Communication device, control method, and program

Abstract

To make it possible to appropriately control a connection to another communication device in a frequency channel different from a frequency channel through which a communication device transmits a signal.SOLUTION: A communication device 102, when communicates, via a first frequency channel, an establishment request to establish a connection with a communication device 103 via a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel that complies with the same communication standard as a connection via the first frequency channel or disconnection request for disconnecting the connection, the connection via the second frequency channel with the communication device 103 is established or disconnected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to controlling multiple connections in a communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] The IEEE802.11 series is known as a wireless communication standard established by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and includes standards such as IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses that the IEEE802.11ax standard performs wireless communication using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA). The IEEE802.11ax standard achieves high peak throughput by performing wireless communication using OFDMA.

[0004] To further improve throughput and frequency utilization efficiency, the IEEE is considering the formulation of the IEEE802.11be standard as a new standard in the IEEE802.11 series. The IEEE802.11be standard considers technology that enables one access point (AP) to establish a connection with one station (STA) on each of multiple frequency channels in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or 6 GHz bands, and communicate with them. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-50133 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] As described above, the IEEE 802.11be standard considers establishing connections and conducting communications via multiple frequency channels in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. However, conventionally, APs have had to perform processes such as connect and disconnect for each connection. For example, if an AP establishes a connection with a STA on a first frequency channel and a connection on a second frequency channel, and the AP needs to disconnect the connection on the second frequency channel, it must transmit a disconnection request signal via the second frequency channel to request the disconnection. However, if interference with other communications occurs on the second frequency channel, for example, the AP may not be able to transmit the disconnection request signal to the STA, potentially preventing it from properly controlling the connection on the second frequency channel.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to enable a communication device to appropriately control a connection with another communication device on a frequency channel different from the frequency channel on which the communication device transmits a signal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In view of the above, a communication device of the present invention comprises an establishment means for establishing a connection with another communication device that complies with a predetermined communication standard; a communication means for communicating a connection request via a first frequency channel for the establishment means to establish a connection with the other communication device via a second frequency channel that is different from the first frequency channel; and a control means for controlling, when the connection request is communicated by the communication means, the establishment means to establish a connection with the other communication device via the second frequency channel that is maintained in parallel with the connection with the other communication device established by the establishment means via the first frequency channel.

[0009] In addition, a communication device according to another aspect of the present invention comprises: an establishment means for establishing a connection with another communication device that complies with a predetermined communication standard; a communication means for communicating a disconnection request to disconnect the second connection via the first connection when a first connection with the other communication device established by the establishment means via a first frequency channel and a second connection with the other communication device established by the establishment means via a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel are maintained in parallel; and a disconnection means for disconnecting the second connection when the disconnection request is communicated by the communication means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately control a connection between a communication device and another communication device on a frequency channel different from the frequency channel on which the communication device transmits a signal. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network in which a communication device 102 participates. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a communication device 102. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a communication device 102. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the communication device 102 when performing multiband communication. [Figure 5] 10 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed when the communication device 102 performs multiband communication with the communication device 103. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format of a multi-band element used by a communication device 102 for communication. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a Band ID field used by the communication device 102 for communication. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a process executed when the communication device 102 disconnects the connection with the communication device 103. [Figure 9]10 is a flowchart showing a process executed when the communication device 103 disconnects the connection with the communication device 102. [Figure 10] 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing executed when the communication device 102 disconnects the connection with the communication device 103. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame format of a Disassociation element transmitted by a communication device 102. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is a sequence diagram showing another example of processing executed when the communication device 102 disconnects the connection with the communication device 103. FIG. [Figure 13] 10 is a diagram showing another example of a Band ID field used by the communication device 102 for communication. FIG. [Figure 14] 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a predetermined value is included in the Next band field in communication by the communication device 102. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the configurations shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configurations.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network in which a communication device 102 according to this embodiment participates. The communication device 102 is an access point (AP) that serves to establish a network 101. The network 101 is a wireless network. In this embodiment, when the communication device 102 establishes multiple networks, it is assumed that the BSSIDs of the networks are all the same. BSSID stands for Basic Service Set Identifier and is an identifier for identifying a network. It is also assumed that the SSIDs indicated by the communication device 102 in each network are all the same. SSID stands for Service Set Identifier and is an identifier for identifying an access point. In this embodiment, the communication device 102 uses one SSID even when multiple connections are established.

[0014] Furthermore, the communication devices 103 are stations (STAs) that participate in the network 101. Each communication device is compatible with the IEEE 802.11be (EHT) standard and can perform wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard via the network 101. Note that IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Furthermore, EHT stands for Extremely High Throughput. Note that EHT may also be interpreted as an abbreviation for Extreme High Throughput. Each communication device can communicate in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands. Furthermore, each communication device can communicate using bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz.

[0015] The communication devices 102 and 103 perform OFDMA communication conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard, thereby realizing multi-user (MU) communication in which signals from multiple users are multiplexed. OFDMA communication stands for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access. In OFDMA communication, portions of the divided frequency band (RU, Resource Unit) are assigned to each STA so as not to overlap, and the carriers assigned to each STA are orthogonal. This allows the AP to communicate with multiple STAs in parallel.

[0016] Furthermore, the communication devices 102 and 103 can perform multiband communication, in which they establish connections and communicate via multiple frequency channels. For example, the communication device 102 can establish a connection with the communication device 103 via a first frequency channel in the 2.4 GHz band and a connection via a second frequency channel in the 5 GHz band, and communicate via both connections. In this case, the communication device 102 maintains a connection via the second frequency channel in parallel with the connection via the first frequency channel. In this way, the communication device 102 can improve the throughput of communication with the communication device 103 by establishing connections via multiple frequency channels with the communication device 103. Note that when the communication devices 102 and 103 establish multiple connections with partner devices, they can simultaneously communicate via each connection. Note that this may be referred to as multi-link communication instead of multiband communication. Furthermore, the established connection may be referred to as a link. Furthermore, instead of connections via different frequency bands, multiple connections via different frequency channels in the same frequency band may be established.

[0017] In multiband communication, communication devices 102 and 103 establish connections via multiple frequency channels in different frequency bands. In this case, signals transmitted and received via one connection can control connections via other frequency channels. Note that communication devices 102 and 103 may also establish connections via different frequency channels in the same frequency band, and in this case, the frequency channels do not need to be adjacent. Specifically, communication devices 102 and 103 each establish connections via two frequency channels that are more than 20 MHz apart. For example, if communication devices 102 and 103 establish two connections in the 5 GHz band, one connection is established on channel 36 and the other connection is established on channel 52.

[0018] 1 illustrates an example in which communication device 102 establishes connections with communication device 103 via three different frequency channels. In this case, each connection is established on a frequency channel in a different frequency band, namely, the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. Specifically, for example, communication device 102 establishes connections with communication device 103 on a first frequency channel in the 2.4 GHz band, a second frequency channel in the 5 GHz band, and a third frequency channel in the 6 GHz band. By establishing multiple connections with communication device 103 on different frequency bands, communication device 102 can communicate with communication device 103 on another band even when one band is congested, thereby preventing a decrease in throughput in communication with communication device 103.

[0019] In the present embodiment, the connection is established in different frequency bands. However, this is not limiting. The communication device 102 may establish a connection with the communication device 103 on a different frequency channel. The communication device 102 may establish a connection with the communication device 103 on different frequency channels in the same frequency band. In this case, a connection on a different frequency band may also be established. For example, the communication device 102 may establish a connection with the communication device 103 on a first frequency channel in the 2.4 GHz band and a second frequency channel in the 2.4 GHz band. In addition, the communication device 102 may establish a connection with the communication device 103 on a third frequency channel in the 5 GHz band. By establishing multiple connections with the communication device 103 on different frequency channels, the communication device 102 can communicate data via multiple connections. This reduces the time required for data communication compared to a single connection. Furthermore, by establishing multiple connections on different frequency channels from the communication device 103, the communication device 102 can simultaneously perform backup communication when communicating data with the communication device 103. For example, communication device 102 can simultaneously transmit the same data to communication device 103 via a different frequency channel. As a result, even if communication device 103 fails to receive data in communication via one frequency channel, it can receive the data through communication via the other frequency channel. In this way, by simultaneously transmitting the same data via a different frequency channel as backup communication, even if some kind of failure or error occurs in communication via one frequency channel, data can be communicated via the other frequency channel.

[0020] In this embodiment, when establishing multiple connections with the communication device 103, the communication device 102 controls the connection with the communication device 103 on the second frequency channel by transmitting a signal on the first frequency channel. For example, the communication device 102 disconnects the connection with the communication device 103 on the second frequency channel by transmitting a signal to the communication device 103 on the first frequency channel requesting disconnection. Alternatively, for example, the communication device 102 establishes a connection with the communication device 103 on the second frequency channel by associating with the communication device 103 on the first frequency channel.

