JP2001274805A - Equipment and method for radio communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain radio communication equipment by which 1st and 2nd radio communication devices belonging to 1st and 2nd radio communication groups can respectively and correctly emit radio waves for radio communication without mutual interference. SOLUTION: When communication has to be performed between the 2nd radio communication devices 1β to 3β, the 1st radio communication devices 1α to 3α request a 1st communication controller 4α to allocate a slot according to a slot reservation request procedure in a 1st radio communication procedure, and when the communication does not have to be performed any more between the 2nd radio communication devices 1β to 3β, the 1st radio communication devices 1α to 3αrequest a 1st communication controller 4α to release the reserved slot according to a slot release procedure in the 1st radio communication procedure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a radio communication apparatus and a radio communication method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art "Wireless 1394" for transmitting digital data conforming to IEEE 1394 using radio waves.
(WHN: wireless home network) (wireless home link) has been studied to use radio waves in the 5 GHz band. As an existing wireless network system using radio waves in the 5 GHz band, there is a wireless LAN. The wireless 1394 and the wireless LAN cannot communicate with each other even if they use radio waves in the same frequency band, because of their different communication procedures.

In the wireless 1394, a plurality of wireless communication devices are constituted by a plurality of communication terminals and a communication controller (called a Hub) for controlling the plurality of communication terminals and a wireless bus. The communication controller uses a frame called 4m
The time interval of sec is controlled, and a control signal called a cycle start packet (CSP: Cycle Start Packet) is transmitted at the beginning of each frame. In addition, wireless 1
In 394, a transmission method called isochronous is defined, and when it is desired to perform transmission with a guaranteed transmission band,
According to a predetermined procedure, a time slot having a required band in a frame can be reserved in advance. For the reserved time slot, in the above CSP,
Information such as the position and channel number indicated by the time slot in the frame is transmitted to all communication terminals belonging to the wireless bus.

[0004] Next, referring to FIG.
4 will be described. The management area is at the head of the frame, the CSP is at the head of the management area, and the CRP and SSP are subsequent to the CSP.
The data area following the management area includes isochronous areas 1, 2,..., N and an asynchronous data area. CRP stands for Cycle Report Packet.
Report packet). Also, SSP is Stat
ion Sync Packet
Is an abbreviation for

[0005] The CSP contains cycle time, slot information, asynchronous area information, and a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) code. The slot information corresponds to each area reserved as isochronous and an asynchronous data area. The slot information includes slot information 1 to n, and the slot information 1 includes information on a slot head position, a use state, and a transmission method. The slot start position is
Information indicating where the corresponding isochronous region starts. The usage status is, for example, channel numbers 0 to 63 for isochronous, and 64 for asynchronous, and is information indicating how this slot is used.

[0006]

Now, the wireless LAN is
CSMA / CA (Carrier Sence Multiple Access with
Collision Avoidance: Career Sense Multiple
Since access control is performed by an access with collision and avoidance method, a wireless 1394 wireless communication device and a wireless LAN
Wireless communicator, the wireless 1394 wireless communicator transmits radio L at a timing when no radio wave is emitted.
The AN wireless communication device starts emitting radio waves, and the wireless 1394 radio communication device cannot emit radio waves at the timing when it should emit radio waves such as CSP and isochronous, or a collision occurs and radio waves cannot be emitted properly. And so on.

In view of the above, the present invention comprises a plurality of first wireless communication devices and a first communication controller for controlling information transmission between the plurality of first wireless communication devices, and a plurality of first wireless communication devices. 1
A frame having a substantially constant time period is divided into a plurality of slots having a plurality of time intervals via a radio wave between the wireless communication devices to perform information transmission, and the first communication control device transmits the divided plurality of slots. Among them, in response to a reservation request for the first wireless communication device, a slot is exclusively assigned to communication between specific first wireless communication devices, and the first communication controller periodically updates the assignment status. A first wireless communication groove having a first wireless communication procedure for transmitting a control signal by wirelessly and a plurality of second wireless communication devices, and sharing the same frequency channel as the first wireless communication groove In a wireless communication apparatus having a second wireless communication groove having a second wireless communication procedure different from the first wireless communication procedure (a wireless communication method using such a wireless communication apparatus),
And the first and second wireless communication devices respectively belonging to the second wireless communication groove and the first wireless communication device are capable of correctly emitting radio waves for wireless communication without causing mutual interference. is there.

