Communication device and communication method

Abstract

This communication device comprises a control circuit for determining a communication partner device with which communication is possible and generating first cooperative control information including information indicating the communication partner device, and a transmission circuit for transmitting the cooperative control information to at least one communication partner device.

Description

Communication device and communication method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device and a communication method.

[0002] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is currently studying the IEEE 802.11be (hereinafter referred to as "11be") standard for next-generation wireless local area networks (LANs), which will be the successor to the IEEE 802.11ax (hereinafter referred to as "11ax"). The 11be standard considers the application of Multi-AP coordination (hereinafter referred to as "cooperative communication"), in which multiple access points (also called "base stations," hereinafter referred to as "APs") cooperate to transmit and / or receive data between terminals (also called "non-AP STAs," hereinafter referred to as "STAs").

[0003] IEEE 802.11-19 / 1129r2, Consideration on Multi-AP CoordinationIEEE Std 802.11-2020, December 2020

[0004] However, there is room for further study on the appropriate combination of communication devices (e.g., APs) for cooperative communication.

[0005] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure contribute to providing a communication device and a communication method that can realize an appropriate combination of communication devices in cooperative communication.

[0006] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that determines communication partner devices with which communication is possible and generates first cooperative control information including information indicating the communication partner devices, and a transmitting circuit that transmits the cooperative control information to at least one of the communication partner devices.

[0007] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to realize an appropriate combination of communication devices in cooperative communication.

[0009] Further advantages and benefits of one embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of cooperative communication. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an Element. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a third example of the operation example of cooperative communication in one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third example of the operation example of cooperative communication in one embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a third example of the format of an Element in one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second example of the operation example of cooperative communication in one embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a third example of the operation example of cooperative communication in one embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third example of the operation example of cooperative communication in one embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a third example of the operation example of cooperative communication in one embodiment.

[0011] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] As described above, 11be is considering the application of cooperative communication in which multiple APs cooperate to transmit data to a STA or cooperate to receive data from a STA.

[0013] In cooperative communication, methods using wireless backhaul and methods using wired backhaul are being considered as methods for transferring information between multiple APs (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of cooperative communication.

[0015] Cooperative communication is performed, for example, by an AP called a sharing AP and an AP called a shared AP. In cooperative communication, an AP that obtains a channel usage period (Transmission Opportunity (TXOP)) using CSMA / CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Avoidance) is called a sharing AP. In addition, in cooperative communication, an AP that is cooperatively controlled by the sharing AP is called a shared AP.

[0016] In addition, IEEE802.11 also provides information called "Element" as information to be transmitted and received (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an Element. In the Element shown in Fig. 2, the information contained in the Element is indicated by an Element ID.

[0017] A set of multiple APs including a sharing AP and a shared AP is hereinafter referred to as an “AP set.” An AP set may be understood as a combination of a sharing AP and a shared AP, or as a set of APs that perform cooperative communication.

[0018] In cooperative communication, there is room for further study on the control of the AP set. Note that the control of the AP set includes the selection of APs included in the AP set and the method of transmitting and receiving information between the selected APs.

[0019] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure contribute to providing a method for selecting and controlling an appropriate AP set for cooperative communication.

[0020] [Configuration of Wireless Communication System] The wireless communication system according to this embodiment may include, for example, an AP 100 and an STA 200. The AP 100 may have the functions of both a sharing AP and a shared AP, or may have the functions of only one of them.

[0021] 3A and 3B are block diagrams illustrating exemplary configurations of a portion of an AP 100 and an STA 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] 3A is an example of a communication device. In the AP 100 shown in FIG. 3A, the control unit 110 (corresponding to an example of a control circuit) determines a communication partner device (e.g., another AP 100 that can communicate with the AP 100) and generates first cooperative control information including information indicating the communication partner device. The wireless transceiver unit 101 (corresponding to an example of a transmission circuit) transmits the first cooperative control information to at least one of the communication partner devices.

[0023] STA 200 shown in Fig. 3B is an example of a communication device. In terminal 200 shown in Fig. 3B, wireless transceiver 201 receives a signal transmitted by AP 100. Controller 210 controls wireless communication with AP 100 based on control information included in the received signal.

[0024] In this embodiment, at least two APs are deployed and cooperative communication is controlled by sharing cooperative control information between the APs. The cooperative control information includes at least a cooperative AP list, which is a list of APs that can cooperate.

[0025] 4 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of STA 200 according to this embodiment. STA 200 includes a radio transmission / reception unit 201, a transmission packet generation unit 202, a reception packet decoding unit 203, a reception quality measurement unit 204, and a control signal generation unit 205. Transmission packet generation unit 202, a reception packet decoding unit 203, a reception quality measurement unit 204, and a control signal generation unit 205 may be included in a control unit 210.