[0021] The signals transmitted on the first frequency channel are specifically management frames conforming to the IEEE 802.11be standard. Management frames specifically refer to beacon frames, probe request frames / response frames, and association request frames / response frames. In addition to these frames, disassociation frames, authentication frames, de-authentication frames, and action frames are also called management frames. Beacon frames are frames that report network information. Probe request frames are frames that request network information, and probe response frames are corresponding responses that provide network information. Association request frames are frames that request connection, and association response frames are corresponding responses that indicate permission for connection or an error. Disassociation frames are frames that terminate connections. Authentication frames are frames that authenticate remote devices, and de-authentication frames are frames that suspend authentication of remote devices and terminate connections. Action frames are frames that perform additional functions other than those described above.

[0022] Although the communication devices 102 and 103 are described as being compatible with the IEEE 802.11be standard, they may also be compatible with at least one legacy standard that predates the IEEE 802.11be standard. Legacy standards refer to the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax 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. OFDM stands for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. NFC stands for Near Field Communication. UWB includes wireless USB, wireless 1394, WiNET, and the like. They may also be compatible with wired communication standards such as wired LAN.

[0023] Specific examples of the communication device 102 include, but are not limited to, a wireless LAN router and a PC. The communication device 102 may be any communication device capable of performing multiband communication with other communication devices. The communication device 102 may also be an information processing device, such as a wireless chip, capable of performing wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard. Specific examples of the communication device 103 include, but are not limited to, a camera, a tablet, a smartphone, a PC, a mobile phone, and a video camera. The communication device 103 may also be any communication device capable of performing multiband communication with other communication devices. The communication device 103 may also be an information processing device, such as a wireless chip, capable of performing wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard. The network in FIG. 1 is configured with one AP and one STA, but the number of APs and STAs is not limited to this. The information processing device, such as a wireless chip, has an antenna for transmitting the generated signal.

[0024] 3 shows the hardware configuration of the communication device 102 in this embodiment. The communication device 102 includes a storage unit 301, a control unit 302, a function unit 303, an input unit 304, an output unit 305, a communication unit 306, and antennas 307-309.

[0025] The storage unit 301 is configured with one or more memories such as ROM and 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. In addition to memories such as ROM and RAM, the storage unit 301 may also be a storage medium such as a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, or DVD. Furthermore, the storage unit 301 may include multiple memories.

[0026] The control unit 302 is configured with one or more processors, such as a CPU or MPU, and controls the entire communication device 102 by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 301. The control unit 302 may control the entire communication device 102 in cooperation with the computer program stored in the storage unit 301 and an OS (Operating System). The control unit 302 also generates data and signals 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 302 may also be equipped with multiple processors, such as a multi-core processor, and the entire communication device 102 may be controlled by the multiple processors.

[0027] Furthermore, the control unit 302 controls the function unit 303 to perform predetermined processes such as wireless communication, imaging, printing, projection, etc. The function unit 303 is hardware that enables the communication device 102 to perform predetermined processes.

[0028] The input unit 304 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 305 outputs various types of information to the user via a monitor screen or a speaker. Here, the output from the output unit 305 may be a display on a monitor screen, an audio output from a speaker, a vibration output, or the like. Note that both the input unit 304 and the output unit 305 may be implemented by a single module, such as a touch panel. The input unit 304 and the output unit 305 may be integrated with the communication device 102 or may be separate units.

[0029] The communication unit 306 controls wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard. The communication unit 306 may also control wireless communication in accordance with other IEEE 802.11 series standards in addition to the IEEE 802.11be standard, or wired communication such as a wired LAN. The communication unit 306 controls antennas 307 to 309 to transmit and receive signals for wireless communication generated by the control unit 302. If the communication device 102 supports the NFC standard, Bluetooth standard, or other standards in addition to the IEEE 802.11be standard, the communication unit 306 may control wireless communication in accordance with these communication standards. If the communication device 102 can perform wireless communication in accordance with multiple communication standards, the communication device 102 may be configured to have separate communication units and antennas compatible with each communication standard. The communication device 102 communicates data such as image data, document data, and video data with the communication device 103 via the communication unit 306. At least one of the antennas 307 to 309 may be configured as a separate unit from the communication unit 306, or may be configured together with the communication unit 306 as a single module.

[0030] 2 Antennas 307 to 309 are antennas capable of communication in the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band, respectively. In this embodiment, communication device 102 has a different antenna for each frequency band, but communication in each frequency band may be realized by one or two antennas. Alternatively, communication device 102 may have four or more antennas. Furthermore, communication device 102 may have communication units 306 corresponding to each of antennas 307 to 309.

[0031] The communication device 103 has the same hardware configuration as the communication device 102 .

[0032] 2 shows the functional configuration of the communication device 102 in this embodiment. The communication device 102 includes wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 209, a frame generation unit 202, a frame analysis unit 203, a UI (User Interface) control unit 204, and a storage control unit 205.

[0033] The wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 210 are configured to include circuits for transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from other communication devices, and programs for controlling the circuits. The wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 210 control wireless communication based on frames generated by a frame generation unit 202 (described below) in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 series standards. The wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 210 control transmission and reception of wireless signals with other communication devices in the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band, respectively. Note that, although the communication device 102 has three wireless communication control units in this embodiment, the number is not limited to three, and may be two or less, or four or more.

[0034] Frame generation unit 202 generates a wireless control frame to be transmitted by at least one of wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 210. The wireless control frame generated by frame generation unit 202 may be generated based on settings stored in storage unit 301. Additionally, or instead of this, the frame may be generated based on user settings input by the user.

[0035] Frame analysis unit 203 interprets wireless control frames received by wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 210, and reflects the contents of the received wireless control frames in at least one of wireless communication control units 201, 208, and 210. For example, if a wireless control frame received via wireless communication control unit 201 indicates a disconnection of the connection in the 5 GHz band, wireless communication control unit 208 stops transmitting and receiving wireless signals. Regardless of which wireless communication control unit receives the wireless control frame, analyzing the wireless control frame by frame analysis unit 203 makes it possible to control a wireless communication control unit that does not receive the wireless control frame.

[0036] The UI control unit 204 is configured to include a program that controls at least one of the input unit 304 and the output unit 305 of the communication device 102. The UI control unit 204 has a function for presenting information about the communication device 102 to the user, such as displaying an image or outputting sound via the output unit 305.

[0037] The storage control unit 205 controls writing and reading of data to and from a storage unit 301 that stores programs and data that run on the communication device 102 .

[0038] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the control unit 302 reading out and executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 301 when the communication device 102 performs multiband communication.

[0039] In this embodiment, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 are assumed to be capable of establishing connections in the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, respectively. Also, as shown in the sequence diagram of Fig. 5, a case will be described in which the communication device 102 establishes connections with the communication device 103 in each of the frequency bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz.

[0040] The communication device 102 starts the processing of this flow when the communication device 102 is powered on. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may start the processing of this flow when the communication device 102 is powered on or at predetermined time intervals after establishing a connection with an STA. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may start the processing of this flow when a user instructs the communication device 102 to establish a connection with an STA. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may start the processing of this flow when a button provided on the communication device 102 that instructs the communication device 102 to transition to a state in which a connection request from an STA is accepted is pressed. Specifically, the button that instructs the communication device 102 to accept a connection request from an STA is a button that corresponds to a button press method that complies with the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) standard. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may start the processing of this flow based on an instruction from an application running on the communication device 102.

[0041] First, the communication device 102 determines which frequency band it will use for multiband communication (S401, S5001). The communication device 102 determines which frequency band it will use for multiband communication based on the congestion status of the surrounding wireless environment. Specifically, the communication device 102 counts the number of probe requests received in each of the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands. If the number of probe requests received in a certain frequency band is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the communication device 102 determines to use that frequency band for multiband communication. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may wait for beacons in each frequency band for a predetermined time and count the number of received beacons. In this case, if the number of beacons received in a certain frequency band is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the communication device 102 may determine to use that frequency band for multiband communication. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may perform carrier sense for a predetermined time and count the number of times it detects data transmission from another communication device. In this case, the communication device 102 may perform carrier sensing in a certain frequency band for a predetermined time, and if the number of data transmissions by other communication devices detected during that time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, determine to use that frequency band for multiband communication. In this case, the communication device 102 may detect the time during which data transmissions by other communication devices were performed, rather than the number of times data transmissions were detected. The communication device 102 may calculate the ratio of the time during which data transmissions were performed to the time during which carrier sensing was performed in a certain frequency band, and if that ratio is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, determine to use that frequency band for multiband communication. Alternatively, if the communication device 102 has established a wired or wireless connection with an AP other than the communication device itself before performing the processing of this step, the communication device 102 may obtain information about the frequency band to be used for multiband communication from the other AP.

[0042] The communication device 102 may perform the determination in this step by combining these determination methods. When combining multiple determination methods, the communication device 102 determines to use the frequency band in which measurements have been performed for multiband communication when it is determined that the frequency band in which measurements have been performed should be used for multiband communication for all determination methods. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine to use the frequency band in which measurements have been performed for multiband communication when it is determined that the frequency band in which measurements have been performed should be used for multiband communication for at least one determination method.

