COMMUNICATION DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To perform resource allocation that enables efficient communication in an environment in which communication devices conforming to a plurality of standards coexist.SOLUTION: A communication device that allocates frequency resources for communication of a second other communication device conforming to a second communication standard based on frequency resources to be allocated to communication of a first other communication device, according to a first communication standard determines allocation of first frequency resources allocated for the first communication standard and second frequency resources allocated for the second communication standard in an available frequency band when the first other communication device and the second other communication device communicate in parallel, and allocates frequency resources included in the second frequency resources to the second other communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a resource allocation control technique in wireless communication. [Background technology]

[0002] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard is known as a communication standard related to wireless local area networks (LANs). The IEEE 802.11 standard is a series of standards including the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax standards. Patent Document 1 describes that the IEEE 802.11ax standard performs communication using OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access). Wireless communication using OFDMA can achieve high peak throughput and ensure sufficient communication speed even in congested situations (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Currently, in order to further improve throughput, the IEEE802.11be standard is being developed as a new standard in the IEEE802.11 series. In addition to achieving high frequency utilization efficiency by using OFDMA like IEEE802.11ax, the IEEE802.11be standard is also being studied for further performance improvement. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 073006 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] It is expected that communication devices conforming to the IEEE802.11ax standard and the IEEE802.11be standard will be widely used in the future. In this case, a situation may arise where multiple communication devices conforming to these standards coexist and communicate in the same frequency band. In such a situation, it is common to communicate in such a way that the new standard does not interfere with the communication of the old standard. However, in that case, it may not be possible to fully improve the efficiency of communication by the new standard.

[0006] The present invention provides a resource allocation technique that enables efficient communication in an environment where communication devices of multiple standards coexist. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication device includes: In the available frequency band The first communication standard and determining an allocation of a first frequency resource allocated for the first communication standard and a second frequency resource allocated for the second communication standard, and selecting a frequency band according to the first communication standard from the first frequency resource. The communication of the first other communication device Faith an allocation means for allocating frequency resources for The allocation means determines the allocation based on the number of devices to which frequency resources should be allocated according to the first communication standard and the number of devices to which frequency resources should be allocated according to the second communication standard. . Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in an environment in which communication devices of a plurality of standards coexist, it is possible to perform resource allocation that enables efficient communication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network configuration. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of an AP. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an AP. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a trigger frame. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a flow of processing executed by an AP. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a flow of processing executed by an AP. [Figure 7] A figure showing a first example of a RU allocation list. [Figure 8] A figure showing a second example of a RU allocation list. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0011] (Network Configuration) FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a wireless communication network according to the present embodiment. A network 101 is a wireless communication network in which communication devices capable of performing communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11be standard and communication devices capable of performing communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11ax standard coexist. Note that IEEE is an abbreviation for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Also, IEEE 802.11be may be called IEEE 802.11EHT. Note that EHT is an abbreviation for Extremely High Throughput or Extreme High Throughput. Also, IEEE 802.11ax may be called IEEE 802.11HE. HE is an abbreviation for High Efficiency.

[0012] In one example, the network 100 includes an AP 102 and a STA 103 that comply with the IEEE 802.11be standard, and a STA 104 that can perform communication that complies with the IEEE 802.11ax standard. The AP refers to an access point, and the STA refers to a station. The AP 102 is also capable of performing communication based on the IEEE 802.11ax standard. That is, the AP 102 can communicate with the STA 103 according to the wireless communication method of the IEEE 802.11be standard, and can communicate with the STA 104 according to the wireless communication method of the IEEE 802.11ax standard. In the following, a device that performs communication that complies with the IEEE 802.11be standard may be referred to as an EHT device, and a device that performs communication that complies with the IEEE 802.11ax standard may be referred to as an HE device.

[0013] Each communication device can communicate in at least one of the frequency bands of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. However, this is an example, and a different frequency band such as the 60 GHz band may be used. Also, each communication device can communicate in a signal bandwidth of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz. Between the AP 102 and the STAs 103 and 104, a plurality of signals are multiplexed by using OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access), and communication of a plurality of users (STAs) is performed in parallel. Such communication performed in parallel for a plurality of users may be called multi-user (MU) communication. Also, the AP 102 and the STAs 103 may each have a plurality of antennas and be configured to be able to perform MIMO (Multiple-Input And Multiple-Output) communication. In this case, the transmitting device generates signals corresponding to each of the plurality of antennas from a plurality of data streams, and transmits the corresponding signals from each of the plurality of antennas using the same frequency channel. The receiving device receives the signals in parallel using multiple antennas, and separates and decodes each data stream from the received signal. By performing MIMO communication, the AP 102 and the STA 103 can transmit and receive more data in the same amount of time compared to when not performing MIMO communication. The AP 102 can establish a wireless link with the STA 103 and the STA 104 through a connection process such as an association process that complies with the IEEE802.11 series of standards.

