JP2011228955A - Wireless communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication method which enables direct communication between terminals via a radio wave of a frequency band capable of a high speed communication between the terminals, when constituting a wireless network such as a wireless LAN by use of the radio wave of the frequency band capable of the high speed communication and having a narrow communicable area, even if any one of the terminals cannot communicate via the radio wave of the frequency band capable of the high speed communication with a wireless device.SOLUTION: In a wireless network, which comprises a wireless device including a first wireless communication means, and a plurality of terminals each including the first wireless communication means and a second wireless communication means having a carrier frequency higher than that of the first wireless communication means and capable of wireless communication with the wireless device, when starting direct communication between the plurality of terminals, information is exchanged, which is necessary for the plurality of terminals to start the direct communication, via the wireless device using the first wireless communication means, and thereafter, the direct communication is performed between the plurality of terminals by use of the second wireless communication means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication method for a wireless network including three or more wireless devices such as a wireless LAN.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a communication technology (hereinafter referred to as a wireless LAN) that configures a LAN (Local Area Network) using wireless communication is known. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a typical configuration of a wireless LAN (for example, see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a communication procedure when establishing direct communication between the terminal devices shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 11 denotes a wireless device having a base station function for a network using a wireless LAN. Reference numerals 21 and 22 are terminal devices that perform wireless communication with the wireless device 11. The wireless device 11 is normally called an access point (hereinafter referred to as AP), and the terminal devices 21 and 22 are referred to as stations (hereinafter referred to as STA). The terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 communicate via the wireless device 11, but exchange control information via the wireless device 11 so that the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 can communicate with each other without going through the wireless device 11. You can communicate directly between them.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 7, the communication procedure at the time of starting the direct communication between the terminal devices 21 and 22 is demonstrated. First, the terminal device 21 that intends to start direct communication transmits a connection request signal for direct communication with the terminal device 22 to the wireless device 11 having the base station function (step S31). The wireless device 11 that has received the connection request signal transmits the connection request signal to the terminal device 22 (step S32). The terminal device 22 that has received the connection request signal transmits a response signal including information on whether or not to allow direct communication to the wireless device 11 (step S33). The wireless communication device 11 transmits this response signal to the terminal device 21 (step S34). If the response signal is directly communicable and the terminal device 22 permits direct communication, direct communication is started between the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 (step S35). Such a communication procedure enables direct communication between the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22.

IEEE Standard for Information technology-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems-Local and metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements, IEEE Std. 802.11-2007. Supervised by Masahiro Morikura, Shuji Kubota, “802.11 High-Speed Wireless LAN Textbook”, revised third edition, Impress R & D

  Incidentally, in the conventional wireless LAN network shown in FIG. 6, the wireless device 11 and the terminal devices 21 and 22 perform communication using radio waves in the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band, and a connection request signal and a response signal are transmitted. Radio waves in the same frequency band are used for transmission / reception and direct communication. A typical wireless LAN standard using the 2.4 GHz band is IEEE 802.11g, and can provide a transmission rate of 54 Mbit / s. A typical wireless LAN standard using the 5 GHz band is IEEE 802.11a, which can also provide a transmission rate of 54 Mbit / s.

  Further, in recent years, the IEEE 802.11n standard has been established, which provides a transmission rate of up to 600 Mbit / s using the 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band. The standards of IEEE802.11g and IEEE802.11a are both standards using a single frequency band of 2.4 GHz band or 5 GHz band. An apparatus that switches and uses radio waves of these different frequency bands has also been realized, but the provided transmission rate is equivalent to 54 Mbit / s. Even in the IEEE802.11n standard, there is no difference in standard between the transmission rates of the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band. That is, in a conventional standard wireless LAN, high-speed communication cannot be realized even if the frequency band is switched. On the other hand, with an increase in demand for high-speed communication, development of a higher-speed wireless LAN standard using a millimeter wave band capable of realizing a transmission rate of 1 Gbit / s or more is in progress.

  However, as the frequency of radio waves increases, the loss associated with spatial propagation increases. For example, millimeter-wave radio waves such as a frequency of 60 GHz have a high loss due to spatial propagation because of the high frequency. Furthermore, millimeter wave radio waves cannot be communicated with large transmission power with a device of a size and power consumption that can be applied to a wireless LAN because of legal restrictions and performance limitations of high frequency components that handle millimeter waves.