[0026] The transmission packet generating section 202 generates a transmission packet from the transmission data and the control information output from the control signal generating section 205 , and outputs the packet to the wireless transmitting / receiving section 201 .

[0027] The wireless transmitting / receiving unit 201 converts the transmission packets generated by the transmission packet generating unit 202 into wireless signals and transmits the converted wireless signals. The wireless transmitting / receiving unit 201 receives the wireless signals and outputs the received wireless signals to the received packet decoding unit 203 and the reception quality measuring unit 204.

[0028] The received packet decoding unit 203 decodes the radio signal into packets, outputs received data from the decoded packets, and extracts control information from the decoded packets and outputs the control information to the control signal generating unit 205 and the reception quality measuring unit 204.

[0029] The reception quality measurement unit 204 measures the reception quality based on an instruction from the control information included in the received packet and / or the internal state, and outputs the reception quality to the control signal generation unit 205. The internal state may be, for example, the capability of the STA 200 (for example, Capability).

[0030] The control signal generating unit 205 generates control information from at least a portion of the transmission data, the control information output from the received packet decoding unit 203, the reception quality output from the reception quality measuring unit 204, and the internal state, and outputs the generated control information to the transmission packet generating unit 202.

[0031] [AP Configuration] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of AP 100 according to this embodiment. AP 100 includes wireless transceiver 101, transmit packet generator 102, receive packet decoder 103, reception quality measurer 104, control signal generator 105, and cooperative controller 106. Transmit packet generator 102, receive packet decoder 103, reception quality measurer 104, control signal generator 105, and cooperative controller 106 may be included in controller 110.

[0032] The transmission packet generation unit 102 generates a transmission packet from the transmission data, the control information output from the control signal generation unit 105, and at least a portion of the control information output from the cooperative control unit 106, and outputs it to the wireless transmission / reception unit 101.

[0033] The wireless transmitting / receiving unit 101 converts the transmission packets generated by the transmission packet generating unit 102 into wireless signals and transmits the converted wireless signals. The wireless transmitting / receiving unit 101 receives the wireless signals and outputs the received wireless signals to the received packet decoding unit 103 and the reception quality measuring unit 104.

[0034] The received packet decoder 103 decodes the radio signal into packets and outputs received data from the decoded packets. The received packet decoder 103 also extracts control information from the decoded packets and outputs the control information to the control signal generator 105, the reception quality measurement unit 104, and the cooperative control unit 106.

[0035] The reception quality measurement unit 104 measures the reception quality based on an instruction from the control information included in the packet and / or the internal state, and outputs the reception quality to the control signal generation unit 105 and the cooperative control unit 106. The internal state may be, for example, the capability of the AP 100.

[0036] The control signal generating unit 105 generates control information from at least a portion of the transmission data, the control information output from the received packet decoding unit 103, the reception quality output from the reception quality measuring unit 104, and the internal state, and outputs the generated control information to the transmission packet generating unit 102.

[0037] The cooperative control unit 106 controls the cooperative communication based on the control information output from the received packet decoding unit 103, the reception quality output from the reception quality measurement unit 104, and the internal state. The cooperative control unit 106 also generates control information related to the control of the cooperative communication and outputs the control information to the transmission packet generation unit 102.

[0038] <Example 1> Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of communication devices in this embodiment. Fig. 6 shows the positional relationship between three APs (AP1, AP2, and AP3) and three STAs (STA1, STA2, and STA3). Fig. 6 also shows the communication areas of each of the three APs.

[0039] While FIG. 6 shows an example of an arrangement of three APs, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The number of APs may be two, or four or more. In the following description, to distinguish N different APs (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1), the APs may be referred to as APn, APm, or APk. n, m, and k may be identification information for identifying the APs. n is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. m is an integer different from n and greater than or equal to N. k is an integer different from n and m and less than or equal to N. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the presence of three APs, APn, APm, and APk.

[0040] For example, the communication area of ​​APn (in the example of FIG. 6, n is one of 1, 2, and 3) may correspond to the range within which a signal transmitted by APn can reach, or may correspond to the range within which communication with APn is possible. Furthermore, the communication area of ​​APn may be defined based on the location of a communication device other than APn when APn can receive a signal transmitted from that communication device.

[0041] 6, the communication area of ​​AP1 includes STA1 and AP3, the communication area of ​​AP2 includes STA1, STA2, and AP3, and the communication area of ​​AP3 includes STA2, STA3, AP1, and AP2.

