destination address of the received control signal is checked and the destination address and the predetermined address are different from each other, the network allocation vector and the destination address included in the control signal may be maintained in association with each other.

As described above, using the communication system or the communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication state of the other communication system can be grasped by managing the network allocation vector of the other communication system based on the control signal transmitted in all directions. By using the destination address of the control signal and the network allocation vector included in the control signal, the communication state of the other communication system can be identified, thereby improving the performance of the node-to-node communication environment in which the topology changes dynamically. . In addition, by transmitting data through the directional antenna, it is possible to use space efficiently by enabling space reuse.

Embodiments according to the present invention can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means can be recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, file data, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

In the present invention as described above has been described by the specific embodiments, such as specific components and limited embodiments and drawings, but this is provided to help a more general understanding of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations are possible from these descriptions.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims as well as the claims to be described later will belong to the scope of the present invention. .

1 is a view showing an overview of a communication method using a directional antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method using a directional antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transmitting data based on a communication state of a neighbor communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an example of a network allocation vector table.

5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a communication system using a directional antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a communication system using a directional antenna according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

500: communication system

510: control signal receiver

520: network allocation vector management unit

530: communication status check unit

540: data transmission unit

Claims (14)

A control signal receiver for receiving a control signal from a neighboring communication system; A network allocation vector manager configured to manage a network allocation vector (NAV) based on the received control signal; A communication state confirming unit confirming a communication state of a neighboring communication system based on the network allocation vector; And Data transmission unit for transmitting data based on the communication state of the neighbor communication system Including, The data transmission unit, A neighbor communication system determiner which determines a neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted based on the communication state; A control signal transmitter configured to transmit a control signal including a destination address of the determined neighboring communication system in all directions; And Transmitter for transmitting the data in a specific direction according to the response control signal to the transmitted control signal Communication system comprising a. The method of claim 1, The network allocation vector management unit, And confirming a destination address of the received control signal to maintain a network allocation vector and the destination address included in the received control signal in association with each other when the destination address and the predetermined address are different from each other. delete delete A control signal transmitter for transmitting the control signal in all directions; A control signal receiver for receiving a control signal from a neighboring communication system; And Data transmission unit for transmitting data in a specific direction Including, The data transmission unit, If the received control signal is a response control signal of the transmitted control signal, and transmits the data in the specific direction, The specific direction includes a direction corresponding to a neighboring communication system to which the data is to be transmitted. The method of claim 5, Network allocation vector management unit for managing a network allocation vector based on the received control signal Communication system further comprising. The method of claim 6, The network allocation vector management unit, And confirming a destination address of the received control signal to maintain the network allocation vector and the destination address included in the control signal in association with each other when the destination address and the predetermined address are different from each other. The method of claim 6, The data transmission unit, A communication state confirmation unit confirming a communication state of the neighbor communication system based on the network allocation vector; And Transmitter for transmitting the data in the specific direction based on the communication state of the neighbor communication system Including, a communication system. The method of claim 1, The specific direction comprises a direction corresponding to a neighboring communication system to which the data is to be transmitted. Receiving a control signal from a neighboring communication system; Managing a network allocation vector based on the received control signal; And Transmitting data based on the network allocation vector Including, The step of transmitting data based on the network allocation vector, Confirming a communication state of the neighbor communication system based on the network allocation vector; And Transmitting data based on a communication state of the neighbor communication system Including, The step of transmitting data based on the communication state of the neighbor communication system, Determining a neighbor communication system to which the data is to be transmitted based on the communication state; Forwarding a control signal including a destination address of the determined neighboring communication system in all directions; And Transmitting the data in a specific direction according to a response control signal to the transmitted control signal; Communication method comprising a. The method of claim 10, The received control signal is transmitted in all directions in the neighbor communication system, The step of managing a network allocation vector based on the received control signal, Confirming a destination address of the received control signal; And If the destination address and the predetermined address are different from each other, maintaining the network allocation vector included in the received control signal and the destination address in association with each other; Including, communication method. delete delete A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method of any one of claims 10 and 11 is recorded.

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