[0043] When measuring the congestion status for each frequency band, the communication device 102 may measure only a predetermined frequency channel (hereinafter referred to as a channel) in each frequency band, or may measure multiple channels. When measuring multiple channels, the communication device 102 determines to use a frequency band for multiband communication when it has determined that at least one channel in the frequency band is to be used for multiband communication. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine to use a frequency band for multiband communication when it has determined that at least half of the multiple channels measured in the frequency band are to be used for multiband communication. When measuring multiple channels in a frequency band, the communication device 102 may use channels that are not adjacent to each other.

[0044] In the sequence of FIG. 5, it is assumed that the communication device 102 determines that three frequency bands, 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band, are available for use.

[0045] When the communication device 102 determines an available frequency band, it transmits information about the frequency band (S402, S5011). In this embodiment, the communication device 102 notifies information about the frequency band used for multiband communication using a Beacon. Specifically, the communication device 102 notifies the frequency band used for multiband communication by transmitting a Beacon frame including the Multi-band element shown in FIG. 6 in at least one of the frequency bands used for multiband communication. In this embodiment, the communication device 102 transmits a Beacon frame in the 2.4 GHz band of the frequency bands used for multiband communication. Note that the Beacon Interval, which is the interval at which Beacons are transmitted, is 100 milliseconds, but is not limited to this.

[0046] Furthermore, the Beacon transmitted in this step includes information about all frequency channels for which the answer to S401 is Yes as information about the frequency bands used for multiband communication, or may include information about only some of the frequency channels.

[0047] Furthermore, the information about the frequency bands used for multiband communication included in the Beacon includes information about frequency bands used for multiband communication other than the frequency band in which the Beacon is transmitted. For example, if the Beacon is transmitted only in the 2.4 GHz band, the information about the frequency bands used for multiband communication in the Beacon includes not only information about the 2.4 GHz band but also information about the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may include information about frequency bands used for multiband communication other than the frequency band in which the Beacon is transmitted in the Beacon. For example, if the Beacon is transmitted in the 2.4 GHz band, the information about the frequency bands used for multiband communication in the Beacon may include only information about the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band.

[0048] FIG. 6 shows an example of a frame format of a multi-band element used by the communication device 102 for communication.

[0049] The Multi-band element is composed of fields: Element ID 601, Length 602, Multi-band Control 603, Band ID 604, and Operating Class 605. The Multi-band element is further composed of fields: Channel Number 606, BSSID 607, Beacon Interval 608, and TSF Offset 609. The Multi-band element is further composed of fields: Multi-band Connection Capability 610, FST Session Timeout 611, and STA MAC Address 612. The Multi-band element is further composed of fields: Pairwise Cipher Suite Count 613 and Pairwise Cipher Suite List 614. These fields are transmitted by the communication device 102 in the order shown in FIG. 6 , starting with Element ID 601, and are received by other communication devices. The communication device 102 may generate all of the fields of the Multi-band element before transmitting it to other communication devices, or may generate and transmit each field individually, starting with Element ID 601.

[0050] The order in which the fields are transmitted and received is not limited to that shown in Fig. 6, and the order of the fields may be different. Any of the fields may be omitted, or a field not shown in Fig. 6 may be added between any two fields.

[0051] Each field of the multi-band element shown in FIG. 6 will be explained.

[0052] An identifier for identifying an element is included in the Element ID 601. In this embodiment, the value 158 is included as an identifier indicating that the element is a multi-band element.

[0053] Length 602 includes information indicating the length of the multi-band element excluding Element ID 601 and Length 602 .

[0054] Multi-band Control 603 includes information such as STA Role, STA MAC Address Present, and Pairwise Cipher Suite Present. STA Role includes information indicating the role of the transmitting device (here, communication device 102) of the Multi-band element in the frequency band indicated in the Multi-band element. Specifically, the information indicating the role is information indicating whether the device is an AP or a STA in the frequency band indicated in the Multi-band element. Since communication device 102 is an AP, information indicating an AP is included in this embodiment. STA MAC Address Present is information indicating whether STA MAC Address 612, which will be described later, is included in the Multi-band element. Since STA MAC Address 612 is an optional field, it may or may not be included in the Multi-band element. Pairwise Cipher Suite Present is information indicating whether Pairwise Cipher Suite Count 613 and Pairwise Cipher Suite List 614 are included in the element. Both Pairwise Cipher Suite Count 613 and Pairwise Cipher Suite List 614 are optional fields, and may or may not be included in the element.

[0055] The Band ID 604 includes information for identifying a frequency band associated with an Operating Class 605 and a Channel Number 606, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the Band ID 604 includes information indicating the frequency band determined by the communication device 102 in S401 as the frequency band to be used for multiband communication. FIG. 7 shows an example of the correspondence between the value included in the Band ID 604 and the information indicated by the value. In this embodiment, the communication device 102 determines in S401 (S5001) that the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band are the frequency bands to be used for multiband communication, and therefore transmits a multiband element including Band ID=11. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may include Band ID=10, which indicates that the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band will be used for multiband communication, in the multiband element to be included in the beacon transmitted in the 2.4 GHz band. Similarly, when the communication device 102 transmits a beacon in the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band, the communication device 102 may include Band ID=9 and Band ID=8 in the multiband element, respectively. The correspondence between the Band ID values ​​and the contents indicated by each value is not limited to that shown in FIG.

[0056] In this embodiment, multiple frequency bands are indicated by one Band ID, but this is not limiting, and one Band ID may indicate only one frequency band. In this case, a Beacon indicating that the communication device 102 can use multiple frequency bands may include multiple Multi-band elements. For example, consider a case where the communication device 102 transmits a Beacon indicating that the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band are used for multi-band communication. In this case, the Beacon includes both a Multi-band element including Band ID=2 and a Multi-band element including Band ID=4. Note that even when a Multi-band element is included for each frequency band used for multi-band communication, the Beacon may or may not include a Multi-band element corresponding to the frequency band in which the Beacon is transmitted.

[0057] The Operating Class 605 is information indicating a set of channels to be used for multiband communication within the frequency band indicated by the Band ID 604. Specifically, the information indicating the set of channels is information indicating one or more frequency channels to be used for multiband communication. The Operating Class 605 indicates at least one channel to be used for multiband communication by the communication device 102 within the frequency band indicated by the Band ID 604. Specifically, the Operating Class 605 includes values ​​indicating a combination of the start frequency of the channel to be used for multiband communication, the channel spacing, and the channel set. The channel start frequency is a value used to calculate the center frequency of the channel. The channel spacing is a value indicating the spacing between the center frequencies of adjacent, non-overlapping channels. The channel set is information indicating at least one channel to be used for multiband communication. Note that if all channels are to be used within the frequency band indicated by the Band ID 604, the value 0 is included as an indication that all channels are to be used.

[0058] Channel Number 606 is information indicating a channel to be used for multiband communication. Specifically, this information indicates one or more channels to be used for multiband communication from the set of channels indicated by Operating Class 605. Note that the channel information included as Channel Number 606 may include a channel used for measuring congestion when determining the frequency band to be used for multiband communication in S401. Note that in this case, if congestion measurements are performed on multiple channels in S401, channels determined not to be used for multiband communication may be excluded from the channels specified as Channel Number 606. Alternatively, Channel Number 606 may include a channel specified by the user or a channel preset in advance in communication device 102.

[0059] Note that when multiple frequency bands are specified in Band ID 604, one Operating Class 605 indicates the starting frequency of the channel to be used, the channel spacing, and the channel pair combination for each of the multiple frequency bands. For example, consider a case where Band ID 604 includes information indicating the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. In this case, one value corresponding to the starting frequency of the channel to be used for multi-band communication in each of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, the channel spacing, and the channel pair combination is included as Operating Class 605. In this case, Channel Number 606 includes information on multiple channels to be used. Specifically, Channel Number 606 includes information on at least one channel to be used in each of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band.

[0060] Alternatively, if Band ID 604 specifies multiple frequency bands, Operating Class 605 may include multiple Operating Classes as information corresponding to each of the multiple frequency bands. For example, if Band ID 604 specifies the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, in addition to the Operating Class corresponding to the 2.4 GHz band, Operating Classes corresponding to the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band may be included. In this case, Operating Class 605 includes multiple values, and the Operating Classes corresponding to the lower frequency bands are assumed to correspond to the lower frequency bands. For example, if Operating Class=81, 115, and 131 are included, Operating Class=81 is assumed to be the Operating Class corresponding to the 2.4 GHz band. Similarly, Operating Class=115 is assumed to be the Operating Class corresponding to the 5 GHz band, and Operating Class=131 is assumed to be the Operating Class corresponding to the 6 GHz band. Alternatively, the frequency band corresponding to an Operating Class may be determined based on at least one of the starting frequency of the channel indicated by the included Operating Class, the channel spacing, and the channel pair. In this case, the Channel Number 606 also includes information on at least one channel to be used for multi-band communication in each of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band.

[0061] Alternatively, when multiple Multi-band elements are included to indicate multiple frequency bands, an Operating Class corresponding to the Band ID 604 included in the same Multi-band element is included. In this case, the Channel Number 606 includes information on at least one channel used for multi-band communication in the frequency band indicated by the Band ID 604. When multiple channels are available in the same frequency band, the Channel Number 606 includes information on the multiple channels.

