RU2574825C2 - Method and system for supporting wireless multicast transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: radio engineering, communication.

SUBSTANCE: method and system include a source station for providing wireless multicast transmission to a plurality of destination stations according to a protocol adaptation layer multicast management protocol. The protocol adaptation layer may lie above the MAC layer. The multicast management protocol includes formation, maintenance, and termination procedures.

EFFECT: enabling communication control using PAL formation, maintenance and termination procedures, while enabling reporting, as feedback, reasons for failure of the forming procedure or enabling determination of continued existence of a data stream.

14 cl, 10 dwg

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic devices, such as computers, often transmit signals to receiving stations, such as displays or loudspeakers. Such transmission is often carried out by wire or cable. Wireless transmission eliminates the need for wires and cables. For compatibility between products from different manufacturers, these devices can communicate according to a standard, such as the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WGA or WiGig) standard, described in one or more specifications that are being prepared for publication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter disclosed in this application is specifically indicated and clearly stated in the final part of the description of the invention. Embodiments of the invention, however, with regard to both the organization and the method of operation, together with its objectives, features and advantages, can best be understood by referring to the following detailed description given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a conceptual illustration of a wireless network according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 1B is a conceptual illustration of a source or destination station in a wireless network according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a conceptual illustration of a layer control model for a wireless protocol according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual illustration of a formation or attachment procedure according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual illustration of a maintenance procedure according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual illustration of an exit procedure according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6A-6B are conceptual illustrations of cancellation procedures according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a conceptual state diagram of protocol procedures according to embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating such protocol procedures according to embodiments of the invention.

Obviously, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, the elements shown in the drawings are not always shown accurately or to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements to simplify, or several physical components may be included in one functional unit or element. Additionally, when deemed appropriate, the reference numbers may be repeated in different drawings to indicate corresponding or similar elements. In addition, some of the blocks shown in the drawings may be combined into one function.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other cases, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits are not described in detail, so as not to obscure the present invention.

Unless otherwise specifically indicated, as follows from the following discussion, it is assumed that the terms used in the description of the invention, such as "processing", "calculation", "calculation", "definition", etc., can refer to the action and / or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device that processes and / or converts data represented in the form of physical, for example electronic, values in the registers of the computing system and / or memory blocks, into other data, analogues but represented as physical quantities within the memory blocks, registers, or other similar storage devices, transmission or display of a computer system. In addition, the term "many" can be used throughout the description of the invention to describe two or more components, devices, elements, parameters, etc.

Embodiments of the present invention can be used in various applications. Although the present invention is not limited in this regard, the schemes and approaches disclosed herein can be used in many devices, for example personal computers (PCs), wireless devices or stations, video or digital gaming devices or systems, image acquisition systems, processing systems, visualization systems or display, digital display systems, communication systems, etc.

Consider FIG. 1A, a conceptual illustration of a wireless network 10 operating in accordance with embodiments of the invention is shown. The network 10 may be a wireless network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless personal area network (WPAN), which can operate according to the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WGA or WiGig) or another wireless standard. WiGig is designed to operate essentially in the 60 GHz band (or spectrum) and transmit (generally) compressed data at speeds from hundreds of megabits per second (Mbps) to several gigabits per second (Gbit / s). (The 60 GHz band may include transmissions in the range of about 56 GHz to about 66 GHz.) Although the invention is not limited in this regard, network 10 may include a source (or source station) 100 and a plurality of destinations or recipients 201, 202, 203 (or more or fewer stations) that are capable of wirelessly communicating with each other. Source 100 and destinations 201, 202, 203 may be called wireless stations (sometimes referred to as “STAs” in various wireless standards). Examples of the source 100 can be a set top box (STB), a portable or personal computer (PC), a DVD player, a CD player, an MP3 player, a digital video recorder (DVR), a camera or camcorder, a game console, a cell phone or a smartphone, pocket personal computer (PDA) and other devices. Examples of destinations 201, 202, 203 include televisions, receivers, displays, monitors, speakers, printers, laptops or personal computers, cell phones or smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), projectors, and other devices. The network 10 may include other network devices. In FIG. 1A shows a source 100 transmitting wirelessly to destinations 201, 202, 203, and such transmission may be data and transmission messages, as described below. In turn, destinations 201, 202, 203 can wirelessly send messages back to source 100 (although this is not shown graphically in FIG. 1A).