[0042] In other words, STA1 is located within the communication areas of AP1 and AP2 and can receive signals transmitted from AP1 and AP2. STA2 is located within the communication areas of AP2 and AP3 and can receive signals transmitted from AP2 and AP3. STA3 is located within the communication area of ​​AP3 and can receive signals transmitted from AP3. Note that the ability of a first communication device (AP or STA) to receive a signal transmitted from a second communication device (an AP or STA different from the first communication device) may correspond to the second communication device being able to receive a signal transmitted from the first communication device.

[0043] Furthermore, AP1 can receive a signal transmitted from AP3, and AP2 can receive a signal transmitted from AP3. In other words, AP1 and AP3 can perform cooperative control, and AP2 and AP3 can perform cooperative control.

[0044] In the following, an example is given in which STA1 associates with AP1, STA2 associates with AP2, and STA3 associates with AP3. In Fig. 6, an example is described in which each AP performs cooperative control and transmits data to at least one of STA1, STA2, and STA3.

[0045] 7 is a diagram showing a first example of a procedure for cooperative control in this embodiment. The procedure for cooperative control shown in FIG. 7 includes three steps: multi-AP setup (step a), multi-AP selection (step b), and multi-AP transmission (step c). In this embodiment, each AP performs multi-AP setup and multi-AP selection, and performs multi-AP transmission based on cooperative control by the sharing AP. Each of the three steps will be described below.

[0046] [Multi-AP Setup] Multi-AP setup is performed, for example, when APn is installed and when a change occurs in APs (hereinafter referred to as neighboring APs) present around APn. A change in the neighboring APs may occur when a new AP is added to the vicinity and / or when a neighboring AP moves. APn may determine whether or not the neighboring APs of APn have changed based on whether or not there is a change in the reception quality of signals (e.g., beacons) received by APn from the neighboring APs.

[0047] In a multi-AP setup, each AP detects APs that can cooperate and registers or adds the detected APs to a list of APs that can cooperate. For example, when APn receives a beacon (also called a beacon frame) from APm, another AP (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as another AP) of APn, it registers the ID of APm, the sender of the beacon, in its list of APs that can cooperate. In this case, APm may be referred to as an overlapping basic service set-AP (OBSS-AP).

[0048] In addition to APm, which is the source of the Beacon received by APn, APn may also include APk, which can communicate via a wired backhaul, as its list of cooperative APs.The ID of an AP registered in the list of cooperative APs may be a BSS (basic service set) color, a MAC (Media Access Control) address, or a BSSID.

[0049] Furthermore, whether or not to register an AP in the list of APs that can cooperate may be determined based on other information (e.g., cooperation information). For example, the cooperation information may be included in at least one of the beacon, AP capability, and BSS parameter. Note that the cooperation information may be, for example, MAP (Multi-AP) rank information.

[0050] For example, among APs, an AP with relatively low functionality that cannot cooperatively control other APs as a sharing AP may be designated as rank 0, and an AP that can operate as a sharing AP may be designated as rank 1. Furthermore, association or authentication may be performed between APs before and / or after registration in the list of cooperative APs.

[0051] An AP may set a Candidate Set in the Multi-AP setup procedure. The Candidate Set may also be called a multi-AP cooperation candidate set, an AP group, etc. The Candidate Set may be a group including multiple APs. APs participating in the Candidate Set may also be called a controller AP, an agent AP, a coordinator AP, a member AP, etc. In the Multi-AP setup procedure, sharing APs and shared APs may be determined within the Candidate Set.

[0052] The AP may determine APs to join the Candidate Set (APs included in the Candidate Set) from among the APs included in the list of cooperative APs. The Candidate Set may include APs that are not included in the list of cooperative APs. The AP may also determine that the list of cooperative APs is the Candidate Set.

[0053] The Candidate Set may be set by upper layer software (not shown in FIG. 5 ) of the AP and / or by a user. Then, configuration information related to the configuration of the Candidate Set (e.g., an ID indicating the Candidate Set, a list of addresses of member APs) may be notified to the AP. For example, the configuration information may be notified to the cooperative control unit 106 of the AP 100. As an example, the upper layer software sets a value of the ID indicating the Candidate Set in a Master Information Block (MIB) variable and notifies the cooperative control unit 106.

[0054] As another example, when an AP starts operating and / or when the AP configuration is changed, the upper layer software may include the configuration information of the Candidate Set in an MLME MAC Layer Management Entity Service Access Point (SAP) primitive (interface information for controlling the MAC layer) and notify the AP (e.g., the cooperative control unit 106). An example of such a primitive is MLME-START.request (a primitive requesting the start of a BSS). Also, a primitive for configuring Multi-AP may be defined.

