Communication system, base station, terminal, communication device, communication management method, control program, and computer-readable recording medium containing the same

• US 20050085279A1
• Filed: 08/20/2004
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Aoki, Tsuguhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,586,864 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/574
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

In a wireless communication system, a terminal is identified by a base station in accordance with beacon signals transmitted periodically from the base station, and to the identified terminal, the presence or absence of data to be transmitted and a period until a transmission of a next beacon signal are notified. A terminal-side wireless communication section in the terminal transmits, to the base station, a request for setting of a period between transmissions of beacon signals. A communication control section in the base station sets the period between transmissions of beacon signals in accordance with the request having been received from the terminal. With this arrangement, the terminal can optimize its period between receptions of beacon signals, thereby keeping OFF power supply to a communication circuit from a power source section until the timing for receiving a beacon signal. This allows the terminal to reduce its power consumption.

Claims

1. A communication system where a period between transmissions of periodic signals transmitted from a base station is notified to a terminal,

the terminal comprising transmission period setting requesting means which transmits, to the base station, a request for setting of a period between transmissions of periodic signals;

and

the base station comprising transmission period setting means which changes the period between transmissions of periodic signals in accordance with the request having been received from the terminal.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the terminal further comprises;

application executing means which executes an application involving communications via the base station with an external entity; and

communication interface means which notifies, to the transmission period setting requesting means, the period between transmissions of periodic signals, corresponding to communication property and/or a type of the application being executed by the application executing means,

the transmission period setting requesting means transmitting, to the base station, the request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals to the period having been notified from the communication interface means.

3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein:

the communication interface means acquires a state of the application executed by the application executing means and then determines the period between transmissions of periodic signals in accordance with the state of the application.

4. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein:

the communication interface means determines the period between transmissions of periodic signals in accordance with an amount of space in a buffer of the base station.

5. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein:

the communication interface means, in a case where a plurality of the applications are executed by a single terminal, determines that a shortest period among periods required by the applications is the period between transmissions of periodic signals.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the transmission period setting means, in a case where the communication system includes a plurality of the terminals, determines that a shortest period among periods required by the terminals is the period between transmissions of periodic signals.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein:

the terminal comprises communication interface means which notifies, to the transmission period setting requesting means, transmission period determination information for the base station determining the period between transmissions of periodic signals; and

the transmission period setting requesting means transmits, to the base station, the request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals, the request including the transmission period determination information notified by the communication interface means.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein:

the terminal comprises application executing means which executes an application involving communications via the base station with an external entity; and

the transmission period determination information contains communication property and/or a type of the application being executed by the application executing means.

9. A base station in a communication system where a period between transmissions of periodic signals transmitted from the base station is notified to a terminal,

the base station comprising:

transmission period setting means which changes the period between transmissions of periodic signals, in accordance with a request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals, which is received from the terminal.

31. A control program operating the base station according to claim 9, which is a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the foregoing means.

32. A computer-readable recording medium containing therein the control program according to claim 31.

10. A terminal in a communication system where a period between transmissions of periodic signals transmitted from a base station is notified to the terminal,

the terminal comprising:

transmission period setting requesting means which transmits, to the base station, a request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals.

11. The terminal according to claim 10, further comprising:

communication interface means which notifies, to the transmission period setting requesting means, transmission period determination information for the base station determining the period between transmissions of periodic signals,

the transmission period setting requesting means transmitting, to the base station, the request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals, the request including the transmission period determination information notified by the communication interface means.

12. The terminal according to claim 10, further comprising:

application executing means which executes an application involving communications via the base station with an external entity; and

communication interface means which notifies, to the transmission period setting requesting means, the period between transmissions of periodic signals, corresponding to communication property and/or a type of the application being executed by the application executing means,

the transmission period setting requesting means transmitting, to the base station, the request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals, to the period having been notified from the communication interface means.

13. The terminal according to claim 10, wherein:

power supply to a communication circuit is turned on at a timing of receiving the periodic signal and is turned off upon completion of reception of signals transmitted from the base station.

33. A control program operating the terminal according to claim 10, which is a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the foregoing means.

34. A computer-readable recording medium containing therein the control program according to claim 33.

14. A communication management method in a communication system where a period between transmissions of periodic signals transmitted from a base station is notified to a terminal,

the method comprising:

in the terminal, a transmission period setting request step of transmitting, to the base station, a request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals; and

in the base station, a transmission period setting step of changing a period between transmissions of periodic signals in accordance with the request having been received from the terminal.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein:

in the transmission period setting requesting step, the terminal transmits transmission period determination information for the base station determining the period between transmissions of periodic signals, the transmission period determination information being incorporated into the request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals; and

in the transmission period setting step, the base station determines the period between transmissions of periodic signals in accordance with the transmission period determination information.

16. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

in the terminal, a transmission period determination step of determining the period between transmissions of periodic signals, corresponding to communication property and/or a type of an application, in execution, involving communications via the base station with an external entity.

17. A terminal in a communication system where periodic signals are transmitted from a base station to the terminal, the terminal comprising:

reception period setting means setting a period between receptions of the periodic signals to a multiple of a period between transmissions of the periodic signals transmitted from the base station.

18. The terminal according to claim 17, further comprising:

application executing means which executes an application involving communications via the base station with an external entity; and

communication interface means which notifies, to the reception period setting means, a period between receptions of the periodic signals, corresponding to communication property and/or a type of the application being executed by the application executing means.

19. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein:

the communication interface means acquires a state of the application executed by the application executing means and then determines the period between receptions of the periodic signals in accordance with the state of the application.

20. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein:

the communication interface means determines the period between receptions of the periodic signals in accordance with an amount of space in a buffer of the base station.

21. The terminal according to claim 18, wherein:

the communication interface means, in a case where a plurality of the applications are executed by a single terminal, determines that a shortest period among periods required by the applications is the period between receptions of periodic signals.

22. The terminal according to claim 17, which turns on power supply to a communication circuit upon receiving the periodic signal and turns off power supply to the communication circuit upon completing the reception of the signal transmitted from the base station.

35. A control program operating the terminal according to claim 17, which is a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the foregoing means.

36. A computer-readable recording medium containing therein the control program according to claim 35.

23. A communication management method in a communication system where periodic signals are transmitted from a base station to a terminal, the method comprising:

in a terminal, a reception period setting step of setting a period between receptions of the periodic signals to a multiple of a period between transmissions of the periodic signals transmitted from the base station.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising:

in the terminal, a reception period determination step of determining the period between receptions of the periodic signals, corresponding to communication property and/or a type of an application, in execution, involving communications via the base station with an external entity.

25. A communication system, composed of a base station and at least two terminals, where a period between transmissions of periodic signals transmitted from the base station is notified to the terminal,

the terminal comprising transmission period setting requesting means which transmits, to the base station, a request for setting of a period between transmissions of periodic signals;

and

the base station comprising transmission period setting means which changes the period between transmissions of periodic signals in accordance with the request having been received from the terminal,

the terminal further comprising;

reception period setting means, in a case where the period between transmissions of the periodic signals transmitted from the base station is shorter than a proper period between receptions of the periodic signals to be received by the terminal, sets a period between receptions of the periodic signals to a multiple of a period between transmissions of the periodic signals transmitted from the base station.

26. The communication system according to claim 25, wherein:

the transmission period setting means in the base station, when the request having been received from the terminal is a request for extension of a current period between transmissions of periodic signals, judges whether or not the terminal having transmitted the request is identical with a terminal having transmitted a request for change to the current period between transmissions of periodic signals, and, if it is identical, performs change of the period between transmissions of periodic signals.

27. The communication system according to claim 26, wherein:

the transmission period setting means in the base station, when the terminal having transmitted the request for extension of the current period between transmissions of periodic signals is identical with the terminal having transmitted the request for change to the current period between transmissions of periodic signals, changes the current period to a shortest period of all periods between transmissions of periodic signals, received from the terminals in communications with the base station.

28. A communication device which transmits periodic signals, wherein:

a period between transmissions of periodic signals is changed in accordance with a request for setting of the period between transmissions of periodic signals.

37. A control program operating the communication device according to claim 28, which is a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the foregoing means.

38. A computer-readable recording medium containing therein the control program according to claim 37.

29. A communication device which receives periodic signals, wherein:

a request for setting of a period between transmissions of the periodic signals is transmitted.

39. A control program operating the communication device according to claim 29, which is a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the foregoing means.

40. A computer-readable recording medium containing therein the control program according to claim 39.

30. A communication device which receives periodic signals, wherein:

a period between receptions of the periodic signals is set to a multiple of a period between transmissions of the periodic signals.

41. A control program operating the communication device according to claim 30, which is a control program for causing a computer to function as each of the foregoing means.

42. A computer-readable recording medium containing therein the control program according to claim 41.