COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION DEVICE CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To make it possible to notify information on communication compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard in the Wi-Fi Aware standard.SOLUTION: A communication device communicates a Wi-Fi Aware compliant frame including information that indicates that the communication device corresponds to the IEEE 802.11be standard and that it is capable of making use of a frequency bandwidth in excess of 160 MHz.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication technology for a communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, wireless LAN systems compliant with IEEE802.11 have been widely used. Accordingly, technologies have been proposed that allow for easy discovery of nearby wireless LAN applications and information in a power-saving manner. Wi-Fi Aware has been defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance as a communication standard for discovering communication devices and the services they provide in a power-saving manner. Patent Document 1 describes NAN (Neighbor Awareness Networking), which has been defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance as a standard for discovering communication devices and the services they provide in a power-saving manner. Here, Wi-Fi Aware and the NAN standard refer to the same thing.

[0003] Meanwhile, standards for wireless LAN (Local Area Network) technology have been established by IEEE802.11, a standardization organization for wireless LAN technology, and include IEEE802.11 / a / b / g / n / ac / ax. IEEE stands for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE802.11 is currently developing the IEEE802.11be standard, which is considering communications over a frequency bandwidth of 160 MHz. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014 / 0302787 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the existing Wi-Fi Aware standard does not define a mechanism for notifying that communications are compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard or that communications are being performed at a frequency bandwidth exceeding 160 MHz.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to enable notification of information relating to communications compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard in the Wi-Fi Aware standard. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a communication device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a communication means for communicating a frame compliant with Wi-Fi Aware, and the frame communicated by the communication means includes first indication information indicating whether the communication device is compliant with the IEEE 802.11be standard. and the frame communicated by the communication means includes second indication information indicating whether the communication device can use a specific frequency bandwidth exceeding 160 MHz. Including the first indication information is included in a first attribute of the frame, and the second indication information is included in a second attribute different from the first attribute. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to notify information relating to communication conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard in the Wi-Fi Aware standard. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of NAN 101. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of NAN 101. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram showing a frame format of an extended SDF (Service Discovery Frame) in this embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed information included in an Operation Mode field in this embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing a frame format of an extended SDF (Service Discovery Frame) in this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed information of an Extended Operation Mode field in this embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram showing a frame format of an extended SDF (Service Discovery Frame) in this embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed information included in an Operation Mode field in this embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing detailed information of an Extended Operating Bandwidth field in this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, each communication device is assumed to be a communication device having a wireless LAN communication function conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard series, but is not limited to this. Furthermore, each communication device is assumed to be a NAN device capable of discovering other communication devices and the services they provide using a NAN defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance, but is not limited to this. In other words, although the following descriptions use terminology corresponding to a specific standard, the following discussions can also be applied to other similar standards.

[0012] This section explains NAN (Neighbor Awareness Networking). In NAN, service information is communicated during a period called the Discovery Window (hereinafter referred to as DW). As will be described later, service information includes Subscribe messages, which are signals for discovering services, and Publish messages, which are signals for notifying that a service is being provided. The DW is the time specified for each channel during which multiple devices running NAN can converge. A set of communication devices that share a DW schedule is called a NAN cluster.

[0013] Each communication device belonging to a NAN cluster operates in one of the following roles: Master, Non-Master Sync, or Non-Master Non-Sync. A communication device operating as a Master transmits a NAN Synchronization Beacon (hereinafter referred to as a Sync Beacon), which is a beacon that allows each communication device to identify and synchronize with a DW. Furthermore, a communication device operating as a Master transmits a NAN Discovery Beacon, which is a signal that allows communication devices that do not belong to a NAN cluster to recognize the NAN cluster. The NAN Discovery Beacon is transmitted, for example, every 100 TUs (Time Units, 1 TU is 1024 μsec), even outside the DW period. In each NAN cluster, at least one communication device operates as a Master.

[0014] A communication device operating as a Non-Master Sync transmits NAN Sync Beacons but does not transmit NAN Discovery Beacons. A communication device operating as a Non-Master Non-Sync transmits neither NAN Sync Beacons nor NAN Discovery Beacons.

