Patent ID: 8391778
Filing Date: 2013-03-05
Classification: H04B,H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. Apparatus for use in a wireless multi-hop relay network arranged in a tree topology, the apparatus comprising: a first virtual access point (VAP) having a tree topology, the tree topology of the first VAP including one or more VAP relay stations; a second VAP having a tree topology, wherein a tree head of the tree topology includes a relay station, the tree topology of the second VAP including one or more VAP relay stations coupled to the relay stations via subordinate tree branches; the first and second VAPs associated as a first virtual base station (VBS), the first and second VAPs each having a unique virtual base station identifier (VBS-ID) associated with a path that includes one or more VAP relay stations in at least one of the first and second VAPs in the first VBS; a VAP relay station in the second VAP having logic for using the VBS-ID of the second VAP for communicating with a subscriber station attached to the second VAP such that communications between a base station and the subscriber station occur via the first VBS˜ wherein logic in a relay station in the first VBS performs the following functions in response to receipt of a message from an upstream station in the first VBS: search a routing table in the relay station of the first VBS for a received tunnel connection identifier (T-CID), wherein the base station uses the received T-CID to relay subscriber station data communications between the base station and the one or more VAP relay stations; if the received T-CID is not in the routing table, drop the message; if the received T-CID is in the routing table, and the received T-CID is associated with a VBS-ID that is associated with another relay station, then forward the message to the another relay station; if the received T-CID is in the routing table and the received T-CID is associated with a subscriber station, then remove the received T-CID and forward the message to the subscriber station via a connection identifier associated with the subscriber station.