  For this reason, when trying to increase the speed by using millimeter-wave radio waves in the conventional wireless LAN network shown in FIG. 6, the communicable area of the wireless device 11 is reduced, and the terminal devices 21 and 22 are connected to each other. Even if there is a nearby location and a direct communication by millimeter wave is possible, if at least one of the terminal devices 21 and 22 cannot communicate with the wireless device 11, the direct communication cannot be started. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a wireless network such as a wireless LAN using a radio wave of a frequency band in which a high-speed communication such as a millimeter wave band is possible but a communicable area is narrowed. When configuring, if any of the terminal devices that are STAs cannot communicate with radio devices that are APs using radio waves in a frequency band that allows high-speed communication such as millimeter waves, An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication method capable of performing direct communication using radio waves in a frequency band capable of high-speed communication.

  The present invention includes a wireless device including a first wireless communication unit, the first wireless communication unit, and a second wireless communication unit having a carrier frequency higher than that of the first wireless communication unit, In a wireless network composed of a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication with a wireless device, when starting direct communication between the plurality of terminal devices, the first wireless communication unit is used to Direct communication between the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means after exchanging information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication via a wireless device It is characterized by.

  The present invention includes a wireless device including a first wireless communication unit, the first wireless communication unit, and a second wireless communication unit having a wider bandwidth used for communication than the first wireless communication unit. A wireless network including a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication with the wireless device, wherein the first wireless communication means is provided when starting direct communication between the plurality of terminal devices. Use the second wireless communication means to directly communicate between the plurality of terminal devices after exchanging information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication via the wireless device It is characterized by performing.

  The present invention includes a wireless device including a first wireless communication unit, the first wireless communication unit, and a second wireless communication unit having a transmission rate higher than that of the first wireless communication unit. In a wireless network composed of a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication with a device, when the direct communication is started between the plurality of terminal devices, the wireless communication is performed using the first wireless communication unit. And performing direct communication among the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means after exchanging information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication via the device. Features.

  The present invention includes a wireless device including a first wireless communication unit, the first wireless communication unit, and a second wireless communication unit having a communication distance shorter than that of the first wireless communication unit. In a wireless network composed of a plurality of terminal devices capable of wireless communication with a device, when the direct communication is started between the plurality of terminal devices, the wireless communication is performed using the first wireless communication unit. And performing direct communication among the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means after exchanging information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication via the device. Features.

  According to the present invention, the information necessary for starting the direct communication requests the direct communication from the first terminal device that is to start the direct communication to the second terminal device that is the direct communication partner. A connection request signal is included.

  In the present invention, the wireless device that has received the connection request signal transmitted from the first terminal device transmits the connection request signal to the second terminal device, and the wireless device has Information on the first terminal device or the second terminal device is notified to at least one of the first terminal device or the second terminal device.

  The present invention is characterized in that the information on the terminal device is information on a frequency offset of the first terminal device or the second terminal device.

  The present invention is characterized in that the information related to the terminal device is position information of the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

  The present invention is characterized in that the information on the terminal device is relative distance information between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

  The present invention is characterized in that the information on the terminal device is angle information viewed from the wireless device of the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

  According to the present invention, the information necessary for starting the direct communication includes a response signal for notifying whether or not direct communication to the first terminal device is permitted from the second terminal device that has received the connection request signal. It is included.

  The present invention is characterized in that the connection request signal includes information on the second wireless communication means used for direct communication.

  The present invention is characterized in that the response signal includes information relating to the second wireless communication means used for direct communication.

  The present invention is characterized in that the information relating to the second wireless communication means used for the direct communication includes any one of a frequency band to be used, a channel to be used, a bandwidth to be used, or a number of channels to be used. .

  According to the present invention, two terminal devices are arranged at a position where the second wireless communication means can communicate with each other, and the wireless device and each of the two terminal devices are arranged at a position where the first wireless communication means can communicate with each other. In such a case, even if the wireless device and at least one of the two terminal devices cannot be communicated by the second wireless communication unit, the two terminal devices start direct communication by the second wireless communication unit. The effect that it can be obtained.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the communication procedure which establishes direct communication between the terminal devices shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the communication procedure which establishes direct communication between the terminal devices shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the communication procedure which establishes direct communication between the terminal devices shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the communication procedure which establishes direct communication between the terminal devices shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network by the wireless LAN of a prior art. It is a sequence diagram which shows the communication procedure which establishes direct communication between the terminal devices shown in FIG.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a wireless communication method according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus of the embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a wireless device having a base station function. Reference numerals 21 and 22 denote terminal devices that perform wireless communication with the wireless device 11 and also perform direct communication with each other. The wireless device 11 and the terminal device 21 perform information communication by wireless communication. The wireless device 11 and the terminal device 22 also perform information communication by wireless communication. The two terminal devices 21 and 22 perform direct communication by wireless communication. Here, between each of the terminal devices 21 and 22 and the wireless device 11, wireless communication is performed using a 2.4 GHz band or 5 GHz band radio wave used in a normal wireless LAN.

