WO2015025413A1 - Wireless communication apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To allow a desired transmission opportunity to be acquired in one-to-one communications. [Solution] A wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure comprises an acquisition unit, a determination unit, a generation unit and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires setting information that includes the setting values of first intervals, which indicate the transmission intervals of frames, and second intervals longer in time than the first intervals. A determination unit determines, on the basis of the setting information and information related to a protocol used in communications, whether a rate control is necessary with respect to the transmission/reception of the frames, and, if the rate control is necessary, the determination unit sets a token rate that is a rate of increasing the number of tokens each indicating when the transmission is possible. The generation unit generates the tokens in accordance with the token rate. If a storage quantity of the tokens is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the control unit performs a control such that the frames are transmitted.

Description

Wireless communication apparatus and method

The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication apparatus and method for performing wireless communication.

In wireless communication, there is a system using short-range communication with a communication range of about several tens of centimeters. In such near field communication, there is often one wireless communication device that falls within the communication range, and access control using CSMA / CA (Carrier Sense multiple access / Collision Avoidance) as in a conventional wireless LAN. Even efficient access control is desirable.

In general, as a signal transmission / reception method in a one-to-one wireless communication device, a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as an initiator) that transmits a connection request is given priority over a wireless communication device (hereinafter referred to as a responder) that receives the connection request. There is a communication method that does not require random backoff by adjusting the signal transmission interval between the initiator and the responder. On the other hand, there is a flow control as a method for controlling the load on the network.

JP 2008-5096 A

However, the above-mentioned method has a problem that it is difficult for a responder to obtain a transmission opportunity. In particular, a response signal from a partner wireless communication device such as TCP (TransmissionTransControl Protocol) and DTCP-IP (Digital Transmission Content Protection over Internet Protocol) is used. And in systems that require control signals.

As an example of flow control, there is flow control by token bucket, but there is a method for determining the token rate from the congestion state of the network and link speed information, etc. Is not considered for systems that are given the opportunity to transmit

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication apparatus and method that allow a wireless communication apparatus to obtain a desired transmission opportunity in one-to-one communication.

The wireless communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit, a determination unit, a generation unit, and a control unit. The acquisition unit acquires setting information including setting values of a first interval indicating a frame transmission interval and a second interval having a longer period than the first interval. The determination unit determines whether or not rate control is necessary for transmission / reception of the frame based on the setting information and information on a protocol used for communication, and can transmit when the rate control is necessary. Set the token rate, which is the rate of token increase. The generation unit generates the token according to the token rate. The control unit controls to transmit the frame when the accumulated amount of the token is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

The conceptual diagram of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a wireless communication apparatus according to a first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the flow control used with a radio | wireless communication apparatus. The figure which shows the example of a setting of the parameter r and the parameter B. The sequence diagram which shows the operation example of the frame transmission / reception of a wireless communication apparatus. The sequence diagram which shows the operation example of the frame transmission / reception of a wireless communication apparatus. The figure which shows the throughput comparison characteristic of an initiator and a responder. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 5th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 6th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 7th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 8th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 9th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 10th Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the radio | wireless communication apparatus concerning 11th Embodiment. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a wireless communication apparatus according to a twelfth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a wireless communication apparatus according to a thirteenth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a wireless communication apparatus according to a fourteenth embodiment. The figure which shows the prior art example of the frame transmission / reception in one-to-one communication. The figure which shows the prior art example of the frame transmission / reception in an initiator and a responder. The figure which shows the prior art example of the frame transmission / reception in an initiator and a responder.

Hereinafter, a wireless communication apparatus and method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same numbered parts are assumed to perform the same operation, and repeated description is omitted.
(First embodiment)
The conceptual diagram of the radio | wireless communications system which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG.
The wireless communication system 100 includes a wireless communication device 101, a wireless communication device 102, and a wireless communication device 103. Since the wireless communication device 101, the wireless communication device 102, and the wireless communication device 103 have the same configuration, the wireless communication device 101 will be mainly described below. In the example of FIG. 1, there are three wireless communication devices from the wireless communication device 101 to the wireless communication device 103, but more wireless communication devices may exist.