[0015] Communication devices participating in a NAN cluster synchronize with a predetermined periodic DW period in accordance with the NAN Sync Beacon and communicate service information during the DW period. Specifically, each communication device communicates with each other Subscribe messages, which are signals for discovering services during the DW period, and Publish messages, which are signals for notifying that a service is being provided. Furthermore, each communication device can exchange Follow-up messages for exchanging additional information about the service during the DW period. Messages such as Publish, Subscribe, and Follow-up are collectively referred to as Service Discovery Frames (SDFs). Each communication device can advertise or discover services by exchanging SDFs.

[0016] Generally, after discovering / detecting a service, a NAN device may perform communication related to an application to actually execute the service. In this case, the NAN device may establish a PostNAN for communication related to the application, rather than a NAN. A PostNAN is a network separate from a NAN cluster. Examples of PostNAN include an infrastructure network, an IBSS (Infra Basic Service Set), and Wi-Fi Direct. By establishing a PostNAN, a NAN device can perform communication by an application during periods other than the DW period.

[0017] Furthermore, a NAN device can establish a one-to-one connection with another NAN device and communicate with it about applications, without configuring a network separate from the NAN cluster, such as PostNAN. This communication about applications that conforms to the NAN standard is called NDP (NAN Data Path). A NAN device can execute NDP within a NAN cluster during a period that does not overlap with a DW period. In this case, before executing NDP one-to-one, the NAN device can negotiate with the other NAN device on the timing (period) of the one-to-one execution of NDP.

[0018] An example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The wireless communication system according to this embodiment includes NANs 101 to 103, which are communication devices (NAN devices) conforming to the NAN standard, and the NANs 101 to 103 participate in a NAN cluster 104. In this embodiment, the NAN devices (NANs 101 to 103) participating in the NAN cluster 104 establish a network using frequency channel 6 (6ch) in the 2.4 GHz band. The NAN cluster 104 has a DW period length of 16 TU, and the time interval from the start of a DW period to the start of the next DW period is 512 TU. A DW period is a period consisting of 16 DW periods, DW0 to DW15, and the DW period 16 after DWn (n is an integer from 0 to 15) is also DWn. In other words, DW16 corresponds to the next DW0. It is assumed that the NANs 101 to 103 participating in the NAN cluster 104 can always receive wireless signals at least in DW0.

[0019] NAN 101 is a communication device capable of executing each process described below. NAN 101 is assumed to participate in NAN cluster 104 as a Non-Master Non-Sync. NAN 102 is a communication device participating in NAN cluster 104 as a Master. NAN 102 receives wireless signals in all DW periods and transmits NAN Sync Beacons in all DW periods. NAN 103 is a communication device participating in NAN cluster 104 as a Non-Master Non-Sync.

[0020] The NAN devices 101, 102, and 103 participating in the NAN cluster 104 can perform wireless communication compliant with the IEEE 802.11be standard. The NAN devices 101, 102, and 103 can communicate at frequencies in the 2.4 Hz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands. The frequency bands used by each communication device are not limited to these, and the 60 GHz band may be used, for example. The NAN devices 101, 102, and 103 can communicate using bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz. The bandwidths used by each communication device are not limited to these, and bandwidths of 240 MHz, 4 MHz, and so on may be used, for example.

[0021] Although the NAN devices 101, 102, and 103 are described as being compliant with the IEEE 802.11be standard, they may also be compliant with a legacy standard that predates the IEEE 802.11be standard. Specifically, the NAN devices 101, 102, and 103 may be compliant with at least one of the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax standards. Alternatively, they may be compliant with a standard that succeeds IEEE 802.11be.

[0022] (NAN101 configuration) 2 shows the hardware configuration of the NAN 101 according to this embodiment. The NAN 101 includes a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a function unit 203, an input unit 204, a display unit 205, a communication unit 206, and an antenna 207, as an example of the hardware configuration.

