Communication device, communication method, and program

Abstract

To provide a mechanism for performing multi-link communication using the millimeter wave band.SOLUTION: When a communication device establishes a link via a frequency channel in the millimeter wave band, the communication device executes processing for selecting an antenna for communicating with another communication device, includes information acquired through the executed processing in a request frame, and transmits the request frame to the other communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device that complies with IEEE802.11. [Background technology]

[0002] With the increase in the amount of data being communicated in recent years, the development of communication technologies such as wireless LANs (Local Area Networks) is progressing. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard series is known as the main communication standard for wireless LANs. The IEEE 802.11 standard series includes standards such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax / be (Patent Document 1).

[0003] For example, the IEEE802.11be standard considers Multi-Link communication, in which one AP (Access Point) establishes multiple links with one STA (Station) via multiple different frequency channels and communicates in parallel. Note that the two or more links may be selected from the same frequency band (2.4GHz, 3.6GHz, 4.9GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz), or each may be selected from a different frequency band. APs and STAs that support Multi-Link are called AP MLD (Multi-Link Device) and STA MLD, respectively.

[0004] In addition, in order to further improve communication performance, the successor standard to IEEE802.11be is considering using millimeter waves such as the 45 GHz and 60 GHz bands for multi-link communication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-50133 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] As mentioned above, the use of millimeter wave bands in Multi-Link communication is being considered. However, the existing standards for wireless LANs do not define a mechanism for Multi-Link communication using millimeter wave bands.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide a mechanism for performing Multi-Link communication using the millimeter wave band. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention has an establishment means for establishing multiple links with other communication devices via frequency channels, an execution means for executing a process to select an antenna for communicating with the other communication devices when the establishment means establishes a link via a millimeter wave band frequency channel, and a transmission means for including information acquired by the execution means in a request frame and transmitting the same to the other communication devices. Effect of the Invention

[0009] It will be possible to provide a mechanism for multi-link communication using the millimeter wave band. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network configuration. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an AP / STA. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of an AP / STA. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a connection process according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 2 is a configuration example of a multi-link element in an embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a configuration example of an OCI Element according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] (Configuration of wireless communication system) Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a network according to this embodiment. Fig. 1 shows a configuration in which a STA (STA102) participates in a network 100 constructed by an access point (AP101). The STA102 can transmit and receive signals transmitted and received by the AP101. This embodiment is applied to the AP101.

[0013] The AP 101 and the STA 102 can perform wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 UHR (Ultra High Reliability) standard, which is a successor standard to the IEEE 802.11be. IEEE is an abbreviation for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Each communication device can communicate at frequencies of 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz, as well as 45 GHz and 60 GHz bands, which are called millimeter waves. The frequency bands used by each communication device are not limited to these, and different frequency bands, such as the Sub 1 GHz band, may be used. In addition, the AP 101 and the STA 102 can communicate using bandwidths of 20 GHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 540 MHz, 640 MHz, 1080 MHz, and 2160 MHz. The bandwidths used by each communication device are not limited to these, and different bandwidths, such as 240 MHz and 4 MHz, may be used.

[0014] Although the AP 101 and the STA 102 are described as being compatible with the IEEE 802.11 UHR standard, they may also be compatible with a legacy standard that is a standard that precedes the IEEE 802.11 UHR standard. Specifically, the AP 101 and the STA 102 may be compatible with at least one of the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax / be standards. In addition to the IEEE 802.11 series standards, they may also be compatible with other communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC, UWB, ZigBee, and MBOA. UWB stands for Ultra Wide Band, and MBOA stands for Multi Band OFDM Alliance. NFC stands for Near Field Communication. UWB includes wireless USB, wireless 1394, WiNET, and the like. They may also be compatible with a communication standard for wired communication such as wired LAN. Specific examples of the AP 101 include, but are not limited to, a wireless LAN router and a personal computer (PC). The AP 101 may be an information processing device such as a wireless chip capable of performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 UHR standard. Specific examples of the STA 102 include, but are not limited to, a camera, a tablet, a smartphone, a PC, a mobile phone, a video camera, and a headset. The STA 102 may be an information processing device such as a wireless chip capable of performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 UHR standard.