[0014] Note that the network configuration example in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and for example, a large number of EHT devices and HE devices may be included in a wider area. In addition, other communication devices conforming to legacy standards (IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ac standards) prior to the IEEE802.11ax standard may be included in the network. In addition, the AP102, the STA103, and the STA104 may support the above-mentioned legacy standards. In addition, the AP102, the STA103, and the STA104 may support other communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC, UWB, Zigbee, and MBOA. Note that UWB is an abbreviation for Ultra Wide Band, and MBOA is an abbreviation for Multi Band OFDM Alliance. Here, OFDM is an abbreviation for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. In addition, NFC is an abbreviation for Near Field Communication. UWB includes wireless USB, wireless 1394, Winet, and the like. Furthermore, the AP 102, the STA 103, and the STA 104 may be compatible with a communication standard for wired communication such as a wired LAN.

[0015] The AP 102 may be, for example, a wireless LAN router or a personal computer (PC), but is not limited thereto. That is, the AP 102 may be any communication device capable of communicating with other communication devices using OFDMA in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard. The AP 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. The STA 103 may be, for example, a camera, a tablet, a smartphone, a PC, a mobile phone, a video camera, a headset, but is not limited thereto. That is, the STA 103 may be any communication device capable of communicating with other communication devices using OFDMA in accordance with the IEEE 802.11be standard. The STA 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 STA 104 may be any communication device capable of performing wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE 802.11ax standard, or an information processing device such as a wireless chip. The information processing device such as a wireless chip has an antenna for transmitting a generated signal.

[0016] In the IEEE802.11ax standard and the IEEE802.11be standard, a frequency resource of a predetermined frequency bandwidth in which a predetermined number of OFDMA subcarriers are collected is prepared as a Resource Unit (RU). The RU is a unit of frequency resources consisting of a predetermined number of subcarriers, and frequency resources are allocated to STAs with the RU as the minimum unit. In the IEEE802.11ax standard and the IEEE802.11be standard, 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, etc. are defined, in which 26, 52, 106, etc. subcarriers are collected into one RU, respectively. Furthermore, in the IEEE802.11ax standard and the IEEE802.11be standard, the frequency bandwidth available for communication is variably configured, such as 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, etc. Within the frequency band used, a serial number is associated with each RU, and by specifying one of the serial numbers, the RU corresponding to that number is identified, and the corresponding subcarrier number is identified accordingly. When the frequency bandwidth used is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, the subcarrier numbers corresponding to each RU specified in the IEEE 802.11ax standard and the IEEE 802.11be standard are the same. On the other hand, in other cases, the subcarrier numbers corresponding to each RU may not match.

[0017] When a STA operating in accordance with the IEEE802.11ax or IEEE802.11be standard transmits a signal to an AP, the STA can transmit the signal to the AP in an RU assigned to the STA. The AP transmits a trigger frame, which will be described later, to multiple STAs, and the STAs transmit signals in the assigned RU in response to receiving the trigger frame. In the IEEE802.11ax or IEEE802.11be standard, multiple STAs transmit signals in different RUs according to the trigger frame, thereby performing UL-MU (UpLink Multi-User) transmission by OFDMA. Note that UpLink refers to a link in the direction of transmitting a signal from the STA to the AP.

[0018] The following describes the configuration and processing flow of AP102 for efficiently allocating RUs to STAs that comply with the IEEE 802.11ax standard and STAs that comply with the IEEE 802.11be standard.

[0019] (AP configuration) 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the AP 102 according to the present embodiment. The AP 102 includes, for example, a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a function unit 203, an input unit 204, an output unit 205, a communication unit 206, and an antenna 207. Note that the STAs 103 and 104 may also have a similar configuration, but the following description focuses on the AP 102.

[0020] The storage unit 201 is configured to include one or more memories such as a ROM and a RAM, and stores various information such as computer programs for performing various operations described below and communication parameters for wireless communication. ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory, and RAM is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory. The storage unit 201 may include storage media such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, and a DVD in addition to or instead of memories such as a ROM and a RAM. The storage unit 201 may also include multiple memories.