[0023] The storage unit 201 is configured with one or more ROMs (Read Only Memories) and / or RAMs (Random Access Memories). The storage unit 201 stores various information such as programs for performing various operations described below and communication parameters for wireless communication. Note that, in addition to memories such as ROMs and RAMs, the storage unit 201 may also use storage media such as flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and DVDs.

[0024] The control unit 202 is configured with one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) or MPUs (Micro Processing Units). The control unit 202 controls the entire NAN 101 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 201. Note that the control unit 202 may also control the entire NAN 101 in cooperation with the programs stored in the storage unit 201 and an OS (Operating System).

[0025] The control unit 202 also controls the functional unit 203 to perform predetermined processes such as capturing images, printing, and projection. The functional unit 203 is hardware that enables the NAN 101 to perform predetermined processes. For example, if the NAN 101 functions as a camera, the functional unit 203 is an imaging unit that performs imaging processing. For example, if the NAN 101 functions as a printer, the functional unit 203 is a printing unit that performs printing processing. For example, if the NAN 101 functions as a projector, the functional unit 203 is a projection unit that performs projection processing. The data processed by the functional unit 203 may be data stored in the storage unit 201, or may be data communicated with another NAN device via the communication unit 206, which will be described later.

[0026] The input unit 204 receives various operations from the user. The display unit 205 displays various information to the user. Note that both the input unit 204 and the display unit 205 may be implemented by a single module, such as a touch panel.

[0027] The communication unit 206 controls wireless communication compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard series and IP communication. The communication unit 206 also controls the antenna 207 to send and receive wireless signals for wireless communication. The NAN 101 communicates content such as image data, document data, and video data with other communication devices via the communication unit 206. Under the control of the control unit 202, the communication unit 206 can enter a DOZE state without receiving power during a DW period when no wireless signals are sent or received.

[0028] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the NAN 101. The NAN 101 has, as its functional configuration, a wireless LAN control unit 301, a frame processing unit 302, a NAN control unit 303, and a UI control unit 304, for example.

[0029] The wireless LAN control unit 301 controls transmission and reception of wireless signals to and from other wireless LAN devices such as NAN devices. For example, the wireless LAN control unit 301 controls wireless LAN communications in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard series.

[0030] The frame processing unit 302 analyzes frames received by the wireless LAN control unit 301 and creates frames according to instructions from the NAN control unit 303 .

[0031] NAN control unit 303 performs control in accordance with the NAN standard. For example, NAN control unit 303 performs communication control in accordance with the NAN standard via communication unit 206 (FIG. 2).

[0032] The UI control unit 304 controls the display of various information on the output unit 205 (FIG. 2), manages operations performed on the input unit 204 by the user of the device 101, and transmits necessary signals to other functional units.

[0033] <Embodiment 1> In this embodiment, the Operation Mode field 403 remains 1 byte, and shows an example indicating that the NAN device is EHT compatible and can use the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0034] Figure 4 shows the frame format of the extended Service Discovery Frame that complies with the NAN standard.

[0035] The extended service discovery frame has a category field, an action field, an OUI field, an OUI type field, and a NAN attributes field 401. The NAN attributes field 401 includes at least one attribute.

[0036] In this embodiment, the NAN Attributes field 401 includes at least a Device Capability Attribute field 402 .

[0037] The Device Capability Attribute field 402 is an attribute that indicates the capabilities of the NAN device, and includes, for example, information about the frequency band that the NAN device can use and version information of the IEEE 802.11 series.

[0038] The Device Capability Attribute field 402 includes the following fields: an Attribute ID field, a Length field, a Map ID field, a Committed DW Info field, a Supported Bands field, and an Operation Mode field.

[0039] The Operation Mode field 403 is represented by one byte from b0 to b7. Fig. 5 shows details of the Operation Mode field 403 shown in Fig. 4.

[0040] When 1 is stored in b0 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device supports VHT. When 0 is stored in b0 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device supports only HT. Here, VHT refers to the IEEE 802.11ac standard, and HT refers to the IEEE 802.11n standard. Furthermore, when 1 is stored in b4 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device supports HE, and when 0 is stored in b4, this indicates that the NAN device does not support HE. Here, HE refers to IEEE 802.11ax. Furthermore, when 1 is stored in b5 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device supports EHT, and when 0 is stored in b5, this indicates that the NAN device does not support EHT. Here, EHT refers to the IEEE 802.11be standard.