[0015] The AP 101 and the STA 102 perform Multi-Link communication by establishing links via multiple frequency channels and communicating. An AP performing Multi-Link communication is also called an AP MLD (Multi-Link Device). For example, the AP 101 can establish a link 103 via a first frequency channel in the 5 GHz band with the STA 102 and communicate with it. In parallel with this, the STA 102 can establish a link 104 via a second frequency channel in the 45 GHz band with the AP 102 and communicate with it. In this case, the STA 102 performs Multi-Link communication by maintaining a second link 104 via a second frequency channel in parallel with the link 103 via the first frequency channel. In this way, the AP 101 can improve the throughput in communication with the STA 102 by establishing links via multiple frequency channels with the STA 102.

[0016] In addition, in the multi-link communication, the links between the communication devices may establish a plurality of links of different frequency bands. For example, the AP 101 and the STA 102 may establish a third link in the 60 GHz band in addition to the link 103 in the 5 GHz band and the link 104 in the 45 GHz band. Alternatively, the links may be established via a plurality of different channels included in the same frequency band. For example, the 1ch in the 45 GHz band may be established as the first link, and the 11ch in the 45 GHz band may be established as the second link. Note that links of the same frequency band and links of different frequency bands may be mixed. For example, the AP 101 and the STA 102 may establish a link of 35ch in the 60 GHz band and a link of 15ch in the 6 GHz band in addition to the link 103 of 2ch in the 60 GHz band. By establishing a plurality of connections of different frequencies with the STA 102, the AP 101 can establish communication with the STA 102 in the other band even when one band is congested, and therefore it is possible to prevent a decrease in throughput and communication delay in communication with the STA 102.

[0017] Each link is assigned a Link ID for each network in which the link is established. For example, consider the case where STA102 joins a 5 GHz network among the networks established by AP101. If the link established with AP101 is designated as 103, a common Link ID of 1 is assigned to this link. Similarly, when STA102 joins a 45 GHz network and the link established here is designated as 104, a Link ID of 2 is assigned to this link. This value is just an example, and different values ​​may be assigned to each network, or a Link ID may be assigned to each established link or STA.

[0018] In the IEEE802.11 series of standards, the bandwidth of each frequency channel in the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands is defined as 20MHz. The bandwidth of each frequency channel in the 45GHz band is defined as 540MHz, and in the 60GHz band it is defined as 1080MHz or 2160MHz. Here, a frequency channel is a frequency channel defined in the IEEE802.11 series of standards, and multiple frequency channels are defined in each of the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, 45GHz, and 60GHz bands. Note that a single frequency channel may use a bandwidth of 40MHz or more by bonding with adjacent frequency channels.

[0019] (AP / STA configuration) 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the STA 102 in this embodiment. The STA 102 has a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a function unit 203, an input unit 204, an output unit 205, a communication unit 206, and an antenna 207. Note that the number of antennas may be multiple.

[0020] The storage unit 201 is composed of one or more memories such as a ROM and a RAM, and stores various information such as computer programs for performing various operations described below and communication parameters for wireless communication. ROM stands for Read Only Memory, and RAM stands for Random Access Memory. As the storage unit 201, in addition to memories such as ROM and RAM, storage media such as flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and DVDs may be used. Furthermore, the storage unit 201 may include multiple memories.

[0021] The control unit 202 is configured with one or more processors such as a CPU or MPU, and controls the entire AP 101 by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 201. The control unit 202 may control the entire AP 101 in cooperation with the computer program stored in the storage unit 201 and an OS (Operating System). The control unit 202 also generates data and signals (wireless frames) to be transmitted in communication with other communication devices. The CPU stands for Central Processing Unit, and the MPU stands for Micro Processing Unit. The control unit 202 may also include multiple processors such as multi-core processors, and the entire STA 102 may be controlled by the multiple processors.

