Wireless communication device and wireless communication method

• US 8,144,677 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2008
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Igarashi, Kei, Yamada, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gidado, Rasheed
• Application Number:
  US12/188,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20090040991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/447, 370/311, 370/328, 455/574, 455/442, 455/453
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to realize a distributed autonomous transmission scheduling by using a terminal without the need to observe packets in relation to communication of other wireless terminals in a cell, such as VoIP, in which a plurality of wireless terminals that periodically transmit packets exist, thereby allowing intermittent reception during the packet observation and enabling to control power consumption of the wireless terminal as well as to reduce the load to thereby improve the communication quality. To attain the object, a VoIP terminal 100 recognizes and retains a scheduling table received by a wireless terminal that is connected to a wireless base station and that is not communicating with other wireless terminals, additionally writes terminal information of the terminal in the scheduling table at the start of communication of the terminal, and broadcasts the scheduling table.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device for transmitting and receiving packets, the wireless communication device comprising:

a first transmitting unit configured to periodically or occasionally transmit a scheduling table, in which a transmission order is written by at least one of a plurality of wireless communication devices, to a wireless base station;

a recognizing and retaining unit configured to recognize and retain a scheduling table received when the wireless communication device is connected to the wireless base station and is not communicating with another wireless communication device;

a second transmitting unit configured to additionally write information of the wireless communication device to the scheduling table which is retained by the recognizing and retaining unit at the beginning of communication and to transmit the additionally-written scheduling table at least once;

an updating unit configured to update the retained scheduling table, when an update time of another scheduling table received by the wireless base station in communication is later than an update time of the retained scheduling table and another transmission order received by the wireless base station is different from the transmission order in the retained scheduling table; and

a third transmitting unit configured to communicate during a transmission priority period set in accordance with the scheduling table updated by the updating unit to transmit the packets with a high priority.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein:

the updating unit deletes the information of the wireless communication device from the retained scheduling table immediately before transition to a state of being connected only to the wireless base station or immediately after an end of communication, after at least one of the plurality of wireless communication devices that has been in communication ends the communication in accordance with the scheduling table; and

the third transmitting unit transmits the scheduling table from which the information is deleted, at least once.

3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein:

the updating unit deletes the information of the wireless communication device from the scheduling table when at least one of the plurality of wireless communication devices in communication moves, while a communication state being maintained, from a cell which is a current communication area of the wireless base station to another cell having another wireless base station in accordance with the scheduling table; and

the third transmitting unit transmits the scheduling table from which the information is deleted, to the wireless base station at least once.

4. The wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein:

the first transmitting unit communicates, after the wireless communication device moves to another cell; and

the second transmitting unit additionally writes the information of the wireless communication device in the scheduling table received from another wireless communication device while random accessing after the wireless communication device moves to another cell and transmits the additionally-written scheduling table to the wireless base station at least once.

5. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein a transmission valid period that becomes invalid after a lapse of a predetermined period which is written in the retained scheduling table.

6. A wireless communication method for transmitting and receiving packets, the wireless communication method comprising the steps of:

periodically or occasionally transmitting a scheduling table, in which a transmission order is written by at least one of a plurality of wireless communication devices, to a wireless base station;

recognizing and retaining a scheduling table received when the wireless communication device is connected to the wireless base station and is not communicating with another wireless communication device;

additionally writing information of the wireless communication device to the scheduling table which is retained by the recognizing and retaining step at the beginning of communication, and transmitting the additionally-written scheduling table at least once;

updating the retained scheduling table, when an update time of another scheduling table received by the wireless base station in communication is later than an update time of the retained scheduling table and another transmission order received by the wireless base station is different from the transmission order in the retained scheduling table; and

communicating during a transmission priority period set in accordance with the scheduling table updated at the updating step to transmit the packets with a high priority.