Wireless Mesh Routing via Dynamic Contention Parameter Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless mesh network routing protocols fail to maximize end-to-end throughput due to congestion and interference issues, as they primarily rely on hop count and signal-to-noise ratio metrics without considering inter-hop interference and congestion levels, leading to performance degradation and inefficient load balancing.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a hierarchical wireless mesh network with contention-based media access schemes like CSMA/CA and EDCA, where routing nodes dynamically modify contention parameters based on hop count to self-allocate bandwidth and prioritize higher-level nodes for increased throughput, using metrics such as queued packet delivery ratio and transmitted packet delivery ratio to optimize routing decisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If routing protocols use hop count as the routing metric, then routing decisions are simple to make, but network performance degrades due to congestion and interference in wireless links
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the routing metric from simple hop count to a composite metric that incorporates signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), path loss, and hop count. This parameter transformation allows the routing protocol to account for wireless link quality and interference conditions while maintaining the simplicity of metric-based routing decisions. The new metric formula combines these factors to select routes that maximize end-to-end throughput without requiring complex real-time congestion monitoring.
2Reliability
If routing protocols use signal-to-noise ratio as the routing metric, then link quality is considered, but inter-hop interference and congestion levels are not accounted for
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a composite routing metric that combines multiple factors (SNR, path loss, hop count) into a single unified metric. This composite approach allows the system to simultaneously consider link quality (SNR) and route efficiency (hop count with path loss compensation), achieving both reliable link selection and optimized end-to-end throughput without requiring separate metrics for each concern.
3Area of stationary object
If routing nodes are evenly distributed in the mesh network, then network coverage is maximized, but higher-level nodes experience heavy load due to forwarding traffic from multiple lower-level nodes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the routing metric adaptive to the specific characteristics of each link and node in the network. Instead of uniform routing decisions, each node calculates its metric based on local conditions (SNR, path loss to root) and the specific route characteristics. This allows higher-level nodes to be selected as parents based on their actual capacity and link quality, distributing load more effectively while maintaining comprehensive network coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatuses and systems directed to facilitating load balancing and bandwidth allocation in wireless mesh networks. Generally, according to one implementation of the present invention, routing nodes implement a contention-based media access mechanism and self-allocate bandwidth within a wireless mesh network by dynamically modifying one or more contention-based transmission control parameters. The routing nodes determine a hop count and adjust one or more contention parameters based at least in part on the hop count.