Consider FIG. 1B, which is a conceptual illustration of a source station 100 or a destination station 200 (one or more destinations 201, 202, 203) in a network 10, according to embodiments of the invention. Such a station may include a wireless communication unit 102 (connected to an antenna 103), an input 104, an output 106, a processor 108, and a memory 110. Although in FIG. 1B, a source station 100 and a destination station 200 are shown, not every source and destination must include all of the above blocks, and in a network, the source and destination stations do not have to be the same or even similar. Using such units, source 100 and / or destination 200 can communicate with each other and other wireless devices according to embodiments of the invention, for example, using processor 108 and wireless unit 102 (and possibly antenna 103) for transmission and / or receiving signals (including data). Input 104 and output 106 can also be used to communicate with other devices. The memory 110 may be a computer or processor-readable medium, or a computer or processor storage medium, such as RAM or RAM, a USB drive or flash memory.

Consider FIG. 2, which shows a conceptual illustration of a layer control model for a wireless protocol. Various computer network protocols are modeled by such layer management models as the basic OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model (seven-level model) and the TCP / IP model. The layer management model shown in FIG. 2 includes a PHY layer 50 (physical) and a MAC layer (media access control) layer 60 (sometimes referred to as a “sublayer”) of the OSI and PAL model (protocol adaptation layer) 70, which is used according to embodiments of the present invention for interacting with a MAC layer 60.

According to embodiments of the invention, source 100 wirelessly transmits signals to one or more destinations 201, 202, 203 in a multi-addressing format (also referred to as “multicast”). Multicast may include transmitting the same data stream to multiple destinations. A protocol can control the formation, maintenance, and cancellation of a multicast group consisting of a source and destinations. In particular, such a protocol operates at a protocol adaptation layer (PAL) 70, which in some embodiments may be an audio / visual (A / V) PAL. Due to the potentially severe bandwidth requirements, multicast can have a throughput of hundreds of megabits per second (preferably at least 700 Mbps) or even several gigabits per second (preferably at least 5 Gbps) and may be compressed. The multicast delivery according to the embodiments of the invention is intended to take into account the fact that wireless communication channels are characterized by losses, but since there is no need to build a multi-address tree between different routers, its design is simplified. You can also achieve various other benefits.

Embodiments of the method can be used or can be implemented, for example, by source 100 and destinations 201, 202, 203 in network 10, or computing systems and other suitable systems, or other suitable devices, stations, nodes, systems and / or wireless networks . Network 10 may include more than three destinations, but three are shown for simplicity.

Consider FIG. 3, which is a conceptual illustration of a formation or attachment procedure according to embodiments of the invention. Source 100 is the same as described above; destination 200 represents one or more destinations 201, 202, 203, given that protocol embodiments may be used for multicast. At the beginning of the join procedure, the source 100, also referred to as the source node or the owner of the multicast group (MGO), can send a PAL control message called the invitation 305 to join the multicast group ("invitation message"), either in unicast mode or in broadcast mode. The multicast group can be uniquely identified in the invitation message by the multicast MAC address and PAL ID. Upon receiving the invitation message 305, the destination (or destination) 200 may send a PAL control message referred to as a multicast group join request 310 to a source 100, which may in response send a PAL control message called a multicast group join request 315 mailing list, which indicates whether the join procedure has completed successfully and, if not, the reasons for the failure, for example, an invalid multicast address or resource unavailability.

Consider FIG. 4, which is a conceptual illustration of a maintenance procedure according to embodiments of the invention. After joining destination 200 to the multicast group, it can periodically send a confirmation message 40 to confirm the membership of the multicast group to the source 100. The source 100 may in response send a response message 410 to the request to confirm the membership of the multicast group. Source 100 may also periodically transmit data 415 (or data frames) to destination 200. If data 415 transmitted to a multicast group (ie, destination 200) is received, but a response message 410 to the request for confirmation of membership of the multicast group is received not accepted, destination 200 still considers itself to be part of the multicast group. Destination 200 will cease to consider 435 to belong to the multicast group if during the idle period 425 neither the message 410 of the response to the request for confirmation of membership of the multicast group nor the data 415 is received from the owner of the multicast group.