[0055] The Candidate Set may be set by upper layer software and / or a user before the AP starts operating and / or independently of the AP's operation. Alternatively, the Candidate Set may be set by communication between APs. For example, when APn receives a Beacon from another APm that includes Capability information indicating that it supports the Multi-AP function, APn may exchange Capability information and perform an authentication procedure with the other APm or the representative AP of the Candidate Set to determine whether to start or join the Candidate Set.

[0056] After a Candidate Set is configured, communication between APs may become difficult. For example, after a Candidate Set is configured (e.g., authentication between APs) using a wired connection and / or a push button, communication may become temporarily difficult if the AP is moved to another location to be used as a wireless AP. For example, in FIG. 6, when AP1, AP2, and AP3 are participating APs in the Candidate Set, direct communication between AP1 and AP2 may be difficult.

[0057] After configuring the Candidate Set, if a Beacon is received from an AP participating in the Candidate Set, the AP that received the Beacon may be added to the list of cooperating APs. Furthermore, the AP may be added to the list of cooperating APs with reference to the delay requirements for each Multi-AP cooperative communication method. For example, an AP whose number of wireless backhaul connection stages is within a specified value may be added to the list of cooperating APs. The number of wireless backhaul connection stages may be the number of APs relaying the wireless backhaul connection plus one. The number of connection stages may also be referred to as the number of hops.

[0058] The setting and updating of the Candidate Set may be performed by upper layer software and / or a user. Alternatively, the setting and updating of the Candidate Set may be performed by instructions from upper layer software and / or a user, and the setting and updating of the list of cooperative APs may be performed repeatedly by the AP. For example, the AP may update the list of cooperative APs each time it receives a Beacon. Alternatively, the AP may record the time of its last communication with other APs and remove APs from the list of cooperative APs if a certain amount of time has passed since the last communication time. The last communication time may correspond to, for example, the time closest to the current time among the times when communication was performed before the current time.

[0059] [Multi-AP Selection] Multi-AP selection is performed to select a cooperative control method. In multi-AP selection, each AP shares a list of APs that can cooperate with neighboring APs, and selects a cooperative control method based on the list of APs that can cooperate.

[0060] The neighboring APs may be APs registered in the list of cooperative APs or APs in the Candidate Set. The list of cooperative APs may be shared using beacons or individual communication between APs. For example, the list of cooperative APs may be shared using association or individual communication after association.

[0061] In addition, when selecting a cooperative control method, a sharing AP may be selected or the probability of becoming a sharing AP may be adjusted, or the sharing AP may specify an action to request control from the AP that will perform cooperative control, for example, using a trigger.

[0062] The selection of a sharing AP and the adjustment of the probability of becoming a sharing AP will be explained below.

[0063] When selecting a sharing AP, an AP that performs CSMA / CA operation may be selected from the list of cooperating APs. For example, the AP with the largest number of cooperating APs in the list of cooperating APs may perform carrier sensing operation in CSMA / CA. In this case, an AP with a lower number of cooperating APs in the list of cooperating APs may not perform carrier sensing operation in CSMA / CA or may stop carrier sensing operation. As a result, the AP with the highest number of cooperating APs becomes the sharing AP, and the AP with the lower number of cooperating APs (e.g., an AP that has stopped carrier sensing operation) becomes the shared AP.

[0064] In adjusting the probability of becoming a sharing AP, the time until a TXOP is obtained by CSMA / CA (hereinafter referred to as backoff) may be adjusted. For example, the magnitude of backoff may be adjusted according to the number of APs capable of cooperating. For example, the backoff of the AP with the largest number of APs capable of cooperating in the list of cooperating APs may be reduced, the backoff of the AP with the smallest number of APs capable of cooperating may be increased, or a fixed value according to the number of APs capable of cooperating may be added to or subtracted from the backoff. The method of adjusting the magnitude of backoff is not particularly limited. For example, to reduce the backoff, a fixed value may be subtracted from the predefined backoff, and to increase the backoff, a fixed value may be added to the predefined backoff. Alternatively, a fixed value according to the number of APs capable of cooperating may be specified, for example, in a table format, and the specified fixed value may be added to or subtracted from the number of APs capable of cooperating.

[0065] [Multi-AP Transmission] In multi-AP transmission, cooperative transmission is performed under the control of a sharing AP or an AP that performs cooperative control.