[0021] The control unit 202 is configured with one or more processors such as a CPU or an MPU, and controls the entire AP 102 by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 201. Note that CPU is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit, and MPU is an abbreviation for Micro Processing Unit. The control unit 202 can be configured to execute a process of generating data and signals (radio frames) to be transmitted in communication with other communication devices (e.g., STA 103) in addition to the entire control of the AP 102. Note that the control unit 202 may be configured to execute a process such as the entire control of the AP 102 in cooperation with a computer program stored in the storage unit 201 and an OS (Operating System). The control unit 202 may include multiple processors such as a multi-core, and may execute a process such as the entire control of the AP 102 by the multiple processors. The control unit 202 may be configured with an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like.

[0022] Furthermore, the control unit 202 controls the functional unit 203 to execute predetermined processing such as imaging, printing, and projection. The functional unit 203 is hardware for the AP 102 to execute predetermined processing. For example, if the AP 102 is a camera, the functional unit 203 is an imaging unit and performs imaging processing. For example, if the AP 102 is a printer, the functional unit 203 is a printing unit and performs printing processing. For example, if the AP 102 is a projector, the functional unit 203 is a projection unit and performs projection processing. Data processed by the functional unit 203 may be data stored in the storage unit 201, or may be data communicated with another communication device (e.g., STA 103) via the communication unit 206 described later.

[0023] The input unit 204 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 205 performs various outputs to the user. Here, the output by the output unit 205 includes at least one of, for example, display on a screen, audio output by a speaker, vibration output, and the like. Note that both the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be realized by one module, such as a touch panel. Also, the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may each be built into the AP 102, or may be configured as an external device connected to a communication device.

[0024] The communication unit 206 controls wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard series and IP communication. In this embodiment, the communication unit 206 is configured to control wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard and, if necessary, wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11ax standard. The communication unit 206 may be configured to control wireless communication conforming to the above-mentioned legacy standard of the IEEE802.11 standard. Furthermore, the communication unit 206 may be configured to control wired communication such as a wired LAN. The communication unit 206 controls the antenna 207 to transmit and receive signals for wireless communication generated by the control unit 202, for example. The AP 102 may be configured to have a plurality of communication units 206. In this case, the AP 102 can establish a plurality of links and perform multi-link communication by establishing one link using one communication unit 206. The AP 102 may establish a plurality of links using one communication unit 206. In this case, the communication unit 206 can execute communication via a plurality of links, for example, by switching the operating frequency channel in a time-division manner. If the AP 102 supports the NFC standard, the Bluetooth standard, or the like, the communication unit 206 can also control wireless communication conforming to these communication standards. If the AP 102 is configured to be capable of executing wireless communication conforming to a plurality of communication standards, the communication unit 206 and the antenna 207 corresponding to each communication standard may be separately provided. The AP 102 communicates data such as image data, document data, and video data with a communication partner device (e.g., STA 103 and STA 104) via the communication unit 206. The antenna 207 may be provided separately from the communication unit 206, or may be configured as one module together with the communication unit 206.

[0025] The antenna 207 is an antenna that enables communication in the sub-GHz band, the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. The AP 102 may have a multi-band antenna as the antenna 207, or may have multiple antennas corresponding to each frequency band. In addition, when the AP 102 has multiple antennas 207, the AP 102 may have multiple communication units 206 corresponding to the multiple antennas, or may have a communication unit 206 that is less than the number of antennas, such as one for the multiple antennas. The antenna 207 may be a single antenna or an antenna array. That is, the antenna 207 may have multiple antenna elements and be configured to be able to perform multi-antenna communication such as MIMO.

[0026] 3 shows an example of the functional configuration of the AP 102. The AP 102 includes, as its functional configuration, a RU allocation control unit 301, a trigger frame generation unit 302, and a frame transmission / reception unit 303, for example.

[0027] The RU allocation control unit 301 allocates RUs to STA103 and STA104 with which a radio link has been established. The trigger frame generation unit 302 generates a trigger frame that triggers the STA to transmit a signal based on the RU allocation determined by the RU allocation control unit 301. The frame transmission / reception unit 303 controls the transmission and reception of management frames, control frames, and data frames that include trigger frames. The trigger frame generated by the trigger frame generation unit 302 is transmitted to STA103 and STA104 by the frame transmission / reception unit 303. Based on the contents of the trigger frame, STA103 and STA104 transmit signals in the RUs allocated to their own devices. This allows STA103 and STA104 to transmit signals to AP102 by UL-MU transmission using OFDMA.