[0008]

A first aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of first wireless communication devices and a first communication controller for controlling information transmission between the plurality of first wireless communication devices. And transmitting information by dividing a frame having a substantially constant time period into a plurality of slots having a plurality of time intervals between the plurality of first wireless communication devices via radio waves. Out of the plurality of slots, the slot is exclusively assigned to communication between the specific first wireless communication devices in response to a reservation request for the first wireless communication device, and the first communication control device A first wireless communication groove having a first wireless communication procedure for periodically transmitting the allocation status on a wireless control signal, and a plurality of second wireless communication devices;
Share the same frequency channel as the wireless communication groove of
In a wireless communication device having a second wireless communication groove having a second wireless communication procedure different from the first wireless communication procedure, when communication is required between the second wireless communication devices, the first Requesting the first communication controller to allocate a slot according to the slot reservation request procedure in the first wireless communication procedure, and when the communication between the second wireless communication apparatuses becomes unnecessary, Is a wireless communication device that requests the first communication controller to release the reserved slot according to the slot release procedure in the first wireless communication procedure.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when communication is required between the second wireless communication apparatuses, the first wireless communication apparatus performs the first wireless communication procedure according to the slot reservation request procedure in the first wireless communication procedure. When a request is made to the communication controller for slot assignment, and communication between the second wireless communication devices becomes unnecessary,
The first wireless communication device requests the first communication controller to release the reserved slot according to the slot release procedure in the first wireless communication procedure.

In a second aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication apparatus according to the first aspect, when the first wireless communication device requests the first communication controller to allocate a slot, the first communication control is performed. The device performs slot reservation, and when the first wireless communication device requests the first communication controller to release the reserved slot, the first communication controller releases the reserved slot. A wireless communication device as described above.

[0011] In a third aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the first communication control device transmits the slot assignment status on a control signal, the second communication device transmits the slot assignment status to the second wireless communication device. A wireless communication device in which a slot reserved for use is assigned a second identifier different from the first identifier assigned to the slot reserved for use by the first wireless communication device. It is.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the second wireless communication device receives a control signal in the first wireless communication procedure transmitted from the first communication control device. Then, the wireless communication device is configured to perform communication according to the second wireless communication procedure only in the slot with the second identifier assigned to the second wireless communication device.

A fifth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of first wireless communication devices and a first communication controller for controlling information transmission between the plurality of first wireless communication devices. A frame having a substantially constant time period is divided into a plurality of slots having a plurality of time intervals via a radio wave between the wireless communication devices to perform information transmission, and the first communication control unit performs transmission of the plurality of divided slots. From among them, in response to a reservation request for the first wireless communication device, a slot is exclusively assigned to communication between specific first wireless communication devices, and the first communication controller periodically updates the assignment status. A first wireless communication groove having a first wireless communication procedure for transmitting on a wireless control signal;
A second wireless communication group comprising a plurality of second wireless communication devices, sharing the same frequency channel as the first wireless communication groove, and having a second wireless communication procedure different from the first wireless communication procedure; In the wireless communication method in a wireless communication apparatus having a communication method, when communication is required between second wireless communication apparatuses, the first wireless communication apparatus performs first communication according to a slot reservation request procedure in the first wireless communication procedure. When the controller requests slot assignment and communication between the second wireless communication devices becomes unnecessary, the first wireless communication device performs the first communication control according to the slot release procedure in the first wireless communication procedure. This is a wireless communication method that requests a device to release a reserved slot.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the first wireless communication device requests the first communication controller to allocate a slot, the first communication control is performed. The device performs slot reservation, and when the first wireless communication device requests the first communication controller to release the reserved slot, the first communication controller releases the reserved slot. The wireless communication method is as described above.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication method according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the first communication control device transmits the slot assignment status on a control signal, the second communication device transmits the slot assignment status to the second wireless communication device. A wireless communication method in which a slot reserved for use is assigned a second identifier different from the first identifier assigned to the slot reserved for use by the first wireless communication device. It is.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication method according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the second wireless communication device receives a control signal in the first wireless communication procedure transmitted from the first communication control device. Then, the wireless communication method is such that the communication according to the second wireless communication procedure is performed only in the slot with the second identifier assigned to the second wireless communication device.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an example of a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication apparatus, and α indicates a wireless communication groove of “wireless 1394” (WHN: wireless home network) (wireless home link).
β indicates a wireless communication groove of the wireless LAN.

