KR20010038372A - Communication apparatus and method for wireless network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A communication apparatus and a method of a radio network system are provided to improve a transmission and a battery efficiency by transmitting a data regardless of a state of a receiving unit and switching it to a power saving mode in a manner that when the data is transmitted to a unit in a sleep state, the data is received by a different unit in a wake-up state for temporary keeping and is transmitted to the unit which has been in the sleep state when being turned from the sleep state to a wake-up state. CONSTITUTION: A transmitting unit(10) and a receiving unit(20) transmits and receives a data, respectively. A memory(30) stores an operation program of a unit and a data required for controlling the unit. A buffer(40) receives a data transmitted to a unit in a sleep state to store it in place of the unit in a sleep state until when the sleep-state unit wakes up. A controller(50) controls each constructing unit to make a smooth operation during sleep and wake-up.

Description

COMMUNICATION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS NETWORK SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and a method of a wireless network system, and more particularly, to a communication apparatus and method of a wireless network system that enables efficient data transmission and power saving of a battery at the same time regardless of a state of a receiving apparatus in an ad hoc network method. It is about.

The current network is generally composed of a network by connecting each device using a wire such as a wire or a cable, but recently, due to the problem of difficulty in installation, maintenance, and lack of device mobility. In order to solve all of these problems, interest in low-cost wireless networks is gradually increasing, and many studies are being conducted.

For example, standardizations such as IEEE 802.11 in the United States and HiperLAN in Europe have already been announced, and wireless network standards such as Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP) and Bluetooth have been announced. It is expected to be realized, and the speed, which has been pointed out as a disadvantage compared to the wire, is also being realized at the same level as the wire.

The wireless network can be classified into a managed network and an ad-hoc network. The managed network is operated in a manner similar to a general mobile communication system as shown in FIG. 1. As the base station, a master device manages all communication between each device constituting the network.

Therefore, in a managed network system, data must be transmitted through a base station in order to transmit data from one device to another device, and the base station determines when data can be transmitted.

On the other hand, the ad hoc network method is a method in which all devices can communicate with a desired device by identifying whether a condition to send data by themselves is satisfied even without a base station as shown in FIG.

However, in the wireless network, since the devices must be movable due to their characteristics, most of them are operated by a battery. Therefore, power saving is essential for long-term use.

Accordingly, in the case of a managed network method, a device without data to transmit is switched to a power saving mode in order to save power. Before this, the base station is notified of the fact and a request for transmission from another device is required. Only when the base station wakes up the device that is sleeping or tells the transmitter that the receiver is currently in sleep state can save power.

However, in the ad hoc network method, since there is no master device managing the network, each device periodically sleeps and wakes up to save power, and the state is switched. It broadcasts the status information to all devices connected to the network every time so that it does not transmit data during sleep.

Accordingly, when a device capable of accommodating the broadcasting information remembers the state and wants to transmit data to the device in the sleep state, the device may transmit the data when the device wakes up according to the pattern. do.

However, in the case of a device that does not accept the above pattern information, if there is data to be transmitted to the device in the sleep state, the device does not wait until the device wakes up and attempts to transmit the data immediately. Since the acknowledgment signal is not received from the device in the state, the device repeatedly wakes up and attempts to transmit data until the acknowledgment signal is transmitted. The device has a problem in that the battery efficiency is lowered by not entering the power saving mode until the transmission to the receiving device is completed.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problem, and when the data is transmitted to the device in the sleep state, the data is received and temporarily stored by another device in the wake-up state and then stored. Is delivered when the device goes from sleep state to wake-up state, allowing the data transmission device to transfer data and switch to power saving mode regardless of the state of the receiving device, improving transmission and battery efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication apparatus and method of the system.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation state of the Magni network.

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation state of an ad hoc network method.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication apparatus of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a state diagram showing a signal transmission and reception process for the communication according to the present invention.

5 is an exemplary view showing operation in a sleep and wake-up state between two devices according to the present invention;

Figure 6 is another illustration showing the operation in the sleep and wake-up state in accordance with the present invention.

*** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings ***

10: transmitter 20: receiver

30 memory unit 40 buffer unit

50: control unit

The present invention for achieving the above object, the transmitting and receiving unit for transmitting and receiving data; A memory unit for storing data necessary for an operation program and control of the apparatus; A buffer unit for receiving and storing data transmitted to the device in the sleep state during the wake-up; It characterized in that it comprises a control unit for controlling each component to ensure a smooth operation during sleep and wake-up.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication device of the wireless network system of the present invention, and as shown therein, a transmitter 10 and a receiver 20 for data transmission and reception; A memory unit 30 for storing data necessary for operating programs and control of the apparatus; A buffer unit 40 for receiving and storing data transmitted to the device in the sleep state during wake-up; The control unit 50 is configured to control the components to perform a smooth operation during sleep and wake-up. Hereinafter, the operation and operation of the apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the device A, which wants to switch to the power saving mode among the various devices constituting the network, receives a request signal asking whether it can operate instead while it is in the power saving mode. Broadcast to.

Accordingly, one of the devices B, which has woken up among the devices receiving the request signal, transmits an acknowledgment packet.

Next, the transmitting device A receiving the acknowledgment packet transmits an information packet to the counterpart device B when ① the device enters the power saving mode and ② how much the sleep and wake-up time is. .

Accordingly, the counterpart device B, which has received the information packet, transmits a response packet again. After completing this process, the device A switches to the power saving mode at a predetermined time. It is well illustrated in the state diagram of FIG.

In this case, each device needs a separate buffer for storing data transmitted to the counterpart device. The device B, which has received the request signal, can store in place of the counterpart device A when transmitting a response packet. Send together.

Accordingly, the device A receiving the response packet determines the sleep and wake-up time in consideration of its memory capacity and its counterpart's memory capacity.

That is, the above process is alternately performed between the two devices (A, B) to repeat the sleep and wake-up as shown in Figure 5, while one device (A) while the other device (B) Is a wake-up and takes over the role of the device A in a sleep state, such as receiving data transmitted to the device A and transmitting a response packet thereto.

Thus, other devices can transmit data and process other tasks as if device A in sleep state is in a wake-up state.

Meanwhile, the device B, which has received the data of the sleep device instead, stores the data and delivers the data when the device A wakes up.

Next, the device "B" enters the sleep state after transmitting the data to the device "A" if there is data received instead of the device "A" as in the above embodiment. Wakes up and immediately goes to sleep.

In addition, a device (D) that is always supplied with stable power and does not need to switch to a power saving mode may be paired with another device, in which case the device (D) is always in a wake-up state. As shown in Fig. 6, it is possible to pair with one or more other devices A, B and C according to the memory capacity so that the devices A, B and C sleep and wake up according to their patterns. Repeating this will save you as much power as possible.

As described above, the communication apparatus and method of the wireless network system of the present invention can transmit data through another device while the counterpart device to which the data is to be transmitted is in a sleep state, thus saving data necessary for data transmission and thus communicating data. And it is effective to improve the efficiency of the battery.

Claims (6)

A first step of broadcasting a request signal to a counterpart device that asks if the device to be switched to the power saving mode can operate while the device is in the power saving mode; Transmitting a packet of information on sleep and wake-up to a device responsive to the request signal; And a third step of receiving a response packet to the information packet from a counterpart device and switching to a power saving mode. A first step of receiving a request signal (Request) inquiring of the possibility of an alternate operation when switching to the power saving mode and transmitting a response packet thereto; Receiving a packet of information on sleep and wake-up from the counterpart device and transmitting a response packet thereto; Detecting whether there is data transmitted to the counterpart device; If there is data transmitted to the counterpart device, receiving the data instead and storing the data in the buffer unit; And a fifth step of transmitting the data received in the step when the counterpart device wakes up. The method of claim 2, wherein the response packet to the request signal includes information on a memory capacity of a buffer that the counterpart device can store in the power saving mode instead. The method of claim 1, wherein the information packet comprises: a timing of switching to a power saving mode according to a buffer memory capacity of a counterpart device; A method of communication in a wireless network system comprising information on sleep and wake-up durations. A transmitter and receiver for data transmission and reception; A memory unit for storing data necessary for an operation program and control of the apparatus; A buffer unit for receiving and storing data transmitted to the device in the sleep state during the wake-up; And a control unit configured to control the components to perform a smooth operation during sleep and wake-up. 6. The communication apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller calculates the establishment time according to the memory capacity of the buffer of the counterpart device included in the response packet.