[0028] Here, the format of the trigger frame will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The fields / subfields shown here conform to the format defined in IEEE802.11ax. That is, the trigger frame includes the fields of Frame Control 401, Duration 402, RA 403, TA 404, Common Info 405, User Info 406, Padding 407, and FCS 408. Among these fields, the Common Info field 405 includes information common to a plurality of STAs whose communications are multiplexed by OFDMA. The User Info field 406 includes information specific to each of the plurality of STAs. The User Info field 406 is prepared in the number corresponding to the number of STAs. In one example, the frequency bandwidth to be used is notified to all of the target STAs by the UL BW subfield 412 in the Common Info field 405. On the other hand, allocation information indicating the allocation of RUs to be used by each STA is notified to each STA individually by the AID12 subfield 421 and the RU Allocation subfield 422 in the User Info field 406. The AID (Association ID) is identification information that is assigned to the STA at the time of association and can uniquely identify the STA. This enables the STA that receives this frame to identify which User Info field 406 stores information for the STA itself. The STA then identifies the RU allocated to the STA itself by checking the RU Allocation subfield 422 in the User Info field 406 in which the AID of the STA itself is stored in the AID12 subfield 421. A serial number is associated with each RU, and the RU Allocation subfield 422 stores a number of the serial numbers that corresponds to the RU allocated to the STA.

[0029] (Processing flow) Next, an example of the flow of the RU allocation process executed by AP 102 will be described. Note that the process described below is realized by the control unit 202 reading and executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 201 when AP 102 determines the allocation of RUs. Note that dedicated hardware for executing the following process may be used, or, for example, an implementation in which a processor included in the communication unit 206 executes the following process may be used.

[0030] <Processing example 1> In this processing example, an example will be described in which the frequency bandwidth used is 20 MHz, and 52-tone RUs are assigned to STA103 and STA104. When the frequency bandwidth used is 20 MHz, four 52-tone RUs are defined. These four RUs are called RU1 to RU4, respectively. Table 1 shows the corresponding subcarrier numbers for each of RU1 to RU4. In this table, [x:y] indicates a group of subcarriers between subcarrier number x and subcarrier number y.

[0031] [Table 1]

[0032] In this processing example, a method for allocating these four RUs will be described.

[0033] FIG. 5 shows an example of the flow of the process executed by the RU allocation control unit 301 of the AP 102 in this process example. This process is executed, for example, when the AP 102 determines the allocation of an RU or generates a trigger frame. In this process, the AP 102 first determines candidates for STAs to which the RU is to be allocated (S501). The AP 102 checks the retention state of the transmission queue (data to be transmitted) of each STA that has established a connection with the AP 102, for example, using a BSR (Buffer Status Report) or the like, and determines candidates for STAs to which the RU is to be allocated based on the result. For example, the AP 102 may select a STA whose amount of data to be transmitted held in a buffer exceeds a predetermined amount as a candidate for RU allocation. Then, the AP 102 determines whether the candidates for STAs to which the RU is to be allocated include both a STA that operates according to the IEEE 802.11ax standard and a STA that operates according to the IEEE 802.11be standard (S502). In the following, an STA that operates according to the IEEE802.11ax standard is called an HE-STA, and an STA that operates according to the IEEE802.11be standard is called an EHT-STA. A network in which communication according to the IEEE802.11ax standard is performed is called an HE network, and a network in which communication according to the IEEE802.11be standard is performed is called an EHT network.

[0034] When AP102 determines that both HE-STA and EHT-STA are included in the candidates for STAs to which RUs are to be allocated (YES in S502), AP102 sets each of the four RUs shown in Table 1 as either an HE-priority RU or an EHT-priority RU (S503). AP102 determines the number of HE-priority RUs and the number of EHT-priority RUs based on, for example, the transmission bandwidths required in the HE network and the EHT network. For example, when the transmission bandwidths required in the HE network and the EHT network are equal, AP102 sets two RUs as HE-priority RUs and sets the remaining two RUs as EHT-priority RUs. Note that which RUs are to be HE-priority RUs and which RUs are to be EHT-priority RUs can be determined by any method.

