JP2002171257A - Radio transmitter and radio transmitting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio transmitter and a radio transmitting method capable of efficiently sharing information by all communication stations without increasing any transmission traffic on a radio transmission path. SOLUTION: This method for transmitting information to be shared by all communication stations on a network such as network common information comprises a step S2 for integrating common information into a packet by prescribed information units, and for broadcast transmitting it in a control station (station #3), steps S3 and S4 for receiving common information acknowledgement(ACK) from communication stations (stations #1 and 2) constituting a network, and a step S8 for re-transmitting the common information ACK as unicast transmission to a communication station (station #5) which is not able to receive the common information ACK after the lapse of a prescribed time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a radio transmission apparatus and a radio transmission method for transmitting various information between a plurality of communication terminals, for example, by radio signals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a unicast transmission in which a radio transmission apparatus serving as a control station of a radio network individually transmits to a transmission apparatus serving as each communication station and a plurality of transmission apparatuses serving as all communication stations have the same configuration. When defining a wireless transmission method that supports both broadcast transmission and broadcast transmission, it is often specified as a different control method due to the nature of each protocol.

For example, in unicast transmission, acknowledgment information (ACK:
Acknowledgment is returned, and the unreachable information is retransmitted, so that a method of reliably transmitting data between the information transmission source wireless transmission device and the information reception destination wireless transmission device is generally used. I have.

In broadcast transmission,
Instead of returning the acknowledgment information from the information receiving wireless transmission device, the same information is repeatedly transmitted from the information transmission source wireless transmission device, and the duplicated information received by the information receiving destination wireless transmission device is discarded. Thus, a method of performing transmission with improved reliability is used.

Further, common information such as terminal station connection information and connection bus information required for managing the wireless network must be shared by all communication stations on the network. A method that uses a method of simultaneous distribution using broadcast transmission is generally used.

Further, in order to improve the reliability, a radio transmission apparatus serving as a control station uses a control packet in a downlink control information transmission area (FS) for network management after broadcast transmission in an asynchronous transmission area (ASY). Notify that the change has been made, issue a retransmission request to the control station from the receiving communication station that did not receive the broadcast transmission, and obtain a reliable information sharing method by performing the broadcast retransmission by the control station. Was required.

[0007] According to this information sharing method, it is not necessary to individually transmit an acknowledgment from an information source communication station to a plurality of communication stations on a network, thereby reducing the occupation of the transmission path. It is said to be effective.

Further, when multicast transmission is performed from an information source communication station to a plurality of communication stations on a network, for example, a bitmap format is used to specify an information destination communication station. There has been proposed a method of performing the specification.

Further, according to a wireless transmission method generally used recently, information to be transmitted is packetized with a predetermined fragment size, and header information such as a destination is added to each packet to generate a transmission packet. Wireless transmission method is used.

[0010] In this method, only packets that cannot be received by the information receiving destination are retransmitted,
It is possible to perform transmission more efficiently than retransmitting all information.

[0011]

In such a conventional wireless transmission method, when it is required to share common information necessary for configuring a network throughout the network, a control station on the network transmits It was necessary to individually perform unicast transmission to each communication station, and to individually return receipt confirmation each time.

However, this method has a disadvantage that when the number of communication stations constituting the network increases, transmission traffic is occupied for exchanging common information.

In order to solve this problem, first,
A method is conceivable in which the control station broadcasts the common information and then returns a receipt confirmation from each communication station each time.

[0014] However, if there is any communication station that has not received the acknowledgment even after the lapse of the predetermined time, the control station further retransmits the broadcast of the common information and again transmits the common information from each communication station. It was necessary to return a receipt confirmation.

In this case, even in the communication station that first receives the common information, it is assumed that the acknowledgment has not reached the control station, and the acknowledgment must be returned to the control station again. There is a disadvantage that the transmission confirmation is occupied by the receipt confirmation.

As still another solution, a control station uses a control packet in a downlink control information transmission area (FS) for network management after broadcast transmission,
A method of notifying that a change has been made, sending a retransmission request to a control station from a receiving communication station that has not received the broadcast transmission, and sharing a more reliable information by performing a broadcast retransmission by the control station. However, even if the information to be broadcast-transmitted is enormous and only a certain communication station receives a part of the enormous information missing, the control station must broadcast all the information. There was an inconvenience.

Further, when performing multicast transmission,
When the method of specifying the information receiving communication station in the bitmap format is used, if the number of communication stations configuring the network is large, an amount of information corresponding to the number of constituent communication stations is required. In addition, when destination information is added as a header of a packet, there is a disadvantage that the header information increases.

In the case where information is packetized and transmitted in units of predetermined fragments and transmitted, the packet size itself increases with an increase in the header information, and the information is not transmitted efficiently. there were.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a wireless transmission system in which information can be efficiently shared by all communication stations without increasing transmission traffic on a wireless transmission path. It is an object to provide an apparatus and a wireless transmission method.

