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

• US 8,830,986 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2013
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakoda, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu, Kibrom T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beyen, Zewdu A
• Application Number:
  US14/051,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20140036887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 334 Days
• Field of Search: 370/350, 370/311, 370/348, 455/41.2, 455/522, 455/574
• US Class Current: 370/350
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0058 Allocation criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/00 Network planning, e.g. coverage or traffic planning tools; Network deployment, e.g. resource partitioning or cells structures
• 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 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

In order to solve problems arising when a communication system such as a wireless LAN is constructed as a decentralized distributed type network without a relationship of control station and controlled stations such as a master station and slave stations, in a wireless communication system composed of a plurality of communication stations without a relationship of control station and controlled stations, respective communication stations transmit beacons with information concerning a network written thereon with each other to construct the network, and it becomes possible to make sophisticated judgment such as communication states of other communication stations by those beacons.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

processing circuitry configured to

receive a beacon within a frame, the beacon including a first beacon timing

information, and control a beacon transmitting timing according to a maximum delayed time

delay the beacon transmitting timing by a predetermined time when the maximum delayed time is larger than the predetermined time, wherein the maximum delayed time is selected from one or more offset information, the offset information is calculated based on the first beacon timing information.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the frame is received by the processing circuitry in a beacon space.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the beacon space is a beacon period in which at least the beacon is received.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive the beacon and another beacon in the beacon period.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein

the offset information is calculated by comparing the first beacon timing information and a second beacon timing information, the second beacon timing information is calculated by the processing circuitry.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is defined by an IEEE WLAN standard that includes at least one IEEE802.11 MAC and/or PHY standard.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the beacon transmit timing by referring to a clock timing, the clock timing is adjusted according to the maximum delayed time.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and transmit the beacon according to OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex).

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and transmit the beacon in an ad-hoc network with at least one other electronic device.

10. A communication apparatus comprising:

an antenna; and

processing circuitry configured to receive a beacon within a frame, the beacon including a first beacon timing information, control a beacon transmitting timing according to a maximum delayed time, the processing circuitry is configured to delay the beacon transmitting timing by a predetermined time when the maximum delayed time

is larger than the predetermined time, wherein the maximum delayed time is selected from one or more offset information, the offset information is calculated based on the first beacon timing information.

11. The communication apparatus of claim 10, wherein the frame is received by the processing circuitry in a beacon space.

12. The communication apparatus of claim 11, wherein the beacon space is a beacon period in which at least the beacon is received.

13. The communication apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive the beacon and another beacon in the beacon period.

14. The communication apparatus of claim 10, wherein the offset information is calculated by comparing the first beacon timing information and a second beacon timing information, the second beacon timing information is calculated by the processing circuitry.

15. The communication apparatus of claim 10, wherein

the predetermined time is defined by an IEEE WLAN standard that includes at least one IEEE802.11 MAC and/or PHY standard.

16. The communication apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the beacon transmit timing by referring to a clock timing, the clock timing is adjusted according to the maximum delayed time.

17. The communication apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and transmit the beacon according to OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex).

18. The communication apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive and transmit the beacon in an ad-hoc network with at least one other communication apparatus.

19. A method comprising:

receiving a beacon within a frame, the beacon including a first beacon timing information; and

controlling with processing circuitry a beacon transmitting timing according to a maximum delayed time,

delaying with processing circuitry the beacon transmitting timing by a predetermined time when the maximum delayed time is larger than the predetermined time,

wherein the maximum delayed time is selected from one or more offset information, the offset information is calculated based on the first beacon timing information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the frame is received in a beacon space.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the beacon space is a beacon period in which at least the beacon is received.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the receiving includes receiving the beacon and another beacon in the beacon period.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein

the offset information is calculated by comparing the first beacon timing information and a second beacon timing information, the second beacon timing information is calculated by the processing circuitry.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein

the predetermined time is defined by an IEEE WLAN standard that includes at least one IEEE802.11 MAC and/or PHY standard.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein

the controlling includes controlling the beacon transmit timing by referring to a clock timing, the clock timing is adjusted according to the maximum delayed time.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the receiving includes receiving and transmitting the beacon according to OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex).

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the receiving and transmitting includes receiving and transmitting the beacon in an ad-hoc network with at least one other communication apparatus.