Patent ID: 8089884

Claim:
A communication unit to transmit and receive information within a wireless Ad-Hoc communications network and to measure congestion comprising: a transmitter to transmit outgoing information to at least one other communication unit within said network; a receiver to receive incoming information from at least one other communication unit within said network; and a processor to control said transmission and reception of said outgoing and incoming information, wherein said information is conveyed within a series of time slots and said processor is configured to: determine a congestion value for said communication unit within a value range based on an amount of utilization of said time slots for communication within a predetermined time interval, wherein each value within said value range is associated with a corresponding time slot utilization level, and wherein said determined congestion value is associated with a time slot utilization level greater than said amount of utilization to indicate the presence of congestion prior to said amount of utilization indicating actual occurrence of congestion and to alter a cost for a communication link associated with said communication unit to impede utilization of that communication link for routing; and facilitate transmission of said determined congestion value to at least one other communication unit within said network to enable routing through said network that avoids said congestion in accordance with said altered cost for said communication link.