[0041] Furthermore, NAN devices that support VHT, HE, and EHT can perform data communication using the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 1 is stored in b1 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 0 is stored in b1 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 1 is stored in b2 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 0 is stored in b2 in the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0042] Furthermore, the IEEE 802.11be standard allows communication over a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth. The IEEE 802.11be standard defines the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth, with center frequencies of 31ch, 95ch, and 159ch, as the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth, with center frequencies of 63ch, 127ch, and 191ch, as the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 1 is stored in b6 of the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 0 is stored in b6 of the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 1 is stored in b7 of the Operation Mode field 403, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, if 0 is stored in b7 in the Operation Mode field 403, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0043] According to this embodiment, the NAN device can indicate that it supports EHT in the Operation Mode field of the Device Capability Attribute field. Furthermore, the NAN device can indicate that it supports the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth in the Operation Mode field. If the NAN device can indicate whether it can use EHT or the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth, it can perform EHT-compliant communication in post-NAN communication after discovering a service using Wi-Fi Aware, for example.

[0044] <Embodiment 2> In the first embodiment, the Operation Mode field remains 1 byte, and a field indicating that the NAN device supports EHT and a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is shown. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which an Extended Operation Mode field, which is an extension of the Operation Mode field shown in the first embodiment, indicates that the NAN device supports EHT and a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, it was indicated whether the NAN device can use the 320-1 MHz and 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidths as the 320 MHz bandwidth. In this embodiment, it is possible to indicate whether the 160+160 MHz frequency bandwidth is available in addition to the 320-1 MHz and 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidths.

[0045] Figure 6 shows the frame format of the extended Service Discovery Frame that complies with the NAN standard.

[0046] The extended service discovery frame has a category field, an action field, an OUI field, an OUI type field, and a NAN attributes field 401. At least one attribute is included in the NAN attributes field 401. In this embodiment, the NAN attributes field 401 includes an extended device capability attribute field 601.

[0047] The Extended Device Capability Attribute field indicates the capabilities of the NAN device, and includes, for example, information about the version and frequency band of the IEEE 802.11 series that the NAN device can use.

[0048] The Extended Device Capability Attribute field 601 has the following fields: an Attribute ID field, a Length field, a Map ID field, a Committed DW Info field, a Supported Bands field, and an Extended Operation Mode field.

[0049] The Extended Operation Mode field 602 is represented by 2 bytes from b0 to b15. Fig. 7 shows details of the Extended Operation Mode field 602 shown in Fig. 6.

[0050] When 1 is stored in b0 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device supports VHT. When 0 is stored in b0 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device supports only HT. When 1 is stored in b4 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device supports HE. When 0 is stored in b4 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device does not support HE.

[0051] NAN devices that support VHT, HE, and EHT can perform data communication using the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 1 is stored in b1 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 0 is stored in b1 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 1 is stored in b2 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 0 is stored in b2 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0052] Furthermore, when a 1 is stored in b5 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device is EHT-compatible, and when a 0 is stored in b5, it indicates that the NAN device is not EHT-compatible. Furthermore, when a 1 is stored in b6 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device can use the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 0 is stored in b6 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, when a 1 is stored in b7 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device can use the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 0 is stored in b6 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0053] Furthermore, if a 1 is stored in b8 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device can use the 160 MHz + 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. If a 0 is stored in b6 in the Extended Operation Mode field 602, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 160 MHz + 160 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0054] According to this embodiment, the newly defined Extended Operation Mode field can indicate whether a NAN device supports EHT and whether it can use the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth. Furthermore, because the Extended Operation Mode field is defined as 2 bytes, it can indicate whether the NAN device can use the 160+160 MHz frequency bandwidth in addition to the 320-1 MHz / 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth. If a NAN device can indicate whether it can use EHT or the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth, it can perform EHT-compliant communication in post-NAN communication after discovering a service using Wi-Fi Aware, for example.