In the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment, it is assumed that the communication range of each of the wireless communication devices 100, 200, and 300 is about several tens of centimeters at the widest. In the present embodiment, one-to-one communication is assumed. For example, the wireless communication apparatus 101, the wireless communication apparatus 102, and the wireless communication apparatus 103 do not communicate with each other at the same time. , And the wireless communication device 103 and the wireless communication device 103 communicate on a one-to-one basis after the communication is completed.

Next, the wireless communication apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment includes an antenna 201, a wireless unit 210, a physical layer (PHY) unit 220, a connection layer (CNL) unit 230, a CNL user (CNLuser) unit 240, and an application unit 250. Further, the wireless unit 210 includes an RF transmission unit 211 and an RF reception unit 212. The PHY unit 220 includes a modulation unit 221 and a demodulation unit 222. The CNLuser unit 230 includes a CNL reception unit 231, a CNL access control unit 232, a reception buffer 233, a transmission buffer 234, and a CNL transmission unit 235. The CNLuser unit 240 includes a reception buffer 241, a transmission buffer 242, an access control parameter acquisition unit 243, a rate determination unit 244, a token generation unit 245, and a frame control unit 246. The rate determination unit 244 and the token generation unit 245 are also collectively referred to as a token baguette control unit 247.

The antenna 201 may be a general antenna and receives a transmitted signal to obtain a received signal. Further, it receives a transmission signal from the RF transmission unit 211 and transmits it to the outside. Further, the antenna 201 may be included in the wireless communication apparatus 101, and in this way, the mounting area can be reduced. In addition, by sharing the antenna 201 for the reception process and the transmission process, the wireless communication apparatus 101 can be reduced in size.

The RF reception unit 212 receives a reception signal from the antenna 201, performs processing such as down-conversion and analog-digital conversion on the reception signal, and converts the reception signal into a physical frame.
The demodulator 222 receives a physical frame from the RF receiver 212, performs a process such as demodulation and physical header analysis on the physical frame, and generates a received frame.

The CNL reception unit 231 receives a reception frame from the demodulation unit 222 and performs processing such as analysis of the MAC header of the reception frame, detection of reception errors, and data extraction. For example, the received signal is a signal transmitted from the communication partner, and if there is no error in reception, data is extracted from the received frame.
The CNL access control unit 232 receives the data of the received frame analyzed from the CNL receiving unit 231, and sets IIFS (Initiator Inter-Frame Space), RIFS (Responder Inter-Frame Space), and SIFS (Short Inter-Frame space). Setting information including time values necessary for transmission / reception such as values and data frames and response frames is extracted. IIFS indicates a frame transmission interval in the initiator. RIFS indicates the frame transmission interval in the responder, and has a longer period than IIFS. SIFS is a transmission interval having a shorter period than IIFS and RIFS. Also, the CNL access control unit 232 performs general control of timing related to frame transmission / reception with respect to the CNL reception unit 231 and the CNL transmission unit 235.
The reception buffer 233 receives data from the CNL reception unit 231 and stores it.
The reception buffer 241 receives data from the reception buffer 233 and stores it.

The application unit 250 acquires data from the reception buffer 241 and uses the data in the application. In addition, the application unit 250 generates data to be transmitted to the communication partner. In addition, the application unit 250 generates Application-service request indicating a protocol code decided as a protocol type and a standard. Application-service request includes, for example, information indicating whether the protocol of the data frame currently transmitted / received is TCP or DTCP-IP.

The transmission buffer 242 receives and stores data to be transmitted from the application unit 250. At this time, padding bits are added to the data as necessary.
The access control parameter acquisition unit 243 acquires from the CNL access control unit 232 setting information including at least IIFS, RIFS, and SIFS setting values and time required for transmission / reception of each of the data frame and the response frame.
The rate determining unit 244 receives the Application-service request from the application unit 250 and determines whether or not rate control is necessary (rate control on or off) according to the Application-service request. In the case of rate control, if the application does not require a data frame from the communication partner or a response frame or control frame at the application level, that is, if bidirectional communication is not required, it is determined that it is not necessary to perform rate control. The rate determination unit 244 and the token generation unit 245 are not performed. On the other hand, when a data frame from a communication partner, an application-level response frame, or a control frame is required as an application, the rate determining unit 244 determines that rate control is necessary, and the access control parameter acquiring unit 243 The setting information described above is acquired. Thereafter, the rate determining unit 244 sets a token rate for transmitting data based on the Application-service request and the setting information. The token rate indicates an increase rate of tokens indicating when transmission is possible.

