Wireless communications device, wireless communications method, and wireless communications control program

• US 9,930,512 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2014
• Issued: 03/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Naka, Ken, Urabe, Yoshio, Irie, Masataka
• Primary Examiner(s): Thier, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Islam, Rownak
• Application Number:
  US14/421,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20150195699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• Field of Search: 370338, 370329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

The present disclosure provides such wireless communication apparatuses that when the wireless communication apparatuses perform direct communication using WiGig, one of the wireless communication apparatuses can transmit an action frame. Wireless communication apparatus 100 is a wireless communication apparatus that performs communication using WiGig and that includes: device searching section 142 that searches for other wireless communication apparatuses using a search signal; medium management section 143 that transmits, when a communication peer of wireless communication apparatus 100 is designated from among the found other wireless communication apparatuses, a temporary beacon including medium schedule information; and group formation section 144 that transmits an action frame to form a group with the designated other wireless communication apparatus after transmission of the temporary beacon.

Claims

1. A wireless communication apparatus that performs communication using WiGig, the apparatus comprising:

a searcher which, in operation;

transmits a search signal to one or more other wireless communication apparatuses to form a group with a communication peer, and

receives one or more signals indicating search results from the one or more other wireless communication apparatuses, the wireless communication apparatus and the one or more other wireless communication apparatuses being configurable to any of a group owner and a client,

a medium manager which, in operation, transmits, as a temporary owner, a temporary signal including medium schedule information and information indicating assignments of a dedicated medium and a non-dedicated medium, when a signal designating the communication peer of the wireless communication apparatus from among found other wireless communication apparatuses is received from a user input device; and

a group formatter which, in operation, transmits an action frame to form the group with the communication peer after transmission of the temporary signal, and sets either the wireless communication apparatus or the communication peer to be the group owner after the group is formed, based on apparatus information of the communication peer and apparatus information of the wireless communication apparatus.

2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group formatter stops transmission of the temporary signal after transmission of the action frame.

3. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temporary signal including the medium schedule information includes a flag indicating that the signal is a temporary beacon in order to distinguish the temporary beacon from an ordinary beacon.

4. A wireless communication method for a wireless communication apparatus performing communication using WiGig, the method comprising:

transmitting a search signal to one or more other wireless communication apparatuses to form a group with a communication peer;

receiving one or more signals indicating search results from the one or more other wireless communication apparatuses, the wireless communication apparatus and the one or more other wireless communication apparatuses being configurable to any of a group owner and a client;

transmitting, as a temporary owner, a temporary signal including medium schedule information and information indicating assignments of a dedicated medium and a non-dedicated medium, when a signal designating the communication peer of the wireless communication apparatus from among found other wireless communication apparatuses is received from a user input device;

transmitting an action frame to form the group with the communication peer after transmission of the temporary signal; and

setting either the wireless communication apparatus or the communication peer to be the group owner after the group is formed, based on apparatus information of the communication peer and apparatus information of the wireless communication apparatus.

5. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing contents which cause a wireless communication apparatus using WiGig to perform a method, the method comprising:

transmitting a search signal to one or more other wireless communication apparatuses to form a group with a communication peer;

receiving one or more signals indicating search results from the one or more other wireless communication apparatuses, the wireless communication apparatus and the one or more other wireless communication apparatuses being configurable to any of a group owner and a client;

transmitting, as a temporary owner, a temporary signal including medium schedule information and information indicating assignments of a dedicated medium and a non-dedicated medium, when a signal designating the communication peer of the wireless communication apparatus from among found other wireless communication apparatuses is received from a user input device;

transmitting an action frame to form the group with the communication peer after transmission of the temporary signal; and

setting either the wireless communication apparatus or the communication peer to be the group owner after the group is formed, based on apparatus information of the communication peer and apparatus information of the wireless communication apparatus.