[0020]

Therefore, in the present invention,
As a method of transmitting information to be shared by all communication stations on the network, such as network common information, first, the control station performs packet transmission in a predetermined information unit, performs broadcast transmission, and receives from all communication stations constituting the network. Reception is performed as a unicast transmission to a communication station that has not received the acknowledgment by a predetermined time after receiving the acknowledgment.

Further, in the above description, if the reception confirmation cannot be received from a number of communication stations constituting the network by the elapse of a predetermined time, the reception is repeated again.
Broadcast transmission is performed.

Further, according to the present invention, the control station performs packet transmission in a predetermined information unit and performs broadcast transmission, and notifies the entire network of the update of information using downlink control packets. Is received, a retransmission request for a broadcast packet that has not been received is returned to the control station, and the control station performs unicast transmission of the packet that each communication station has not received individually and retransmits the packet. .

Further, in the above, within a predetermined time,
Packets for which retransmission requests have been received from a large number of communication stations constituting the network are broadcast again.

According to the present invention, as a method of specifying an information receiving destination in the case of multicast transmission, broadcast transmission is used to specify a destination communication station described in header information, and it is necessary to receive information in an information payload portion. The information of the communication station is written, and the information is referred to on the receiving side to determine whether or not the packet is to be received.

In the present invention, as a method of transmitting information to be shared by some communication stations on the network such as bandwidth reservation information, first, an information transmitting station performs packet transmission in a predetermined information unit and performs multicast transmission. A reception confirmation is received from the communication destination communication station, and retransmission is performed as a unicast transmission to a communication station that has failed to receive the reception confirmation by a predetermined time.

Further, in the above description, if no acknowledgment can be received from a number of communication stations that have performed multicast reception by a predetermined time,
The broadcast transmission is performed again.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. The wireless transmission method according to the present embodiment is intended to share common information in a wireless network system, packetizes information into a predetermined size, broadcasts the information, and individually retransmits a packet that could not be received by each communication station. Is what you do.

The present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network system to which the wireless transmission method according to the present embodiment is applied. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a camera-integrated VTR (video tape recorder) 1 is connected to the wireless transmission device 11 via a cable or the like by wire. Similarly, the personal computer 2 and the printer output device 3 are connected to the wireless transmission device 12 via a cable or the like. The VTR 4 is similarly connected to the wireless transmission device 13 via a cable or the like.
Further, similarly, the television receiver 5 and the game device 6 are connected to the wireless transmission device 14 via a cable or the like by wire. Similarly, the set-top box 7 and the telephone device 8 are wired to the wireless transmission device 15 via a cable or the like.

In this way, each device is connected to each wireless transmission device, and each wireless transmission device constitutes the network 10. Here, the wireless transmission devices 11 to 15 are associated as communication stations # 1 to # 5, respectively, and represent a state in which a wireless network is formed.

Since the wireless transmission device 13 is located at the center of the network 10 and can communicate with all of the other communication devices, the wireless transmission device 13 becomes a control station of the network 10 for convenience and a frame. By transmitting a predetermined access control signal or managing band reservation information by defining a cycle, the other wireless transmission devices 11 to 12 and 14 to 1
5 is a communication station.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the radio transmission devices 11 to 15 constituting each communication station. Here, each of the wireless transmission devices 11 to 15 basically has a common configuration, and includes an antenna 21 that performs transmission and reception, and a wireless transmission processing unit 22 that is connected to the antenna 21 and performs wireless transmission processing and wireless reception processing. And wireless transmission with other transmission devices is possible.

In this case, as a transmission method in which transmission and reception are performed by the wireless transmission processing unit 22 of this example, for example, OF
DM (Orthogonal Frequency D)
A transmission method using a multicarrier signal called an "vision Multiplex (orthogonal frequency division multiplex)" method is applied, and a frequency used for transmission and reception is, for example, a very high frequency band (for example, a 5 GHz band).
Is used.

In the case of this example, a relatively weak output is set for the transmission output. For example, when used indoors, wireless transmission over a relatively short distance of about several meters to several tens of meters can be performed. The output may be of the order of magnitude and may be adjusted as needed.

The radio transmission processing unit 22 has a function of detecting a specific frequency carrier on the radio transmission path and a function of detecting a synchronization signal. When the synchronization signal is received, the reception of an information portion following the synchronization signal is performed. Is performed.

The signal received by the wireless transmission processing unit 22 is subjected to reception decoding processing of various transmission information by a reception control processing unit 23B, and a transmission buffer 23A for storing information to be transmitted by the wireless transmission processing unit 22. Is provided.

Further, the common information received by the reception control processing unit 23B is converted into packet data, and the packet data transmitted by the radio transmission processing unit 22 is converted into data for converting the information signal stored in the transmission buffer 23A. A conversion processing unit 24 is provided.

Further, the data converted by the information conversion processing unit 24 is supplied to the connected device 29 via the interface unit 25, and the data supplied from the connected device 29 is supplied to the interface unit 25. The information can be supplied to the information conversion processing unit 24 via the data conversion processing.

Here, as an external interface of the interface unit 25 of the wireless transmission device, for example, IE
High-speed serial bus 2 such as EE1394 format
8, audio and video information or various data information can be transmitted and received to and from the connected device 29.

