METHOD AND APPARATUS OF CONTROLLING MAC-LAYER PROTOCOL FOR DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATIONS WITHOUT ID

• US 20140293809A1
• Filed: 03/24/2014
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Kwak, Byung Jae, Kim, Young Hoon, Bang, Seung Chan, Kim, Soo Chang, Kim, Seon Ae
• Application Number:
  US14/223,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20140293809A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/004 compensating for timing error of reception due to propagation delay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

An apparatus and method for enabling a device-to-device (D2D) communication, despite an identifier (ID) of a target device being unknown are provided. The apparatus may include a target device determining unit to select primary target devices based on relative distance information between a main device and a target device for communication with the main device, and to determine a final target device based on relative distance information between the main device and each of the primary target devices, a transmitter to transmit, to each of the primary target devices, a selection notification message and a relative distance information request message that are generated by the target device determining unit, and a receiver to receive, from each of the primary target devices, a response message corresponding to the selection notification message, and relative distance information used to determine a final target device.

Claims

1. A media access control (MAC) layer protocol control apparatus, comprising:

a target device determining unit to select primary target devices based on relative distance information regarding a relative distance between a main device and a target device for communication with the main device, and to determine a final target device based on relative distance information regarding a relative distance between the main device and each of the primary target devices;

a transmitter to transmit, to each of the primary target devices, a selection notification message and a relative distance information request message that are generated by the target device determining unit; and

a receiver to receive, from each of the primary target devices, a response message corresponding to the selection notification message, and relative distance information used to determine a final target device.

2. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the target device determining unit comprises:

a target device recognition processor to select primary target devices from among neighboring devices;

a relative distance information requester to measure a distance between the primary target devices selected by the target device recognition processor;

a collision processor to control data to be transmitted without collision of the data; and

a synchronization processor to perform synchronization between the main device and primary target devices.

3. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the target device recognition processor selects an image representing the target device for communication with the main device through a screen of the main device, and stores the relative distance information regarding the relative distance between the main device and the target device.

4. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 3, wherein the target device recognition processor selects primary target devices within a preset angle from among the neighboring devices, using a directional beam, and generates a selection notification message to be transmitted to each of the primary target devices.

5. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the target device recognition processor determines a final target device, based on relative distance information received from each of the primary target devices.

6. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the relative distance information requester generates a relative distance information request message to be transmitted to each of the primary target devices, to measure a relative distance between the main device and each of the primary target devices selected by the target device recognition processor.

7. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 2, wherein the synchronization processor transmits time information of the main device to the primary target devices at regular intervals, and the primary target devices maintain synchronization based on the time information.

8. A media access control (MAC) layer protocol control apparatus, comprising:

a message receiver to receive a selection notification message and a relative distance information request message from a main device;

a relative distance information generator to generate relative distance information, based on the received relative distance information request message, the relative distance information being used to measure a distance from the main device to a target device; and

a message transmitter to transmit the generated relative distance information, and a response message corresponding to the selection notification message.

9. The MAC layer protocol control apparatus of claim 8, wherein the relative distance information generator generates the relative distance information, based on a time in which the main device transmits the relative distance information request message, and a time in which the target device receives the relative distance information request message.

10. A media access control (MAC) layer protocol control method, comprising:

selecting, by a main device, primary target devices, and transmitting a selection notification message to each of the primary target devices;

transmitting, by each of the primary target devices, a response message corresponding to the selection notification message to the main device; and

determining, by the main device, a final target device among the primary target devices, in response to the response message.

11. The MAC layer protocol control method of claim 10, further comprising:

selecting, by the main device, an image representing a target device for communication with the main device, through a screen of the main device, and storing relative distance information regarding a relative distance between the main device and the target device.

12. The MAC layer protocol control method of claim 10, wherein the selecting comprises selecting, by the main device, as primary target devices, target devices within a preset angle from among neighboring devices, using a directional beam.

13. The MAC layer protocol control method of claim 10, wherein the determining comprises:

transmitting, by the main device, a relative distance information request message to each of the primary target devices, in response to the response message;

transmitting, by each of the primary target devices, relative distance information to the main device, in response to the relative distance information request message; and

determining, by the main device, the final target device based on the received relative distance information.

14. The MAC layer protocol control method of claim 13, wherein the transmitting of the relative distance information to the main device comprises measuring a period of time from a time in which the main device transmits the relative distance information request message to a time in which each of the primary target device receives the relative distance information request message, generating relative distance information, and transmitting the generated relative distance information to the main device.

15. The MAC layer protocol control method of claim 13, wherein the determining of the final target device based on the received relative distance information comprises determining, to be the final target device, a target device corresponding to relative distance information that is most closely matched to relative distance information associated with the final target device, among the received relative distance information, the relative distance information associated with the final target device being stored in advance.