The token generation unit 245 receives the token rate from the rate determination unit 244, generates a token based on the token rate, and also generates token information indicating the token accumulation state.
The frame control unit 246 receives token information from the token generation unit 245. Based on the token information, the frame control unit 246 stores data from the application unit 250 in the transmission buffer 242 if the token accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, and stores data in the transmission buffer 242 if the token is less than the threshold. The frame transmission is controlled by not storing.

The transmission buffer 234 receives and stores data from the transmission buffer 242.
The CNL transmission unit 235 receives data in the transmission buffer 234 in the stored order, performs processing such as adding a MAC header, and generates a transmission frame.

The modulation unit 221 receives a transmission frame from the CNL transmission unit 235, performs processing such as encoding, modulation, and addition of a physical header on the frame to generate a physical frame.

The RF transmitter 211 receives a physical frame from the modulator 221, performs processing such as digital-analog conversion and up-conversion on the physical frame, and generates a transmission signal.

Next, flow control used in the wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is an example of token transition in flow control using a token bucket, where the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents the bucket size. In the token bucket, two parameters r and B are used. The parameter r is a token rate indicating the rate of increase of tokens, and in FIG. 3, the slope of the graph is shown. Parameter B is a maximum bucket size indicating the maximum token size. When the token reaches the number specified by the parameter B, the token is not increased any more.

In the example of FIG. 3, the maximum packet size has been reached since the start, and if the token exceeds a certain amount determined according to the data frame size at the timing of the data frame transmission request, it is transmitted as conformant “◯”. . Here, when data is transmitted once at time 301, a predetermined amount of tokens decreases with respect to the transmission size of the data frame, and thereafter, at an increasing rate specified by the parameter r as time elapses. Tokens accumulate. Even at time 302, the token accumulation amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value, so that a data frame can be transmitted. When the data frame is transmitted, a certain amount of tokens is decreased as in the time 301.
Here, if an attempt is made to transmit a data frame at time 303, a fixed amount of tokens cannot be reduced, that is, the accumulated amount of tokens is less than the threshold value, so that the data frames cannot be transmitted (FIG. 3). (Time in “x” called non-conformant in the middle). That is, a data frame cannot be transmitted unless a certain amount of tokens are accumulated. By controlling the transmission of data frames in this way, it is possible to control the data flow load on the network.

The parameters r and B may be determined based on the degree of link congestion and the link speed. In the present embodiment, a system that preferentially gives the initiator an opportunity to transmit a frame is assumed. The initiator transmits an IIFS interval, and the responder transmits a data frame at an RIFS interval. Since a response signal (ACK or the like) for the data frame needs to be transmitted with priority over IIFS and RIFS, the response signal is transmitted by SIFS. Therefore, if a request from the application indicating what ratio each of the initiator and the responder wants to transmit is known, an accurate token rate corresponding to the request can be generated.
Next, setting examples of the parameter r and the parameter B are shown in FIG.
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the protocol is TCP and the initiator and the responder transmit at a ratio of 1: 1, and the table 400 shown in FIG. Stored table.
The parameter 401 “B” may be set by 2 × MSS. MSS is Maximum Segment Size and indicates the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted at once in a TCP packet. Note that the frame length is not limited to the TCP packet, and may be considered as a frame length of one frame transmitted and received by the present system.
The parameter 401 “r” may be set according to the following equation (1).

Data duration is the transmission period length for data frame transmission, and ACK duration is the transmission period length for response frame transmission.

Assuming the case of one-to-one communication, the parameter r is a period in which the MSS transmits data after the IIFS has elapsed from the initiator, a period in which data is received from the responder and a response signal is transmitted after the SIFS has elapsed, and the responder has passed the RIFS. A value obtained by dividing the sum of the period during which data is transmitted later and the period during which the response signal is transmitted after SIFS has elapsed after receiving data from the initiator is set as the increase rate. That is, if the value obtained by dividing the frame length of one frame in the entire period related to data transmission / reception between the initiator and the responder is set as the value of the parameter r, the transmission opportunities can be made equal between the initiator and the responder.

The rate determining unit 244 may set the token rate r in consideration of the balance of the data amount in frame transmission / reception between the initiator and the responder, or may set the token rate r in consideration of the time for frame transmission. It may be set.