[0035] Next, the AP 102 selects an STA to which the RU should be allocated from among the candidates for the STA to which the RU should be allocated (S504). The AP 102 may select an STA by giving priority to an STA with a smaller corresponding AID, for example. However, this is merely an example, and the AP 102 may, for example, allocate an RU by giving priority to an STA with a larger AID. The AP 102 may also allocate an RU by giving priority to an STA with a smaller MAC (Media Access Control) address or a larger MAC address. The AP 102 may also allocate an RU by giving priority to an HE-STA, or may also allocate an RU by giving priority to an EHT-STA.

[0036] When the AP 102 selects an EHT-STA in S504 (YES in S505), it determines whether there is an RU that has not yet been assigned among the EHT-prioritized RUs set in S503 (S506). If there is an EHT-prioritized RU that has not yet been assigned (YES in S506), the AP 102 assigns an RU from among the unassigned RUs to the STA selected in S504 (S507). On the other hand, if there is no EHT-prioritized RU that has not yet been assigned (NO in S506), the AP 102 does not assign an RU to the STA selected in the previous S504, but instead selects another STA from among the candidates for the STA to which the RU is assigned (S504). Note that in the selection of this other STA, a process may be performed in which the EHT-STA is not selected (or the HE-STA is preferentially selected).

[0037] When the AP 102 selects the HE-STA in S504 (NO in S505), it determines whether there is an RU that has not yet been assigned among the HE-priority RUs set in S503 (S508). If there is an HE-priority RU that has not yet been assigned (YES in S508), the AP 102 assigns an RU from among the unassigned RUs to the STA selected in S504 (S509). On the other hand, if there is no HE-priority RU that has not yet been assigned (NO in S508), the AP 102 does not assign an RU to the STA selected in the previous S504, but instead selects another STA from among the candidates for the STA to which the RU is assigned (S504). Note that in the selection of this other STA, a process may be performed in which the HE-STA is not selected (or the EHT-STA is preferentially selected).

[0038] Then, when AP102 has completed the allocation of RUs to all of the STA candidates determined in S501 (i.e., when all of the STA candidates have been selected in S504) (YES in S510), it ends the process. Note that AP102 may determine in S501 a number of STA candidates equal to or greater than the number of RUs, and end the process when all of the RUs have been allocated to some STA. That is, AP102 determines in S510 whether it is no longer possible to allocate RUs. Then, when AP102 determines that it is no longer possible to allocate RUs (YES in S510), it ends the process, and when it is still possible to allocate RUs (NO in S510), it returns the process to S504.

[0039] In addition, when AP102 determines that the candidates for the STA to which the RU is to be allocated determined in S501 include only either HE-STA or EHT-STA (NO in S502), it performs the RU allocation process without setting the HE-priority RU and the EHT-priority RU. That is, AP102 selects the STA to which the RU is to be allocated from the candidates for the STA to which the RU is to be allocated (S511) as in S504, and allocates the RU to the selected STA (S512). Then, AP102 determines whether the state in which the RU cannot be allocated any more has been reached (S512). When AP102 determines that the state in which the RU cannot be allocated any more is reached (YES in S512), it ends the process, and when the RU can still be allocated (NO in S512), it returns the process to S511.

[0040] By the above-mentioned processing of S503 to S510, AP102 can adaptively allocate RUs according to the transmission bands required for the HE network and the EHT network in a system in which HE-STA and EHT-STA coexist. Also, by the operation of S511 to S513, for example, when the candidates for STAs to which RUs are allocated are only HE-STAs or only EHT-STAs, all RUs can be used efficiently without preparing a priority RU for HE or EHT.

[0041] In the above example, the number of HE-prioritized RUs and the number of EHT-prioritized RUs are determined based on the transmission bands required in the HE network and the EHT network, respectively, but this is not limited to the above. For example, instead of or in addition to the transmission band, the AP102 may determine the number of HE-prioritized RUs and the number of EHT-STAs based on the number of HE-STAs and the number of EHT-STAs that have established a connection with the AP102. That is, the AP102 may allocate more RUs to the communication standard with a larger number of STAs. The AP102 may also determine the number of HE-prioritized RUs and the number of EHT-STAs in the candidates for STAs to which RUs are allocated, as determined in S501.