[0066] Below, a first example will be described for the arrangement example of FIG. 6 . FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a first example of an operation example of cooperative communication in this embodiment. FIG. 8 shows an operation example in which AP3 becomes a sharing AP through multi-AP selection, and cooperative communication (e.g., C-OFDMA) is performed by AP1, AP2, and AP3. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of signals transmitted and received between the communication devices shown in FIG. 6 .

[0067] In a multi-AP setup (e.g., step a in FIG. 7 ), AP1 detects reception of a beacon transmitted by AP3 using the wireless transceiver 101 and the received packet decoder 103, and registers AP3 in its list of cooperative APs using the cooperation control unit 106. Similarly, AP2 registers AP3 in its list of cooperative APs. Next, AP3 detects reception of a beacon transmitted by AP1 and registers AP1 in its list of cooperative APs, and detects reception of a beacon transmitted by AP2 and registers AP2 in its list of cooperative APs. Note that each AP may limit the APs registered in its list of cooperative APs using the cooperation control unit 106 to those whose reception quality measured by the reception quality measurement unit 104 exceeds a threshold. For example, if the reception quality of the Beacon transmitted by APm exceeds a threshold, APn may register APm in its list of APs that can cooperate, and if the reception quality of the Beacon transmitted by APm does not exceed a threshold, APn may not register APm in its list of APs that can cooperate.

[0068] In the multi-AP selection (e.g., step b in FIG. 7 ), when each AP transmits a list of APs capable of cooperation to another AP, the AP may, for example, include the list of APs capable of cooperation by the cooperation control unit 106 in a beacon generated by the transmission packet generation unit 102 and transmit the list. When each AP receives a list of APs capable of cooperation from another AP, the AP extracts the list of APs capable of cooperation from the beacon received by the wireless transceiver unit 101 and the received packet decoding unit 103 and stores the list in the cooperation control unit 106. This allows the APs to share the list of APs capable of cooperation. In the example of FIG. 8 , AP3, which has the largest number of APs registered in the list of APs capable of cooperation (the number of APs capable of cooperation), is selected as the sharing AP. In this case, AP1 and AP2 may stop their carrier sense operations.

[0069] In multi-AP transmission (e.g., step c in FIG. 7 ), AP3 becomes a sharing AP, and AP3 transmits the MAP-Trigger generated by the transmission packet generation unit 102 via the wireless transceiver unit 101. AP1 and AP2 each detect the MAP-Trigger of AP3 via the wireless transceiver unit 101 and the received packet decoding unit 103, and notify the cooperative control unit 106. The cooperative control units 106 of AP1 and AP2 notify the transmission packet generation unit 102 that they will perform cooperative communication (e.g., C-OFDMA) based on the MAP-Trigger notified by AP3 and their internal states. The wireless transceiver units 101 of AP1, AP2, and AP3 each transmit the packets generated by the transmission packet generation unit 102 in the frequency band specified by the cooperative control unit 106 and the MAP-Trigger.

[0070] In this way, each AP transmits its list of cooperative APs to other APs, and the APs share their lists of cooperative APs with each other. This allows for cooperative control using the list of cooperative APs, thereby achieving an appropriate combination of APs in cooperative communication. For example, in the example described above, cooperative operation by more APs is possible. This improves system throughput. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, communication between AP1 and AP2 is not possible. However, by sharing the list of cooperative APs, cooperative operation by three APs including AP1 and AP2 becomes possible. This allows for an appropriate combination of APs in cooperative communication, thereby improving system throughput.

[0071] In addition, APn may transfer the list of APs that can cooperate with other APs (e.g., APm) to yet another AP (e.g., APk) via AP-to-AP communication. In the example of Fig. 6, for example, AP3 transfers the list of APs that can cooperate with AP1 to AP2, so that AP2 can obtain the list of APs that can cooperate with AP1.

[0072] 7 and 8 show an example of an operation in which multi-AP selection is performed after multi-AP setup, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, multi-AP selection, or a part of the multi-AP selection process, may be included in multi-AP setup. For example, in multi-AP setup, a list of APs that can cooperate may be shared between APs, and the candidate set may be set based on the list of APs that can cooperate, or the list of APs that can cooperate may be used as the candidate set.

[0073] The cooperative control method may be determined during multi-AP setup or multi-AP selection, or may be limited to one of the cooperative control methods in advance. The cooperative control method in question may be, for example, at least one of the following: selection of a sharing AP, adjustment of the probability of becoming a sharing AP, and trigger control. The cooperative control method may be determined, for example, by negotiation during AP association or authentication, or by notification during multi-AP selection.

[0074] [Format Example] Next, a format (for example, information format) for notifying a list of APs capable of cooperation will be described.