[0062] Alternatively, the communication device 102 may set a multi-band element for each channel used for multi-band communication. In this case, the beacon will include as many multi-band elements as there are channels used by the communication device 102, and will include multiple multi-band elements with the same Band ID 604.

[0063] BSSID607 is an abbreviation for Basic Service Set Identifier, and is information indicating the identifier of a network established by a transmission device of a multi-band element (here, the communication device 102). Specifically, it indicates the identifier of a network established by the transmission device of a multi-band element on a channel indicated by Band ID604 and Channel Number606. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the BSSIDs of all networks established by the communication device 102 are the same. When the communication device 102 indicates multiple available channels (Channel Number606) using one multi-band element, BSSID607 includes the BSSIDs of the multiple networks. Note that when the communication device 102 indicates one channel (Channel Number606) used for multiband communication using one multi-band element, BSSID607 includes the BSSID of one network. Note that when the communication device 102 establishes multiple networks on one channel, BSSID607 may include the BSSIDs of the multiple networks. If the communication device 102 has not yet established a network on the channel indicated by the Band ID 604 and the Channel Number 606, the BSSID 607 may contain 0 or may be omitted. Alternatively, the BSSID 607 may contain 1 equal to the number of bits allocated to the BSSID 607 to indicate a wildcard BSSID.

[0064] Beacon Interval 608 includes information indicating the transmission interval of a beacon transmitted on the channel indicated by Band ID 604 and Channel Number 606. Specifically, this is the transmission interval of a beacon transmitted on the network by a transmitting device of the multi-band element (here, the communication device 102). Note that if no network is established on the channel indicated by Band ID 604 and Channel Number 606, Beacon Interval 608 includes 0. Note that if the communication device 102 indicates multiple channels to be used for multi-band communication using one multi-band element, Beacon Interval 608 includes multiple beacon intervals corresponding to each channel. On the other hand, if the communication device 102 indicates one channel to be used for multi-band communication using one multi-band element, Beacon Interval 608 includes one beacon interval corresponding to that channel. Note that if the communication device 102 has established multiple networks on one channel, Beacon Interval 608 may include a beacon interval corresponding to each of the multiple networks.

[0065] The TSF Offset 609 includes information indicating an offset value between the TSF of the network to which the communication device 102 is transmitting the element and the TSF of the network established in the channel indicated by the Channel Number 606. TSF is an abbreviation for Timing Synchronization Function, and is a value used to synchronize APs and STAs participating in the network. If no network is established in the channel indicated by the Channel Number 606, the TSF Offset 609 includes 0. If the communication device 102 indicates multiple channels (Channel Number 606) to be used for multiband communication using one element, the TSF Offset 609 includes multiple TSF Offsets corresponding to each channel. On the other hand, if the communication device 102 indicates one channel (Channel Number 606) to be used for multiband communication using one element, the TSF Offset 609 includes one TSF Offset corresponding to that channel. If the communication device 102 has established multiple networks in one channel, the TSF Offset 609 may include TSF Offsets corresponding to each of the multiple networks.

[0066] The Multi-band Connection Capability 610 includes information indicating the connection capabilities of the communication device 102 in the channel used for multiband communication indicated in the Multi-band element. Specifically, the connection capabilities of the transmitter of the Multi-band element (here, the communication device 102) in the channel indicated in the Channel Number 606 are indicated. The connection capabilities are, specifically, information indicating whether the communication device 102 can operate as an AP in the channel indicated in the Multi-band element. Note that when the communication device 102 indicates multiple channels used for multiband communication using one Multi-band element, the field includes information on whether the communication device 102 operates as an AP in each channel. Alternatively, information for multiple channels indicated in the Multi-band element may be collectively indicated by one Multi-band Connection Capability. For example, when the communication device 102 operates as an AP in all channels, the Multi-band Connection Capability 610 may include one piece of information indicating operation as an AP.

[0067] FST Session Timeout 611 is information indicating the timeout value in the setup process of an FST session. FST is an abbreviation for fast session transfer, which is a process of transferring an already established session to another channel. The destination channel may be in the same frequency band as the channel before the transfer, or in a different frequency band. This field may be omitted.

[0068] STA MAC Address 612 is information indicating the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the communication device 102 on the channel specified in the Multi-band element. Note that if STA MAC Address Present in Multi-band Control 603 is 0 (indicating that this field is not included), this field is omitted. Note that if the communication device 102 indicates multiple available channels (Channel Number 606) using one Multi-band element, this field contains multiple MAC addresses corresponding to each channel. On the other hand, if the communication device 102 indicates one available channel (Channel Number 606) using one Multi-band element, this field contains one MAC address corresponding to that channel. Note that if the communication device 102 has established multiple networks on one channel, this field may contain MAC addresses corresponding to each of the multiple networks.

[0069] Pairwise Cipher Suite Count 613 is information indicating the number of pairwise cipher suite selectors included in the Pairwise Cipher Suite List 614 described below. The Pairwise Cipher Suite List 614 includes a series of selectors indicating pairwise cipher suites. Specifically, the Pairwise Cipher Suite List 614 includes information indicating cipher suites that can be used in the channel specified in the Multi-band element. A cipher suite is information indicating a combination of a key exchange algorithm, a key authentication method, a cipher, and a message authentication code. Note that if Pairwise Cipher Suite Present in the Multi-band Control 603 is 0 (indicating that this field is not included), this field is omitted. Note that if the communication device 102 indicates multiple available channels (Channel Number 606) using one Multi-band element, this field includes multiple cipher suites corresponding to each channel. On the other hand, if the communication device 102 indicates one available channel (Channel Number 606) using one multi-band element, this field contains one cipher suite corresponding to that channel. Note that if the communication device 102 has established multiple networks on one channel, this field may contain cipher suites corresponding to each of the multiple networks.

[0070] As described above, by transmitting a Beacon frame including a Multi-band element as shown in Fig. 6, the communication device 102 can transmit information regarding the frequency band that the device itself uses for multi-band communication. Specifically, by transmitting a Beacon frame including a Multi-band element, the communication device 102 can notify other communication devices of the frequency channel that the device itself uses for multi-band communication. Other communication devices that receive the Beacon frame can determine whether to perform multi-band communication with the communication device 102 based on the information about the frequency channel indicated in the Multi-band element.

[0071] In this embodiment, the multi-band element includes the operating class 605 and the channel number 606, but this is not limiting. The multi-band element in Fig. 6 may not include the operating class 605 and may include only the channel number 606.

[0072] In the present embodiment, information regarding the frequency bands to be used for multiband communication is included in a Beacon frame. However, instead of or in addition to this, the information may be included in a Probe Request / Response. Alternatively, the information regarding the frequency bands to be used for multiband communication may be included in an Authentication Request / Response. Alternatively, the information may be included in an Association Request / Response or a Reassociation Request / Response. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the AP (communication device 102) transmits information regarding the frequency bands to be used for multiband communication. However, in addition to or instead of this, the STA (communication device 103) may also determine and transmit the frequency bands that it will use for multiband communication.

[0073] In addition, in the present embodiment, information about frequency bands used for multiband communication is indicated by a Multi-band element, but this is not limiting. Information about frequency bands used for multiband communication may be indicated by another element that includes at least one of the pieces of information included in the Multi-band element shown in FIG.

[0074] Next, the communication device 103, which is an STA, transmits a Probe Request based on receiving the Beacon transmitted by the communication device 102 (S5021). In this case, since the Beacon is transmitted in the 2.4 GHz band, the communication device 103 transmits a Probe Request to the communication device 102 in the 2.4 GHz band. Having received the Probe Request from the communication device 102, the communication device 103 transmits a Probe Response to the communication device 103 as a response (S5031). Note that the communication device 103 can acquire information about the frequency bands used by the communication device 102 for multiband communication from a Multi-band element included in the Beacon received from the communication device 102. Alternatively or additionally, the communication device 103 may acquire information about the frequency bands used by the communication device 102 for multiband communication from a Multi-band element included in the Probe Response.

[0075] Next, communication device 102 exchanges an Authentication Request / Response (not shown in Fig. 5) with communication device 103 to authenticate the other device. When either communication device 102 or communication device 103 sends an Authentication Request, the other device sends an Authentication Response in response.

[0076] The communication device 102 determines whether it has received a connection request (S406). Specifically, it determines whether it has received an Association Request from another communication device. If the communication device 102 has not received an Association Request, it determines No in this step and performs the process of S406 again. On the other hand, if the communication device 102 has received an Association Request, it determines Yes in this step and performs the process of S403.

[0077] In this embodiment, the communication device 103 transmits an Association Request to the communication device 102 (S5041), and in response thereto, the communication device 102 transmits an Association Response to the communication device 103 (S5051). The communication device 102 executes connection processing with the communication device 103 and establishes a connection (S403). In this embodiment, a connection is established between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 on the channel over which the Association Request / Response was communicated.