[0022] Furthermore, the control unit 202 controls the functional unit 203 to execute predetermined processes such as wireless communication, imaging, printing, projection, etc. The functional unit 203 is hardware that enables the AP 101 to execute predetermined processes.

[0023] The input unit 204 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 205 outputs various types of information to the user via a monitor screen or a speaker. Here, the output by the output unit 205 may be a display on a monitor screen, a voice output by a speaker, a vibration output, or the like. Note that both the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be realized by a single module, such as a touch panel. Also, the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be integrated with the STA 102, or may be separate from it.

[0024] The communication unit 206 controls wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard. The communication unit 206 may also control wireless communication conforming to other IEEE802.11 series standards in addition to the IEEE802.11be standard, and control wired communication such as a wired LAN. The communication unit 206 controls the antenna 207 to transmit and receive signals generated by the control unit 202 for wireless communication.

[0025] If the STA102 supports the NFC standard, Bluetooth standard, etc. in addition to the IEEE802.11be standard, the STA102 may control wireless communication in accordance with these communication standards. If the STA102 can perform wireless communication in accordance with multiple communication standards, the STA102 may have a communication unit and an antenna that support each communication standard. The STA102 communicates data such as image data, document data, and video data with the STA102 via the communication unit 206. The antenna 207 may be configured as a separate unit from the communication unit 206, or may be configured as a single module together with the communication unit 206.

[0026] The antenna 207 is an antenna capable of communication in the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, the 45 GHz band, and the 60 GHz band. In this embodiment, the STA 102 has two antennas, but may have three antennas. Alternatively, the STA 102 may have a different antenna for each frequency band. In addition, when the STA 102 has a plurality of antennas, the STA 102 may have a communication unit 206 corresponding to each antenna.

[0027] The AP 101 has the same hardware configuration as the STA 102 .

[0028] 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the STA 102 in this embodiment. The AP 101 also has a similar configuration.

[0029] The STA 102 comprises a multilink control unit 301 , a multilink communication setting UI unit 302 , a frame generation unit 305 , and a frame transmission / reception unit 306 .

[0030] The multi-link control unit 301 is a block that controls communication start processing for establishing one or more links used by the STA 102 for wireless communication with the AP 101, link addition and deletion processing after communication has started, and communication end processing for deleting all links. Specifically, the connection processing is composed of authentication processing, association processing, and 4-Way Hand Shake (4WHS) processing.

[0031] A multi-link communication setting UI (User Interface) unit 302 is a block that provides a UI for the user to input settings for multi-link communication of the STA 102 from the operation screen of the STA 102 .

[0032] The frame generation unit 305 is a block that generates frames for frame exchange when communicating with a connected AP.

[0033] The frame transmitting / receiving unit 306 transmits wireless frames including the probe request frame and data frame generated by the frame generating unit 305, and receives wireless frames from a partner device.

[0034] (Processing flow) Next, several embodiments will be described, including the flow of the processes executed by the AP / STA and the sequences in the wireless communication system.

[0035] Example 1 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the control unit 202 executing a program stored in the storage unit 201 of the STA 102. This flowchart shows the processing performed when the STA 102 connects to the AP 101. This processing is started when the STA 102 starts functioning as an STA, such as when the power of the STA 102 is turned on, when the STA 102 receives an instruction to connect to the AP 101, or when the wireless function is turned on.

[0036] The STA 102 checks whether it operates in Multi-Link (S401). This procedure may be determined by a user instruction, or may be automatically performed by an application or the OS.

[0037] If it is determined in S401 that the device does not operate in Multi-Link, a connection is made to the AP through existing connection processing (S411) and data communication is performed (S410).