Consider FIG. 5, which is a conceptual illustration of an exit procedure according to embodiments of the invention. During the exit from the multicast group, destination 200 may send a message 505 to exit the multicast group to source 100. Upon receiving a message 505 to exit the multicast group, source 100 may send a response message 510 to the exit request multicast groups. Destination 200 stops receiving multicast packets 525 after receiving a response message 510 to a request to leave the multicast group or after a period of inactivity (not shown). The source 100 may conclude that the destination 200 leaves the multicast group 520 after transmitting a response message 510 to the request to exit the multicast group.

Consider FIG. 6A-6B, which are conceptual illustrations of cancellation procedures according to embodiments of the invention. Source 100 may terminate one or more destinations (FIG. 6A) or terminate the entire multicast group (FIG. 6B). According to FIG. 6A, source 100 may transmit a multicast group cancellation message 605, which may include an individual MAC address (e.g., D201), and this destination (destination 201) is canceled. Then, destination 201 concludes its cancellation 535. In FIG. 6A also shows that source 100 can cancel destination 202 by sending a multicast group cancellation message 615, which may include an individual MAC address (e.g., D202). Then, destination 202 concludes its cancellation 545. Referring to FIG. 6B, source 100 may transmit a multicast group cancellation message 625, which may include a multicast MAC address (e.g., D201 / D202 / D203), and these destinations (destinations 201, 202, 203) conclude their cancellation 555 The embodiments shown in FIG. 6A and 6B can be combined, for example, in a network of five destinations, canceling two destinations separately (as in FIG. 6A) and then canceling the remaining three destinations together (as in FIG. 6B). In addition, exit and cancellation procedures are similar to each other, but are initiated by different stations.

Consider FIG. 7, which is a conceptual state diagram of protocol procedures according to embodiments of the invention. Destination 200, initially not a 710 member, performs the joining procedure 725 and, if successful, becomes 720 member. To remain a 720 member, destination 200 may receive data or receive a response message 735 for a confirmation message of membership of a multicast group during an idle period. Otherwise, destination 200 may leave group 745 or be canceled 745, or not receive data 745, or a response message 745 to a request for confirmation of membership of the multicast group during the idle period.

Consider FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating protocol procedures according to embodiments of the invention. Embodiments of the method may be used or may be implemented, for example, by computer system 100 or another suitable system. In operation 802, the source 100 may transmit a join invitation message 305 to the multicast group, and at operation 804, the destination 200 may transmit a join request message 310 to the multicast group. Operation 806 asks if the join procedure completed successfully. If not, in operation 808, the source 100 may transmit a response 315 to the join request to the multicast group, which indicates the reason for the failure. If the join procedure is successful, operation 810 may send a response 315 to the join request to the multicast group, which indicates success, and in operation 812, destination 200 may become a member of the multicast group.

To remain a member of the multicast group, in operation 814, the source 100 can determine whether destination 200 sends a confirmation message 405 confirming membership in the multicast group for a certain period of inactivity. If not, in operation 830, destination 200 ceases to belong to the multicast group. If destination 200 transmits a multicast group membership confirmation message 405 during a certain idle period, in operation 816, destination 200 can determine whether it receives a multicast group confirmation message 410 or data 415 during a period of inactivity . If not, in operation 830, destination 200 ceases to belong to the multicast group. If destination 200 receives a multicast group membership confirmation message 410 or data 415 during a downtime, in step 818, source 100 can determine whether destination 200 sends a multicast group exit message 505. If so, in operation 820, the source 100 may send a response message 510 to the request to exit the multicast group in response, and in operation 830, the destination 200 ceases to belong to the multicast group. If destination 200 does not transmit an exit request message 505 from the multicast group, in operation 822, destination 200 may determine whether the source 100 transmits a multicast group cancellation message 605, 615 with an individual destination MAC address or a multicast group cancellation message 625 Multicast mailing lists. If so, in operation 830, destination 200 ceases to belong to the multicast group. If not, destination 200 remains in the multicast group, and the loop returns to operation 814. Although, as described, decisions are made at decision blocks 806, 814, 816, 818, and 822 by either source 100 or destination 200, the decision can be received by any other station or jointly, depending on the context of decision-making, which station transmits and which receives, and the need to respond to transmitted messages (for example, some messages require a response, while others, for example, Announcement 605, 615 ation multicast group, no). In addition to the logical block diagram included in FIG. 8, other flowchart operations may be used. In addition, the actual order of operations may not play a decisive role.

