Communication control apparatus, communication control method, communication system, and wireless terminal

• US 10,135,584 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2012
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kimura, Ryota
• Primary Examiner(s): Masur, Paul H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Phillips, Michael K
• Application Number:
  US14/113,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20140050180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,408 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0035 Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 for selective distribution or broadcast

Abstract

There is provided a communication control apparatus including a communication controller that controls cooperative communication linked to other communication control apparatuses depending on whether the communication control apparatus or the other communication control apparatuses perform terminal grouping to distinguish an operation to a specific wireless terminal and to other wireless terminals.

Claims

1. A first communication control apparatus, comprising:

a communication controller configured to control the first communication control apparatus to;

generate a plurality of groups of wireless terminals from a plurality of wireless terminals;

exchange information corresponding to the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals with a plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

control communication of a first inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses,

wherein the first inquiry is related to a terminal list that indicates the plurality of groups of wireless terminals in the plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

allocate a first amount of at least one communication resource to a first group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals based on the communication of the first inquiry;

establish a priority connection for the first group of wireless terminals, based on the allocation of the first amount of at least one communication resource, to distinguish operations for the first group of wireless terminals and the operations for a second group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals,

wherein the second group of wireless terminals is different from the first group of wireless terminals, and

wherein the first amount of at least one communication resource is more than a second amount of at least one communication resource allocated to the second group of wireless terminals; and

determine establishment of a cooperative communication with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals and the priority connection established for a first wireless terminal of the first group of wireless terminals.

2. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller is further configured to control the cooperative communication linked to a second communication control apparatus of the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals by the second communication control apparatus.

3. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller is further configured to control the cooperative communication linked to a second communication control apparatus of the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the terminal list in the second communication control apparatus, wherein the terminal list contains a target wireless terminal as the first wireless terminal.

4. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller is further configured to control the cooperative communication linked to a second communication control apparatus of the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on a permission to connect to a second wireless terminal of the second group of wireless terminals.

5. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller is further configured to control one-to-one communication with a target wireless terminal of the plurality of wireless terminals based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals by the first communication control apparatus.

6. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the communication controller is further configured to control communication of a second inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses, and

wherein the second inquiry is related to the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals by the plurality of second communication control apparatuses.

7. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the communication controller is further configured to control communication of a third inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses, and

wherein the third inquiry is related to a presence of a target wireless terminal as the first wireless terminal in the terminal list included in the plurality of second communication control apparatuses.

8. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the communication controller is further configured to control communication of a fourth inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses, and

wherein the fourth inquiry is related to participation of the plurality of second communication control apparatuses in the cooperative communication to communicate with a target wireless terminal.

9. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless terminal is a wireless terminal enabled to connect to the first communication control apparatus, and is preferentially connected to the first communication control apparatus.

10. The first communication control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first amount of at least one communication resource comprises one of time, frequency, code, or space.

11. A communication control method, comprising:

in a first communication control apparatus;

generating a plurality of groups of wireless terminals from a plurality of wireless terminals;

exchanging information corresponding to the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals with a plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

controlling communication of an inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses,

wherein the inquiry is related to a terminal list that indicates the plurality of groups of wireless terminals in the plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

allocating a first amount of at least one communication resource to a first group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals based on the communication of the inquiry;

establishing a priority connection for the first group of wireless terminals, based on the allocation of the first amount of at least one communication resource, to distinguish operations for the first group of wireless terminals and the operations for a second group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals,

wherein the second group of wireless terminals is different from the first group of wireless terminals, and

wherein the first amount of at least one communication resource is more than a second amount of at least one communication resource allocated to the second group of wireless terminals; and

determining establishment of a cooperative communication with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals and the priority connection established for a first wireless terminal of the first group of wireless terminals.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer-executable instructions that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute operations, the operations comprising:

generating a plurality of groups of wireless terminals from a plurality of wireless terminals;

exchanging information corresponding to the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals with a plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

controlling communication of an inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses,

wherein the inquiry is related to a terminal list that indicates the plurality of groups of wireless terminals in the plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

allocating a first amount of at least one communication resource to a first group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals based on the communication of the inquiry;

establishing a priority connection for the first group of wireless terminals, based on the allocation of the first amount of at least one communication resource, to distinguish operations for the first group of wireless terminals and the operations for a second group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals, and

wherein the second group of wireless terminals is different from the first group of wireless terminals, and

wherein the first amount of at least one communication resource is more than a second amount of at least one communication resource allocated to the second group of wireless terminals; and

determining establishment of a cooperative communication with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals and the priority connection established for a first wireless terminal of the first group of wireless terminals.

13. A communication system, comprising:

a first communication control apparatus; and

a plurality of second communication control apparatuses,

wherein the first communication control apparatus includes a communication controller configured to control the first communication control apparatus to;

generate a plurality of groups of wireless terminals from a plurality of wireless terminals;

exchange information corresponding to the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

control communication of an inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses,

wherein the inquiry is related to a terminal list that indicates the plurality of groups of wireless terminals in the plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

allocate a first amount of at least one communication resource to a first group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals based on the communication of the inquiry;

establish a priority connection for the first group of wireless terminals, based on the allocation of the first amount of at least one communication resource, to distinguish operations for the first group of wireless terminals and the operations for a second group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals,

wherein the second group of wireless terminals is different from the first group of wireless terminals, and

wherein the first amount of at least one communication resource is more than a second amount of at least one communication resource allocated to the second group of wireless terminals; and

determine establishment of a cooperative communication with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals and the priority connection established for a first wireless terminal of the first group of wireless terminals.

14. A wireless terminal, comprising:

circuitry communicatively coupled to a first communication control apparatus,

wherein the first communication control apparatus is configured to;

generate a plurality of groups of wireless terminals from a plurality of wireless terminals;

exchange information corresponding to the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals with a plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

control communication of an inquiry with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses,

wherein the inquiry is related to a terminal list that indicates the plurality of groups of wireless terminals in the plurality of second communication control apparatuses;

allocate a first amount of at least one communication resource to a first group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals based on the communication of the inquiry;

establish a priority connection for the first group of wireless terminals, based on the allocation of the first amount of at least one communication resource, to distinguish operations for the first group of wireless terminals and the operations for a second group of wireless terminals from the plurality of groups of wireless terminals,

wherein the second group of wireless terminals is different from the first group of wireless terminals, and

wherein the first amount of at least one communication resource is more than a second amount of at least one communication resource allocated to the second group of wireless terminals; and

determine establishment of a cooperative communication with the plurality of second communication control apparatuses based on the generation of the plurality of groups of wireless terminals and the priority connection established for a first wireless terminal of the first group of wireless terminals.