[0038] If it is confirmed in S401 that the device operates in Multi-Link, it is checked whether the device operates in the millimeter wave bands of 45 GHz and 60 GHz (S402).

[0039] If it is determined in S402 that the device does not operate in the millimeter wave band, connection processing is performed collectively for multiple links in a frequency band other than the millimeter wave band as a Multi-Link connection processing compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard (S410).

[0040] If it is confirmed in S402 that the device operates in Multi-Link communication including the millimeter wave band, a Directional Multi-Gigabit (DMG) Beacon is transmitted (S403). Note that the transmission of the DMG Beacon in S403 is not necessary. The DMG Beacon is a Beacon that is communicated in the millimeter wave band, and is mainly used to determine the sector number described later. Note that the processes of S403 and S404 may be performed in the process of S406 described later.

[0041] Next, it is determined whether or not a beacon or a DMG beacon has been received from an AP MLD operating in the millimeter wave band (S404). Note that S403 and S404 may be performed in order.

[0042] If it is determined in S404 that a Beacon or a DMG Beacon has not been received from the AP in the millimeter wave band, it is determined in S405 whether or not a timeout has occurred (S405). If it is determined in S405 that a timeout has occurred, the process proceeds to S409, where connection processing for Multi-Link communication is performed using a frequency band other than the millimeter wave band, and this flowchart ends.

[0043] If it is determined in S404 that the beacon or DMG beacon has been received, training is performed by beamforming using the received beacon or DMG beacon (S406). Since the millimeter wave band has high directivity, it is necessary to adjust the radio waves by beamforming when communicating with a partner device. Therefore, if the millimeter wave band is included in at least one frequency channel of the links for multi-link communication, some radio wave transmission and reception in the millimeter wave band is necessary even if the connection processing for multiple links is performed together in one link. Therefore, in S409, by performing the connection processing together for links other than the millimeter wave band in the millimeter wave band channel used, it is possible to reduce the connection processing to be performed in other bands. In addition, the millimeter wave band is a frequency band that is easily disconnected when the relative positions of the AP101 and the STA102 move due to its high directivity. Therefore, by performing the connection processing in the millimeter wave band, it is possible to reduce the risk of other frequency bands not being connected.

[0044] The millimeter wave band has a limited range of radio waves compared to the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, etc. Therefore, a situation may occur where radio waves reach other bands other than the millimeter wave band, but not the millimeter wave band. For this reason, if connection processing is performed in a frequency band other than the millimeter wave band, there is a possibility that communication in the millimeter wave band cannot be performed during Multi-Link communication. Therefore, it is desirable to perform connection processing for multiple links at once in the link for Multi-Link communication, if connection processing can be performed in a link via a millimeter wave band frequency channel. Therefore, S407 may always be set to No. Conversely, if it is desired to prioritize connection to the other device first, Yes is selected in S407. S406 is set to an adjustment phase for determining the sector to be used by AP101 through training.

[0045] A sector is a value assigned to each physical direction in which the AP 101 emits radio waves, and is used to determine the relative positions of the AP 101 and the STA 102.

[0046] Control for selecting the optimal antenna between communication partners is performed in two stages: SLS (Sector-level sweep) and BRP (Beam Refinement Protocol). SLS has four elements: ISS (Initiator Sector Sweep), RSS (Responder Sector Sweep), SSW (Sector Sweep) Feedback, and SSW ACK. The one who performs ISS is called the Initiator, and the one who performs RSS is called the Responder. Either AP 101 or STA 102 may be in charge of the Initiator and Responder, but in this embodiment, AP 101 is in charge of the Initiator.

[0047] Detailed processing of S406 is shown below. Processing of S406 may include processing of S403 and S403.