  In addition, between the two terminal devices 21 and 22, wireless communication is performed using a 60 GHz-band millimeter-wave radio wave that can be used without a radio station license in a wide frequency band in major countries around the world. The terminal device 21 includes a first wireless communication unit 211 that performs wireless communication using 2.4 GHz band or 5 GHz band radio waves, and a second wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication using 60 GHz band millimeter wave radio waves. 212 is provided. The terminal device 22 includes a first wireless communication unit 221 that performs wireless communication using a 2.4 GHz band or 5 GHz band radio wave, and a second wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication using a 60 GHz band millimeter wave radio wave. 222 is provided.

  Since a 60 GHz band radio wave can use a very wide frequency width over several GHz, wireless communication of several Gbit / s or more can be realized. However, because of the high frequency, propagation loss in space is large, and due to legal restrictions and performance limitations of millimeter-wave high-frequency components, radio waves cannot be emitted with large transmission power, resulting in long-distance communications. It is difficult. Therefore, when the terminal devices 21 and 22 that want to perform information communication at high speed are arranged close to each other, it is desirable to directly communicate using the 60 GHz band millimeter wave.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the communication procedure at the time of starting the direct communication between the terminal devices 21 and 22 shown in FIG. 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating a communication procedure according to the first embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the second wireless communication unit 212 of the terminal device 21 is about to start direct communication with the second wireless communication unit 222 of the terminal device 22. First, the first wireless communication unit 211 of the terminal device 21 transmits a connection request signal indicating that direct communication with the terminal device 22 is desired to the wireless device 11 having the base station function (step S311).

  The wireless device 11 that has received this connection request signal transmits the connection request signal to the terminal device 22 (step S321). The first wireless communication unit 221 of the terminal device 22 that has received the connection request signal transmits a response signal including information on whether direct communication is possible or not (step S331). The wireless device 11 transmits this response signal to the terminal device 21 (step S341). If the content of this response signal is that direct communication is possible and the terminal device 22 permits direct communication, the second wireless communication means 212 of the terminal device 21 and the second wireless communication means 222 of the terminal device 22 are used. Direct communication is started with (step S351).

  In this way, the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 are arranged at positions where the second wireless communication means 212 and 222 can communicate, and the wireless device 11 having the base station function and the terminal devices 21 and 22 are the first If the wireless communication means 211 and 221 are arranged at positions where communication is possible, even if at least one of the wireless device 11, the terminal device 21, and the terminal device 22 cannot communicate with the second wireless communication means, The terminal devices 21 and 22 can start direct communication by the second wireless communication means 212 and 222.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, 2.4 GHz band or 5 GHz band radio waves are used as the first radio communication units 211 and 221, and 60 GHz band radio waves are used as the second radio communication units 212 and 222. However, as long as the first wireless communication means 211, 221 has a longer communication distance than the second wireless communication means 212, 222, direct communication is performed in the same manner in other frequency band combinations as well. Can be done. In addition, although the number of terminal devices has been described as two, direct communication can be similarly performed even in the case of three or more terminal devices.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a wireless communication method according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Since the device configuration in the second embodiment is the same as the device configuration in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted here. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating a communication procedure according to the second embodiment.

  First, the first wireless communication unit 211 of the terminal device 21 that is going to start direct communication transmits a connection request signal to the wireless device 11 to directly communicate with the terminal device 22 (step S1). The wireless device 11 that has received this connection request signal transmits a connection request signal from the terminal device 21 to the terminal device 22 (step S2). And the radio | wireless apparatus 11 transmits the frequency offset information of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 which the radio | wireless apparatus 11 has with respect to each of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 (step S3, S4).

  The terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 that have received this frequency offset information control their own frequency adjustment mechanism using the received frequency offset information when starting direct communication. Then, the first wireless communication means 221 of the terminal device 22 transmits a response signal including information on whether direct communication is permitted or not (step S5). The wireless device 11 transmits this response signal to the terminal device 21 (step S6). If the content of this response signal is that direct communication is possible and the terminal device 22 permits direct communication, the second wireless communication means 212 of the terminal device 21 and the second wireless communication means 222 of the terminal device 22 are used. Direct communication is started with (step S7).