Alternatively, these wireless transmission devices may be built in the main body of the device 29 to be connected.

Each unit in each wireless transmission device is configured to execute processing based on the control of the control unit 26 including a microcomputer or the like.

Here, if the information taken into the information conversion processing unit 24 via the interface unit 25 is common information necessary for network management or a request to acquire a transmission band, it is stored in the control unit 26. Is done.

After that, if the common information needs to be notified to the network according to the judgment of the control unit 26, it is packetized into a predetermined size in the information conversion processing unit 24, the predetermined packet header information is added, and the packet is transmitted. Buffer 2
Stored in 3A.

All the radio transmission apparatuses 11 to 15 collect, from the signals decoded by the reception control processing unit 23B, the packets determined to be error-free by the CRC judgment, refer to the packet header information, and check the packet header information. If the packet information has reached this point, it is stored in the information conversion processing unit 24.

Further, the type of the packet is determined from the packet header information, and if the packet is a common information packet or a band allocation request, the control unit 26 is notified.

Here, if the corresponding packet is the common information sent from each communication station, the corresponding packet is stored in the transmission buffer 23A for broadcast transmission in the wireless transmission device 13 serving as the control station. I do.

If the packet is a band allocation request, the band allocation information is stored in the transmission buffer 23A in order to perform a predetermined band allocation.

Alternatively, the radio transmission device 1 other than the control station
In 1, 12, 14 and 15, if it is common information broadcast from the control station, if the control unit 26 determines that it is necessary to return acknowledgment (ACK) information,
Construct acknowledgment (ACK) information and send
Stored in A.

Further, the radio transmission devices 11, 1 other than the control station
In 2, 14, and 15, if the information is the band allocation request information broadcasted from the control station, the control unit 26 is notified and judges whether or not multicast reception is necessary by referring to the payload portion, and confirms receipt (ACK). ) If you need to return the information, construct an acknowledgment (ACK)
The data is stored in the transmission buffer 23A.

In the wireless transmission device 13 serving as a control station, the corresponding packet confirms receipt of common information (ACK).
If the information is the information or the retransmission request information, under the control of the control station 26, the information which needs retransmission is determined from the content of the received acknowledgment (ACK) information or the retransmission request information,
The packet information to be retransmitted is selected from the packets stored in the information conversion processing unit 24 and stored in the transmission buffer 23A.

As a predetermined access control method, for example, a method of transmitting information in accordance with polling control from the control station, the transmission device 13 of the control station has a transmission line for performing asynchronous transmission (ASY) in an idle state. When it is determined that there is, a predetermined access control signal (transmission permission signal) is transmitted to a transmission device other than the control station.

Transmission devices other than the control station 11, 12, 14,
15, the information transmission process of the transmission buffer 23A is performed when the received signal is an access control signal (transmission permission signal).

In the radio transmission device 13 serving as a control station, the control unit 26 also transmits a synchronization signal of downlink management information (FS) to be transmitted to the transmission devices 11, 12, 14, and 15 other than the control station. The data is supplied to the transmission processing unit 22 and wirelessly transmitted.

Transmission devices other than the control station 11, 12, 14,
In 15, if the received signal is a frame start packet (FSP) which is a synchronization signal of the downlink management information (FS), the control unit 2 determines the reception timing of the synchronization signal.
6 determines a frame period based on the synchronization signal, executes communication control processing at the frame period, and sets the received frame start packet (FS
Each section is set to the state indicated by P).

The control unit 26 has an internal memory 27
Is connected, and its internal memory 27 temporarily stores data necessary for communication control, information on how to use the wireless network and the wireless transmission path, such as the number of communication stations constituting the network, band reservation information, and the like. is there.

Here, if the control unit 26 detects that the value of the common information update notification indicating whether or not the common information has been updated in the frame start packet (FSP) has been updated, it cannot receive the information. In order to transmit the common information retransmission request to the control station, retransmission request information is constructed and stored in the transmission buffer 23A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a wireless transmission frame according to the present embodiment. Here, a frame is defined and shown for convenience, but it is not always necessary to adopt such a frame structure. In the figure, in the wireless transmission path 30, a transmission frame arriving at a constant transmission frame period 31 is defined, and a management information transmission area 32 and an information transmission area 33 are provided therein.

At the beginning of this frame, a downlink management information transmission section 34 (frame start (FS: Frame Sta.)) For synchronizing frame and notifying network common information is provided.
rt)) section is arranged, followed by the time information correction transmission section 35 (cycle report (CR:
Cycle Report), and a station synchronization signal transmission / reception section 36 (station sync (SS: S
station Sync)).

The downlink management information transmission section (FS) is used for transmitting information that needs to be shared by the network from the control station, and is composed of a fixed length area and a variable length area.

In the fixed-length area, in order to specify the length of the variable-length area, the number of communication stations transmitted in the station synchronization signal transmission / reception section (SS) is specified, and the number of band reservation transmission areas (RSV) is specified. Designation is performed, and in the variable length area, a communication station to be transmitted in the station synchronization signal transmission / reception section (SS) and a bandwidth reservation transmission area (RSV) are specified.