[0048] The Initiator (AP 101) first transmits a DMG Beacon frame or an SSW frame to the Responder (STA 102) via the ISS. Here, the Initiator transmits the frame while changing the frame's physical transmission direction (radio wave antenna transmission pattern) and sector number. There are two types of sector numbers, TXSS (Transmit Sector Sweep) and RXSS (Receive Sector Sweep), and each can handle the transmitting and receiving sector numbers. The sector number that the Initiator transmits via the ISS is the one handled by TXSS.

[0049] When the responder receives a frame from the initiator, it selects the sector number with the antenna pattern that has the best reception sensitivity. It then transmits the selected sector number and its own sector number to the initiator. The responder may send one or multiple frames via RSS. If multiple frames are sent, they will send to the initiator while changing the sector number and physical transmission direction, just like the initiator. Once both parties have received and selected their sector numbers, the initiator will send SSW Feedback and confirm the sector number with the antenna pattern that has the best reception sensitivity. When the responder receives SSW Feedback, it will respond with SSW ACK.

[0050] After this, a more detailed antenna pattern may be determined by BRP (Beam Refinement Protocol). The AP 101 and STA 102 can obtain SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) and Channel Measurement Feedback by transmitting and receiving BRP frames, and can fine-tune the antenna pattern. BRP is performed only when necessary, so it is not necessary to perform it.

[0051] Once the selection of the antenna pattern with the best reception sensitivity by beamforming is completed, information about the antenna pattern and capability information for use in the millimeter wave band are given to the Multi-Link Element (S408). When performing Multi-Link setup in the millimeter wave band all at once, the information obtained in S406 is not given to the Multi-Link Element, and link information for other bands is given to the Multi-Link Element (S408). When performing Multi-Link setup with a link using a millimeter wave band frequency channel, ML Probe Request and Response are sent and received by radio transmission based on the adjustment results by beamforming.

[0052] Here, a configuration example of a Multi-Link Element to which the information acquired in S406 is added is shown in Fig. 6. The information acquired in S406 may be information on an optimal antenna pattern, radio wave measurement results in a channel, etc. In addition, when transmitting the information acquired by beamforming such as a Probe Request, Probe Response, ML Probe Request, and ML Probe Response via a millimeter wave band link, the information is transmitted by including it in the PHY preamble of the above frame. Alternatively, the above frame is transmitted according to the period determined in S406 in accordance with the information acquired by beamforming. In addition, a Multi-Link Element is added to the above frame to be transmitted by reflecting the results of adjustment in S406.

[0053] The Multi-Link Element is made up of an Element ID 601, a Length 602, an Element ID Extension 603, a Multi-Link Control 604, an MLD MAC Address 605, and a Per-STA Profile 606. In this embodiment, there is only one Per-STA Profile 606 for Link-1.

[0054] This element is indicated as a multi-link element by an element ID 601 and an element ID extension 603. Length 602 indicates the overall length of the multi-link element.

[0055] Multi-Link Control 604 includes a bitmap indicating what information is included in a Common Info Field (described later) and a Type field indicating the type of Multi-Link Element.

[0056] The fields from MLD MAC Address 605 to just before Per-STA Profile 606 contain common information for established links. In addition, whether or not the MLD MAC Address 605 or Per-STA Profile 606 is included in the Multi-Link Element is determined based on the value indicated by Multi-Link Control.

[0057] Whether or not the Per-STA Profile 606 field 606 is included in the Multi-Link Element is determined by the type of the Multi-Link Control 604 described above.

[0058] Per-STA Profile 606 includes information for each link.

[0059] The Per-STA Profile 606 is composed of a Subelement ID 611, a Length 612, and Data 613. The Data 613 includes detailed information for each Link, as shown below.

[0060] Data 613 is composed of an STA Control field 621 , STA Info 622 , Capability Information 623 , Element 1 624 , and a Non-Inferitance element 625 .