Returning to FIG. 1B, in accordance with embodiments of the invention, a processor 108 and a wireless communication unit 102 (and possibly an antenna 103) at source 100 and / or destination 200 can transmit and receive wireless multicast signals according to a protocol address adaptation multicast control protocol. The protocol adaptation layer may be the audio / visual protocol adaptation layer, which is located above the MAC layer. The multicast control protocol may include procedures for generating, maintaining, and terminating. Acting as the source station, the processor 108 may direct the wireless unit 102 to transmit data and various messages from the multicast group, for example, inviting destination 200 to join the multicast group, indicating success if the join procedure is successful, confirming group membership during maintenance confirming the departure of the destination station from the group or canceling membership in the group. Acting as the destination station, the processor 108 may direct the wireless communication unit 102 to send various messages, for example, responding to an invitation to join a multicast group, confirming group membership during maintenance and requesting to leave the group. At both types of stations, processor 108 may process messages and / or data received through wireless communication unit 102, and may interact with memory 110, input 104, and output 106.

Embodiments of the invention may include an article of manufacture, such as computer- or processor-readable media, or computer or processor storage media, such as a USB memory, disk drive, or USB flash drive, where instructions are encoded, enclosed, or stored that are executed on a processor or the controller performs the methods disclosed herein. Such embodiments may also be delivered and / or transferred to a computer via a network, such as the Internet.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it is obvious that numerous variations, modifications and other uses of the invention are possible. Embodiments of the present invention may include other devices for performing the operations described herein. Such devices may combine the elements considered or may contain alternative components of the same purpose. Specialists in the art it is obvious that the following claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes, if they correspond to the true nature of the invention.

Claims (14)

1. A communication method in accordance with a protocol adaptation level control (PAL) protocol, comprising:
communicating via wireless signals using a wireless device according to the Protocol Adaptation Layer Control (PAL) protocol, wherein the PAL is above the medium access control (MAC) layer, the PAL control protocol includes generation, maintenance, and cancellation procedures, wherein formation includes:
communicating using a wireless device by means of a request message and
communicating using a wireless communication device by means of a response message, the response message being a response to the request message, the response message including indicating whether the generation procedure is successful, and if the generation procedure is not successful, indicating one or more reasons failure of the formation procedure,
wherein, the communication via wireless signals according to the PAL control protocol comprises entering into the PAL maintenance procedure by determining the continued existence of the data stream based at least on whether a message has been received from the remote device within a predetermined time period. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating by means of a request message comprises transmitting a request message and communicating by means of a response message comprises receiving a response message. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating by means of a request message comprises receiving a request message and communicating by means of a response message comprises transmitting a response message. 4. The method according to p. 1, in which an indication of one or more reasons for the failure of the formation procedure includes, at least, an indication of failure due to inaccessibility of the resource. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the protocol adaptation layer comprises an audio / visual protocol adaptation layer. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the cancellation procedure includes transmitting a PAL cancellation message. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the continued existence of the data stream is further based on whether data has been received from the remote device within the aforementioned predetermined time period. 8. The method according to claim 1, comprising communicating via wireless signals in the 60 GHz spectrum. 9. The method according to claim 1, comprising communicating via wireless signals with a bandwidth of at least 700 Mbps. 10. The method of claim 9, comprising communicating via wireless signals with a bandwidth of at least about 5 Gb / s. 11. The method according to claim 1, comprising wirelessly transmitting data of a data stream based on a generating procedure. 12. A device comprising a wireless communication unit configured to communicate in accordance with a Protocol Adaptation Level Control Protocol (PAL), the device comprising means configured to perform the method according to any one of claims. 1-11. 13. The device according to p. 12, further comprising an antenna for wirelessly exchanging wireless signals with at least one remote device. 14. A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, lead to the execution of the method according to any one of paragraphs. 1-11.

Images