The station synchronization signal transmission / reception section (SS) has a predetermined length, and the communication station transmitting the communication station has a certain period according to the downlink management information for each communication station constituting the network. It is considered that a configuration is assigned to each.

For example, this station synchronization signal transmission / reception section (SS)
By receiving everything except the transmission part of the own station,
It is possible to grasp the state of a connection link with a communication station existing around the own station.

Further, by reporting this connection link status in information transmitted by the next station in the station synchronization signal transmission / reception section (SS), each communication station can grasp the connection status of the network. There is a configuration that can be.

The information transmission area 33 is a bandwidth reservation transmission area (RSV: Reserve) 37 set as needed.
A centrally managed asynchronous transmission area (ASY: Asynchronous) 38 in which the control station performs transmission control, and an unused area (NUA: Not UsageAr) in which the control station does not perform transmission control and permits use in other wireless systems.
ea) 39.

In other words, if there is no need for the bandwidth reservation transmission (RSV) or the unused area (NUA), the information transmission area 33
Can be transmitted as a centrally managed asynchronous transmission area (ASY) 38.

By adopting such a frame structure, in the band reservation transmission area (RSV) 37, for example, the IE
Isochronous transmission defined by the EE1394 format is performed, and in an asynchronous transmission area (ASY) 38, an asynchronous (Async) signal is transmitted.
It is preferable to adopt a configuration capable of performing, for example, (hronous) transmission.

The operation of the thus configured wireless transmission apparatus of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the unicast retransmission process in the common information update sequence. Here, a configuration is shown in which the stations # 1 to # 5 configure a wireless network, the station # 3 functions as a control station, and the other stations # 1, 2, 4, and 5 function as communication stations.

In the figure, at step S1, the station # 1 which is the communication station which has detected the change of the common information notifies the station # 3 which is the control station of the update of the common information.

In step S2, station # 3, which is the control station, packetizes the common information in a predetermined size and broadcasts the common information in order to notify the common information of the entire wireless network. Here, it is assumed that the common information broadcast is divided into three packets and broadcasted for each packet.

In step S3, station # 2 as a communication station returns common information ACK to station # 3 as a control station in order to confirm receipt of the common information. In step S4, the station # 1 as the communication station returns the common information ACK to the station # 3 as the control station in order to confirm receipt of the common information.

In step S5, station # 4, which is a communication station that has missed some of the packets, sends the common information NACK to station # 3, which is the control station, in order to confirm the non-reception of the common information. Send back. Thereby, in step S6, the station # 3 which is the control station
NACK as a unicast transmission to station # 4, which is a communication station that missed some packets from
Retransmit some packets corresponding to the information. In step S7, if the retransmission information can be received by the station # 4, which is the communication station of the destination of the unicast transmission, the common information ACK is returned.

Further, in step S8, since the common information NACK is not returned from the station # 5, which is a communication station that has not received all the packets within a predetermined time, the station as the control station is not transmitted. Retransmission of all common information packets is performed as unicast transmission to station # 5, which is a communication station that has not received all packets from # 3 to a predetermined time. In step S9, if the retransmission information can be received by the station # 5 which is the communication station of the receiving destination of the unicast transmission, the common information ACK is returned.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the broadcast retransmission process in the common information update sequence. Here, a configuration is shown in which the stations # 1 to # 5 configure a wireless network, the station # 3 functions as a control station, and the other stations # 1, 2, 4, and 5 function as communication stations. In the figure, in step S11, the station # 1 that is the communication station that has detected the change of the common information notifies the station # 3 that is the control station of the update of the common information.

In step S12, station # 3, which is the control station, packetizes the common information in a predetermined size and broadcasts the common information in order to notify the common information of the entire wireless network. Here, it is assumed that the common information broadcast is divided into three packets and broadcasted for each packet. Here, the majority of stations # 1, 4, 5
Is not able to receive all of the broadcast transmissions. Station # 1,
5 also includes the case where the common information ACK is not returned to the control station # 3.

In step S13, station # 2, which is the communication station, returns common information ACK to station # 3, which is the control station, to confirm receipt of the common information.

At step S14, station # 4, which is a communication station that has missed some of the packets, sends common information NACK to station # 3, which is a control station, in order to confirm non-reception of the common information. Send back. As a result, in step S15, in the station # 3 as the control station, the stations # 1 and 4, which are communication stations in which the common information ACK is not returned by a predetermined time.
If it is determined that there are a large number of common information broadcast stations, the common information broadcast is retransmitted based on the determination of the control station, station # 3.

In step S16, if the broadcast retransmission information can be received by station # 2 which is the communication station of the broadcast transmission destination, the common information ACK is returned. Also, in step S17, if the broadcast retransmission information can be received by the station # 1 which is the communication destination of the broadcast transmission, the common information ACK is returned. Also, in step S18, if station # 4, which is the communication station of the broadcast transmission destination, can receive the broadcast retransmission information, it returns common information ACK. In step S19, if the broadcast retransmission information can be received by station # 5 which is the communication station of the broadcast transmission destination,
The common information ACK is returned.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the unicast retransmission process in the common information update sequence. here,
Each station # 1 to # 5 forms a wireless network, and the station # 3 is a control station, and the other stations # 1, 2, 4, and 5 are communication stations.