[0061] The STA control field 621 is composed of a Link ID 631, a Complete Profile 632, and a MAC Address Present 633. A link number is indicated in the Link ID 631. For example, in the case of this embodiment, when indicating the Link 103 in FIG. 1, 1 is indicated in the Link ID 631, and when indicating the Link 104, 2 is indicated.

[0062] A flag indicating whether or not all information related to the link is to be included is entered in Complete Profile 632. For example, when the STA 102 replies requesting all information related to the link of the AP 101, the value of Complete Profile 632 is set to 1 and all information on the link is included in the field following 622.

[0063] For example, consider adding a Multi-Link Element to a link via a frequency channel in the millimeter wave band. Link 103 in FIG. 1 operates at 5 GHz. Therefore, the elements added to the Beacon and Probe Request / Probe Response are different between link 103 and link 104. The following information is transmitted in link 103. That is, Supported Rates Element, DS Parameter set Element, Power Constraint element, HT Capabilities Element, HT Information Element, Extended Capabilities element, VHT Capabilities element, and VHT Operation Element are added to the field following Element 1 624 described later as information specific to the 5 GHz band. Note that even if the value of Complete Profile 632 is 1, it may be omitted if it is common to other Links. Similarly, if the information does not need to be notified before connection, it may be omitted. If Complete Profile 632 is set to 0, some or all of the elements to be included in Element 1 field 624 may be omitted. The field following MAC Address Present 633 indicates which fields are added to the field indicated in the following field STA Info 622.

[0064] In this embodiment, the Complete Profile 632 is set to 0 for a Probe Request / Response, and 1 for a ML Probe Request / Response.

[0065] From Element 1 624 to before Non-Inferitance element 625, each Link is granted its own unique Element.

[0066] Consider the case where the above-mentioned Multi-Link Element is assigned at 5 GHz in this embodiment, and information on the millimeter wave band is assigned in the Element 1 field 624.

[0067] As an element to which the information obtained in S406 is added, for example, an antenna sector ID pattern element defined in IEEE802.11 may be added to the above-mentioned Element 1 field. The sector number selected by the SLS is added to the antenna sector ID pattern element. Here, the sector number is the information obtained in S406.

[0068] Also, for example, any one of Wakeup Schedule Element, Extended Schedule Element, and STA Availability Element may be added. Also, any one of DMG TSPEC Element, Next DMG ATI Element, DMG Capabilities Element, DMG Operation Element, DMG BSS Parameter Change Element, and DMG Beam Refinement Element may be added. Also, any one of Channel Management Feedback Element, Awake Window Element, Next PCP List Element, PCP Handover Element, and DMG Link Margin Element may be added. Also, any one of Switching Stream Element, Session Transition Element, Dynamic Tone Pairing Report Element, and Cluster Report Element may be added. Also, any one of Relay Capabilities Element, Relay Transfer Parameter Set Element, and BeamLink Maintenance Element may be added. Also, any one of DMG Link Adaptation Acknowledgment Element, ECPAC Policy Element, Cluster Time Offset Element, and Channel Measurement Feedback Element may be added. In addition, any of the following may be added: EDMG Capabilities Element, EDMG Operation Element, QoS Triggered Unschedules Element, or Unsolicited Block Ack Extension Element.In addition, any of the following may be added: TDD Slot Structure Element, TDD Slot Schedule Element, or TDD Route Element.

[0069] Furthermore, regarding the Elements that can be assigned to the Element 1 field 624, elements that can be assigned commonly to the 5 GHz band and the millimeter wave band will be considered. In order to indicate on which channel the link indicated in the Link ID 631 field is operating, an OCI (Operating Channel Information) Element shown in Fig. 7 may be added to the Element 1 field. The OCI Element is an element for indicating the currently operating channel number.

[0070] The OCI Element consists of Element ID 701, Length 702, Element ID Extension 703, Operating Class 704, Primary Channel Number 705, Frequency Segment 1 Channel Number 706, and optionally, OCT Operating Class 707, OCT Primary Channel Number 708, and OCT Frequency Segment 1 Channel Number 709.

