Radio communication method and radio communication device

• US 8,050,239 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2004
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sovereign Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirano, Jun, Koh, Tien-Ming Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar; Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Obayanju; Omoniyi
• Application Number:
  US10/550,529
• Publication Number:
  US 20070019666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,776 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/443, 455/414
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0875 with assigned priorities based access

Abstract

The present invention discloses a technique for avoiding a signal collision in a wireless medium to improve communication throughput. According to this technique, in a radio communication system composed of a plurality of radio communication devices in such a manner that other radio communication devices exist within the communication area of a radio communication device, a given radio communication device is assigned a time slot periodically so that it can access the wireless medium in the time slot at higher priority than the other radio communication devices. This is achieved as follows: The radio communication device monitors the wireless medium, detects other radio communication devices operating within the communication area of the radio communication device, and divide communication time on the wireless medium into time slots of equal width according to the number of other radio communication devices. Then, each radio communication device selects one of these time slots so as not to share the selected time slot with any other radio communication device, and uses a waiting time shorter than those of the other radio communication devices to access the wireless medium in the selected time slot.

Claims

1. A radio communication device in whose communication area other radio communication devices operate, comprising:

a detection section that detects a number of the other radio communication devices within the communication area of the radio communication device during a time slot, the time slot being used by the radio communication device, and the other radio communication devices operating during the time slot being used by the radio communication device; and

a contention resolution section that performs contention resolution processing when the detection section detects one or more of the other radio communication devices operating during the time slot being used by the radio communication device,

said contention resolution section comprising;

a time slot dividing section that divides the time slot into a plurality of divided time slots, and

a slot setting section that sets at least one of the plurality of divided time slots as a time slot to be used by the radio communication device,

wherein a number of the plurality of divided time slots is 2^M where M is an integer, and 2^M-1≦

N<

2^M is satisfied where N is the detected number of the other communication devices.

2. The radio communication device according to claim 1, wherein the time slot dividing section divides the time slot into a plurality of equal width divided time slots.

3. The radio communication device according to claim 1, wherein the contention resolution section comprises an exchanging section that exchanges identification information of the radio communication device with identification information of the other radio communication devices, and the slot setting section is configured to select a higher priority slot which can be used at a higher priority by the radio communication device among the plurality of divided time slots, based on a comparison result of the identification information of the radio communication device with the identification information of the other radio communication devices.

4. The radio communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a time slot identification information sending section that sends identification information of the time slot set to be used by the radio communication device to the other radio communication devices, so that the other radio communication devices select their time slots to be used based on the received identification information of the time slot.

5. The radio communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a higher priority communication section that accesses a wireless medium at a higher priority in the time slot set to be used by the radio communication device, using a waiting time shorter than another waiting time used for the other radio communication devices.

6. The radio communication device according to claim 5, further comprising a lower priority communication section that accesses the wireless medium at a lower priority in other time slots than the time slot set to be used by the radio communication device, using a waiting time longer than another waiting time used for the other radio communication devices.

7. The radio communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a synchronization section that synchronizes with the other radio communication devices regarding a common period which is determined among the radio communication devices.

8. The radio communication device according to claim 1, wherein the radio communication device comprises a time slot resetting section that resets the time slot by decreasing the number of the plurality of divided time slots in the time slot based on the detected number of the other radio communication devices, when the detection section detects that the other radio communication devices which use a lower priority time slot shut down.

9. A radio communication method being performed by a radio communication device in whose communication area other radio communication devices operate, comprising:

detecting a number of the other radio communication devices within the communication area of the radio communication device during a time slot, the time slot being used by the radio communication device, and the other radio communication devices operating during the time slot being used by the radio communication device; and

performing contention resolution processing when the radio communication device detects one or more of the other radio communication devices operating during the time slot being used by the radio communication device,

wherein the radio communication device divides the time slot into a plurality of divided time slots, and sets at least one of the plurality of divided time slots as a time slot to be used by the radio communication device, and

wherein a number of the plurality of divided time slots is 2^M where M is an integer, and 2^M-1≦

N<

2^M is satisfied where N is the detected number of the other communication devices.

10. The radio communication method according to claim 9, wherein the radio communication device divides the time slot into a plurality of equal width divided time slots.