Wireless communication system, wireless communication apparatus, wireless communication method, and compute program

• US 8,085,744 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2008
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sugaya, Shigeru, Saito, Shin, Sakoda, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, BRIAN D
• Application Number:
  US12/150,492
• Publication Number:
  US 20080212547A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/236, 370/395.42, 370/445, 370/447, 370/468, 370/477
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/56 based on priority criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A wireless communication network that forms an ad-hoc network without the arrangement of a controlling station sets a period that a communication apparatus can utilize with priority and performs isochronous communication in the period as required. When isochronous communication has not been performed or after isochronous communication has finished in the priority utilization period, other communication apparatuses perform arbitrary communication. When another communication is performed in a communication apparatus'"'"'s own priority utilization period, the start of isochronous communication is temporarily delayed. In an ad-hoc communication environment, data having a real-time characteristic, such as AV content, can be efficiently transmitted through the isochronous communication.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system that forms a network without a specific controlling station, the wireless communication system comprising:

a transmitting-side or receiving-side wireless communication apparatus that (a) sets a priority utilization period, (b) provides, within its own communication range during a time following the setting of the priority utilization period, notification of the priority utilization period, and (c) performs plural communications, with priority, utilizing the priority utilization period.

2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting-side or receiving-side communication apparatus temporarily delays a start of performing communication and performs transmission based on a priority utilization after an end of another communication if the another communication is being performed when the priority utilization period begins.

3. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting-side or receiving-side communication apparatus describes information regarding the priority utilization period as beacon information transmitted for each predetermined frame period.

4. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein in a period in which no communication apparatus of the network has set a priority utilization period, each communication apparatus of the network performs random access based on a collision avoidance operation that starts transmission after detecting that no transmission is performed from another communication apparatus.

5. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein before the priority utilization period ends, when the transmitting-side or receiving-side communication apparatus has completed the communication or has not performed the communication, other communication apparatuses of the network perform arbitrary communication with each other during the priority utilization period.

6. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein each communication apparatus of the network collects beacon information from its neighboring communication apparatuses, obtains information regarding priority utilization periods of the neighboring communication apparatuses, and does not set, as its own priority utilization period, a period that is set as a priority utilization period by any of the neighboring communication apparatuses.

7. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting-side or receiving side communication apparatus collects beacon information from its neighboring communication apparatuses, obtains information regarding priority utilization periods of the neighboring communication apparatuses, and sets, as its own priority utilization period, a period that is not set as a priority utilization period by the neighboring communication apparatuses.

8. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting-side or receiving-side communication apparatus obtains information regarding a priority utilization period from another communication apparatus at another end of a communication and sets, as its own priority utilization period, a period that is not set as a priority utilization period by the another communication apparatus or its neighbors.

9. A wireless communication apparatus that performs a wireless communication operation without a specific controlling station, the wireless communication apparatus comprising:

a communication unit configured to transmit/receive a wireless signal within its own communication range;

a priority-utilization-period setting unit configured to set a priority utilization period and to provide, within the own communication range during a time following the setting of the priority utilization period, notification of the priority utilization period; and

a communication controlling unit configured to perform plural communications, with priority, in response to an arrival of the priority utilization period.

10. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the priority-utilization-period setting unit describes information regarding the priority utilization period in a beacon transmitted for each predetermined frame period and transmits the beacon to provide the notification of, within its own communication range, the setting of the priority utilization period.

11. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the communication controlling unit performs random access based on a collision avoidance operation that starts transmission after detecting that no transmission is performed from another communication apparatus, as required, during a period in which no priority utilization is set.

12. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, before the priority utilization period set by the priority-utilization-period setting unit ends, when communication utilizing a band with priority has finished or has not been performed, arbitrary communication between other wireless communication apparatuses is permitted during the priority utilization period.

13. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the communication controlling unit temporarily delays a start of communication in the priority utilization period and performs transmission based on the priority utilization period after an end of another communication, if the another communication is performed at a time when the priority utilization period arrives.

14. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the priority-utilization-period setting unit collects beacon information from neighboring wireless communication apparatuses, obtains information regarding priority utilization periods of the neighboring wireless communication apparatuses, and does not set, as its own priority utilization period, a period that is set as priority utilization periods by the neighboring wireless communication apparatuses.

15. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the priority-utilization-period setting unit collects beacon information from neighboring wireless communication apparatuses, obtains information regarding priority utilization periods of the neighboring wireless communication apparatuses, and sets, as its own priority utilization period, a period that is not set as priority utilization periods by the neighboring wireless communication apparatuses.

16. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the priority-utilization-period setting unit obtains information regarding a further priority utilization period from another wireless communication apparatus at another end of a communication, and sets a period that is not set as the further priority utilization periods by the another wireless communication apparatus or its neighbors as its own priority utilization period.

17. A wireless communication method for a wireless communication apparatus to perform a wireless communication operation without a specific controlling station, the wireless communication method comprising:

setting a priority utilization period;

providing, within its own communication range during a time following the setting of the priority utilization period, notification of the priority utilization period; and

performing plural communications, with priority, in response to an arrival of the priority utilization period.

18. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein information regarding the priority utilization period is described in a beacon transmitted for each predetermined frame period to provide the notification of, within its own communication range, the setting of the priority utilization period.

19. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein during a period in which any communication does not set a priority utilization, random access based on a collision avoidance operation is performed as required which starts transmission after detecting that no transmission is performed from another communication apparatus.

20. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein before the priority utilization period ends, when communication utilizing a bandwidth with priority has finished or has not been performed, arbitrary communication between other communication apparatuses is permitted during the priority utilization period.

21. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein the start of communication in the priority utilization period is temporarily delayed and transmission based on the priority utilization period is performed after an end of another communication if the another communication is performed at a time when the priority utilization period arrives.

22. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein in each communication apparatus, beacon information is collected from neighboring communication apparatuses, information regarding priority utilization periods of the neighboring communication apparatuses is obtained, and a period that is set as the priority utilization periods by the neighboring communication apparatuses is not set as its own priority utilization period.

23. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein beacon information is collected from neighboring communication apparatus, information regarding priority utilization periods of the neighboring communication apparatuses is obtained, and a period that is not set as priority utilization periods by the neighboring communication apparatuses is set as its own priority utilization period.

24. The wireless communication method according to claim 17, wherein information regarding a further priority utilization period is obtained from another communication apparatus at another end of a communication, and a period that is not set as the further priority utilization period by the another communication apparatus or its neighbors is set to its own priority utilization period.

25. A processor having computer program instructions for carrying out a method of performing a wireless communication operation without a specific controlling station, the method comprising:

using the processor to carry out the following steps;

setting a priority utilization period;

providing, within its own communication range during a time following the setting of the priority utilization period, notification of the priority utilization period; and

performing plural communications, with priority, in response to an arrival of the priority utilization period.