[0055] <Embodiment 3> In the second embodiment, an example was shown in which the newly defined Extended Operation Mode field indicates that the NAN device is EHT-compatible and that it supports the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which the Device Capability Attribute and the Extended Operating Bandwidth Attribute indicate whether the NAN device is EHT-compatible and that it supports the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0056] Figure 8 shows the frame format of the extended Service Discovery Frame that complies with the NAN standard.

[0057] The extended Service Discovery Frame has the following: a Category field, an Action field, an OUI field, an OUI Type field, and a NAN Attributes field 401. The NAN Attributes field 401 includes at least one attribute.

[0058] The NAN Attributes field 401 of this embodiment includes a Device Capability Attribute field 402 and an Extended Operating Bandwidth Attribute field 802 .

[0059] The Device Capability Attribute field 402 and the Extended Operating Bandwidth Attribute field are fields that store the following information: Namely, these fields indicate the capabilities of the NAN device, and include, for example, information about the version and frequency band of the IEEE 802.11 series that the NAN device can use.

[0060] In this embodiment, the Device Capability Attribute field 402 contains information indicating whether the NAN device supports EHT. Also, the Extended Operating Bandwidth Attribute field 802 contains information on the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth that the NAN device can use.

[0061] The Device Capability Attribute field 402 includes the following fields: an Attribute ID field, a Length field, a Map ID field, a Committed DW Info field, a Supported Bands field, and an Operation Mode field 801.

[0062] The Operation Mode field 801 contains information shown in FIG. 9, which will be described later, and is represented by one byte from b0 to b7.

[0063] Details of the Operation Mode field 801 in this embodiment are shown in Fig. 9. The Operation Mode field 801 in this embodiment includes information on whether the NAN device supports EHT and information on whether the NAN device supports the 80+80 MHz bandwidth or the 160 MHz bandwidth.

[0064] When 1 is stored in b0 in the Operation Mode field 801, it indicates that the NAN device supports VHT. When 0 is stored in b0 in the Operation Mode field 801, it indicates that the NAN device supports only HT. Furthermore, when 1 is stored in b4 in the Operation Mode field 801, it indicates that the NAN device supports HE, and when 0 is stored in b4, it indicates that the NAN device does not support HE. Furthermore, when 1 is stored in b5 in the Operation Mode field 801, it indicates that the NAN device supports EHT, and when 0 is stored in b5, it indicates that it does not support EHT.

[0065] NAN devices that support VHT, HE, and EHT are capable of data communication using the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 1 is stored in b1 in the Operation Mode field 801, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 0 is stored in b1 in the Operation Mode field 801, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 1 is stored in b2 in the Operation Mode field 801, this indicates that the NAN device can use the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. When 0 is stored in b2 in the Operation Mode field 801, this indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 160 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0066] The Extended Operating Bandwidth Attribute field 802 includes an Attribute ID field, a Length field, and an Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803 .

[0067] 10 shows the details of the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803. The Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803 is represented by 1 byte and contains information about the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth that can be used by the NAN device.

[0068] When a 1 is stored in b0 in the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803, it indicates that the NAN device can use the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 0 is stored in b0 in the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 1 is stored in b1 in the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803, it indicates that the NAN device can use the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth. When a 0 is stored in b1 in the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0069] Furthermore, if b2 in the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803 is set to 1, it indicates that the NAN device can use the 160 MHz + 160 MHz frequency bandwidth. If b2 in the Extended Operating Bandwidth field 803 is set to 0, it indicates that the NAN device cannot use the 160 MHz + 160 MHz frequency bandwidth.

[0070] According to this embodiment, two attributes can be used to indicate whether a NAN device can use EHT or the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth. If a NAN device can indicate whether it can use EHT or the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth, it can perform EHT-compliant communication in post-NAN communication after discovering a service using Wi-Fi Aware, for example.