[0078] In this case, the communication device 103 can include, in the Association Request it transmits, information requesting the establishment of a connection in a frequency band different from the frequency band in which the Association Request is transmitted. This allows the communication device 103 to establish a connection with the communication device 102 in another frequency band. In this embodiment, the Association Request transmitted by the communication device 103 in the 2.4 GHz band includes information requesting the establishment of a connection in the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band. When the communication device 103 receives an Association Response as a response, it can establish a connection with the communication device 102 in each of the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. Note that, as information requesting the establishment of a connection in a different frequency band, the Association Request includes at least information on the channel on which the communication device 103 desires to establish a connection. In addition, information indicating the frequency band in which the relevant channel is included may also be included. Furthermore, if the MAC address used by the communication device 102 in the relevant channel is known, the MAC address information may be included in addition to or instead of the channel information. In addition to or instead of information about different frequency bands, information about different channels in the same frequency band may be included. Specifically, when the communication device 103 desires to connect with the communication device 102 on a different channel included in the same frequency band as the channel on which the association request was transmitted, the communication device 103 transmits an association request including information about the channel.

[0079] Note that the Association Response transmitted by the communication device 102 includes information indicating that the connection is permitted. Alternatively, in addition to or instead of the information indicating that the connection is permitted, the Association Response may include information indicating a channel to which the communication device 102 permits the connection, from among the channels indicated by the information included in the Association Request.

[0080] At least one of the Association Request and the Association Response may include the element as information indicating the channel for which connection is requested or the channel for which connection is permitted. Alternatively, an element different from the Multi-band element may be included as information indicating the channel for which connection is requested or the channel for which connection is permitted.

[0081] Note that when the communication apparatus 102 and the communication apparatus 103 establish a secure connection using encryption, they may perform communication processing such as WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or WPA2 after S5051. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 102 and the communication apparatus 103 may exchange SAE Commit and SAE Confirm when exchanging Authentication Requests to perform WPA3 processing. In this case, the communication apparatus 102 and the communication apparatus 103 perform a 4-way handshake after communicating Association Request / Response.

[0082] In this embodiment, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 establish a connection in all frequency bands (2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band) that the communication device 102 can use, but this is not limited to this. When the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 perform multi-band communication, it is sufficient that the connection is established via at least two different channels in the available frequency bands.

[0083] In this embodiment, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 establish a connection on another channel by transmitting and receiving an Association Request / Response on a specific channel, but this is not limited to this. The communication device 102 and the communication device 103 may establish a connection on each channel by transmitting and receiving an Association Request / Response on each channel to which a connection is desired to be established. Alternatively, after establishing a connection on a specific channel, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 may transmit and receive an Association Request / Response including information on the other channel via the specific channel. In this way, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 may establish a connection on the other channel via the already established connection.

[0084] When the connection is established, the communication device 102 determines parameters related to transmission and reception for the established connection (S404, S506). In this embodiment, the communication device 102 determines parameters related to transmission and reception for each of all connections established with the communication device 103.

[0085] Specifically, the transmission / reception parameters are the allocation of data transmitted and received over each connection. For example, when transmitting data to the communication device 103 via multiple connections, the communication device 102 determines the allocation of data for each connection. The communication device 102 determines the amount of data allocated for each connection based on the maximum throughput available for each connection with the communication device 103. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine the amount of data allocated for each connection based on the throughput calculated by actually transmitting packets to the communication device 103 via each connection. Specifically, after transmitting and receiving data to and from the communication device 103 for a predetermined time, the communication device 102 may determine a new data allocation amount based on the actual throughput and amount of data transmitted and received over each connection. The communication device 102 sets a higher data allocation amount for connections with high throughput than for connections with low throughput.

[0086] Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine the type of frame to be communicated in the established connection instead of or in addition to the data allocation amount as a parameter related to transmission and reception. Specifically, the communication device 102 may distinguish between connections that communicate management frames and connections that communicate data frames containing data. For example, the communication device 102 may transmit and receive management frames in connections established in the 2.4 GHz band and transmit and receive data frames in connections established in the 5 GHz band or 6 GHz band.

[0087] Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine the connection to be used depending on the type of data, in addition to or instead of the above parameters, as transmission / reception parameters. For example, the communication device 102 may determine that control data related to mixed reality and augmented reality, such as position information, orientation information, and delay control information, is to be communicated via a 2.4 GHz band connection. In this case, the communication device 102 may determine that relatively large amounts of data, such as content data and occlusion information indicating mutual occlusion relationships between objects, are to be communicated via a 5 GHz or 6 GHz band connection. Alternatively, in the case of data related to captured images, the communication device 102 may determine that meta information, such as date, parameters at the time of capture (aperture value and shutter speed), and position information, is to be communicated via a 2.4 GHz band connection. In this case, the communication device 102 may determine that pixel information is to be communicated via a 5 GHz or 6 GHz band connection. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine that one of multiple connections is to be a backup connection. The communication device 102 may notify the communication device 103 of the determined transmission and reception parameters.

[0088] In this embodiment, the communication device 102 determines parameters related to transmission and reception for each established connection, but this is not limited to this. The communication device 102 may transmit and receive data without determining transmission and reception parameters. In this case, S404 in FIG. 4 and S506 in FIG. 5 are skipped. Furthermore, the communication device 102 may independently transmit and receive different streams for each of the multiple connections established with the communication device 103.

[0089] Next, the communication device 102 transmits and receives data via the established connection (S405). If transmission and reception parameters have been determined in S404, the communication device 102 transmits and receives data to and from the communication device 103 in accordance with the determined parameters. In Fig. 5, it is assumed that the communication device 102 transmits and receives data to and from the communication device 103 via a connection in the 2.4 GHz band (S5071, S5081) and via a connection in the 5 GHz band (S5072, S5082). In addition to this, it is assumed that the communication device 102 also transmits and receives data to and from the communication device 103 via a connection in the 6 GHz band (S5073, S5083).

[0090] The connection established between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 that allows communication may be called a link or a communication link.

[0091] The communication device 102 determines whether all connections with the communication device 103 have been disconnected (S407). If at least one of the connections established with the communication device 103 is still maintained, the communication device 102 determines No in this step. Note that the communication device 102 determines that a connection in which data communication has been performed again between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 within a predetermined time since the last data communication is performed is still maintained. Note that the data communicated here may be empty data with no content. Alternatively, if the communication device 102 receives or transmits an Action frame including a Disassociation element (described below) via a connection with the communication device 103, the communication device 102 determines that the connection has been disconnected. Alternatively, if the Action frame including a Disassociation element communicated with the communication device 103 specifies a connection to be disconnected, the communication device 102 determines that the connection has been disconnected. In this case, a connection other than the connection through which the Action frame including the Disassociation element was communicated is disconnected. If the communication device 102 determines No in this step, it performs the processing of S405. Note that a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame may be used instead of an Action frame. If there is no data to be transmitted or received with the communication device 103, the communication device 102 may perform the processing of S407. Alternatively, if the communication device 102 determines No in this step, it may perform the processing of S406 in parallel with or instead of S405 and wait for a new connection request from the communication device 103. If all connections with the communication device 103 have been disconnected, the communication device 102 determines Yes in this step and ends the processing of this flow.

[0092] As described above, through the process shown in Fig. 4, the communication device 102 establishes a connection with the communication device 103 via multiple channels and performs multiband communication. By establishing connections on multiple channels in response to a single Association Request / Response communication between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103, it is possible to reduce the amount of communication frames required for establishing multiple connections. This reduces the frequency band occupancy rate required for establishing multiple connections. Furthermore, by performing multiband communication with the communication device 103 via multiple connections, the communication device 102 can communicate data more quickly than when communicating data via only one connection.

[0093] Next, a case where the connection between communication device 102 and communication device 103 is disconnected will be described. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing processing executed by having control unit 302 read and execute a computer program stored in storage unit 301 when communication device 102 disconnects from communication device 103. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing processing executed by having control unit 302 read and execute a computer program stored in storage unit 301 when communication device 103 disconnects from communication device 102. Note that the processing in Fig. 8 may be executed by communication device 103, and the processing in Fig. 9 may be executed by communication device 102.

[0094] In this embodiment, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 establish connections in the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, respectively. Here, as shown in the sequence diagram of Fig. 10, a case will be described as an example in which the communication device 102 disconnects the connection with the communication device 103 in the 5 GHz band. In this embodiment, as shown in the sequence diagram of Fig. 12, after disconnecting the connection in the 5 GHz band, the communication device 102 further disconnects the connection with the communication device 103 in the 6 GHz band.

[0095] When the communication device 102 establishes a connection with the communication device 103, it starts the processing in Fig. 8. When the communication device 103 establishes a connection with the communication device 102, it starts the processing in Fig. 9.

[0096] The communication device 102 and the communication device 103 transmit and receive data to and from each other (S5071 to S5073, S5081 to S5083).