[0075] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a first example of an element format in this embodiment. Fig. 9 shows a format in which a list of APs capable of cooperation is added to the element format shown in Fig. 2. Hereinafter, an element having a format in which a list of APs capable of cooperation is added will be referred to as a multi-AP element, for example.

[0076] In the example of Fig. 9, the Multi-AP element is specified by Element ID = 255 and Element ID Extension = 111, the cooperative AP list is specified by Type = 0, and the BSS colors of other APs that can be cooperatively controlled by each AP are included. In Fig. 9, the BSS colors of n cooperatively controllable APs are included as an example.

[0077] In the operational examples shown in Figures 6 and 8, the Multi-AP element generated by AP1 includes the BSS color of AP3, the Multi-AP element generated by AP2 includes the BSS color of AP3, and the Multi-AP element generated by AP3 includes the BSS colors of AP1 and AP2.

[0078] The list of cooperative APs may include MAP rank information, which can prevent requests for cooperative control from being made to APs that cannot perform cooperative control of other APs as sharing APs.

[0079] Furthermore, the path loss between APs or the received power value of other APs may be added to the list of APs that can cooperate, which allows the transmission power of other APs to be controlled in cooperative control.

[0080] Second Embodiment In a second embodiment, an example will be described in which cooperation candidate information is added as information shared between APs in the same configuration as the first embodiment described above.

[0081] The multi-AP setup and multi-AP transmission may be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above.

[0082] In multi-AP selection, in addition to the operations of the first embodiment, cooperation candidate information is shared with neighboring APs. In other words, each AP shares cooperation candidate information and cooperation control information with neighboring APs. Note that the cooperation candidate information may be included in the cooperation control information or may be handled separately from the cooperation control information.

[0083] The cooperation candidate information may be information indicating whether or not effective cooperative control is available, or may be information regarding STAs that are targets of cooperative communication.

[0084] The cooperation candidate information may include information on STAs that are affected by interference from other APs. For example, the cooperation candidate information generated by APn may include information on STAs that are connected to APn and that are affected by interference from APm. Furthermore, each AP may refer to the cooperation-capable AP list to create the cooperation candidate information.

[0085] As an example, a second embodiment will be described below for the arrangement example of FIG. 6 . FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the operation of cooperative communication in this embodiment. FIG. 10 illustrates an operation example in which AP3 becomes a sharing AP and performs cooperative communication (e.g., C-OFDMA) between AP1 and AP3. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of signals transmitted and received between the communication devices illustrated in FIG. 6 .

[0086] In the multi-AP setup, the same operation as the example of operation shown in the first embodiment (see FIG. 8) is performed.

[0087] In Multi-AP selection, APn collects information about APm, which is another AP whose subordinate STA (also called an associated STA or BSS-STA) is affected by interference, and information about STAs associated with APm that are affected by interference from its subordinate STA (also called OBSS-STA).

[0088] For example, in the second embodiment, STA1 detects the reception of a beacon or the like transmitted by AP2 using the wireless transceiver 201 and the received packet decoder 203, and transmits the detection result to AP1 using the transmitted packet generator 202 and the wireless transceiver 201. This transmission of the detection result notifies AP1 that STA1 is affected by interference from AP2. While FIG. 10 does not show the procedure by which STA1 notifies AP1 of the interference impact, this can be performed, for example, as follows: When STA1 receives a signal from an AP other than AP1 and / or a STA associated with an AP other than AP1 (e.g., a signal such as a beacon transmitted from AP2), STA1 records the impact of the received signal as interference impact information and notifies AP1 of all the recorded information on the interference impact. The procedure for notifying AP1 of the interference impact information from STA1 may be performed by STA1 itself or in response to a report request from AP1 after STA1 associates with AP1. Alternatively, as a procedure for notification from STA1 to AP1, STA1 may observe (discover) surrounding APs before associating with AP1, and notify AP1 of an Association Request frame including information on the interference impact during the association procedure.

[0089] The notification of the interference effect may be limited to cases where the reception quality measured by the reception quality measurement unit 204 exceeds a predetermined threshold. For example, when the reception quality of a Beacon transmitted by AP2 exceeds the threshold, STA1 notifies AP1 that STA1 is affected by interference from AP2. When the reception quality of the Beacon transmitted by AP2 does not exceed the threshold, STA1 determines that STA1 is not affected by interference from AP2 and does not need to notify AP1 of the interference effect. AP1 obtains the notification that STA1 is affected by interference from AP2 via the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 and the received packet decoding unit 103, and stores information indicated by the obtained notification in the cooperation control unit 106.

