Master station in communications system and access control method

• US 8,107,431 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2008
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshizawa, Kensuke, Ohmi, Shinichiro, Yamaguchi, Tsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): Waqas, Saad A
• Application Number:
  US12/007,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20080123594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,477 Days
• Field of Search: 370/347
• US Class Current: 370/330
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/08 Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

A communication band is divided into: a beacon period in which every master station transmits a beacon packet in competition with one another; a guaranteed-band period (e.g., a TDMA period or an FDMA period) in which only a specific permitted station is allowed access; and a CSMA period in which every station is allowed access in competition with one another. Plural master stations exchange information of a communication band used in the guaranteed-band period with each other, and based on the respective information, a communication band available to the master station'"'"'s own communications system in the guaranteed-band period is calculated.

Claims

1. A master station used in a first communication system which includes the master station and a slave station that performs communication based on bandwidth information, wherein the slave station is notified of the bandwidth information by a beacon packet from the master station, the master station comprising:

a bandwidth management section for setting, in a cycle, a beacon period of the first communication system such that the beacon period is allocated to a same period as a beacon period of a second communication system, the beacon period of the first communication system including a plurality of slots in a communication bandwidth of a channel; and

a communication section for (i) transmitting, in a cycle, a beacon packet including bandwidth information indicating the period to which the beacon period is allocated, the transmitted beacon packet being transmitted in a predetermined slot of the beacon period of the first communication system, and (ii) receiving, in a cycle, a beacon packet including bandwidth information indicating the period to which the beacon period of the second communication period is allocated, the received beacon packet being received in a slot different from the predetermined slot of the beacon period of the first communication system, wherein the received beacon packet is transmitted from a master station included in the second communication system.

2. The master station according to claim 1, wherein the bandwidth management section sets, in a cycle, a CSMA period of the first communication system such that the CSMA period of the first communication system is allocated to a same period as a CSMA period of the second communication system, the CSMA period being a period in which (i) the master station and the slave station of the first communication system and (ii) the master station and a slave station of the second communication system are in competition with one another to perform communication.

3. An access control method executed by a master station used in a first communication system which includes the master station and a slave station that performs communication based on bandwidth information, wherein slave station is notified of the bandwidth information by a beacon packet from the master station, the access control method comprising:

setting, in a cycle, a beacon period of the first communication system such that the beacon period is allocated to a same period as a beacon period of a second communication system, the beacon period of the first communication system including a plurality of slots in a communication bandwidth of a channel;

transmitting, in a cycle, a beacon packet including bandwidth information indicating the period to which the beacon period of the first communication system is allocated, the transmitted beacon packet being transmitted in a predetermined slot of the beacon period of the first communication system; and

receiving, in a cycle, a beacon packet including bandwidth information indicating the period to which the beacon period of the second communication system is allocated, the received beacon packet being received in a slot different from the predetermined slot of the beacon period of the first communication system, wherein the received beacon packet is transmitted from a master station included in the second communication system.

4. The access control method according to claim 3, further comprising setting, in a cycle, a CSMA period of the first communication system such that the CSMA period of the first communication system is allocated to a same period as a CSMA period of the second communication system, the CSMA period being a period in which (i) the master station and the slave station of the first communication system and (ii) the master station and a slave station of the second communication system are in competition with one another to perform communication.