Communication device and communication method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9794880-B1
Application number	US-201715438689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Feb 21, 2017
Priority date	Sep 12, 2016
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a first communication device performing wireless communication with second and third communication devices is provided. The first communication device includes a communication control unit that determines a time period during which communication between the first and second communication devices could interfere with a communication between the first and third communication devices, sets the beginning of a time period during which communication between the first and the third communication devices can occur as a time where the transmission or receipt of a communication between the first and third communication devices will not interfere with a communication between the first and second communication devices, and transmits a coupling request signal including information concerning the time until the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first and third communication devices begins so as to establish communication with the second communication device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A first communication device that performs wireless communication with at least a second communication device and a third communication device, comprising:
a communication control unit that, when the first communication device is in communication with the second communication device, and receives a request to communicate with the third communication device from the third communication device:
determines the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the second communication device can occur;
calculates a time period when a communication between the first communication device and the second communication device could interfere with a communication between the first communication device and the third communication device;
sets, as the beginning of a time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur, a time where the transmission or receipt of a communication between the first communication device and the third communication device will not interfere with a communication between the first communication device and the second communication device; and
transmits a coupling request signal including information concerning the time until the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device begins so as to establish communication with the second communication device.

2. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur coincides with the time when the communication period for communication between the first and the second communication device ends.

3. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur is determined based on when transmission of the coupling request signal to the second communication device will begin.

4. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein:
the communication control unit comprises a central processing unit and a memory, and
the central processing unit calculates the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur by executing a program for calculating the beginning of a time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur that is stored in the memory.

5. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the coupling request signal includes information concerning the duration of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur.

6. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur is calculated, by the control unit, as a fixed time, plus an integer multiple of the fixed time, after the coupling request signal is sent by the first communication device.

7. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur is calculated, by the control unit, as a fixed time, plus an integer multiple of the fixed time, beginning after the coupling request signal is sent by the first communication device, plus a margin time period.

8. The first communication device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a circuit for wireless communication; and
a power supply control unit configured to stop supplying power to the circuit for wireless communication, when wireless communication is not performed for a predetermined period of time or longer,
wherein the time difference between the end of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the second communication device can occur, and the beginning of the time period during which communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur, is less than the predetermined period of time.

9. The first communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined signal is an advertising packet which is defined by a wireless communication standard.

10. The first communication device according to claim 9 , wherein the communication control unit performs initiation processing for receiving an advertising packet in a predetermined cycle.

11. A communication method for performing wireless communication by a first communication device, comprising:
receiving, within a first, predetermined, interval a signal from a third communication device when communication between the first communication device and a second communication device is already established;
calculating a time until communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can begin, the calculated time being immediately after communication between the first communication device and a second communication device ends; and
transmitting a coupling request signal including the information of the time when communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can occur so as to establish the communication with the third communication device.

12. The communication method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
calculating the earliest time that communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can start as a fixed time period plus an integer multiple of the fixed time interval after the coupling request was sent by the first communication device.

13. The communication method according to claim 12 , wherein the period of time between the end of the period of time during which the first communication device and the second communication device can communicate, and the beginning of the period of time when the first communication device and the third communication device can communicate, is less than the fixed time period.

14. The communication method according to claim 11 , further comprising transmitting, as a part of the coupling request signal, the period of time during which the first communication device and the third communication device can communicate.

15. The communication method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
calculating the earliest time that communication between the first communication device and the third communication device can start as a fixed time period, plus an integer multiple of the fixed time interval, plus a margin time period, wherein the margin time is less than the fixed time period.

16. The communication method according to claim 14 , wherein the period of time during which the first communication device and third communication device can communicate is greater than the period of time required for one of the first and the third communication devices to receive a packet as a signal and transmit a packet as a signal.

17. The communication method according to claim 11 , wherein the predetermined signal is an advertising packet which is defined by a wireless communication standard.

18. A first communication device that performs wireless communication with at

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Yamato Katsumi

Classifications

• H04W76/023

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W4/008

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W52/0216 Primary

  using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• H04W76/14

  Direct-mode setup · CPC title