[0090] AP1 can determine from the cooperative AP list in the cooperative control unit 106 that AP2, which AP1 cannot cooperatively control, can be cooperatively controlled by AP3. AP1 then creates information indicating that STA1 is affected by interference from AP2 as cooperation candidate information to be transmitted to AP3, and transmits this information to AP3 via the transmission packet generation unit 102 and the wireless transmission / reception unit 101.

[0091] Similar to STA1, STA2 notifies AP2 that STA2 is affected by interference from AP3. Upon receiving the notification, AP2 transmits, to AP3, as cooperation candidate information, information indicating that STA2 is affected by interference from AP3, similar to AP1 described above.

[0092] Furthermore, since STA3 is not affected by interference from other APs (AP1 and AP2), AP3 does not need to notify cooperation candidate information, or may notify other APs (AP1 and / or AP2) that there is no interference effect on STA3.

[0093] Although an example has been shown in which all information about APs and STAs affected by interference is notified as cooperation candidate information, the present disclosure is not limited to this. The information to be notified as cooperation candidate information may be limited.

[0094] For example, each AP may refer to the list of APs capable of cooperation and notify information about interference from APs that cannot directly perform cooperative control, but not notify information about interference from APs that can directly perform cooperative control. In the second embodiment, since AP1 and AP2 cannot directly perform cooperative control, the cooperation candidate information to be notified may be information that AP1 notifies AP3 (e.g., information indicating that STA1 associated with AP1 is affected by interference from AP2). In this case, for example, since AP2 and AP3 can directly perform cooperative control, information indicating that STA2 associated with AP2 is affected by interference from AP3 does not need to be notified from AP2 to AP3. Notification using the list of APs capable of cooperation can be performed, for example, as follows: First, STA1 receives a beacon from AP1 and obtains the list of APs capable of cooperation included in the received beacon. Because AP1 is located outside the signal reachable area from AP2, AP2 is not included in the list of APs capable of cooperation of AP1. When STA1 receives a signal such as a beacon from AP2, which is not included in the list of APs that can cooperate from AP1, it notifies AP1 of information about the interference effect from AP2. On the other hand, since AP3 is included in the list of APs that can cooperate, even if STA1 receives a signal such as a beacon from AP3, it recognizes that it will not be affected by interference and does not notify AP1.

[0095] Furthermore, the cooperation candidate information may be notified using a beacon or individual communication between APs. For example, in the second embodiment, AP1 may transmit a cooperation control request including the cooperation candidate information to AP3, or AP3 may receive the cooperation control request and transmit a cooperation control response to AP1. Furthermore, when the cooperation candidate information is notified using a beacon, information reflecting the cooperation candidate information (referred to as cooperation candidate status information) may be added to the beacon. This allows confirmation that the cooperation candidate information has been accepted.

[0096] In addition, the IDs of the interfering APs and / or STAs included in the cooperation candidate information may be used as the BSS color included in the packets received as interference. In the second embodiment, the information included in the cooperation candidate information notified by AP1 to AP3, which indicates that STA1 is affected by interference from AP2, may be used as the BSS color included in the packets received by STA1 from AP2.

[0097] Each AP stores the cooperation candidate information decoded by the wireless transmission / reception unit 101 and the received packet decoding unit 103 in the cooperation control unit 106 .

[0098] When selecting a cooperation control method to adjust the probability of becoming a sharing AP, the backoff of AP3, which has the largest number of cooperative APs in the cooperation AP list, can be reduced, or the backoff of AP1 and AP2, which have the smallest number of cooperative APs, can be increased. This increases the probability that AP3 will become a sharing AP.

[0099] In multi-AP transmission, in addition to the operation described in the first embodiment, the cooperation control unit 106 may perform cooperation control by referring to cooperation candidate information.

[0100] For example, when AP3 becomes a sharing AP, cooperative communication with AP1 that has been notified of the cooperative candidate information in the MAP-Trigger (e.g., C-OFDMA by AP1 and AP3) may be specified. The cooperative candidate information may also include the amount of data and / or transmission time desired to be transmitted in the cooperative communication. For example, in the second embodiment, the amount of data and / or transmission time for communication between AP1 and STA1 may also be added. In this case, cooperative control may be performed by referring to the amount of data included in the cooperative candidate information. For example, in the second embodiment, when the amount of data in communication between AP1 and STA1 is small, C-OFDMA by AP1, AP2, and AP3 may be specified.

[0101] Also, when AP1 becomes a sharing AP, as shown in Figure 10, AP1 may request cooperative control from AP3 using a MAP-Trigger, and AP3 may specify cooperative communication with AP1 (e.g., C-OFDMA between AP1 and AP3) using a MAP-Trigger.

