Communication apparatus, communication method, and communication system

• US 9,143,982 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2013
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Palmira Wireless AG
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Takagi, Masahiro, Nishibayashi, Yasuyuki, Utsunomiya, Yoriko
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOPATA, ROBERT J
• Application Number:
  US13/903,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20130259068A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 370/431, 370/445, 370/464, 370/465, 370/473, 370/498, 370/535
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1614 using bitmaps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/413 with random access, e.g. carrier-sense multiple-access with collision detection [CSMA-CD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0044 allocation of payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/323 in the physical layer [OSI layer 1]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/065 using assembly or disassembly of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0203 in the radio access network or backbone network of wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A physical frame is constructed, the physical frame including a medium access control super-frame payload which in turn includes a plurality of medium access control frames. With respect to the constructed physical frame, virtual carrier sense information is set in the plurality of medium access control frame so that a result of carrier sense is identical to another by virtual carrier sense based on the plurality of medium access control frames in the medium access control super-frame payload. The physical frame in which the virtual carrier sense information has been set is transmitted to a destined communication apparatus.

Claims

1. A terminal, comprising:

a plurality of antennas; and

a circuit configured to;

receive a first physical frame, via the plurality of antennas, comprising Media Access Control (MAC) frames, each of the MAC frames comprising a frame control field, a duration field, a destination address field, a data field, and a frame check sequence field, and

transmit, via the plurality of antennas, a second physical frame comprising a bit map in response to a reception of at least one of the MAC frames even if no additional physical frame is received after the reception of the first physical frame, the bit map comprising a value of one or zero corresponding to a reception status of one of the MAC frames, wherein;

the circuit is coupled to the plurality of antennas,

values of the duration fields of the MAC frames are the sane, and

addresses of the destination address fields of the MAC frames are the same.

2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the second physical frame is transmitted after the reception of the first physical frame and after a period has elapsed.

3. The terminal according to claim 2, wherein the period is a Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS) period.

4. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to check whether each of the MAC frames has been received correctly by using the frame check sequence field.

5. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein each of the MAC frames further comprises a sequence number field and values of the bit map are arranged according to the sequence numbers of the MAC frames.

6. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to receive a third physical frame, via the plurality of antennas, comprising at least one MAC frame corresponding to at least one of the MAC frames after the transmission of the second physical frame.

7. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein values of the bitmap correspond to reception statuses of MAC frames without a MAC frame comprised in a physical frame received before the first physical frame.

8. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein values of the bitmap correspond to reception statuses, including a reception status of at least one MAC frame included in a physical frame that was received before the first physical frame.

9. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the duration fields of the MAC frames have the same value when they correspond to the same periods.

10. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the duration fields of the MAC frames have the same value when they have the same Network Allocation Vector (NAV) setting.

11. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein:

the first physical frame comprises a first header and a second header,

the second header follows the first header,

the first header corresponds to a first protocol, and

the second header corresponds to both the first protocol and a second protocol.

12. The terminal according to claim 11, wherein the first header comprises information regarding a duration of the first physical frame.

13. The terminal according to claim 11, wherein the first header comprises a length field and a rate field, and wherein a value of the length field divided by a value of the rate field yields a resulting value that is related to the duration of the first physical frame.

14. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the first physical frame further comprises length information and a check sequence, the length information indicating lengths of the MAC frames, and the check sequence allowing detection of an error which may occur in the length information.

15. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein:

the MAC frames comprise first MAC frames,

the second physical frame comprises second MAC frames, and

one of the second MAC frames is a data frame.

16. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to transmit the second physical frame without a new procedure for contending for a privilege of transmitting a physical frame.

17. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circuit comprises a semiconductor integrated circuit including a CPU configured to execute a firmware.

18. The terminal according to claim 17, wherein the CPU is configured to perform at least part of a MAC process.

19. A method at least partially implemented by an electronic circuit, the method comprising:

receiving a first physical frame, via a plurality of antennas, comprising Media Access Control (MAC) frames, each of the MAC frames comprising a frame control field, a duration field, a destination address field, a data field, and a frame check sequence field; and

transmitting, via the plurality of antennas, a second physical frame comprising a bit map in response to a reception of at least one of the MAC frames even if no additional physical frame is received after the reception of the firset physical frame, the bit map comprising a value of one or zero corresponding to a reception status of one of the MAC frames,

wherein;

values of the duration fields of the MAC frames are the same, and

addresses of the destination address fields of the MAC frames are the same.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the second physical frame is transmitted after the reception of the first physical frame and after a period has elapsed.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the period is a Shot Inter Frame Space (SIFS) period.

22. The method according to claim 19, further comprising checking whether each of the MAC frames has been received correctly by using the frame check sequence field.

23. The method according to claim 19, wherein each of the MAC frames further comprises a sequence number field and values of the bit map are arranged according to the sequence numbers of the MAC frames.

24. The method according to claim 19, wherein receiving the first physical frame comprises receiving a third physical frame, via the plurality of antennas, comprising at least a MAC frame corresponding to at least one of the MAC frames after the transmission of the second physical frame.

25. The method according to claim 19, wherein values of the bitmap correspond to reception statuses of MAC frames without a MAC frame comprised in a physical frame received before the first physical frame.

26. The method according to claim 19, wherein values of the bitmap correspond to reception statuses, including a reception status of at least one MAC frame included in a physical frame that was received before the first physical frame.

27. The method according to claim 19, wherein the duration fields of the MAC frames have the same value when they correspond to the same periods.

28. The method according to claim 19, wherein the duration fields of the MAC frames have the same value when they have the same Network Allocation Vector (NAV) setting.

29. The method according to claim 19, wherein:

the first physical frame comprises a first header and a second header,

the second header follows the first header,

the first header corresponds to a first protocol, and

the second header corresponds to both the first protocol and a second protocol.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first header comprises information regarding a duration of the first physical frame.

31. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first header comprises a length field and a rate field, and wherein a value of the length field divided by a value of the rate field yields a resulting value that is related to the duration of the first physical frame.

32. The method according to claim 19, wherein the first physical frame further comprises length information and a check sequence, the length information indicating lengths of the MAC frames, the check sequence allowing detection of an error which may occur in the length information.

33. The method according to claim 19, wherein:

the MAC frames comprise first MAC frames;

the second physical frame comprises second MAC frames, and

one of the second MAC frames is a data frame.

34. The method according to claim 19, wherein transmitting the second physical frame comprises transmitting the second physical frame without a new procedure for contending for a privilege of transmitting a physical frame.

35. The method according to claim 19, wherein the electronic circuit comprises a semiconductor integrated circuit including a CPU configured to execute a firmware.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the CPU is configured to perform at least part of a MAC process.