In the figure, in step S21, the station # 1 which is the communication station which has detected the change of the common information is notified of the update of the common information to the station # 3 which is the control station.

In step S22, station # 3, which is the control station, packetizes the common information in a predetermined size and broadcasts the common information in order to notify the common information of the entire wireless network. , The value of the common information update notification of the FSP (frame start packet) is changed and the notification is performed. Here, it is assumed that the common information broadcast is divided into three packets and broadcasted for each packet.

At step S24, station # 4, which is the communication station, receives a part of the common information packet by comparing the value of the common information update notification with the common information that has been received up to now. If not, a retransmission request for partial information is transmitted to station # 3 which is a control station.

Thus, in step S25, station # 4, which is a communication station that has not received a part of the common information packet from station # 3, which is a control station,
As unicast transmission, retransmission of a part of the common information packet corresponding to the unreached information is performed. In step S26, station # 5, a communication station that has not received all of the common information packets from station # 3, a control station, transmits an all information retransmission request to station # 3, a control station. As a result, in step S27, all information is retransmitted as unicast transmission to station # 5, which is a communication station that has not received all of the common information packets from station # 3, which is a control station.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the broadcast retransmission process in the common information update sequence. Here, a configuration is shown in which the stations # 1 to # 5 configure a wireless network, the station # 3 functions as a control station, and the other stations # 1, 2, 4, and 5 function as communication stations. In the figure, in step S31, a common information update is notified from station # 1 which is a communication station that has detected a change in common information to station # 3 which is a control station.

In step S32, station # 3, which is the control station, packetizes the common information in a predetermined size and broadcasts the common information in order to notify the common information of the entire wireless network. , The value of the common information update notification of the FSP (frame start packet) is changed and the notification is performed. Here, it is assumed that the common information broadcast is divided into three packets and broadcasted for each packet.

In step S34, station # 1, which is the communication station, failed to receive all the common information packets by comparing the value of the common information update notification with the common information that could be received so far. In this case, a request for retransmission of all information is transmitted to station # 3 which is a control station.

In step S35, station # 4, which is the communication station, receives a part of the common information packet by comparing the value of the common information update notification with the common information that has been received so far. If not, a retransmission request for partial information is transmitted to station # 3 which is a control station.

In step S36, station # 5, which is the communication station, can receive all of the common information packets by comparing the value of the common information update notification with the common information that has been received up to now. If not,
A request for retransmission of all information is transmitted to station # 3 which is a control station.

In step S37, in the station # 3 which is the control station, the station # 3 which is a large number of communication stations
When the request for retransmission of all information from the stations # 1 and 5 and the request for retransmission of partial information from the station # 4 as the communication station are received, the common information is broadcast based on the determination of the station # 3 as the control station. Is resent.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the unicast retransmission process in the band allocation sequence. Here, a configuration is shown in which the stations # 1 to # 5 configure a wireless network, the station # 3 functions as a control station, and the other stations # 1, 2, 4, and 5 function as communication stations.

In the figure, in step S41, the station # 1 which is the communication station that has acquired the band allocation request notifies the station # 3 which is the control station of the band allocation request. This band allocation request is for isochronous transmission in the band reservation transmission area (RSV) 37 shown in FIG.

In step S42, when the station # 3, which is the control station, receives the notification of the band allocation request, it allocates the band and transmits its parameters to the stations # 1, 2 which are the communication stations related to the band reservation transmission. ,
4 and 5 are notified by multicast transmission.

Here, the above-mentioned multicast transmission destination is described as a control packet for bandwidth reservation notification, a predetermined packet type (bandwidth reservation notification) is described in the packet header portion, and broadcast transmission designation is described as destination address information. A packet is formed by describing the above information in the payload portion, and the broadcast transmission of the band allocation information shown in step S42 is performed.

In step S43, when the station # 1, which is the communication station, receives the band allocation notification packet, the address information of its own station is described by referring to the information of the multicast receiving destination described in the payload portion. The packet is collected, and the band allocation information ACK is returned to the control station, station # 3, for confirmation of reception.

In step S44, when station # 4, which is the communication station, receives the band allocation notification packet, the address information of its own station is described by referring to the information of the multicast receiving destination described in the payload portion. The received packets are collected, and the band allocation information ACK is returned to the control station, station # 3, for confirmation of reception.

Here, station # 2, which is a communication station not designated as a multicast receiving destination, discards the broadcast packet and assigns the allocation information AC.
It does not return K.

In step S45, if station # 5, which is the communication station, cannot receive the band allocation notification packet, it transmits allocation information ACK.
Is also not returned, and after a predetermined time elapses, the assignment information is retransmitted as unicast transmission from station # 3, which is the control station. In step S46, the station # which is the communication station of the destination of the unicast transmission
In step 5, if this retransmission information can be received,
The allocation information ACK is returned.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the broadcast retransmission process in the band allocation sequence. Here, a configuration is shown in which the stations # 1 to # 5 configure a wireless network, the station # 3 functions as a control station, and the other stations # 1, 2, 4, and 5 function as communication stations.