The wireless communication groove α of the wireless 1394
Is composed of, for example, a wireless communication device 4α as a communication controller and wireless communication devices 1α to 3α as communication terminals. Each of the wireless communication devices 1α to 4α includes a transmission / reception antenna.

For example, a wireless LAN in the case of a distributed control system
Is composed of wireless communication devices 1β to 3β as communication terminals. Wireless communication device 1β ~
3β each have a transmitting and receiving antenna. The wireless communication groove β can also use a centralized control method, in which case a centralized control station is added in addition to the communication terminal.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the wireless communication devices 1α to 4α of the wireless 1394 shown in FIG. Here, each of the wireless communication transmitters 1α to 4α basically has a common configuration, and includes an antenna 11 that performs transmission and reception, and a wireless processing unit that is connected to the antenna 11 and performs wireless transmission processing and wireless reception processing. 12 so as to enable wireless communication with another wireless communication device.

In this case, as a transmission system in which transmission and reception are performed by the radio processing unit 12, for example, OFDM (Or
A transmission method using a multicarrier signal called a thogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (orthogonal frequency division multiplex) method is applied, and a very high frequency band (for example, a 5 GHz band) is used as a frequency used for transmission and reception, for example. .

The transmission output is set to a relatively weak output. For example, when used indoors, the output is set to such an extent that wireless transmission over a relatively short distance from several meters to several tens of meters can be performed. .

A data conversion unit 13 performs data conversion of a signal received by the wireless processing unit 12 and data conversion of a signal transmitted by the wireless processing unit 12. The data converted by the data converter 13 is transmitted to the interface 14.
And supplies data supplied from the connected processor through the interface 1.
4 so as to be supplied to the data conversion unit 13 for conversion processing.

Here, as an external interface of the interface 14 of the wireless communication device, for example, IEEE
It is configured to transmit and receive audio and video information or various data information to and from a connected device 18 via a high-speed serial bus 17 such as 1394.

Note that these wireless transmitters may be built in the main body of the device 18 to be connected.

Each section in the wireless communication device is configured to execute a process under the control of the control section 15 constituted by a microcomputer or the like.

In this case, when the signal received by the wireless processing unit 12 is a control signal such as wireless transmission band reservation information, the received signal is supplied to the control unit 15 via the data conversion unit 13. , And the control unit 15 is configured to set each unit to a state indicated by the received control signal.

Further, an internal memory 16 is connected to the control unit 15, and the internal memory 16 is configured to temporarily store data necessary for communication control, reserved slot information, and the like.

If the received signal is a synchronization signal,
The control unit 15 determines the timing of receiving the synchronization signal, sets a frame period based on the synchronization signal,
The communication control process is executed in the frame cycle.

Also, a control signal such as wireless transmission band reservation information transmitted from the control unit 15 to another transmitter is supplied from the control unit 15 to the wireless processing unit 12 via the data conversion unit 13. Radio transmission is performed.

Next, referring to FIG.
4 will be described. In this example, a CSMA area is secured instead of the isochronous area 2 immediately after the isochronous area 1 in the data area of FIG. Other configurations of the frame structure are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

As described above with reference to FIG. 4, this CS is stored in the CSP (cycle start packet) in the management area.
There is slot information corresponding to the MA area. In this slot information, for example, the number 66 is assigned in advance as a number indicating that this slot is a CSMA area, and this number is used in the field of the usage status.

In this CSMA area, the wireless 139
Since the wireless communication device No. 4 does not emit radio waves, in this CSMA area, for example, as shown in FIG.
N wireless communication devices A (1β), B (2β), C (3β)
β) is multiple access by carrier sense (CSMA)
, That is, wireless communication devices A to B, B to A, A to C, C to A, A to C, B to C
Can be sent to These wireless communication devices A,
B and C must be configured to receive the CSP, interpret the slot information, and recognize the available area. In addition, even when information is being transmitted, if the end of the CSMA area is reached, for example, transmission is interrupted even during transmission from the wireless communication device B to C.