Next, an example of frame transmission / reception operation of the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B.
FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are sequence diagrams showing the time series of frame transmission / reception, in which two wireless communication apparatuses, for example, the wireless communication apparatus 101 and the wireless communication apparatus 102 serve as an initiator and a responder, respectively. Here, a case where the initiator and the responder perform transmission / reception of a frame by TCP will be described as an example. However, not only TCP but also DTCP-IP can perform the same processing. Before the communication shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, it is necessary to complete the connection process between the wireless communication apparatuses. However, the description is omitted here, and the connection process has already been completed.

In step S <b> 501, the initiator application unit 250 passes an Application-service request to the CNLuser unit 240.
In step S <b> 502, the CNLuser unit 240 of the initiator generates TCP data including an Application-service request and passes it to the CNL unit 230.
In step S503, the CNL unit 230 of the initiator generates a data frame including TCP data and transmits it to the responder.

In step S504, the CNL unit 230 of the responder receives the data frame from the initiator, extracts the TCP data, and passes it to the CNLuser unit 240. Here, the CNL unit 230 of the responder returns an ACK frame in the MAC layer, which is a response to the data frame received from the initiator, to the initiator.
In step S505, the CNLuser unit 240 of the responder extracts an Application-service request from the TCP data and passes it to the application unit 250.
In step S <b> 506, the application unit 250 generates an Application-service response that is a response to the Application-service request and passes it to the CNLuser unit 240.
In step S <b> 507, the CNL user unit 240 of the responder generates TCP data including an Application-service response and passes it to the CNL unit 230.
In step S508, the CNL unit 230 of the responder generates a data frame including TCP data and transmits it to the initiator.

In step S509, the CNL unit 230 of the initiator receives the data frame from the responder, extracts the TCP data, and passes it to the CNL unit 230. Here, the CNL unit 230 of the initiator returns an ACK frame in the MAC layer for the data frame received from the responder to the responder.
In step S <b> 510, the CNLuser unit 240 of the initiator extracts an Application-service response from the TCP data and passes it to the application unit 250.

In step S511, the rate determining unit 244 determines whether or not to perform rate control from the parameter information including SIFS, IIFS, and RIFS from the CNLuser unit 240 and the protocol information used for communication. Here, it is determined that the rate control is performed. When rate control is performed, the rate determination unit 244 sets the token rate parameter r. The token generation unit 245 generates a token according to the parameter r.

In step S512, the data is stored in the transmission buffer 242. In the example of FIG. 5, since TCP is used as the protocol, data is inserted into the transmission buffer 242 when the transmission buffer 242 has a range that can be accommodated in the TCP window and the tokens are accumulated more than a threshold. become.
In step S513, the transmission frame is generated from the data stored in the transmission buffer 234 in the order of the stored data under the control of the CNL access control unit 232 of the CNL unit 230, and the transmission frame is transmitted to the responder at a predetermined timing. When the responder receives the transmission frame from the initiator as described above, it returns an ACK frame. At this time, if the initiator receives an ACK frame for a certain transmission frame A, the initiator knows that the responder has normally received the transmission frame A, so the queue for the transmission frame A is cleared. Here, since it is assumed that 10 transmission frames are transmitted, when the initiator receives 10 ACK frames, all the queues are cleared.

In step S514, the CNL unit 230 of the responder passes TCP data extracted from the transmission frame to the CNLuser unit 240 every time the transmission frame is normally received. In addition, when receiving the TCP data, the CNLuser unit 240 generates a TCP ACK that is a response to the TCP data, and puts the TCP ACK in the queue. Note that data transmission to the initiator is also requested from the application unit 250 of the responder, and the CNLuser unit 240 also queues TCP data.

In step S515, the CNL user unit 240 of the responder passes 10 TCP ACKs for 10 TCP data to the CNL unit 230.
In step S516, the CNL unit 230 of the responder collectively includes 10 TCP ACKs in the data frame and transmits the data frame to the initiator as a transmission frame.
In step S517, the CNL unit 230 of the initiator receives the transmission frame from the responder, transmits an ACK frame for the received frame to the responder, and passes TCP data to the CNLuser unit 240.
In step S518, the CNLuser unit 240 of the initiator receives the TCP ACK included in the TCP data, and clears the TCP data queue.