In the figure, in step S51, a station # 1 which is a communication station that has acquired a band allocation request notifies a station # 3 which is a control station of the band allocation request. This band allocation request is for isochronous transmission in the band reservation transmission area (RSV) 37 shown in FIG.

In step S52, when the station # 3, which is the control station, receives the notification of the band allocation request, it allocates the band, and transmits its parameters to the stations # 1, 2, which are the communication stations related to the band reservation transmission. ,
4 and 5 are notified by multicast transmission.

Here, the above-mentioned multicast transmission destination is described as a control packet for bandwidth reservation notification, a predetermined packet type (bandwidth reservation notification) is described in the packet header, and broadcast transmission designation is described as destination address information. The above information is described in the payload portion to form a packet, and the broadcast transmission of the bandwidth allocation information shown in step S52 is performed.

In step S53, when station # 4, which is the communication station, receives the band allocation notification packet, the address information of its own station is described by referring to the information of the multicast receiving destination described in the payload portion. The packet is collected, and the band allocation information ACK is returned to the control station, station # 3, for confirmation of reception.

Here, station # 2, which is a communication station not designated as a multicast receiving destination, discards the broadcast packet and assigns the allocation information AC.
It does not return K.

In step S54, it is determined that station # 3, which is the control station, has a large number of stations # 1, 2, 5, which are communication stations for which the allocation information ACK is not returned by a predetermined time. in case of,
Based on the determination of the station # 3, which is the control station, retransmission of the allocation information broadcast is performed.

In step S55, station # 1 which is the communication station that has received the retransmission information of the broadcast transmission returns the allocation information ACK. In step S56, the station # 4, which is the communication station that has received the retransmission information of the broadcast transmission, returns the allocation information ACK.
In step S57, the station # 5, which is the communication station that has received the retransmission information of the broadcast transmission, returns the allocation information ACK.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a control packet for notifying common information and band allocation information.
FIG. 10 shows steps S2 and S1 of FIGS. 4 to 9 described above.
2. In S22, S32, S42, and S52, common information and bandwidth allocation that are broadcast-transmitted from station # 3 as a control station to stations # 1, # 2, # 4, and # 5 as communication stations on the network. It corresponds to information. The control packet of FIG. 10 is transmitted using the asynchronous transmission area (ASY) 38 of FIG.

In the figure, a control packet includes a packet type 101 for identifying that packet information is a control packet, a source communication station ID 102 for identifying a source communication station of the packet, and a destination communication station of the packet. And a relay communication station ID 104 for identifying a relay communication station of the packet.

The control packet is followed by a fragment identifier 1 indicating the fragment state of the packet.
05, a sequence number 106 for identifying a continuous packet, and content information 107 indicating the size of the content information included in the packet. The packet header information includes the packet type 101 to the content information 107 described above.

Following this, a data payload 108 indicating the data transmitted as a packet itself is provided.
At the end, a CRC (Cyclic Redundan) for detecting an error in the packet information at the destination communication station.
cy Check) 109 is added.

Here, the multicast address information is notified with respect to a predetermined control packet using this payload portion.

FIG. 11 shows a frame start packet (F
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of (SP). FIG. 11 corresponds to FIG.
In step S23 of FIG. 7 and step S33 of FIG. 7, the station # 3 as the control station notifies the stations # 1, # 2, # 4, and # 5 as communication stations on the network. . FIG.
This is information transmitted from the control station of the network to all stations on the network in the downlink management information transmission section (FS) 34 in FIG.

In the figure, a frame start packet includes a cycle time 111 indicating a frame start time, and a network ID 112 for identifying this network.
And an update timer 113 indicating the timing until the information contained in the packet is updated all at once.
3 includes an SSP counter 114 indicating the order of information included in a cycle start packet (SSP) transmitted in the station synchronization signal transmission / reception section (SS) 36, and an SSP cycle 115 indicating a transmission cycle of the SSP. Is done.

The frame start packet includes an SSP number 116 indicating the number of SSPs existing in the frame,
Slot information size 117 indicating current bandwidth reservation information
And a frame end pointer 1 indicating the end position of the frame
18, a common information update notification 119 indicating whether or not the common information used in the present embodiment is updated, and a CRC 120 for error detection. The above described cycle time 111 to CRC 120 are arranged as fixed length information.

The frame start packet is SS
Station information (# 1) 1 of variable length depending on the number of P
21, station information (# 2) 122, station information (# 3) 123, station information (# 4) 124
And slot information (# 1) 125, slot information (# 2) 126 having variable lengths according to the number of slot information, and a CRC 127 for error detection. From the station information (# 1) 121 described above to the CRC 127
Are arranged as variable length information.

Although the above-described embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which the present invention is applied to the wireless 1394, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to other wireless networks.