[0097] The communication device 102 starts the processing of the flow of FIG. 8 and determines whether a disconnection instruction has been received (S801). If the communication device 102 has received a disconnection instruction from the user, the communication device 102 determines Yes in this step. A disconnection instruction from the user includes not only a disconnection instruction issued by the user operating a hard key or soft key, but also an instruction to stop a specific application, an instruction to switch applications, or an instruction to power off the communication device 102. Alternatively, the communication device 102 determines Yes in this step if it has received a disconnection instruction from an application running on the communication device 102. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine Yes in this step in response to receiving a disconnection instruction from a STA or AP, different from the communication device 103, to which the communication device 102 is connected. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine Yes in this step in response to not having communicated with the communication device 103 for a specific period of time since the last communication. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine "Yes" in this step when the received signal strength (RSSI, Received Signal Strength Indication) of radio waves in connection with the communication device 103 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. The communication device 102 may perform the determination in this step by combining the above determination methods. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine "Yes" in this step when the communication device 103, which is an STA, establishes a connection with an AP different from the communication device 102. Note that the connection with the communication device 103 may be established after it has been established, or may be established in the future. In this case, the communication device 102 determines "Yes" in this step when at least one determination method determines "Yes." Note that, if the communication device 102 has established multiple connections with the communication device 103, it may perform the processing of this step for each connection. If the communication device 102 determines "Yes" in this step, the communication device 102 performs the processing of S804, and if the communication device 102 determines "No," it performs the processing of S802.

[0098] The communication device 102 determines whether the amount of data transmitted to and received from the communication device 103 has decreased (S802). Specifically, for a connection for which a determination of Yes has been made in S801, the communication device 102 determines whether the amount of data communicated via that connection has decreased. The communication device 102 measures the amount of data transmitted to and received from the communication device 103 at predetermined time intervals so that the data amounts can be compared in this step. In this case, the communication device 102 compares the most recently measured amount of data with the previous amount of data in this step, and if the difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, determines Yes in this step. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may determine Yes in this step not based on the amount of decrease in the amount of data, but based on whether the most recent amount of data was equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. In this case, if the most recent amount of data was equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, the communication device 102 determines Yes in this step. If the determination of Yes has been made in this step, the communication device 102 performs processing in S804; if the determination of No has been made, the communication device 102 performs processing in S803. The process of S802 may be skipped, in which case the communication device 102 performs the process of S803 if the determination in S801 is No.

[0099] Next, the communication device 102 determines whether it wishes to change the channel for transmitting and receiving management frames (S803). Specifically, if the communication device 102 is transmitting and receiving management frames by specifying a specific connection, it determines whether it wishes to change the connection for transmitting and receiving management frames from that specific connection. If the RSSI for the connection for transmitting and receiving management frames is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the communication device 102 determines Yes in this step. Alternatively, if the throughput for the connection for transmitting and receiving management frames is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, it determines Yes in this step. Note that the threshold used for the determination in S803 is higher than the threshold used for the determination in S801. If the determination in this step is Yes, the communication device 102 performs the processing of S804, and if the determination is No, it performs the processing of S801. Note that the communication device 102 may skip the processing of this step if it has not specified a connection for transmitting and receiving management frames. In this case, if the determination in S802 is No, the communication device 102 performs the processing of S801. Furthermore, when the communication apparatus 102 skips both the processes of S802 and S803, if the determination in S801 is No, it performs the process of S801 again.

[0100] The communication device 102 determines the connection to be disconnected (S804). The communication device 102 determines to disconnect a connection for which a Yes determination has been made in any of S801, S802, and S803. Here, an example is taken of a case in which a user issues a disconnection instruction for a connection established between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 in the 5 GHz band. In this case, because a Yes determination has been made in S801 for the connection established in the 5 GHz band, the communication device 102 determines in this step that the connection established in the 5 GHz band is the connection to be disconnected.

[0101] 10 corresponds to the processing of S801 to S804 in FIG. 8, which is performed by the communication device 102.

[0102] When the communication device 102 determines the connection to be disconnected, it transmits a frame requesting the disconnection of the connection (S805, S10071). The frame transmitted at this time includes information indicating the connection to be disconnected. In this embodiment, the communication device 102 transmits an Action frame including a Disassociation element as the frame requesting the disconnection. Also, in this embodiment, the communication device 102 transmits a frame requesting the disconnection of the connection in the 5 GHz band via the connection in the 2.4 GHz band. After performing the process of S805, the communication device 102 then performs the process of S806.

[0103] 11 shows an example of the frame format of a Disassociation element included in an Action frame. The Disassociation element includes an Element ID 1101, a Length 1102, and a Multi-band Control 1103. The Disassociation element further includes fields for a Band ID 1104, an Operating Class 1105, and a Channel Number 1106. These fields are transmitted by the communication device 102 in the order shown in FIG. 11, starting with the Element ID 1101, and are received by other communication devices. The communication device 102 may generate all of the fields of the Disassociation element before transmitting them to other communication devices, or may generate and transmit each field individually, starting with the Element ID 1101.

[0104] The order in which the fields are transmitted and received is not limited to that shown in Fig. 11, and the order of the fields may be different. Any of the fields may be omitted, or a field not shown in Fig. 11 may be added between any two fields.

[0105] An identifier for identifying an element is included in the Element ID 1101. In this embodiment, a predetermined value is included as an identifier indicating that the element is a Disassociation element.

[0106] Length 1102 includes information indicating the length of the Disassociation element excluding Element ID 1101 and Length 1102 .

[0107] Multi-band Control 1103 includes the same information as Multi-band Control 603. Note that Multi-band Control 1103 may be omitted.

[0108] The Band ID 1104 includes information for identifying a frequency band associated with an Operating Class 1105 (described later) and a Channel Number 1106. In this embodiment, the Band ID 1104 includes information indicating the frequency band of the connection determined to be disconnected in S804.

[0109] The Operating Class 1105 includes information indicating a set of channels in the frequency band indicated by the Band ID 1104, including the channel of the connection determined to be disconnected in S804.

[0110] Channel Number 1106 includes information indicating the channel of the connection determined to be disconnected in S804.

[0111] Note that, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an example in which one connection is disconnected, this is not limiting and multiple connections may be disconnected. In this case, the communication device 102 may include information about multiple connections to be disconnected in one Disassociation element. Specifically, information about multiple connections may be included in each of the Band ID 1104, Operating Class 1105, and Channel Number 1106. Alternatively, the communication device 102 may include information about one connection per Disassociation element. In this case, the Action frame will include multiple Disassociation elements.

[0112] In addition, in this embodiment, the Disassociation element includes the Operating Class 1105 and the Channel Number 1106, but this is not limitative. The Disassociation element in Fig. 11 may include only the Channel Number 1106 without including the Operating Class 1105.

[0113] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an Action frame including a Disassociation element is used as a frame requesting disconnection, but this is not limited to this. The communication device 102 may use a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame. In this case, the communication device 102 requests disconnection by transmitting a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame including a Multi-band element including information about the connection to be disconnected. Note that the Band ID 604 and Channel Number 606 in the included Multi-band element in this case include information similar to the Band ID 1104 to Channel Number 1106. Also, the fields from BSSID 607 onwards may be omitted. Furthermore, when requesting disconnection of multiple connections, multiple Multi-band elements may be included, as with the Disassociation element, or information about multiple connections may be included in a single Multi-band element.

[0114] Alternatively, instead of the Multi-band element, another element may be included in the Deauthentication frame or the Disassociation frame. In this case, the element includes an identifier for the element, information indicating the length of the element, and information indicating the channel of the connection to be disconnected.

[0115] When the communication device 103 starts the processing of the flow of FIG. 9, it determines whether it has received information about the connection to be disconnected (S901). Specifically, the communication device 103 determines whether it has received an Action frame including a Disassociation element. If the communication device 103 has received the Action frame, it determines Yes in this step. Note that the communication device 103 may also determine whether it has received a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame including a Multi-band element in this step. If the communication device 103 has received a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame including a Multi-band element, it determines Yes in this step. Alternatively, it may determine whether it has received a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame including another element that includes information about the connection to be disconnected, different from the Multi-band element. If the communication device 103 has received a Deauthentication frame or a Disassociation frame including that element, it determines Yes in this step. If the communication device 103 determines No in this step, it performs the processing of S901 again. On the other hand, if the communication device 103 determines Yes in this step, it performs the process of S902.

[0116] The communication device 103 analyzes the received Disassociation element (S902). If the received element is a Multi-band element or another element, the received element is analyzed. In this step, the communication device 103 identifies the connection for which disconnection is requested. In this embodiment, the communication device 103 identifies a connection established in the 5 GHz band as the connection for which disconnection is requested.

[0117] Next, the communication device 103 determines whether any connection remains between the communication device 103 and the communication device 102 that allows data to be sent and received (S903). The communication device 103 determines whether any connection remains between the communication device 103 and the communication device 102 that allows data to be sent and received, other than the connection for which a disconnection request has been issued from the communication device 102. If any connection remains between the communication device 103 and the communication device 102 that allows data to be sent and received, the communication device 103 determines "Yes" in this step. If the communication device 103 determines "Yes" in this step, it performs processing of S904, and if the communication device 103 determines "No" in this step, it performs processing of S905.

[0118] Similarly, after performing the process of S805, the communication device 102 determines whether any connection remains between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 that allows data to be sent and received (S903). The communication device 102 determines whether any connection remains between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 that allows data to be sent and received, other than the connection for which the disconnection request was issued. If any connection remains between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 that allows data to be sent and received, the communication device 102 determines "Yes" in this step. If the communication device 102 determines "Yes" in this step, it performs the process of S807, and if the communication device 102 determines "No" in this step, it performs the process of S808.