[0071] The class of the channel to operate in can be indicated in Operating Class 704. In this embodiment, since the device operates in the 45 GHz band, the value of Operating Class 704 is set to 183, for example.

[0072] A channel number can be indicated in Primary Channel Number 705, and one is selected from the channel numbers that can be indicated in the class indicated in Operating Class 704. For example, when operating on 1ch, the value may be 1.

[0073] By adding an OCI Element to the Element 1 field, it is possible to indicate the Operating Class and channel number that operate on the link indicated by Link ID 631.

[0074] Returning to Fig. 4, by sending a Multi-Link Element in which information for each link is added to the Per-STA Profile field 606 to the other device in an ML Probe Request, it is possible to notify the other device of link-specific information. In the case of AP 101, it sends this to the other device in an ML Probe Response (S409).

[0075] After that, connection processing is performed through authentication processing (S411) and association processing (S412), and this flowchart ends. Note that after this, a 4-way handshake and group key exchange may be performed to exchange encryption keys before connection is established.

[0076] Next, FIG. 5 shows a sequence illustrating communication between the AP 101 and the STA 102 based on the processing from S403 onward in FIG.

[0077] AP101 transmits a DMG Beacon in the 45 GHz millimeter wave band and the 5 GHz non-millimeter wave band (S5011, S5012). STA102 also transmits a Beacon in the 45 GHz band (S5011). The DMG Beacon transmission by STA102 may be omitted. Based on the transmission and reception of the DMG Beacon, an SLS (Sector level Sweep) is performed in the 45 GHz band (S5021) to determine the relative positions of AP101 and STA102. Based on these values, a Probe Request (S5031) and a Probe Response (S5041) are communicated in the 45 GHz band.

[0078] Probe Request (S5032) and Probe Response (S5042) are also being carried out in the 5 GHz band, but it would be good if Probe Request / Response communication could be carried out at least in the millimeter wave band.

[0079] Next, to obtain information on each link, an ML Probe Request (S5051) and an ML Probe Response (S5061) are transmitted and received. S5051 and S5061 are frame exchanges to obtain link information that could not be obtained by the Probe Response. For example, if the connection is multiple times and parameters are exchanged during the first connection, the frame exchanges of S5051 and S5061 may not be performed. It is assumed that the Multi-Link Element illustrated in FIG. 6 is given by the ML Probe Request (S5051) and the ML Probe Response (S5061), and that the Complete Profile is set to 1 and a Response is sent. The Multi-Link Element itself may be given by the Probe Request (S5031) and the Probe Response (S5041). In this embodiment, the connection sequence after the ML Probe Request (S5051) is performed at 45 GHz.

[0080] Next, Authentication (S5071) is performed between the AP 101 and the STA 102. Furthermore, parameter exchange is performed in the Association Request (S5081) and Association Response (S5091) to establish a connection. Transmission parameters at the time of connection are determined based on the exchanged parameters (S510). Note that a 4-way handshake may be performed in S5010 to encrypt communications. Once mutual authentication and exchange of keys for encryption are completed, data communication begins (S5111, S5121, S5112, S5122).

[0081] According to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform connection processing of multi-link communication using a frequency channel of the millimeter wave band. Furthermore, in multi-link communication including the millimeter wave band, it is possible to perform connection processing for multiple links collectively in one link.

[0082] (Other embodiments) In this embodiment, the Multi-Link communication that establishes multiple links via the 45 GHz band and the 5 GHz band has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is sufficient that one or both of the bands used for the links established in the Multi-Link communication use the millimeter wave band. That is, although the example of using the 45 GHz band as the millimeter wave band has been described in this embodiment, the 60 GHz band may be used instead. Also, the 2.4 GHz band, 6 GHz band, Sub1 GHz band, 45 GHz band, or 60 GHz band may be used instead of the 5 GHz band described in this embodiment.

