John M Tipton

US Patent:

7551895, Jun 23, 2009

Filed:

Sep 1, 2006

Appl. No.:

11/515054

Inventors:

Steven VanLaningham - Richardson TX, US
Chyi N. Sheng - Richardson TX, US
John L. Tipton - Denton TX, US
Alan D. Amis - Plano TX, US

Assignee:

Rockwell Collins, Inc. - Cedar Rapids IA

International Classification:

H04B 7/00

US Classification:

455 412, 455 111, 455 6711, 370315, 370243

Abstract:

A method of communicating in a mobile ad-hoc network is disclosed. It is determined whether a first directional transmission path between a transmitting node and a destination node is known to be free from obstruction. The transmitting node transmits a message to the destination node using the first directional transmission path. The message is retransmitted to the destination node using the first directional transmission path when a message receipt acknowledgement in an omnidirectional network transmission has not been received within a predetermined time. Additional transmissions via the first directional transmission path are blocked when the message receipt acknowledgement has not been received after more than a pre-set number of retransmissions. The message is transmitted to a proxy node using a second directional transmission path between the transmitting node and the proxy node, with instructions for the proxy node to directionally transmit the message to the destination node.