[0119] If a connection capable of transmitting and receiving data remains, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 continue transmitting and receiving data via that connection (S807, S904). In this case, data transmission and reception via the connection (channel) for which disconnection has been requested is stopped between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103. In this embodiment, since the connection in the 5 GHz band is disconnected, data transmission and reception via the connection in the 5 GHz band is stopped (S11082). Also, in this embodiment, since the connections in the 2.4 GHz band and the 6 GHz band are maintained, data transmission and reception in the 2.4 GHz band and the 6 GHz band continue (S10081, S10091, S10083, S10093). After performing the processing of this step, the communication device 102 performs the processing of S801. After performing the processing of this step, the communication device 103 performs the processing of S901.

[0120] In the example shown in FIG. 10, a connection capable of transmitting and receiving data remains between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103, and therefore, the determinations in S807 and S904 are Yes. The communication device 102 performs the processes of S801 to S804 and determines to disconnect the connection in the 6 GHz band (S1206 in FIG. 12). The communication device 102 transmits a frame requesting disconnection of the connection in the 6 GHz band to the communication device 103 via the connection in the 2.4 GHz band (S805, S12071). When the communication device 103 receives the frame requesting disconnection from the communication device 102, it performs the processes of S901 and S902. The communication device 102 and the communication device 103 make the determinations in S806 and S903, respectively. In this embodiment, the determination in this step is Yes, because the connection in the 2.4 GHz band remains between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103. In this case, communication between the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 via the connection in the 6 GHz band is stopped (S12082).

[0121] If the determination in S806 is No, the communication device 102 does not transmit or receive data to or from the other device that transmitted the disconnection frame (here, the communication device 103) (S808), and ends the processing of this flow. Similarly, if the determination in S903 is No, the communication device 103 does not transmit or receive data to or from the device that transmitted the disconnection frame (here, the communication device 102) (S905), and ends the processing of this flow.

[0122] 8 and 9, the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 disconnect from each other. As described above, by transmitting a frame requesting disconnection via a connection different from the connection desired to be disconnected, it is possible to transmit a frame requesting disconnection to the other device even if, for example, interference with other communications occurs in the connection desired to be disconnected.

[0123] 8 and disconnecting the connection with the communication device 103, the communication device 102 may establish a new connection with the communication device 103. When transmitting information regarding the connection to be disconnected in S805, the communication device 102 may also transmit information regarding a new channel to be used for transmitting and receiving control frames. Then, a connection via the new channel may be established with the communication device 103 and used for transmitting and receiving control frames. Alternatively, when transmitting information regarding the connection to be disconnected in S805, the communication device 102 may also notify the communication device 103 of information indicating a request to change the connection to be used for transmitting and receiving control frames. Upon receiving the change request, the communication device 103 may request the communication device 102 to establish a connection via a new frequency channel, either simultaneously with or after disconnecting the connection with the communication device 102 specified in S805. Specifically, the communication device 103 transmits an Association Request specifying the new frequency channel to the communication device 102. Alternatively, if the determination in S806 is Yes, the communication device 102 may use any one of the remaining connections with the communication device 103 as a new connection for transmitting and receiving control frames. In this case, the communication device 102 may notify the communication device 103 which connection will be used for transmitting and receiving control frames at any timing after S805.

[0124] In the present embodiment, a case where multiband communication is performed between the communication device 102 (AP) and the communication device 103 (STA) has been described, but this is not limiting, and multiband communication may also be performed between STAs. As a result, even if multiple STAs are connected to each other without going through an AP, communication can be performed via multiple connections on different channels. In addition, when multiband communication is performed between STAs as in this embodiment, one STA may have a role of building a network like the communication device 102 (AP) of this embodiment and perform the same processing as the communication device 102. In addition, the other STA may have a role of joining the network like the communication device 103 (STA) of this embodiment and perform the same processing as the communication device 103.

[0125] In this embodiment, a frame requesting disconnection is transmitted from the communication device 102, which is an AP, to the communication device 103, which is an STA, but in addition to or instead of this, a frame requesting disconnection may be transmitted from the STA to the AP. When a frame requesting disconnection can be transmitted from both the STA and the AP, disconnection control of each connection can be performed in both directions.

[0126] Although the present embodiment illustrates an example in which a connection is disconnected after being established, the present invention is not limited to this. If an error occurs during connection processing on a certain channel, the communication device 102 may notify the occurrence of the error by requesting disconnection on the channel via another connection. For example, consider a case in which the communication device 102 has already established a connection with the communication device 103 on a first channel in the 5 GHz band and is also performing connection processing to establish a connection on a second channel in the 2.4 GHz band. In such a case, if an error occurs during connection processing on the second channel, for example, due to interference with other communications, the communication device 102 transmits a frame requesting disconnection of the second channel via the connection on the first channel. The communication device 103, upon receiving the frame requesting disconnection of the second channel, can detect that an error has occurred during the connection processing on the second channel that is currently being performed and terminate the connection processing. Note that, in addition to the above, an error may occur during connection processing when a frame different from the frame transmitted and received during the connection processing is received, or when there is an error in a value in the frame. The communication device 102 may notify the communication device 103 of the content and cause of the error by including information indicating the content and cause of the error in a frame requesting disconnection of the second channel.

[0127] Furthermore, in addition to or instead of when an error occurs during the connection process, when a connection request is received on a specific channel whose use is restricted in a predetermined area, a connection response notifying the error may be transmitted via a connection already established on another channel. For example, consider a case where communication device 102 has already established a connection with communication device 103 on a channel in the 5 GHz band. When communication device 102 receives a connection request from communication device 103 on channel 14 in an area where use of channel 14 in the 2.4 GHz band is restricted, communication device 102 may transmit a connection response notifying the error to communication device 103 via the connection established in the 5 GHz band. In this case, communication device 102 may transmit an association response including "UNACCEPTABLE_SUPPORTED_CHANNELS" as the error code.

[0128] In addition, in this embodiment, FIGS. 6 and 11 are shown as examples of the frame format of the element for controlling the connection and disconnection of multi-band communication, but the frame format of each element is not limited to this.

[0129] Fig. 13 shows a different example of the Band ID field of the element shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 11. Specifically, in the case of a multi-band element, Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 shown in Fig. 13 may be included instead of Band ID 604 to Channel Number 606 shown in Fig. 6. In this case, Operating Class 1303 and Channel Number 1304 in Fig. 13 contain the same information as Operating Class 605 and Channel Number 606 shown in Fig. 6, respectively. Similarly, in the case of a disassociation element, Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 shown in Fig. 13 may be included instead of Band ID 1104 to Channel Number 1106 shown in Fig. 11. In this case, Operating Class 1303 and Channel Number 1304 in Fig. 13 contain the same information as Operating Class 1105 and Channel Number 1106 shown in Fig. 11, respectively.

[0130] The Band ID fields shown in Figures 6 and 11 are each 8-bit fields. Therefore, if a Next Band field and a Band ID field are used instead, the Next Band field may be 1 bit and the Band ID field may be 7 bits.

[0131] Figure 13 also shows the correspondence between the values ​​of the Band ID field in the frame format shown in Figure 13 and their meanings. The correspondence shown in Figure 13 does not include values ​​that indicate multiple frequency bands.

[0132] When the frame format shown in FIG. 13 is used, if Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 constitute one set, information about one connection is included per set. Therefore, when information about multiple connections is communicated using each element, the element will contain as many sets of Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 as there are connections. For example, when a multi-band element contains multiple sets, the first set's Channel Number 1304 is followed by the second set's Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304. Then, the last set's Channel Number 1304 is followed by a BSSID607 field. Similarly, when a disassociation element contains multiple sets, the next set's Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 is included following the first set's Channel Number 1304. Then, the last set's Channel Number 1304 is the last field included in the disassociation element.

[0133] Next Band 1301 is information indicating whether the element contains information on a connection different from the connection indicated by the immediately following Band ID 1302 to Channel Number 1304. When Next Band 1301 contains a 1, the element contains another set of Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 following the immediately following Band ID 1302 to Channel Number 1304. On the other hand, when Next Band 1301 contains a 0, the element does not contain another set of Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 following the immediately following Band ID 1302 to Channel Number 1304. Note that the correspondence between the values ​​contained in Next Band 1301 and their meanings is not limited to this.

[0134] 13 may be configured to include only Channel Number 1304 without including Operating Class 1303, similar to FIG.

[0135] Fig. 14 shows an example of a frame format of a part of the Multi-band element when a predetermined value is included in the Next Band field. Fig. 14 shows only the part corresponding to Multi-band Control 603 to BSSID 607 in Fig. 6.

[0136] 14(a) shows an example in which the value of the first Next band field is 0. In this case, the Multi-band element contains only one set of Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304. In other words, the Multi-band element contains only information about one connection. Note that the Channel Number 1304 is followed by BSSID 607.

