Radio communication apparatus and program

• US 8,094,615 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2007
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Tandai, Tomoya, Horiguchi, Tomoya, Tomizawa, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Behnamian, Shahriar
• Application Number:
  US11/879,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20080069041A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,636 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/445, 370/346, 370/329, 455/11.1, 709/222, 709/238
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0866 using a dedicated channel for access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A radio communication apparatus includes a first detection unit configured to detect a first signal in a first carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned reception slot, a relaying unit configured to relay the detected first signal, a second detection unit configured to detect a second signal in a second carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned transmission slot, and a stopping unit configured to stop transmission in the transmission slot when the second detection unit detects the second signal.

Claims

1. A radio communication apparatus, comprising:

a first detection unit configured to detect a first signal in a first carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned reception slot;

a relaying unit configured to relay the detected first signal;

a second detection unit configured to detect a second signal in a second carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned transmission slot; and

a stopping unit configured to stop transmission in the transmission slot when the second detection unit detects the second signal.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a reception unit configured to receive a third signal in a signal transmission/reception period contained in the pre assigned reception slot;

a second stopping unit configured to stop transmitting a signal when the reception unit receives no signal, the first detection unit detects the first signal, or the second detection unit detects the second signal; and

a switching unit configured to switch, at a predetermined timing, a frequency from a frequency channel in which the transmission is stopped to a predetermined frequency channel.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the carrier sense period, the signal transmission/reception period, a time length of the slot, and the predetermined frequency channel are described in notification information which another radio communication apparatus transmits.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relaying unit transmits the detected signal by a non regenerative scheme without demodulation processing and modulation processing.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set a signal transmission/reception period contained in the reception slot and the transmission slot to be shorter than a duration period which a signal is continuously transmitted by one transmission, the duration period being set in another radio communication system.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein schedule information which is information of a radio communication apparatus to which a transmission right is assigned in a slot is described in notification information which another radio communication apparatus transmits.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a network identifier which identifies a network of a radio communication system to which the apparatus belongs, a first frequency channel through which radio communication is performed, a second frequency channel as a switching destination in frequency switching operation, and the number of slots contained in one frame are described in notification information which another radio communication apparatus transmits.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein transmission and reception are performed by using a frame format containing a slot in which another radio communication apparatus transmits notification information, a slot in which control information is transmitted, and a slot in which data is transmitted.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein transmission power by which the relaying unit relays the detected first signal is the same as transmission power by which another radio communication apparatus transmits data.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein transmission power by which the relaying unit relays the detected first signal is higher than a signal detection level in a carrier sense period in another radio communication apparatus.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transmission time in which the relaying unit relays the detected first signal is a signal averaging time when reception power of a signal input in a carrier sense period in another radio communication apparatus is measured.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transmission time in which the relaying unit relays the detected first signal is changed in accordance with a type of another radio communication system.

13. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions of a computer program which when executed by a computer results in performance of steps comprising:

detecting a first signal in a first carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned reception slot;

relaying the detected first signal;

detecting a second signal in a second carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned transmission slot; and

stopping transmission in the transmission slot when the second signal is detected.

14. A computer system for radio communications, comprising:

means for detecting a first signal in a first carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned reception slot;

means for relaying the detected first signal;

means for detecting a second signal in a second carrier sense period contained in a pre assigned transmission slot; and

means for stopping transmission in the transmission slot when the second signal is detected.