Here, in step S519, it is assumed that there is a request for data transmission from the application unit 250 of the initiator, and the CNLuser unit 240 has received data to be transmitted. Here, since the accumulated amount of tokens generated by the token generating unit 245 is less than the threshold value, the frame control unit 246 does not store data in the transmission buffer 242 until the accumulated amount of tokens becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value.
In step S520, the responder obtains a transmission opportunity, the CNL user unit 240 of the responder passes the TCP data to the CNL unit 230, and the CNL unit 230 can transmit the data frame to the initiator.
In step S521, data to be transmitted is received from the application unit 250 of the initiator, and since the accumulated amount of tokens is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the frame control unit 246 stores the data in the transmission buffer 242. As a result, the data frame transmission process can be performed in the subsequent stage as described above.

According to the first embodiment described above, in a system that performs transmission and reception in one-to-one communication and gives an opportunity for signal transmission to the initiator preferentially, the flow control of the transmission frame by the token bucket is performed. The transmission opportunity can be made equal (1: 1) between the initiator and the responder without causing significant changes to existing devices such as modifying the processing of the CNL unit corresponding to the processing of the MAC layer.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the initiator and the responder perform flow control in which transmission is performed with equal transmission opportunities. However, in the second embodiment, flow control is performed only when the wireless communication device is an initiator. Is assumed.

Since the system assumed in the one-to-one communication is a system in which the initiator can preferentially transmit, the first embodiment even when the flow control is performed only by the initiator without performing the flow control by both the initiator and the responder. The same effect can be obtained.

The wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment includes the CNL access control unit 232, the access control parameter acquisition unit 243, and the rate determination unit 244, and the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since it is the same, description here is abbreviate | omitted. The operation of the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment is the same as the operation of the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The CNL access control unit 232 extracts, from the received frame, own device information indicating whether the own device transmits frames at IIFS or RIFS, that is, whether the own device is an initiator or a responder.

The access control parameter acquisition unit 243 receives the own device information from the CNL access control unit 232 from the CNL access control unit 232.

The rate determination unit 244 receives Application-service request from the application unit 250 and own device information from the access control parameter acquisition unit 243. The rate determination unit 244 determines to perform flow control based on Application-service request and the own device information when the application is necessary for bidirectional communication and the own device is an initiator. The rate determining unit 244 sets a token rate for flow control.

According to the second embodiment described above, the responder is controlled by performing flow control when the own device is the initiator based on the own device information indicating whether the own device is the initiator or the responder. The transmission opportunities can be made equal between the initiator and the responder without any additional processing.

(Third embodiment)
Depending on the application and higher layer protocol, bidirectional communication may be necessary, but transmission opportunities may not necessarily be set equally. For example, in the TCP / IP protocol, the responder needs to transmit a TCP ACK frame for a TCP frame, but it is not necessary to obtain a transmission opportunity at an equal rate. This is because the responder only needs to be able to obtain a transmission opportunity when necessary.

Therefore, the third embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in that the transmission opportunity between the initiator and the responder is set to be other than the equal ratio. In this way, bidirectional communication can be performed at a rate suitable for the application and protocol.

Since the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the third embodiment is the same as the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 except for the rate determination unit 244, description thereof is omitted here. The operation of the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment is the same as the operation of the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The rate determination unit 244 receives Application-service request from the application unit 250 and sets the token rate according to the required transmission rate so that bidirectional communication can be performed at a transmission rate suitable for the application or protocol.

Next, throughput comparison characteristics of the initiator and the responder will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 shows the throughput characteristics of the initiator, the responder, and the sum of the initiator and the responder. The vertical axis represents the throughput value [Mbps], and the horizontal axis represents the normalized token rate parameter r obtained by normalizing the parameter r when the ratio of transmission opportunities between the initiator and the responder is 1: 1. Value.

The plot 601 indicated by the symbol “◇” is the throughput value of the initiator. The plot 602 indicated by the symbol “□” is the value of the responder throughput. A plot 603 indicated by the symbol “Δ” is the total throughput of the initiator and the responder. As shown in FIG. 6, by changing the parameter r, it can be seen that the throughput increases as the value of the parameter r increases, and the responder decreases as the value of the parameter r increases.

