System and method for efficiently routing data packets and managing channel access and bandwidth in wireless multi-hopping networks

Abstract

A method for routing data packets from a source to a destination in a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of nodes, wherein each node is in uplink-downlink association with at least one neighboring node, and wherein each node comprises a registration table identifying all downlink nodes that are associated with the node, the method comprising: sending an Open Stream message from a source node which specifies a destination node; and receiving the Open Stream message at the uplink node of the source node, wherein the uplink node relays the Open Stream message to the destination node if the destination node is registered in the registration table of the uplink node.

1 . A method for routing a data packet from a source node to a destination node in a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of nodes, wherein each node is in at least one of uplink and downlink association with at least one neighboring node, and wherein each node comprises a registration table identifying at least one of uplink and downlink nodes that are associated with the node, the method comprising:
 sending an Open Stream message from the source node which specifies a destination node;   receiving the Open Stream message at least one uplink node of the source node, wherein the at least one uplink node relays the Open Stream message to the destination node if the destination node is registered in the registration table of the at least one uplink node, and wherein, if the destination node is not registered in the registration table, the at least one uplink node relays the open stream message to its own upstream neighboring node, which checks its registration table for the destination node.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication network includes a wireless ad-hoc multi-hopping communication network in which the nodes are adapted to operate. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the Open Stream message at the destination node from at least two different neighboring nodes which re-transmit the Open Stream message.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving at the source node the Open Stream message that was a re-transmitted by at least one neighboring node, indicating a successful transmission of the Open Stream message.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data packet comprises at least one data message or at least one control message. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data packet comprises data for at least one stream. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 operating at least one downlink node in the wireless communication network to select at least one uplink node based on a metric that includes at least one of the metric of the at least one uplink node, the path loss to the at least one uplink node, the congestion at the local node, and the channel quality.   
     
     
         8 - 20 . (canceled)