[0083] A recording medium on which the program code of the software for realizing the above-mentioned functions is recorded may be supplied to the system or device, and the computer (CPU, MPU) of the system or device may read and execute the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium will realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments, and the storage medium on which the program code is stored will constitute the above-mentioned device.

[0084] Examples of storage media for supplying the program code include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, and DVDs.

[0085] In addition, the above-mentioned functions may be realized not only by the computer executing the read program code, but also by the OS running on the computer performing all or part of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code. OS is an abbreviation for Operating System.

[0086] Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may be written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and a CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may perform part or all of the actual processing based on instructions in the program code to realize the above-mentioned functions.

[0087] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0088] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration.

[0089] (Configuration 1) A communication device, comprising: means for establishing a plurality of links with other communication devices over frequency channels; an execution unit that executes a process for selecting an antenna for communicating with the other communication device when the link is established by the establishing unit via a frequency channel in a millimeter wave band; a transmitting means for including the information acquired by the executing means in a request frame and transmitting the request frame to the other communication device; A communication device comprising:

[0090] (Configuration 2) The communication device according to configuration 1, wherein the communication device performs connection processing for a plurality of links via the millimeter wave band frequency channels.

[0091] (Configuration 3) 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the request frame is transmitted via a frequency channel in the millimeter wave band.

[0092] (Configuration 4) 4. The communication device according to any one of configurations 1 to 3, wherein the information is included in a multi-link element of the request frame.

[0093] (Configuration 5) 5. The communication device according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, wherein the processing executed by the execution means uses beamforming defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0094] (Configuration 6) 6. The communication device according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, wherein the request frame is an ML (Multi-Link) Probe Request that complies with the IEEE 802.11 standard series.

[0095] (Configuration 7) 6. The communication device according to any one of configurations 1 to 5, wherein the request frame is a Probe Request compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard series.

[0096] (Configuration 8) A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to any one of configurations 1 to 7. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 201 Storage section 202 Control section 203 Functional Department 204 Input section 205 Output section 206 Communications Department

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising setup means for communicating a predetermined frame with another communication device and setting up a plurality of links including at least one link using a millimeter-wave band channel between the communication device and the other communication device.

2. The setup means communicates the predetermined frame with the other communication device via the millimeter-wave band channel The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. The predetermined frame includes information regarding a link using a millimeter-wave band channel among the plurality of links established between the communication device and the other communication device, and information regarding a link using a channel in a frequency band different from the millimeter-wave band among the plurality of links The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

4. The communication device further includes execution means for executing processing related to beamforming of communication with the other communication device, The execution means executes processing related to beamforming with the other communication device when the setup means sets up a link using a millimeter-wave band channel with the other communication device The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

5. The processing related to beamforming is processing for selecting an antenna pattern for communicating with the other communication device The communication device according to claim 4, characterized in that.

6. The predetermined frame includes a Multi-Link Element compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard series, The Multi-Link Element includes information regarding a link using a millimeter-wave band channel among the plurality of links, and information regarding a link using a channel in a frequency band different from the millimeter-wave band among the plurality of links The communication device according to claim 3, characterized in that.

7. The predetermined frame is a Probe Request or an Association Request compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard series The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

8. When establishing the plurality of links with the other communication device, the communication device further includes selection means for selecting a link for transmitting the predetermined frame transmitted by the setup means The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that...

9. The selection means selects, from among the plurality of links, the link with the higher frequency of the channel to be used as the link for transmitting the predetermined frame. The communication device according to claim 8, characterized in that...

10. The millimeter wave band is the 45 GHz band or the 60 GHz band. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that...

11. A control method for a communication device, comprising: a setup step of communicating a predetermined frame with another communication device and setting up a plurality of links including at least one link using a channel in the millimeter wave band between the communication device and the other communication device. The control method for a communication device is characterized by this.

12. A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to claim 1.

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