Communication device and multi-hop network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10103973-B2
Application number	US-201514751473-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 26, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

A communication device according to an embodiment is included in a multi-hop network. The communication device includes a holder, a storage, a switcher, and a controller. The holder holds communication data. The storage stores path information including an identifier that identifies a communication path and destination information that indicates a destination of communication data on the communication path. The switcher switches a communication path used to transmit communication data on the basis of the path information stored in the storage. The controller transmits communication data to a destination of a communication path switched by the switcher.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A communication device included in a multi-hop network, the device comprising:
a storage that stores path information including an identifier that identifies a communication path and destination information that indicates a destination of communication data on the communication path; and
processing circuitry configured to control the communication device to at least:
collect connection information indicating connectivity of the communication path, wherein the connection information includes a strength of connectivity;
switch the communication path used to transmit the communication data based on the path information stored in the storage and the collected connection information; and
transmit the communication data to the destination of the switched communication path,

wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive switching instruction information from another communication device,
determine whether a switching instruction path which is a communication path instructed by the switching instruction information is being currently used and whether, in a case that the switching instruction path is not being currently used, an identifier of the switching instruction path is stored in the storage,
switch the currently used communication path to the switching instruction path when the switching instruction path is not being currently used and when an identifier of the switching instruction path is stored in the storage, and
not switch the currently used communication path when the switching instruction path is not being currently used and when the identifier of the switching instruction path is not stored in the storage.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein
the identifier that identifies a communication path includes at least one of a server address, a border router address, and an RPL instance ID.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein
the destination information includes an address of another communication device which is a transmission destination of the communication data.

4. A multi-hop network comprising: a plurality of the devices according to claim 1 .

5. A communication device included in a multi-hop network, the device comprising:
a storage that stores path information including an identifier that identifies a communication path and destination information that indicates a destination of communication data on the communication path; and
processing circuitry configured to control the communication device to at least:
collect connection information indicating connectivity of the communication path, wherein the connection information includes a strength of connectivity;
switch the communication path used to transmit the communication data based on the path information stored in the storage and the collected connection information; and transmit the communication data to the destination of the switched communication path,

wherein
the device operates in compliance with RPL (IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks), and
the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive DODAG (Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph) information being switching instruction information from another communication device,
determine whether an identifier of a communication path instructed by the DODAG information is stored in the storage and whether RPL Instance ID specified by the DODAG information is a global RPL Instance ID or a local RPL Instance ID, and
switch a currently used communication path to the communication path instructed by the DODAG information when an identifier of the communication path instructed by the DODAG information is not stored and the RPL Instance ID specified by the DODAG information is the local RPL Instance ID.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Murakami Takaomi
• Oba Yoshihiro
• Sakata Ren
• Kudo Hiroki
• Ogawa Jumpei

Classifications

• H04L45/22 Primary

  Alternate routing · CPC title

• H04L45/24

  Multipath · CPC title

• H04L49/25

  Routing or path finding in a switch fabric · CPC title

• H04L45/20 Primary

  Hop count for routing purposes, e.g. TTL · CPC title