[0114]

According to the present invention, broadcast traffic is transmitted from a control station, and unicast retransmission is performed for a communication station that has not received acknowledgment of the transmission, thereby causing an increase in transmission traffic on a wireless transmission path. Without
The effect is that information can be efficiently shared by all communication stations.

Further, according to the present invention, when there are a large number of communication stations which have not received the acknowledgment, retransmission is performed by broadcasting again, thereby preventing the transmission traffic on the radio transmission path from increasing. The effect is that information can be efficiently shared by all communication stations.

Further, according to the present invention, broadcast transmission is performed from the control station and notification is made in a downlink control packet. When each communication station receives the notification of the downlink control packet, it retransmits the broadcast packet that was not received. By returning a request to the control station and performing unicast retransmission from the control station, it is possible to efficiently share information among all communication stations without increasing transmission traffic on the wireless transmission path. It works.

Further, according to the present invention, for packets for which retransmission has been requested from a number of communication stations within a predetermined time, retransmission is performed again by broadcast, thereby causing an increase in transmission traffic on the radio transmission path. Without this, there is an effect that information can be efficiently shared by all communication stations.

According to the present invention, as a method of specifying an address at the time of multicast transmission, broadcast transmission is used to specify a destination communication station described in header information, and communication in which information reception is required in an information payload portion is required. By writing the information of the station, there is an effect that a packet can be formed using the same header information as in the unicast transmission.

Further, according to the present invention, a multicast transmission is performed from an information transmission source, and a unicast retransmission is performed to a communication station that has not received an acknowledgment from an information reception communication station. The effect is that information can be efficiently shared by all communication stations without increasing the transmission traffic on the road.

Further, according to the present invention, when there are a large number of communication stations which have not received the acknowledgment from the information receiving communication station, retransmission is carried out again by broadcasting, so that the transmission traffic on the radio transmission path is re-transmitted. Thus, there is an effect that information can be efficiently shared by all communication stations without increasing the number of communication stations.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a wireless network configuration applied to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless transmission device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless transmission frame.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a unicast retransmission process in a common information update sequence.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a broadcast retransmission process in a common information update sequence.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a unicast retransmission process in a common information update sequence.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a broadcast retransmission process in a common information update sequence.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a unicast retransmission process in a band allocation sequence.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a broadcast retransmission process in a band allocation sequence.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control packet for notifying common information and band allocation information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration of a frame start packet (FSP).

[Description of References] 1 ... VCR with camera, 2 ... Personal computer, 3 ... Printer output device, 4 ... VTR, 5 ... TV receiver, 6 ... Game equipment, 7 ... Set top box, 8 ... Telephone equipment, 10. Wireless network, 11-1
5 wireless transmission device, 21 antenna, 22 wireless transmission processing unit, 23A transmission buffer, 23B reception control processing unit, 24 information conversion processing unit, 25 external interface, 26 control unit, 27 internal Memory, 28 ... IEEE
E1394 high-speed serial bus, 29 ... connected devices,
Reference numeral 30: wireless transmission path, 31: transmission frame period, 32: management information transmission area, 33: information transmission area, 34: downlink management information transmission section, 35: time information correction transmission section, 36: station synchronization signal transmission / reception section, 37 ... Band reservation transmission area, 38 ... Asynchronous transmission area, 39 ... Unused area, 101 ... Packet type, 102 ... Source communication station ID, 103 ... Destination communication station ID, 104 ... Relay station ID, 105 ... Fragment identifier, 106: sequence number, 107: content information length, 108: data payload, 109: CRC, 1
11: cycle time, 112: network ID, 1
13: update timer, 114: SSP counter,
115: SSP cycle, 116: SSP number, 117: slot information size, 118: frame end pointer, 11
9: common information update notification, 120: CRC, 121: station information # 1, 122: station information # 2, 1
23 ... station information # 3, 124 ... station information # 4, 125 ... slot information # 1, 126 ... slot information # 2, 127 ... CRC

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasunori Maejima 6-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F-term (reference) 5K033 AA01 CB01 CB04 CB13 CC01 DA01 DA17 5K072 AA12 BB02 BB17 BB27 CC03 DD16 DD17 DD19 EE05 EE06 FF04 FF05 FF12 FF27