For example, in the case of a protocol such as DTCP-IP, it is necessary to transmit a control frame from the responder to the initiator at regular intervals. However, since the ratio is small, the value of the parameter r of the normalized token rate shown in FIG. Or it is desirable to set to 2.5. Therefore, the rate determination unit 244 can easily set the value of the parameter r of the token rate based on the information regarding the throughput comparison characteristic as shown in FIG.

According to the third embodiment described above, bidirectional communication can be performed at a desired transmission opportunity by setting the token rate parameters at a rate suitable for the application and protocol.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the fourth embodiment, whether or not the setting values of the parameters of the token rate r and the maximum bucket size B are appropriate is determined from the situation during communication, and these parameters are adjusted as necessary. Different from the embodiment.

A wireless communication apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 700 according to the fourth embodiment is the same as the wireless communication apparatus 700 except for the channel status grasping unit 701 and the rate determining unit 702 included in the CNLuser unit 240, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.
The channel status grasping unit 701 receives carrier sense information indicating the status of carrier sense from the CNL receiving unit 231 and determines whether a radio channel is available based on the carrier sense information. If the radio channel is free, channel free information is generated. Note that the carrier sense information may be received from the CNL access control unit 232.

The rate determining unit 702 receives the channel availability information from the channel status grasping unit 701, and determines whether to change the currently used token rate based on the channel availability information. If it is determined to change the token rate, for example, the normalization token rate currently set may be increased by one level (for example, the value of the normalization parameter r is changed from 1 to 2).

The channel status grasping unit 701 acquires the status of the transmission buffer from the transmission buffer 242 without being limited to the status of carrier sense, analyzes the status of the transmission buffer frame in the transmission buffer, It may be determined whether a transmission opportunity is given. Whether or not an excessive transmission opportunity is given may be determined, for example, based on whether or not the size of the transmission frame held in the transmission buffer is equal to or larger than a threshold value.

According to the fourth embodiment described above, even when the communication status changes from the start of communication, the transmission rate between the initiator and the responder is set according to the status by appropriately changing the token rate in the middle. can do.

(Fifth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 800 according to the fifth embodiment includes a bus 801, a processor unit 802, and an external interface unit 803 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 101 according to the first embodiment. The processor unit 802 and the external interface unit 803 are connected to the application unit 250 via the bus 801. The processor unit 802 and the external interface unit 803 may exist in the application unit 250 or may exist independently. Firmware operates in the processor unit 802. As described above, by configuring the firmware to be included in the wireless communication device, it is possible to easily change the function of the wireless communication device by rewriting the firmware.

(Sixth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 900 according to the sixth embodiment includes a clock generation unit 901 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 101 illustrated in FIG. When the radio unit 210, the PHY unit 220, and the CNL unit 230 are collectively used as a radio transmission / reception unit, the clock generation unit 901 is connected to the radio transmission / reception unit, generates a clock, and outputs to the outside of the radio communication apparatus 900 via an output terminal. Output a clock.
As described above, the clock generated in the wireless communication apparatus 900 is output to the outside, and the host side is operated by the clock output to the outside, so that the host side and the wireless communication apparatus side are operated in synchronization. Is possible.

(Seventh embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 1000 according to the seventh embodiment includes a power supply unit 1001, a power supply control unit 1002, and a wireless power supply unit 1003 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 101 illustrated in FIG. The power supply control unit 1002 is connected to the power supply unit 1001 and the wireless power supply unit 1003, and performs control to select a power supply to be supplied to the wireless communication apparatus 1000. As described above, by providing the wireless communication apparatus with the power supply, it is possible to perform a low power consumption operation by controlling the power supply.

(Eighth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
In the wireless communication apparatus 1100 according to the eighth embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10, an NFC (Near Field Communications) transmission / reception unit 1101 is added and connected to the power supply control unit 1002 and the CNL unit 230. It is a thing. Note that the NFC transmission / reception unit 1101 may exist inside the application unit 250 or may exist independently.
As described above, by providing the wireless communication device with the NFC transmission / reception unit 1101, authentication processing can be easily performed, and power control is performed using the NFC transmission / reception unit 1101 as a trigger to reduce the standby time. It is possible to reduce power consumption.

(Ninth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the ninth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 1200 according to the ninth embodiment includes a SIM card 1201 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 1000 according to the tenth embodiment. The SIM card 1201 is connected to the CNL unit 230. The SIM card 1201 may exist in the application or may exist independently.
As described above, the configuration in which the SIM card is provided in the wireless communication device makes it possible to easily perform the authentication process.

