Wireless communication system

• US 20060268816A1
• Filed: 05/04/2006
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tandai, Tomoya, Adachi, Tomoko, Nonin, Katsuya, Nabetani, Toshihisa, Kaburaki, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,912,489 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/347
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A wireless communication system including at least one wireless base station and two or more wireless terminals, and each of the wireless terminals can communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal. The wireless base station observes reception frames from the wireless terminals, and transmits to one of the wireless terminals a start frame for starting direct communication of the wireless terminal concerned with another wireless terminal on the basis of the reception information of the reception frames.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and the wireless base station observing reception frames from a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the plural wireless terminals and a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal, and transmitting a start frame for starting direct communication with the second wireless terminal to the first wireless terminal on the basis of the reception information of the reception frames.

7. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless terminal starts direct communication with the second wireless terminal when receiving the start frame.

9. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless base station transmits the start frame or the stop frame to the second wireless terminal.

17. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless base station uses the reception electric field intensity of the frame as the reception information of the frame.

2. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and the wireless base station observing reception frames from a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the plural wireless terminals and a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal, and transmitting a stop frame for stopping direct communication with the second wireless terminal to the first wireless terminal on the basis of the reception information of the reception frames.

8. The wireless communication system according to claim 2, wherein the first wireless terminal stops direct communication with the second wireless terminal when receiving the stop frame.

3. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and the wireless base station directing beams having directivity to a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the plural wireless terminals and a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal to make communications, and transmitting a start frame for starting direct communication with the second wireless terminal to the first wireless terminal on the basis of the direction of the directional beam to the first wireless terminal and the direction of the directional beam to the second wireless terminal.

4. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and on the basis of estimation of the angle of arrival based on reception frames from a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the plural wireless terminals and a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal, the wireless base station transmitting a start frame for starting direct communication with the second wireless terminal to the first wireless terminal.

5. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and the wireless base station directing beams having directivity to a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the plural wireless terminals and a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal to make communications, and transmitting a stop frame for stopping direct communication with the second wireless terminal to the first wireless terminal on the basis of the direction of the directional beam to the first wireless terminal and the direction of the directional beam to the second wireless terminal.

6. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and on the basis of estimation of the angle of arrival based on reception frames from a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the plural wireless terminals and a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal, the wireless base station transmitting a stop frame for stopping direct communication with the second wireless terminal to the first wireless terminal.

10. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one wireless base station; and

two or more wireless terminals, each wireless terminal being able to communicate with the wireless base station or directly communicate with another wireless terminal, and a first wireless terminal corresponding to one of the wireless terminals observing a frame from a second wireless terminal different from the first wireless terminal, and judging on the basis of the reception information of the frame concerned whether direct communication with the second wireless terminal is possible or not.

11. The wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein the first wireless terminal transmits a first frame addressed to the second wireless terminal while the direct transmission destination of the first frame is the wireless base station, observes a response frame from the second wireless terminal to a second frame that is transferred from the wireless base station on the basis of the first frame, and judges on the basis of the reception information of the response frame whether direct communication with the second wireless terminal is possible or not.

12. The wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein the first wireless terminal transmits a first frame addressed to the second wireless terminal while a direct transmission destination thereof is the wireless base station, observes a second frame transferred from the wireless base station on the basis of the first frame and a response frame from the second wireless terminal to the second frame, and judges on the basis of the reception information of the second frame and the response frame whether direct communication with the second wireless terminal is possible or not.

13. The wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein the wireless base station communicates with the first wireless terminal and the second wireless terminal while directing beams having directivity thereto, and when the wireless base station receives from the first wireless terminal a sixth request frame for establishing direct communication with the second wireless terminal, the wireless base station makes a judgment as to a request for establishing the direct communication on the basis of the direction of the directional beam to the first wireless terminal and the direction of the directional beam to the second wireless terminal.

14. The wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein reception frames from the first wireless terminal and the second wireless terminal are observed, and a judgment as to a request frame for establishing direct communication with the second wireless terminal from the first wireless terminal is made on the basis of the reception information of the reception frames.

15. The wireless communication system according to claim 14, wherein the direction of the directional beam to each wireless terminal is determined by weighting plural antenna elements when frame transmission to each wireless terminal is carried out.

16. The wireless communication system according to claim 10, wherein the first wireless terminal uses the reception electric field intensity of the frame as the reception information of the frame.