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A wireless transmission method in which a wireless network is configured by using a plurality of transmission devices as communication stations and information is transmitted between the transmission devices in the wireless network, wherein: The information to be shared by a plurality of transmission devices is packetized in predetermined information units, and broadcast transmission is performed from the radio transmission device serving as the control station of the radio network to the plurality of transmission devices serving as all communication stations. The transmission device serving as the communication station returns the reception confirmation information of the received packet to the wireless transmission device serving as the control station, and the transmission device serving as each communication station returns to the wireless transmission device serving as the control station within a predetermined time. Packets that could not be received
A wireless transmission method, wherein a unicast transmission is individually performed to a transmission device serving as a communication station that failed to receive a packet. 2. The wireless transmission method according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of transmission apparatuses serving as communication stations that have not received the packet, all communication apparatuses are controlled again from the wireless transmission apparatus serving as a control station of the wireless network. A wireless transmission method characterized by performing broadcast transmission to a plurality of transmission devices serving as stations. 3. The wireless transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission device serving as a control station of the wireless network transmits information indicating that broadcast transmission has been performed to a plurality of transmission devices serving as all communication stations. The transmission device serving as each communication station is notified using a downlink control packet that transmits the packet. When the transmission device serving as the communication station receives the notification of the downlink control packet, the transmission device that does not receive the packet in the broadcast transmission is transmitted. A retransmission request is returned to the wireless transmission device serving as the control station. In the wireless transmission device serving as the control station, a packet that cannot be received by the transmission device serving as each communication station is transmitted to each communication station that cannot receive the packet. A wireless transmission method characterized by performing unicast transmission individually to devices. 4. The radio network control method according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of transmission apparatuses that are communication stations that have not received all of the specific packets within a predetermined time, the control station of the radio network. Wireless transmission method, wherein all of the specific packets are broadcast-transmitted from the wireless transmission apparatus to the plurality of transmission apparatuses to be all communication stations again. 5. The wireless transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission apparatus serving as a specific information transmission source communication station on the wireless network performs multicast transmission to a plurality of information reception destination communication station transmission apparatuses. At this time, information to be transmitted is packetized in a predetermined information unit, the information receiving communication station information to be multicast-transmitted is described in a payload portion of the packet, and a transmission device serving as the information transmitting communication station is described. The transmission apparatus performs broadcast transmission to the transmission apparatus serving as the information receiving communication station. The transmission apparatus serving as the information receiving communication station transmits the information receiving communication station information at the time of multicast transmission described in a payload portion of a received packet. And determining whether or not the packet is destined for the own station with reference to FIG. 6. The wireless transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the transmission device serving as a specific information transmission source communication station on the wireless network performs multicast transmission to a plurality of information reception destination communication station transmission devices. At this time, information to be shared by a plurality of transmission apparatuses serving as all communication stations on the wireless network is packetized in a predetermined information unit, and transmitted from the transmission apparatus serving as the information transmission source communication station to the information reception destination communication station. The transmission device that performs multicast transmission to the transmission device serving as a station, the transmission device serving as the information receiving communication station returns reception confirmation information of the received packet to the wireless transmission device serving as the information transmission source communication station, and the information transmission source In the wireless transmission device serving as the communication station, the packet that the transmission device serving as the information receiving communication station cannot receive is transferred to the information receiving communication station. Wireless transmission method characterized by unicast transmission individually to become transmission device. 7. The wireless transmission method according to claim 6, wherein when there are a plurality of transmission apparatuses serving as the information receiving communication stations that have not received the packet, the wireless transmission apparatus serving as the information transmitting communication station re-starts from the wireless transmission apparatus serving as the information receiving communication station. A wireless transmission method, wherein broadcast transmission is performed to a plurality of transmission devices serving as the information receiving communication stations. 8. A wireless transmission apparatus serving as a control station configured to form a wireless network using communication apparatuses serving as a plurality of communication stations and transmitting management information in the wireless network, wherein all communication stations on the wireless network are provided. Packetizing means for packetizing information to be shared in the transmission device to be a predetermined information unit; and transmitting the information from the wireless transmission device serving as a control station of the wireless network to a plurality of transmission devices serving as all communication stations. Broadcast transmission means for performing broadcast transmission, reception means for receiving information from a transmission device serving as each communication station, extraction means for extracting a packet that needs to be reproduced from the received information, and retransmission is required A unicast transmission means for selecting a packet and individually transmitting a unicast to a transmission device serving as each communication station. Radio transmission and wherein the was e. 9. The wireless transmission apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: a clock means for clocking a predetermined time; an extraction means for extracting a packet that needs to be reproduced from the received information within a predetermined time; When a required packet is selected and a plurality of transmission devices serving as the information receiving communication station exist, a plurality of transmission devices serving as the information receiving communication station again from the wireless transmission device serving as the information receiving communication station Wireless transmission apparatus further comprising retransmission broadcast means for broadcasting the packet. 10. A wireless transmission device that constitutes a wireless network using a plurality of communication devices that become communication stations, and that receives a predetermined packet in a wireless transmission device that is a terminal station that transmits information in the wireless network; Acknowledgment transmission means for transmitting acknowledgment information of the received packet; and performing multicast transmission from the transmission device serving as a specific information transmission source communication station on the wireless network to a plurality of information reception destination communication station transmission devices. When performing, packetizing means for packetizing information to be transmitted in a predetermined information unit, and multicast transmission information indicating multicast transmission is described in a header portion of the packet, and multicast transmission is performed in a payload portion of the packet. Multicast information writing means for writing the above information receiving communication station information , Wireless transmission apparatus characterized by comprising a broadcasting section that performs broadcast transmission apparatus from the transmission apparatus serving as the information source communication station becomes the information receiving destination communication station. 11. The wireless transmission apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the transmission apparatus serving as the information receiving communication station transmits the information receiving communication station information at the time of multicast transmission described in a payload portion of a received packet. A wireless transmission apparatus comprising: a reference unit that determines whether a packet is addressed to the own station.