(Tenth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the tenth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 1300 according to the tenth embodiment includes a moving image compression / decompression unit 1301 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 800 according to the eighth embodiment. The moving image compression / decompression unit 1301 is connected to the bus 801. As described above, by providing the wireless communication apparatus with the moving image compression / decompression unit 1301, transmission of the compressed moving image and expansion of the received compressed moving image can be easily performed.

(Eleventh embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 1400 according to the eleventh embodiment includes an LED unit 1401 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 101 of FIG. The LED unit 1401 is connected to the application unit 250, for example. As described above, by providing the wireless communication device with the LED unit 1401, it is possible to easily notify the user of the operation state of the wireless communication device.

(Twelfth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the twelfth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 1500 according to the twelfth embodiment includes a vibrator unit 1501 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 101 of FIG. The vibrator unit 1501 is connected to the application unit 250, for example. As described above, by providing the vibrator unit 1501 in the wireless communication apparatus, it is possible to easily notify the user of the operation state of the wireless communication apparatus.

(13th Embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the thirteenth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
A wireless communication device 1600 according to the thirteenth embodiment includes a wireless switching unit 1601 and a wireless LAN unit 1602 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication device 101 shown in FIG.
The wireless switching unit 1601 is connected to the wireless transmission / reception unit, the CNLuser unit 240, and the wireless LAN unit 1602. Multiple channels can be used in the millimeter wave band assumed in the above-described wireless communication. However, if any channel has large interference with other systems and desired transmission / reception cannot be performed, switching to wireless LAN communication is possible. Good.

The frequency band used in the wireless LAN unit 1602 may be a frequency band IEEE802.11a, b, g, or the like different from the frequency band used for the wireless communication described above, or 802.11ad using the frequency band used for the wireless communication described above. In addition, the wireless LAN unit 1602 may include an antenna for transmission / reception, and may share the antenna when using the same frequency band as the wireless communication described above.
The wireless LAN unit 1602 switches the frequency band in response to a request from the wireless switching unit 1601.
As described above, by providing the wireless communication apparatus with the wireless LAN, it is possible to switch between wireless LAN communication and wireless communication depending on the situation.

(Fourteenth embodiment)
A wireless communication apparatus according to the fourteenth embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The wireless communication apparatus 1700 according to the fourteenth embodiment includes a switch (SW) 1701 in addition to the configuration of the wireless communication apparatus 1600 according to the thirteenth embodiment. The switch 1701 is connected to the wireless transmission / reception unit, the wireless LAN unit 1602, and the wireless switching unit 1601. As described above, by providing the switch 1701 in the wireless communication apparatus, it is possible to appropriately switch between communication by the wireless LAN and communication by the wireless transmission / reception unit according to the situation while sharing the antenna.

(Conventional example)
As a conventional example, a relationship between a general initiator and a responder in one-to-one communication will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is an example of asymmetric access in which different signal transmission intervals are set in each wireless communication device in one-to-one communication.
In general, in a conventional wireless LAN, a wireless channel is measured and detected before the wireless channel is used, and each wireless communication device randomly sets a back-off before transmitting a signal so that the bandwidth is set between the wireless communication devices. And fairness techniques are used. On the other hand, in one-to-one communication, interference is such that one wireless communication device transmits a broadcast signal (for example, a beacon signal) as an access point, and performs random backoff control each time another wireless communication device transmits. A method for simplifying and improving the efficiency of the connection is preferable to wireless communication control that emphasizes avoidance and fairness of the wireless band.

The control that does not use the random backoff as described above will be described. First, when the initiator performs signal transmission, a control signal between wireless communication devices for starting connection, called a connection request signal (Connect request), is transmitted and received using, for example, random back-off control to establish a connection. Establish. After establishing a connection, by giving the initiator a shorter signal transmission interval compared to the responder, it avoids signal collision between the initiator and the responder even without random back-off control, giving the initiator the opportunity to transmit signals preferentially. be able to.

In the example of FIG. 18, the signal transmission interval of the initiator is IIFS, the signal transmission interval of the responder is RIFS, and the signal transmission interval is longer in RIFS than in IIFS. In this case, if the initiator has a data frame, frame transmission can be performed at a short signal transmission interval. On the other hand, if there is a data frame in the responder, even if the responder wants to transmit, the IIFS timer times out during the RIFS timer count and the initiator starts transmitting, so the responder cannot transmit the frame.

