Access point switching for mobile wireless network node

摘要

An internetworking node for providing internetworking services for mobile wireless nodes is disclosed. Each mobile wireless node is associated with at the most one internetworking node. Each mobile wireless node selects which internetworking node it will associate with. The internetworking node will then act for all wireless nodes associated to it in relaying messages between wireless nodes or between a wired lane and the wireless nodes. A tracking mechanism for such a system which maintains a table of all the internetworking nodes the wireless node has recently heard and deleting all such internetworking nodes which have not been heard recently is disclosed. A switching mechanism for such a system for determining when the wireless mobile node should switch its association from one internetworking node to another is also disclosed. The switching mechanism determines whether a particular internetworking node overheard by the mobile wireless node has been heard recently, and if not will associate with such an internetworking node. Otherwise the wireless node maintains its current association, with a particular internetworking node until a failure to communicate occurs or the said tracking mechanism deletes its reference to the said internetworking node. $$