  In wireless communication, a carrier wave is modulated with an information signal and transmitted, and the receiving side demodulates it to extract information from the carrier wave. Therefore, it is desirable that the frequencies used for modulation and demodulation are the same on the transmitting side and the receiving side. These frequencies are generated based on the oscillation frequency of the crystal oscillator. At this time, the frequency used for modulation and demodulation may be shifted due to a minute frequency shift of the crystal oscillator, and it is necessary to correct the shift based on the received signal on the receiving side. In this wireless communication method, since the frequency shift of each terminal device can be known in advance prior to the direct communication by the second wireless communication means 212, 222, training for frequency adjustment is not required, and short Direct communication can be established in time.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a wireless communication method according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Since the apparatus configuration in the third embodiment is the same as the apparatus configuration in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted here. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating a communication procedure according to the third embodiment.

  First, the first wireless communication unit 211 of the terminal device 21 that intends to start direct communication transmits a connection request signal to the wireless device 11 to directly communicate with the terminal device 22 (step S11). The wireless device 11 that has received the connection request signal transmits a connection request signal from the terminal device 21 to the terminal device 22 (step S12). And the radio | wireless apparatus 11 transmits the information regarding the position of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 which the radio | wireless apparatus 11 has with respect to each of the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 (step S13, S14).

  The terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 that have received the information on the position control the radio wave emission direction and the transmission power by using the information on the received position when starting direct communication. Then, the first wireless communication means 221 of the terminal device 22 transmits a response signal including information on whether direct communication is permitted or not (step S5). The wireless device 11 transmits this response signal to the terminal device 21 (step S6). If the content of this response signal is that direct communication is possible and the terminal device 22 permits direct communication, the second wireless communication means 212 of the terminal device 21 and the second wireless communication means 222 of the terminal device 22 are used. Direct communication is started with (step S17).

  Information on the position includes information on whether or not the terminal devices 21 and 22 that are going to start direct communication are close to each other, and how far the terminal devices 21 and 22 are from the wireless device 11 having a base station function And the information indicating in which direction each of the terminal devices 21 and 22 is viewed from the wireless device 11. For information on whether or not the two terminal devices 21 and 22 are close to each other, the correlation of the received signals from the terminal devices 21 and 22 received by the wireless device 11 is measured, and there is a correlation greater than a certain threshold. It is determined that the two terminal devices 21 and 22 are arranged close to each other. Alternatively, when the wireless device 11 includes an antenna that can change the beam direction, such as an array antenna or a sector antenna, the terminal devices 21 and 22 are arranged close to each other when they can communicate with the same beam. Judge that At this time, it is also possible to make a determination in consideration of the intensity of the radio waves received from the terminal devices 21 and 22.

  Also, information on how far the two terminal devices 21 and 22 are from the wireless device 11 is determined by measuring the strength of received signals from the terminal devices 21 and 22 received by the wireless device 11. Further, information on which direction the two terminal devices 21 and 22 are viewed from the wireless device 11 is determined by estimating the arrival direction based on the received signals from the array antenna or the sector antenna included in the wireless device 11.

  In this way, the two terminal devices 21 and 22 can grasp the positional relationship between them prior to direct communication, and can determine in which direction the directional beam should be directed prior to direct communication. it can.

<Fourth Embodiment>
Next, a wireless communication method according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Since the apparatus configuration in the fourth embodiment is the same as the apparatus configuration in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted here. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a communication procedure according to the fourth embodiment.

  First, the first wireless communication unit 211 of the terminal device 21 that is going to start direct communication transmits a connection request signal to the wireless device 11 to directly communicate with the terminal device 22 (step S21). The wireless device 11 that has received this connection request signal transmits the received connection request signal to the terminal device 22 (step S22). At this time, the connection request signal includes information indicating that the terminal device 21 has the capability of performing communication by the second wireless communication unit, and the terminal device 21 directly communicates by the second wireless communication unit 212. It contains information that indicates what you want to do.