FIG. 19 shows a specific example of frame transmission / reception using a conventional asymmetric access control method.
FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram showing a time series of frame transmission / reception between the initiator and the responder as in FIGS. 5A and 5B.
In the example shown in FIG. 19, in the conventional asymmetric access control method, even if the responder wants to send data (step S1901), the initiator sends the data frame to the responder at an IIFS interval. With this transmission interval, the data frame cannot be transmitted to the initiator.

On the other hand, according to the above-described wireless communication apparatus according to the present embodiment, transmission opportunities can be made equal between the initiator and the responder.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Wireless communication system, 101, 102, 103, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700 ... Wireless communication apparatus, 201 ... Antenna, 210. ..Radio part 211 ... RF transmitter 212 ... RF receiver 220 ... physical layer (PHY) part 221 ... modulator 222 ... demodulator 230 ... CNL unit, 231... CNL reception unit, 232... CNL access control unit, 233, 241... Reception buffer, 234, 242, transmission buffer, 235... CNL transmission unit, 240. CN Luser unit, 243 ... access control parameter acquisition unit, 244 ... rate determination unit, 245 ... token generation unit, 246 ... frame control unit 247 ... Token baguette control unit, 250 ... Application unit, 301,302,303 ... Time, 400 ... Table, 401 ... Parameter, 402 ... Value, 601,602,603 .. Plot, 701... Channel status grasping unit, 702... Rate determining unit, 801... Bus, 802... Processor unit, 803 .. External interface unit, 901. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1001 ... Power supply part, 1002 ... Power supply control part, 1003 ... Wireless power feeding part, 1101 ... NFC transmission / reception part, 1201 ... Card, 1301 ... Moving image compression / decompression part, 1401 ... LED part, 1501 ... Vibrator part, 1601 ... Wireless switching part, 1602 ... Wireless LAN part, 1701 ... Switch.

Claims (10)

1. An acquisition unit that acquires setting information including setting values of a first interval indicating a frame transmission interval and a second interval having a longer period than the first interval;
   A token that determines whether or not rate control is necessary for transmission and reception of the frame based on the setting information and information about a protocol used for communication, and indicates when transmission is possible if the rate control is necessary A determination unit for setting a token rate that is an increase rate of
   A generating unit that generates the token according to the token rate;
   A wireless communication apparatus comprising: a control unit configured to control transmission of the frame when the token accumulation amount is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
2. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit sets the token rate in consideration of a balance of data amount in transmission / reception of the frame.
3. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit sets the token rate in consideration of a time related to transmission of the frame.
4. The determination unit sets the transmission frame size to MSS, the first interval to IIFS (Initiator Inter-Frame Space), the second interval to RIFS (Responder Inter-Frame Space), the first interval and the second interval When SIFS (Short Inter-Frame space) indicating a frame transmission interval shorter than the interval, data frame transmission period as data duration, and response frame transmission period indicating a response to the data frame as ACK duration,
   

   

   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the token rate is set based on:
5. The said determination part sets the said token rate according to the transmission rate of the transmission of the flame | frame by the said 1st space | interval requested | required by the said protocol, and the transmission of the flame | frame by the said 2nd space | interval. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1.
6. The acquisition unit further acquires own device information indicating whether the own device is transmitting frames at the first interval or the second interval;
   The said determination part does not perform the said rate control in the said own apparatus, when the said own apparatus information shows transmitting the flame | frame at the said 2nd space | interval. The wireless communication device according to any one of the above.
7. Based on information related to carrier sense in the communication, if there is a radio channel available, further comprising a status grasping unit for generating channel available information,
   The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether to change the token rate based on channel availability information.
8. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an antenna that transmits and receives the frame.
9. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a processor including firmware.
10. Obtaining setting information including setting values of a first interval indicating a transmission interval of frames and a second interval having a longer period than the first interval;
    A token that determines whether or not rate control is necessary for transmission and reception of the frame based on the setting information and information about a protocol used for communication, and indicates when transmission is possible if the rate control is necessary Set the token rate, which is the percentage increase in
    Generating the token according to the token rate;
    A wireless communication method, wherein control is performed such that the frame is transmitted when the token accumulation amount is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

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