[0042] In the above example, the AP 102 determines whether an RU is used as an HE-priority RU or an EHT-priority RU by an arbitrary method, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an RU with sufficiently high wireless quality such as SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) or SINR (signal-to-interference and noise ratio) may be set as an EHT-priority RU. For example, the EHT-STA supports a modulation method with a higher number of multi-levels than the HE-STA, such as 1024QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) for the HE-STA and 4096QAM for the EHT-STA. In general, the higher the number of multi-levels of the modulation method, the higher the required wireless quality (SNR, SINR, etc.). For this reason, by setting an RU with good wireless quality as an EHT-priority RU, it becomes possible to perform communication with high efficiency using a modulation method with a large number of modulation multi-levels, thereby improving frequency utilization efficiency. In this case, the AP 102 can determine which RU to set as an EHT-priority RU by measuring the noise level of each RU. Also, the AP102 may specify the radio quality that each EHT-STA, which is a candidate for RU allocation, obtains at each RU by receiving a report such as CSI (Channel State Information) from each EHT-STA. Also, the AP102 may specify the radio quality by measuring the signal transmitted from each EHT-STA, which is a candidate for RU allocation. Then, the RU that can secure sufficient radio quality at any EHT-STA may be set as the EHT-priority RU. Also, the AP102 may determine the RU near the DC subcarrier, which is less susceptible to deterioration of radio quality due to frequency deviation, as the EHT-priority RU. DC means direct current, but here it means the center of the usable subcarriers, that is, the center frequency in the signal band. Note that, in the case where there may be an EHT-STA that does not support 4096QAM, the AP102 may preferentially assign the EHT-priority RU with good radio quality to the EHT-STA that is confirmed to support 4096QAM.

[0043] In the above-mentioned processing example, when the AP 102 determines in S506 and S508 that the EHT-preferred RU or the HE-preferred RU cannot be assigned, the AP 102 does not assign an RU to the STA selected in S504, but this is not limited. For example, when the AP 102 determines in S510 that the RU assignment to all the candidate STAs has been completed without assigning an RU to the HE-STA in a state where the EHT-preferred RU is surplus, the AP 102 may assign the EHT-preferred RU to the HE-STA. This can suppress deterioration of frequency utilization efficiency due to the EHT-preferred RU or the HE-preferred RU not being used. In addition, when the AP 102 ends the processing because the assignable RUs run out without assigning an RU to any of the candidate STAs determined in S501, the AP 102 may preferentially assign an RU to the STA to which the RU was not assigned at the next transmission opportunity. For example, the AP 102 executes the processing of FIG. 5 when transmitting the next trigger frame, and at that time, may preferentially select the STA to which the RU was not assigned last time in S504. This ensures fairness in the allocation of RUs to each STA.

[0044] <Processing example 2> As described above, when the frequency bandwidth used is 20 MHz or 40 MHz, the subcarriers corresponding to each RU in the IEEE 802.11ax standard and the IEEE 802.11be standard match. On the other hand, when the frequency bandwidth is 80 MHz, the subcarriers corresponding to each RU in the IEEE 802.11ax standard and the IEEE 802.11be standard do not match. Here, Table 2 shows the subcarrier numbers corresponding to each RU when a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and a 52-tone RU are used in the IEEE 802.11ax standard. Also, Table 3 shows the subcarrier numbers corresponding to each RU when a frequency bandwidth of 80 MHz and a 52-tone RU are used in the IEEE 802.11be standard. In the following, the RU in the IEEE 802.11ax standard is called HE-RU, and the RU in the IEEE 802.11be standard is called EHT-RU.

[0045] [Table 2]

[0046] [Table 3]

[0047] Here, consider a case where AP102 assigns EHT-RU12 to STA103 and HE-RU11 to STA104. In this case, STA103 operates based on the IEEE802.11be standard and therefore performs UL-MU transmission using subcarriers with subcarrier numbers 201 to 252. On the other hand, STA104 operates based on the IEEE802.11ax standard and therefore performs UL-MU transmission using subcarriers with subcarrier numbers 152 to 203. As a result, both STA103 and STA104 transmit signals using subcarriers with subcarrier numbers 201 to 203. For this reason, on these subcarriers, the signals transmitted from STA103 and the signals transmitted from STA104 interfere with each other. As a result, AP102 fails to receive these signals and, for example, retransmission is performed, which may reduce the frequency utilization efficiency of the entire system.