  Next, the first wireless communication means 221 of the terminal device 22 that has received the connection request signal transmits a response signal indicating whether direct communication is possible or not to the wireless device 11 (step S23). The wireless device 11 that has received this response signal transmits the received response signal to the terminal device 21 (step S24). At this time, the response signal includes information indicating that the terminal device 22 has a capability of performing communication by the second wireless communication unit 222, and the terminal device 22 performs communication by the second wireless communication unit 222. Contains information that indicates permission. Subsequently, when the content of the response signal sent from the terminal device 22 can be directly communicated by the second communication means 212 and 222 and the direct communication is permitted, the second wireless communication means 212 of the terminal device 21 is used. The second wireless communication unit 222 of the terminal device 22 starts direct communication (step S25).

  In the second wireless communication means 212 and 222, when a plurality of frequency bands such as a 60 GHz band and a 70 GHz band are available, it is necessary to decide which frequency band to use for communication. In response to such a request, information indicating a frequency band to be used may be included in the connection request signal or the response signal.

  In addition, there are a plurality of channels that can be used in the second wireless communication means 212 and 222. For example, when four channels are available in the 60 GHz band, it is necessary to decide which channel is used for communication. In response to such a request, information regarding a channel to be used may be included in the connection request signal or the response signal.

  Also, when multiple channels can be communicated together, how many channels are bundled, how much bandwidth is used for communication, and which channels and which ones can be used simultaneously It is necessary to decide whether to use the channel. In response to such a request, information regarding the bandwidth used or the number of channels used in the connection request signal or the response signal, or the number of the channel used may be included.

  In this way, the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 are arranged at positions where the second wireless communication means 212 and 222 can communicate, and the wireless device 11 having the base station function and the terminal devices 21 and 22 are the first If the wireless communication means 211 and 221 are arranged at positions where communication is possible, even if at least one of the wireless device 11, the terminal device 21, and the terminal device 22 cannot communicate with the second wireless communication means, The terminal devices 21 and 22 can start direct communication by the second wireless communication means 212 and 222.

  As described above, by using the radio communication method according to the present invention, radio waves such as a wireless LAN using radio waves in a frequency band that enables high-speed communication such as a millimeter wave band but a communicable area is narrowed. Even when one of the terminal devices 21 and 22 cannot configure communication with a radio device 11 having a base station function using radio waves in a frequency band capable of high-speed communication such as millimeter waves when configuring a network, It is possible to start direct communication using radio waves in a frequency band where high-speed communication such as 22 millimeter wave bands is possible.

  In the above description, the base station device (AP) is used as the wireless device 11. However, the connection request signal transmitted and received by the terminal device 21 and the terminal device 22 by the first wireless communication units 211 and 221. The wireless device 11 does not have to be a base station device as long as the device can relay and transmit a response signal.

  Further, the first wireless communication means 211 and 221 have been described by taking the frequency 2.4 GHz band or the 5 GHz band radio wave as an example, and the second wireless communication means 212 and 222 have been described by taking the millimeter wave of the frequency 60 GHz or 70 GHz as an example. If the first wireless communication means 211, 221 has a longer communication distance than the second wireless communication means 212, 222, the same problem exists for other frequency band combinations and modulation scheme combinations. However, this can be solved by applying the technique of the present invention. As such a combination, the second wireless communication unit can apply a higher carrier frequency, a wider bandwidth used for communication, or a higher transmission rate to the first wireless communication unit. The same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to a combination of these wireless communication means.

  As described above, in the wireless communication method according to the present invention, direct communication between terminal devices is performed by the second wireless communication means having a high carrier frequency, but the exchange of control information for starting direct communication is performed by the second wireless communication. The first wireless communication means having a carrier frequency lower than that of the means is used. In the prior art, the frequency band used when the terminals try to start direct communication is the same as the frequency band used for direct communication between the terminal apparatuses. If the wireless apparatus cannot communicate with the terminal apparatus, the terminal Direct communication between devices could not be started. This becomes prominent when a high frequency band is used to achieve high-speed communication. The present invention can solve such a problem because the frequency band used for direct communication is different from the frequency band used for communication at the start of direct communication.

  Further, since the first wireless communication means having a low frequency can use the 2.4 GHz band and 5 GHz band radio waves normally used in a wireless LAN, millimeter waves are used as the second wireless communication means having a high frequency. Even when it is used, a long communication distance can be ensured compared to millimeter waves, and the wraparound of radio waves is also large compared to millimeter waves, so that the second wireless communication means cannot communicate between the terminal device and the base station device wireless device. Even in this case, there is a high possibility that communication can be performed using the first wireless communication unit.

