Communication apparatus, communication method, and communication system

• US 11,039,437 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2020
• Issued: 06/15/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Morioka, Yuichi, Kimura, Ryota
• Primary Examiner(s): Roberts, Brian S
• Application Number:
  US16/823,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20200221459A1
• Time in Patent Office: 453 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/028 Spatial transmit diversity using a single antenna at the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/006 in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Communication operations are optimally conducted by applying space-division multiple access in which wireless resources on a spatial axis are shared among a plurality of users. By applying an RD protocol to a communication system that conducts space-division multiple access, spatially multiplexed frames in a TXOP are made more efficient. By specifying a frame length for reverse direction frames with reverse direction permission information and having respective transmitters of reverse direction frames make their frame lengths uniform while respecting the specification, AGC operation stabilizes. Also, a transmit start time for reverse direction frames can be specified by reverse direction permission information, and respective transmitters of reverse direction frames can transmit frames at the same time while respecting the specification.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising:

circuitry configured to;

generate a plurality of media access control (MAC) information fields that includes trigger information, wherein

the trigger information indicates that uplink frame transmission is permitted, and

the plurality of MAC information fields is addressed to respective communication devices of a plurality of communication devices;

transmit the plurality of MAC information fields at a downlink frame time to the plurality of communication devices; and

concurrently receive, at an uplink frame time Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS) after the downlink frame time, a plurality of response frames compliant with the trigger information sent from the respective communication devices of the plurality of communication devices, wherein

the circuitry is further configured to specify a common frame length for the plurality of response frames in conjunction with the indication of the uplink frame transmission in the trigger information, and a duration based on duration information for network allocation vector,

the plurality of response frames has the common frame length, and

the plurality of response frames is within the duration.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to specify, by the trigger information, that the plurality of response frames is based on uplink multi-user Multi-Input Multi-Output (MU-MIMO).

3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of response frames is a data frame.

4. A communication device, comprising:

circuitry configured to;

receive, from an access point device, a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) information fields addressed to the communication device;

generate an uplink response frame based on the reception of the plurality of MAC information fields, wherein

the uplink response frame has a common frame length specified by the access point device in trigger information,

the plurality of MAC information fields includes the trigger information which indicates that uplink frame transmission is permitted, and

the plurality of MAC information fields is sent at a downlink frame time; and

concurrently transmit, with a plurality of communication devices that transmits respective uplink response frames, the uplink response frame Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS) after the downlink fame time, wherein

the respective uplink response frames transmitted from the plurality of communication devices have the common frame length specified by the access point device in conjunction with the indication of the uplink frame transmission in the trigger information, and

the respective uplink response frames are within a duration based on duration information specified by the access point device for network allocation vector.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the circuitry is further configured to pad the uplink response frame such that the uplink response frame has the common frame length specified by the trigger information.

6. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein

the trigger information indicates that uplink multi-user Multi-Input Multi-Output (MU-MIMO) is used for the uplink response frame, and

the circuitry is further configured to execute the uplink MU-MIMO for the uplink response frame based on the trigger information.

7. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein the uplink response frame is a data frame.

8. A communication method, comprising:

in a communication device;

generating a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) information fields that includes trigger information, wherein

the trigger information indicates that uplink frame transmission is permitted, and

the plurality of MAC information fields is addressed to respective communication devices of a plurality of communication devices;

transmitting the plurality of MAC information fields at a downlink frame time to the plurality of communication devices; and

receiving, at an uplink frame time Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS) after the plurality downlink frame time, a plurality of response frames compliant with the trigger information sent from the respective communication devices of the plurality of communication devices, wherein

the communication method further includes specifying a common frame length for the plurality of response frames in conjunction with the indication of the uplink frame transmission in the trigger information, and a duration based on duration information for network allocation vector,

the plurality of response frames has the common frame length, and

the plurality of response frames is within the duration.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, further comprising specifying, by the trigger information, that the plurality of response frames is based on uplink multi-user Multi-Input Multi-Output (MU-MIMO).

10. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of response frames is a data frame.

11. A communication method, comprising:

in a communication device;

receiving, from an access point device, a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) information fields addressed to the communication device;

generating an uplink response frame that has a common frame length specified by the access point device in trigger information, wherein

the generation of the uplink response frame is based on a reception of the plurality of MAC information fields addressed to the communication device,

the plurality of MAC information fields includes the trigger information which indicates that uplink frame transmission is permitted, and

the plurality of MAC information fields is sent at a downlink frame time; and

transmitting, concurrently with a plurality of communication devices that transmits respective uplink response frames, the uplink response frame Short Inter Frame Space (SIFS) after the downlink frame time, wherein

the respective uplink response frames transmitted from the plurality of communication devices have the common frame length specified by the access point device in conjunction with the indication of the uplink frame transmission in the trigger information, and

the respective uplink response frames are within a duration based on duration information specified by the access point device for network allocation vector.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, further comprising padding the uplink response frame such that the uplink response frame has the common frame length specified by the trigger information.

13. The communication method according to claim 11, further comprising executing uplink multi-user Multi-Input Multi-Output (MU-MIMO) for the uplink response frame based on the trigger information,

wherein the trigger information indicates that the uplink MU-MIMO is used for the uplink response frame.

14. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein the uplink response frame is a data frame.