[0048] In this processing example, in consideration of the above circumstances, the frequency bandwidth used is 80 MHz, and the AP 102 allocates 52-tone RUs to the STA 103 and STA 104, taking into account the difference in the subcarriers corresponding to each RU. For this reason, the AP 102 executes the processing shown in FIG. 6 in the HE-prioritized RU / EHT-prioritized RU determination processing of S503 in FIG. 5. That is, the AP 102 first determines the number of EHT-prioritized RUs, and determines which RUs are to be EHT-prioritized RUs (S601). Then, the AP 102 determines, as the HE-prioritized RUs, the HE-RUs that do not cause interference with the EHT-prioritized RUs set in S601 (S602).

[0049] 7 and 8 show an example of the case where the HE-prioritized RU / EHT-prioritized RU are assigned according to this processing example. FIG. 7 shows an example where the AP 102 sets the number of EHT-prioritized RUs to 8, and sets RU5 to RU12 as EHT-prioritized RUs. FIG. 8 shows an example where the AP 102 sets the number of EHT-prioritized RUs to 10, and sets RU1 to RU5 and RU12 to RU16 as EHT-prioritized RUs. In the example of FIG. 7, RU5 to RU12 are set as EHT-prioritized RUs in S601, and subcarriers with subcarrier numbers -252 to 252 corresponding to these RUs are used for communication according to the IEEE802.11be standard. Then, the AP 102 determines the HE-RU that does not include a subcarrier corresponding to this EHT-prioritized RU as the HE-prioritized RU. That is, here, the AP 102 determines RU1 to RU4 and RU13 to RU16 as HE-prioritized RUs. On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 8, AP102 sets RU1 to RU5 and RU12 to RU16 as EHT-priority RUs, and subcarriers with subcarrier numbers -499 to -201 and 201 to 499 are used for communication according to the IEEE802.11be standard. Here, if RU6 and RU11 are determined as HE-priority RUs, interference may occur with RU5 and RU12 set as EHT-priority RUs in subcarriers with subcarrier numbers -203 to -201 and 201 to 203. For this reason, AP102 does not set RU6 and RU11 as HE-priority RUs even though they are not EHT-priority RUs, and determines only RU7 to RU10 as HE-priority RUs. With such a setting, it becomes possible to prevent mutual interference between communication of an EHT-STA and communication of an HE-STA in an environment where the corresponding subcarriers of at least some EHT-RUs and HE-RUs do not match.

[0050] In this way, in a system in which HE-STAs and EHT-STAs coexist, interference between HE-RUs and EHT-RUs can be prevented, and RUs can be adaptively assigned to each of the HE network and EHT network.

[0051] The AP 102 generates a trigger frame including information indicating the allocation of RUs determined by the above-mentioned process, and transmits the trigger frame to the STAs 103 and 104. This makes it possible to instruct the STAs 103 and 104 to use frequency resources that will prevent the signals of these STAs from interfering with each other when these STAs transmit signals in parallel.

[0052] The above-mentioned method relates to a technique for allocating frequency resources between the IEEE802.11ax standard and the IEEE802.11be standard, but may be applied to other standards in the IEEE802.11 standard series. Also, for example, the method may be used when allocating resources in cooperation between a cellular communication standard and the IEEE802.11 standard. For example, the above-mentioned method may be applied when communication of a cellular communication standard (for example, long-term evolution or fifth generation) is performed in a frequency band of a wireless LAN. In one example, a frequency resource in which RUs for communication of the IEEE802.11ax standard or the IEEE802.11be standard can be preferentially allocated and a frequency resource in which resource blocks for communication of the cellular communication standard can be preferentially allocated may be determined. The frequency resource may be determined based on a transmission band required for communication in each system. Then, RUs for the IEEE802.11ax standard or the IEEE802.11be standard are allocated in the frequency resource with priority for wireless LAN communication, and resource blocks for cellular communication are allocated in the frequency resource with priority for cellular communication. The AP 102 may obtain information capable of identifying a transmission band required for the cellular communication from a node of the cellular communication system, and determine a frequency resource to be prioritized for each of the wireless LAN and the cellular communication. The AP 102 may also notify the node of the cellular communication system of information indicating the frequency resource determined to be prioritized for the cellular communication. This allows the communication of the cellular communication standard and the communication of the wireless LAN standard to be performed in parallel without interfering with each other. The above-mentioned process may also be performed between the AP 102 and a communication standard other than the cellular communication standard. When adjusting the frequency resource between the AP 102 and a standard other than the wireless LAN, such as the cellular communication standard, the AP 102 may only perform allocation of the RU of the wireless LAN after determining the resource to be prioritized for each system.