  By configuring as in the present invention, the terminal devices have a high carrier frequency, and therefore, direct communication is possible by the second wireless communication means having a high transmission rate but a short communication distance. However, in the situation where the second wireless communication means cannot communicate with the first wireless device, the possibility of starting direct communication can be increased. That is, the terminal device that is going to start direct communication has a low carrier frequency, and therefore the first wireless communication means that has a low transmission rate but a long communication distance requests the wireless device that is a base station device to start direct communication. The wireless device that has transmitted the signal and has received this signal transmits a request signal for starting communication directly to the terminal device that is the counterpart of direct communication by the same first wireless communication means. Since the first wireless communication unit generally has a longer communication distance than the second wireless communication unit, the first wireless communication unit is located between the terminal device and the first wireless device arranged at a distance that cannot be communicated by the second wireless communication unit. It becomes possible to communicate with.

  Note that a program for realizing the functions of the first wireless communication units 211 and 221 and the second wireless communication units 212 and 222 in FIG. 1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and recorded on the recording medium. A connection process for performing direct communication may be performed by causing the computer system to read and execute the program. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

  In a wireless network composed of three or more wireless devices such as a wireless LAN, the present invention can be applied to an application indispensable for two wireless devices to communicate directly.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Wireless device, 21 ... Terminal device, 211 ... 1st wireless communication means, 212 ... 2nd wireless communication means, 22 ... Terminal device, 221 ... 1st Wireless communication means, 222 ... second wireless communication means

Claims (14)

A wireless device comprising first wireless communication means;
A plurality of terminal devices comprising the first wireless communication means and a second wireless communication means having a carrier frequency higher than that of the first wireless communication means, and capable of wireless communication with the wireless device; In a wireless network consisting of
When direct communication is started between the plurality of terminal devices, information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication is exchanged via the wireless device using the first wireless communication means. Then, direct communication is performed between the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means. A wireless device comprising first wireless communication means;
A plurality of first wireless communication means; and a second wireless communication means having a wider bandwidth used for communication than the first wireless communication means, and a plurality of wireless communication with the wireless device In a wireless network composed of terminal devices,
When direct communication is started between the plurality of terminal devices, information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication is exchanged via the wireless device using the first wireless communication means. Then, direct communication is performed between the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means. A wireless device comprising first wireless communication means;
A plurality of terminal devices including the first wireless communication unit and a second wireless communication unit having a transmission rate higher than that of the first wireless communication unit and capable of wireless communication with the wireless device; In the configured wireless network,
When direct communication is started between the plurality of terminal devices, information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication is exchanged via the wireless device using the first wireless communication means. Then, direct communication is performed between the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means. A wireless device comprising first wireless communication means;
A plurality of terminal devices including the first wireless communication unit and a second wireless communication unit having a communication distance shorter than that of the first wireless communication unit and capable of wireless communication with the wireless device; In the configured wireless network,
When direct communication is started between the plurality of terminal devices, information necessary for the plurality of terminal devices to start direct communication is exchanged via the wireless device using the first wireless communication means. Then, direct communication is performed between the plurality of terminal devices using the second wireless communication means. Information necessary to start the direct communication includes:
5. The connection request signal for requesting direct communication from the first terminal device that is going to start direct communication to the second terminal device that is a partner of direct communication is included. A wireless communication method according to claim 1.   The wireless device that has received the connection request signal transmitted from the first terminal device transmits the connection request signal to the second terminal device, and the first terminal that the wireless device has The wireless communication method according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the first terminal device and the second terminal device is notified of information related to the device or the second terminal device.   The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the information related to the terminal device is information related to a frequency offset of the first terminal device or the second terminal device.   The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the information related to the terminal device is position information of the first terminal device and the second terminal device.   The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the information related to the terminal device is relative distance information between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.   The wireless communication method according to claim 6, wherein the information related to the terminal device is angle information of the first terminal device and the second terminal device viewed from the wireless device. Information necessary to start the direct communication includes:
6. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, further comprising: a response signal for notifying whether or not direct communication with the first terminal device is permitted from the second terminal device that has received the connection request signal.   6. The wireless communication method according to claim 5, wherein the connection request signal includes information on the second wireless communication means used for direct communication.   12. The wireless communication method according to claim 11, wherein the response signal includes information related to the second wireless communication means used for direct communication.   The information on the second wireless communication means used for the direct communication includes any one of a frequency band to be used, a channel to be used, a bandwidth to be used, or a number of channels to be used. 14. A wireless communication method according to 13.

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