Patent ID: 7848309
Filing Date: 2010-12-07
Classification: H04B,H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A relay apparatus for relaying a transmission by a wireless terminal present in a coverage area of the relay apparatus, the relay apparatus comprising: a priority table for storing a higher priority transmission identifier for identifying a transmission to be relayed by priority, and transmission condition data representing a transmission condition between the relay apparatus and a wireless terminal that is to perform the transmission identified by the higher priority transmission identifier; a bandwidth management part for receiving a transmission identifier that identifies a transmission that the wireless terminal is to start, and determining whether or not the received transmission identifier should be recorded in the priority table as a higher priority transmission identifier based on a predetermined criterion; a priority control part for relaying the transmission identified by the higher priority transmission identifier recorded in the priority table, by priority compared with the other transmissions; a monitoring part for monitoring a transmission condition between the relay apparatus and the wireless terminal that is to perform the transmission identified by the higher priority transmission identifier recorded in the priority table, so as to obtain a value indicating a degree of degradation of the transmission condition at predetermined time intervals and record the obtained value as transmission condition data in the priority table; and a lower priority transmission identifying part for calculating a total bandwidth in use as a sum of a bandwidth used for a transmission identified by a higher priority transmission identifier recorded in the priority table, and when the total bandwidth in use exceeds a predetermined threshold value, selecting as a lower priority transmission a transmission with a higher degree of degradation of a transmission condition than those of the other transmissions, among the transmissions identified by the higher priority transmission identifiers recorded in the priority table, wherein the priority control part relays the transmissions other than the lower priority transmission selected by the lower priority transmission identifying part among the transmissions identified by the higher priority transmission identifiers recorded in the priority table, by priority compared with the lower priority transmission.