A description will be given of an example of a method of extending the wireless 1394 protocol and coexisting with a wireless communication device operating with a protocol similar to the wireless LAN protocol.
First, it is possible to know whether there is a communication demand for at least one wireless communication device having a protocol similar to the wireless LAN protocol, and to call a wireless communication device (Agent) compatible with the wireless 1394 protocol. Prepare The following describes this agent.

The agent is a wireless 1394
Join the wireless bus as a station. This agent may be the communication controller (Hub) 4α of FIG. 1 or any of the communication terminals (Leaf) 1α to 3α. When the communication by the protocol similar to the wireless LAN is required, the agent performs the same procedure as the isochronous,
Reserve a band on wireless 1394. The reserved band is tentatively labeled as "vendor unique protocol area" and is distinguished from normal isochronous channels. Wireless LAN-like wireless communication devices except agents
It is not always necessary to join the bus as a wireless 1394 station, but it must receive the CSP (cycle start packet) (FIG. 4) received by the communication controller (Hub) 4α and interpret the slot information. The wireless communication device of the wireless LAN protocol is "vendor
Only the slots designated as "unique protocolarea" can emit radio waves using that protocol.
In this case, control must be performed so that radio waves are not emitted at a timing other than the timing of the designated slot. Also, radio waves must not be emitted when no slot is assigned or when the assigned slot is released. The agent releases the reserved bandwidth when communication with another protocol becomes unnecessary.

According to this method, the change on the wireless 1394 side only needs to prepare the label "vendor unique protocolarea". Further, by preparing a plurality of labels, a plurality of other protocols can coexist.

The side of the protocol similar to that of the wireless LAN is constrained to satisfy the above. The access method, preamble, and the like of the radio wave emitted in this slot are not necessarily the same as those of the wireless 1394, but should not be able to communicate with a wireless communication device that does not satisfy the above restrictions. This is because if communication with a wireless communication device that does not satisfy the above restrictions is established, the assumption is broken.

The wireless communication device of the wireless 1394 is used for transmitting an audio signal and a video signal.
It is expected that wireless communication devices of AN will be widely used in offices for transmission of IP (Internet Protocol) and the like. For example, if a laptop computer is connected to a wireless LAN so that the laptop computer can be used at home, the laptop computer is connected to a wireless 13
It is conceivable to configure the device as a 94 / wireless LAN dual-mode device, but if both protocols are to be fully supported, the device becomes complicated and expensive. However, by making a slight change to the wireless LAN wireless communication device, it is possible to achieve compatibility between the wireless 1394 wireless LAN device and the wireless LAN wireless communication device sharing the same frequency channel.

[0039]

According to the present invention described above, a plurality of first wireless communication devices and a first communication controller for controlling information transmission between the plurality of first wireless communication devices are provided. First
A frame having a substantially constant time period is divided into a plurality of slots having a plurality of time intervals through a radio wave between the wireless communication devices to perform information transmission, and the first communication control device transmits the plurality of divided slots. Among them, in response to a reservation request for the first wireless communication device, a slot is exclusively assigned to communication between specific first wireless communication devices, and the first communication controller periodically updates the assignment status. A first wireless communication groove having a first wireless communication procedure for transmitting a control signal by wirelessly and a plurality of second wireless communication devices, and sharing the same frequency channel as the first wireless communication groove Then, in a wireless communication apparatus having a second wireless communication groove having a second wireless communication procedure different from the first wireless communication procedure (a wireless communication method using such a wireless communication apparatus),
When communication is required between wireless communication devices,
Requesting the first communication controller to allocate a slot according to the slot reservation request procedure in the first wireless communication procedure, and when the communication between the second wireless communication apparatuses becomes unnecessary, Wireless communication device requests the first communication controller to release the reserved slot in accordance with the slot release procedure in the first wireless communication procedure.
And the first and second wireless communication devices respectively belonging to the second wireless communication groove and the second wireless communication device can properly emit radio waves for wireless communication without causing mutual interference. Also, by making a slight change to the second wireless communication device belonging to the second wireless communication groove, the first and second wireless devices belonging to the first and second wireless communication grooves sharing the same frequency channel, respectively. Communication equipment can be compatible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a wireless communication device including a wireless communication groove of wireless 1394 and a wireless LAN.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication device belonging to a wireless communication groove of wireless 1394;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a frame structure of an example of a wireless 1394 applied to an example of a wireless communication device and an example of a wireless communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional frame structure of the wireless 1394.