[0137] FIG. 14(b) shows an example in which the value of the first Next band field is 1 and the value of the second Next band field is 0. In this case, the Multi-band element includes two sets of Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304. Note that the second set of Next Band to Channel Number indicates information about a channel different from the first set, and is therefore set to Next Band 1301' to Channel Number 13041'. In this case, the Multi-band element includes information about two connections. The first set of Next Band 1301 to Channel Number 1304 indicates information about the first channel, and the second set of Next Band 1301' to Channel Number 13041' indicates information about the second channel. Note that Channel Number 13041' is followed by BSSID 607.

[0138] Similarly, when information about three connections is to be included in an element, the communication device 102 sets the values ​​of the first and second Next Band fields to 1, and the value of the third Next Band field to 0. Note that the number of connections that can be included in an element is not limited to this, and may be four or more.

[0139] Furthermore, the communication device 102 may extend the Channel Number field instead of or in addition to extending the Band ID field as shown in FIG. 13. In this case, the first bit of the Channel Number field shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 11 is used as the Next Channel field. When the communication device 102 includes information about multiple channels included in the same frequency band in an element, the communication device 102 may include only multiple Next Channel and Channel Number fields. For example, consider a case where the communication device 102 transmits an element including information about a first channel and a second channel in the 5 GHz band. In this case, the communication device 102 transmits an Operating Class field indicating a channel pair including the first channel and the second channel, following the Band ID field including information indicating the 5 GHz band. Then, the communication device 102 first transmits a Next Channel field including a value of 1, followed by a Channel Number field indicating the first channel. Next, the communication device 102 transmits a Next Channel field including a value of 0, followed by a Channel Number field indicating the second channel. In this way, when communicating information about multiple channels included in the same frequency band, by repeating only Next Channel and Channel Number, the number of bits can be reduced and information about multiple channels can be notified.

[0140] Alternatively, or in addition to this, the Operating Class field may be expanded to include a Next Class field and a Channel Number field. When the communication device 102 includes information about a set of multiple channels included in the same frequency band in an element, the element may include only multiple Next Class, Operating Class, and Channel Number fields. For example, consider a case where the communication device 102 transmits an element including information about a first channel and a second channel in the 5 GHz band. Assume also that the first channel and the second channel belong to different channel pairs indicated by the Operating Class. In this case, the communication device 102 first transmits a Next Class field containing a value of 1 following a Band ID field containing information indicating the 5 GHz band. Next, the communication device 102 transmits an Operating Class field indicating the channel pair including the first channel, and then a Channel Number field indicating the first channel. Next, the communication device 102 transmits a Next Class field containing a value of 0, and then transmits an Operating Class field indicating the channel pair including the second channel. Following this, the communication device 102 transmits a Channel Number field indicating the second channel. In this way, when communicating information about a set of multiple channels included in the same frequency band, by repeating only Next Class to Channel Number, the number of bits can be reduced and the information about the set of multiple channels can be communicated.

[0141] As described above, Fig. 13 shows another example of the Band ID field included in each element by the communication device 102. By using the frame format shown in Fig. 13, it is possible to communicate information relating to multiple channels using a smaller number of bits.

[0142] In this embodiment, each element includes information about the channel as information for identifying the connection. However, this is not limiting. An association identifier (AID) may be used instead of information about the channel. An AID is an identifier assigned to a STA by an AP (communication device 102) when the STA associates with the AP. In this embodiment, the AP may assign different AIDs to the same STA for connections on different channels, thereby making it possible to identify the connections. For example, consider a case where the communication device 102 establishes a connection with the communication device 103 in the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band. In this case, the communication device 102 assigns AID=1 to the communication device 103 in the 2.4 GHz band and AID=2 in the 5 GHz band, thereby making it possible to identify the connection using the AID. Therefore, instead of information about the channel of the connection, an AID may be included as information for identifying the connection included in each element. This allows the communication device 102 to reduce the number of bits when communicating information about the connection using each element.

[0143] In addition, although the present embodiment describes a case where a common SSID or BSSID is set even when multiple connections are established, this is not a limitation. The communication device 102 may set a different BSSID for each connection. Furthermore, the communication device 102 may use different SSIDs for different connections.

[0144] In addition, in the present embodiment, the communication devices 102 and 103 are capable of controlling the establishment or disconnection of a connection via the second frequency channel by transmitting and receiving a connection request or a disconnection request via the first frequency channel, but this is not limiting. The communication devices 102 and 103 only need to be able to execute at least one of establishing or disconnecting a connection via the second frequency channel by communicating a predetermined signal via the first frequency channel.

[0145] In addition, in the present embodiment, all of the multiple connections established between the communication devices 102 and 103 are connections that comply with the IEEE 802.11be standard, but this is not limited to this. Connections that comply with multiple different standards of the IEEE 802.11 series of standards may be established between the communication devices 102 and 103 as multiband communication connections. For example, the communication devices 102 and 103 may establish a connection that complies with the IEEE 802.11be standard and a connection that complies with the IEEE 802.11ax standard as multiband communication connections.

[0146] In addition, in this embodiment, the communication devices 102 and 103 establish a connection conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series standard to perform multiband communication, but this is not limited to this.Multiband communication may be performed by establishing multiple connections with different frequencies conforming to a communication standard other than the IEEE 802.11 series standard.

[0147] At least a part or all of the flowcharts of the communication device 102 and the communication device 103 shown in Figures 4, 8, and 9 may be realized by hardware. When realizing by hardware, for example, a specific compiler may be used to generate a dedicated circuit on an FPGA from a computer program for realizing each step, and this may be used. FPGA stands for Field Programmable Gate Array. Alternatively, a gate array circuit may be formed in the same way as an FPGA and realized as hardware. Alternatively, it may be realized by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0148] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0149] 101 Network 102 Communication equipment (AP) 103 Communication equipment (STA)

Claims

1. A communication device, an establishment means for establishing a connection with another communication device in accordance with a predetermined communication standard; a communication means for communicating, via a first frequency channel, a connection request for establishing, by the establishing means, a connection with the other communication device via a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel; a control means for controlling, when the connection request is communicated by the communication means, the establishment means to establish a connection with the other communication device via the second frequency channel, which is maintained in parallel with the connection with the other communication device via the first frequency channel established by the establishment means; A communication device comprising:

2. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the connection request is communicated by the communication means, the control means controls the establishment means to establish both a connection with the other communication device via the second frequency channel and a connection with the other communication device via the first frequency channel.

3. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection request communicated by the communication means includes information indicating a request to establish a connection via the second frequency channel.

4. 4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the connection request communicated by the communication means is an association request.

5. a receiving means for receiving a connection response that is a response to the connection request when the connection request is transmitted by the communication means; 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the establishment means to establish a connection with the other communication device via the second frequency channel based on the reception of the connection response by the receiving means when the connection request is sent.

6. a transmitting means for transmitting a connection response that is a response to the connection request when the connection request is received by the communication means; 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the establishment means to establish a connection with the other communication device via the second frequency channel based on the transmission of the connection response by the transmission means when the control means receives the connection request.

7. 7. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the connection response includes information indicating that establishment of a connection is permitted or information indicating the second frequency channel.

8. 8. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the connection response is an association response.

9. 9. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication means communicates the connection request in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard.

10. A communication device, an establishment means for establishing a connection with another communication device in accordance with a predetermined communication standard; a communication means for communicating a disconnection request to disconnect the second connection via the first connection when a first connection with the other communication device established by the establishment means via a first frequency channel and a second connection with the other communication device established by the establishment means via a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel are maintained in parallel; disconnection means for disconnecting the second connection when the disconnection request is communicated by the communication means; A communication device comprising:

11. 11. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the disconnection request includes information indicating a request to disconnect the second connection.

12. 12. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the communication means receives the disconnection request from the other communication device.

13. 13. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the communication means transmits the disconnection request to the other communication device.

14. 14. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the disconnection request is an Action frame including a Disassociation element.

15. 14. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the disconnection request is a Disassociation frame including a Disassociation element.

16. 16. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the communication means communicates the disconnection request in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard.

17. 17. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first frequency channel and the second frequency channel are frequency channels in different frequency bands.

18. 18. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the establishing unit establishes a connection with the other communication device in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 series standard.

19. A method for controlling a communication device, comprising: an establishing step of establishing a connection with another communication device in accordance with a predetermined communication standard; a communication step of communicating, via a first frequency channel, a connection request for establishing a connection with another communication device via a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel in the establishing step; a control step of performing control such that, when the connection request is communicated in the communication step, a connection with the other communication device via the second frequency channel is established in the establishment step, the connection being maintained in parallel with the connection with the other communication device via the first frequency channel established in the establishment step; A control method comprising:

20. A method for controlling a communication device, comprising: an establishing step of establishing a connection with another communication device in accordance with a predetermined communication standard; a communication step of communicating a disconnection request to disconnect the second connection via the first connection when a first connection with the other communication device established in the establishing step via a first frequency channel and a second connection with the other communication device established in the establishing step via a second frequency channel different from the first frequency channel are maintained in parallel; a disconnection step of disconnecting the second connection when the disconnection request is communicated in the communication step; A control method comprising:

21. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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