[0053] In addition, the AP 102 may be configured to operate only in one of the IEEE 802.11ax standard and the IEEE 802.11be standard, for example. In one example, the AP 102 may acquire information capable of identifying a required transmission band, such as information on the amount of data to be transmitted that is retained in a STA connected to another AP in the IEEE 802.11ax standard, from the other AP. Then, the AP 102 identifies a transmission band, etc. required for communication in the IEEE 802.11ax standard in the other AP based on this information. Also, the AP 102 identifies a transmission band, etc. required for communication in the IEEE 802.11be standard from the amount of data to be transmitted that is retained in a STA that complies with the IEEE 802.11be standard connected to the own device. Then, the AP 102 may determine an HE-preferred RU for communication in the IEEE 802.11ax standard in the other AP and an EHT-preferred RU for communication in the IEEE 802.11be standard in the own device. In this case, the AP 102 notifies another AP of the determined HE-preferred RU and assigns an RU from the EHT-preferred RU to the EHT-STA connected to the AP 102. This allows multiple APs to cooperate in performing communications using different communication standards. Similarly, the above process can be used when an AP cooperates with other APs to allow STAs operating under multiple versions of the surrounding WLAN communication standard to communicate in parallel.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the procedure for determining the allocation of the number of RUs has been described, but the allocatable frequency resources do not have to be specified in units such as RUs. In other words, as long as the allocation of frequency resources to be allocated for communications compliant with each of a plurality of communication standards within the available frequency band is determined, the allocation may be performed without using a fixed frequency resource unit as a criterion.

[0055] In addition, in this embodiment, a configuration has been described in which AP102 determines the allocation of RUs, but a control device that controls one or more APs 102 may be separately prepared, and the control device may determine the allocation of RUs in the one or more APs 102.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the process for causing the STA103 and the STA104 to transmit uplink signals has been described, but a similar method can also be applied to allocation of RUs in the downlink.

[0057] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0058] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 102: AP, 103: be STA, 104: ax STA, 201: storage unit, 202: control unit, 206: communication unit, 301: RU allocation control unit

Claims

1. 1. A communication device, comprising: an allocation means for determining an allocation of a first frequency resource allocated for a first communication standard and a second frequency resource allocated for a second communication standard in an available frequency band, and allocating a frequency resource from the first frequency resource for communication of a first other communication device conforming to the first communication standard; the allocation means determines the allocation based on the number of devices to which frequency resources should be allocated according to the first communication standard and the number of devices to which frequency resources should be allocated according to the second communication standard. A communication device comprising:

2. The allocation means includes: determining a communication device to which frequency resources are to be allocated among other communication devices that have established a connection with the communication device; determining the allocation when the device that allocates the frequency resources includes both the first other communication device and a second other communication device that complies with the second communication standard; 2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification means for notifying information indicating the second frequency resource to another device that communicates with a second other communication device conforming to the second communication standard.

4. 4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the allocation means determines the allocation based on the size of the transmission bandwidth required for each of the communication of the first communication standard and the communication of the second communication standard.

5. 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the allocation means allocates, as the first frequency resource, a frequency resource having better wireless quality than the second frequency resource, when the first communication standard supports a modulation scheme with a higher modulation multi-level number than the second communication standard.

6. 6. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the allocation means allocates, as the first frequency resource, a frequency resource close to a center frequency in a signal band when the first communication standard supports a modulation scheme with a higher modulation multi-level number than the second communication standard.

7. 7. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication standard is an IEEE 802.11ax standard, and the second communication standard is an IEEE 802.11be standard.

8. 7. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication standard is an IEEE 802.11be standard, and the second communication standard is an IEEE 802.11ax standard.

9. 9. The communication device according to claim 7, wherein the allocation unit allocates the first frequency resource and the second frequency resource in units of Resource Units (RUs).

10. 10. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein the allocation means allocates the first frequency resource and the second frequency resource such that subcarriers included in the RU of the second communication standard allocated as the second frequency resource do not overlap with subcarriers included in the RU of the first communication standard allocated as the first frequency resource.

11. A control method performed by a communication device, comprising: an allocation step of determining an allocation of a first frequency resource allocated for a first communication standard and a second frequency resource allocated for a second communication standard in an available frequency band, and allocating a frequency resource from the first frequency resource for communication of a first other communication device conforming to the first communication standard; In the allocating step, the allocation is determined based on the number of devices to which frequency resources should be allocated according to the first communication standard and the number of devices to which frequency resources should be allocated according to the second communication standard. A control method comprising:

12. A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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