[Explanation of symbols]

4α, 1α to 3α Wireless communication devices (communication control devices and communication terminals) belonging to the wireless communication group of wireless 1394, 1β to 3β Wireless communication devices belonging to the wireless communication group of wireless LAN.

Claims (8)

[Claims] An apparatus comprising: a plurality of first wireless communication devices; and a first communication controller for controlling information transmission between the plurality of first wireless communication devices. The information transmission is performed by dividing a frame having a substantially constant time period into a plurality of slots having a plurality of time intervals via radio waves,
The first communication controller allocates a slot for communication between the specific first wireless communication devices from the plurality of divided slots in response to a reservation request for the first wireless communication device. A first wireless communication groove having a first wireless communication procedure for exclusively assigning and transmitting the assignment status on a wireless control signal periodically by the first communication controller; and a plurality of second wireless communication grooves. A wireless communication device comprising a wireless communication device, sharing the same frequency channel as the first wireless communication groove, and having a second wireless communication groove having a second wireless communication procedure different from the first wireless communication procedure In the communication device, when communication is required between the second wireless communication devices, the first wireless communication device transmits the first communication control device according to a slot reservation request procedure in the first wireless communication procedure. When a request for slot assignment is made and communication between the second wireless communication devices becomes unnecessary, the first wireless communication device performs the first communication in accordance with the slot release procedure in the first wireless communication procedure. A wireless communication device for requesting a controller to release the reserved slot. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the first wireless communication device requests the first communication control device to allocate a slot, the first communication control device operates as a slot. When the first wireless communication device requests the first communication control device to release the reserved slot, the first communication control device releases the reserved slot. A wireless communication device characterized by performing. 3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication control device uses the second wireless communication device when transmitting the slot assignment status on a control signal. The slot reserved for
A second identifier different from the first identifier assigned to the slot reserved for use by the wireless communication device. 4. The wireless communication device according to claim 3, wherein the second wireless communication device receives the control signal in the first wireless communication procedure transmitted from the first communication control device. A wireless communication device that performs communication according to the second wireless communication procedure only in a slot to which the second identifier assigned to the second wireless communication device is assigned. 5. A communication system comprising: a plurality of first wireless communication devices; and a first communication controller for controlling information transmission between the plurality of first wireless communication devices. The information transmission is performed by dividing a frame having a substantially constant time period into a plurality of slots having a plurality of time intervals via radio waves,
The first communication controller allocates a slot for communication between the specific first wireless communication devices from the plurality of divided slots in response to a reservation request for the first wireless communication device. A first wireless communication groove having a first wireless communication procedure for exclusively assigning and transmitting the assignment status on a wireless control signal periodically by the first communication controller; and a plurality of second wireless communication grooves. A wireless communication device comprising a wireless communication device, sharing the same frequency channel as the first wireless communication groove, and having a second wireless communication groove having a second wireless communication procedure different from the first wireless communication procedure In the wireless communication method in the communication device, when communication is required between the second wireless communication devices, the first wireless communication device performs a slot reservation request procedure in the first wireless communication procedure. Requesting the first communication controller to allocate a slot, and when the communication between the second wireless communication devices becomes unnecessary, the first wireless communication device sets the slot in the first wireless communication procedure. A wireless communication method comprising: requesting the first communication controller to release the reserved slot according to a release procedure. 6. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, wherein when the first wireless communication device requests the first communication control device to allocate a slot, the first communication control device transmits the slot. When the first wireless communication device requests the first communication control device to release the reserved slot, the first communication control device releases the reserved slot. A wireless communication method characterized by performing. 7. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, wherein when the first communication control device transmits a slot assignment status on a control signal, the second communication device uses the second wireless communication device. The slot reserved for
A second identifier different from the first identifier assigned to the slot reserved for use by the wireless communication device. 8. The wireless communication method according to claim 7, wherein the second wireless communication device receives the control signal in the first wireless communication procedure transmitted from the first communication control device. A wireless communication method comprising: performing communication according to the second wireless communication procedure only in a slot with the second identifier assigned to the second wireless communication device.