Method for sending an acknowledgement to an ingress mesh point in a mesh network and a medium access control frame format

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for confirming the delivery of a data packet in a mesh network by sending an acknowledgement (ACK) to an ingress mesh point (IMP). A mesh network comprises a plurality of mesh points that are wirelessly linked together. A data packet sent by a station (STA) is received by an IMP. A MAC frame is generated for transmission of the data packet and the frame is forwarded to an egress mesh point (EMP) in order to provide a service by the mesh network. The MAC frame includes a field comprising an IMP address and an EMP address. When the EMP, (or optionally an intermediate mesh point), receives a data packet successfully, the EMP or the intermediate mesh point sends an ACK to the IMP or preceding mesh point.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for routing a data packet using a network with Wireless Access Points (WAPs), the method comprising:
 receiving, by a WAP of the network, a data packet that includes a frame structure including a plurality of addresses and at least one flag, the flag indicating a type of frame used for the data packet; and   reading, by the WAP, one or more of the plurality of addresses in accordance with the frame structure indicated by the flag.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising routing, by the WAP, the data packet based on the read one or more addresses. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the WAP is an access point for the data packet to ingress to the network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising: forwarding, by the WAP to another WAP or a node in the network, the data packet, wherein the data packet includes routing information in the frame structure for routing to a destination address. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the WAP is an access point for the data packet to egress from the network. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 the receiving of the data packet is from another WAP or a node of the network, and   the data packet includes routing information in the frame structure for routing to a destination address.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the frame structure includes information associated with a destination address, a source address and a plurality of intermediary addresses. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the frame structure contains six addresses. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the frame structure is compatible with at least one MAC protocol. 
     
     
         10 . A wireless access point (WAP), comprising:
 a receiver configured to:
 receive a data packet that includes a frame structure including a plurality of addresses and at least one flag, the flag indicating a type of frame used for the data packet; and 
   a processor configured to read one or more of the plurality of addresses in accordance with the frame structure indicated by the flag.   
     
     
         11 . The WAP of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to route the data packet based on the one or more addresses which have been read. 
     
     
         12 . The WAP of  claim 10 , wherein the WAP is an access point for the data packet to ingress to the network. 
     
     
         13 . The WAP of  claim 10 , further comprising a transmitter configured to forward to another WAP or a node in the network, the data packet, wherein the data packet includes routing information in the frame structure for routing to a destination address. 
     
     
         14 . The WAP of  claim 10 , wherein the WAP is an access point for the data packet to egress from the network. 
     
     
         15 . The WAP of  claim 14 , wherein the receiver is configured to receive the data packet from another WAP or a node of the network, wherein the data packet includes routing information in the frame structure for routing to a destination address. 
     
     
         16 . The WAP of  claim 10 , wherein the frame structure includes information associated with a destination address, a source address and a plurality of intermediary addresses. 
     
     
         17 . The WAP of  claim 10 , wherein the frame structure contains six addresses. 
     
     
         18 . The WAP of  claim 10 , wherein the frame structure is compatible with at least one MAC protocol.