[0071] <Other embodiments> In this embodiment, an extended SDF conforming to NAN is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0072] For example, information included in the NAN Attributes shown in this embodiment may be added to the Information Content of the NAN Action frame or the NAN Attributes of the NAN Information Elements. Note that the NAN Information Elements are elements added to the NAN Sync Beacon and the NAN Discovery Beacon.

[0073] Furthermore, the field / subfield names and bit positions / sizes are not limited to those listed in the table, and similar information may be stored with different field / subfield names or in a different order or size.

[0074] In addition, in this embodiment, the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is shown as two types, 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth and 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth, but a field indicating whether the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is available or not may be provided.

[0075] It is also possible to provide a system or device with a recording medium storing software program code for implementing the above-described functions, and have the computer (CPU, MPU) of the system or device read and execute the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium will implement the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the recording medium storing the program code will constitute the above-described device.

[0076] Examples of storage media that can be used to supply the program code include flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, and DVDs.

[0077] In addition, the above-mentioned functions may be realized not only by the computer executing the read program code, but also by the operating system (OS) running on the computer performing some or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code. OS is an abbreviation for Operating System.

[0078] Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may be written to a memory provided on a function expansion board inserted into a computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and a CPU provided on the function expansion board or function expansion unit may then perform some or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code to realize the above-mentioned functions.

[0079] 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]

[0080] 301 Wireless LAN control unit 302 Frame Processing Unit 303 NAN control unit 304 UI ​​control section

Claims

1. A communication device that complies with Wi-Fi Aware A communication means for communicating frames conforming to Wi-Fi Aware; the frame communicated by the communication means includes first indication information indicating whether the communication device complies with the IEEE 802.11be standard, and second indication information indicating whether the communication device can use a specific frequency bandwidth exceeding 160 MHz; A communication device, characterized in that the first indication information is included in a first Attribute of the frame, and the second indication information is included in a second Attribute different from the first Attribute.

2. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first attribute is a Device Capability Attribute that complies with Wi-Fi Aware.

3. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the specific frequency bandwidth exceeding 160 MHz is a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth.

4. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the specific frequency bandwidth exceeding 160 MHz is a 320-1 MHz frequency bandwidth defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard series.

5. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the specific frequency bandwidth exceeding 160 MHz is a 320-2 MHz frequency bandwidth defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard series.

6. A communication device compliant with Wi-Fi Aware. A communication means for communicating a frame including a Device Capability Attribute conforming to Wi-Fi Aware, the Device Capability Attribute includes an Operation Mode field consisting of one byte, and values ​​stored in b0, b4, and b5 of the one-byte field indicate a PHY Mode, the value stored in b0 of the field indicates whether VHT is supported, the value stored in b4 of the field indicates whether HE is supported, the value stored in b5 of the field indicates whether EHT is supported, b1 of the field indicates whether an 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth is supported, b2 of the field indicates whether a 160 MHz bandwidth is supported, and b6 of the field indicates whether a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is supported; and the field does not include information for 60 GHz operation.

7. 7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the frame is a NAN Action frame defined in Wi-Fi Aware.

8. 7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the frame is a Service Discovery Frame (SDF) frame defined by Wi-Fi Aware.

9. 7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the frame is a NAN Synchronization Beacon defined in Wi-Fi Aware.

10. 7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein the frame is a NAN Discovery Beacon defined by Wi-Fi Aware.

11. A communication device described in any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that b6 of the fields indicates whether the 320 MHz-1 bandwidth of the 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is supported, and b7 of the fields indicates whether the 320 MHz-2 bandwidth is supported.

12. A communication method in a communication device compliant with Wi-Fi Aware a transmission control step of transmitting a frame including a Device Capability Attribute conforming to Wi-Fi Aware; a value stored in b4 of the field indicates whether or not HE is supported; a value stored in b5 of the field indicates whether or not EHT is supported; b1 of the field indicates whether or not an 80+80 MHz frequency bandwidth is supported; b2 of the field indicates whether or not a 160 MHz bandwidth is supported; and b6 of the field indicates whether or not a 320 MHz frequency bandwidth is supported; and the fields do not include information for 60 GHz operation.

13. 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 5.

14. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of a communication device described in any one of claims 6 to 11.

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