[0102] 10, AP3 specifies C-OFDMA between AP1 and AP3, so that AP2, which receives the MAP-Trigger from AP3, does not transmit. By AP2 not transmitting, it is possible to suppress (or eliminate) interference caused by AP2 in communication between AP1 and STA1.

[0103] 10, AP1 may include the amount of data or transmission time desired for cooperative transmission in the MAP-Trigger notified to AP3 (in the example of FIG. 10, the amount of data and / or transmission time desired to be transmitted to STA1). Alternatively, in the example of FIG. 10, AP1 and AP3 may each include a trigger type (for example, "cooperative execution" or "cooperative request") in the MAP-Trigger to distinguish between the MAP-Trigger transmitted by AP1 and the MAP-Trigger transmitted by AP3.

[0104] Although the above describes an example of operation using cooperation candidate information, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, when AP1 becomes a sharing AP, AP1 may autonomously refer to the list of cooperative APs and request cooperation control from AP3 using a MAP-Trigger. In this case, cooperation candidate information may not be used.

[0105] In this way, each AP transmits its list of APs capable of cooperation (e.g., cooperation control information) and cooperation candidate information to other APs, and the APs share their lists of APs capable of cooperation and cooperation candidate information with each other. This allows for cooperative control using the list of APs capable of cooperation and the cooperation candidate information to achieve an appropriate combination of APs for cooperative communication. Furthermore, cooperative control using the list of APs capable of cooperation and the cooperation candidate information allows for cooperative operation that takes into account the effects of interference, thereby improving system throughput.

[0106] [Format Example] Next, a format (for example, information format) for notifying collaboration candidate information will be described.

[0107] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of the format of an element in this embodiment. Fig. 11 shows an example in which information about STAs affected by interference is included as cooperation candidate information in the Multi-AP element shown in Fig. 9.

[0108] In the example of Fig. 11, information about STAs affected by interference is specified as Type=1 as cooperation candidate information. In the example of Fig. 11, the BSS color of other APs that cause interference ("InterferenceBSScolor" in Fig. 11) and the amount of transmitted and received data ("Data Length" in Fig. 11) are notified. The amount of transmitted data may be a value that combines the data amounts of uplink, downlink, and multiple STAs. Also, while Fig. 11 shows an example in which there is only one BSS color of other APs that cause interference, a format that can specify the BSS colors and / or multiple transmitted and received data amounts of multiple other APs may also be used.

[0109] 6 and the operation example shown in Fig. 10, the Multi-AP element of AP1 is information including the BSS color of AP2 and the amount of data of STA 1. By AP1 notifying AP3 of this Multi-AP element, AP3 can schedule the amount of data to be allocated to AP1 in, for example, C-OFDMA.

[0110] In the example of operation shown in FIG. 6, where STA4 associated with AP1 is located at approximately the same position as STA1, the Multi-AP element of AP1 may include information that includes the sum of the data volume of STA1 and the data volume of STA4. This reduces the amount of data required to notify the STAs of their data volumes. Furthermore, the notified STA data volume may be replaced with, for example, the packet transmission time when transmitted in a 20 MHz band. This eliminates the need for additional information (e.g., MCS information) to determine the packet transmission time.

[0111] <Embodiment 3> In embodiment 3, an example is shown in which some STAs have requirements different from other STAs. As an example, in addition to embodiment 2, an example in which STA2 shown in Fig. 6 is a terminal that requires low latency (also called low latency) will be described below.

[0112] The multi-AP setup and multi-AP transmission may be performed in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments.

[0113] In multi-AP selection, in addition to the operations described in the first embodiment, cooperation candidate information is shared with neighboring APs. For example, the cooperation control unit 106 may include information on STAs that require low latency in the cooperation candidate information, or may include a value that integrates information on multiple STAs (e.g., transmission time) in the cooperation candidate information.

[0114] As an example, a third embodiment will be described below for the arrangement example of FIG. 6 . FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the operation of cooperative communication in this embodiment. FIG. 12 illustrates an operation example in which AP3 becomes a sharing AP and AP1, AP2, and AP3 perform cooperative communication (e.g., C-OFDMA). FIG. 12 illustrates an example of signals transmitted and received between the communication devices shown in FIG. 6 .

[0115] In the multi-AP setup, the same operation as the example of operation shown in the first embodiment is performed.

[0116] In the multi-AP selection, for example, information about STA2, which requires low latency, may be added to the cooperative candidate information in the operation example shown in the embodiment 2. For example, the information about STA2, which requires low latency, may be included in the cooperative candidate information that limits the information to be transmitted.

[0117] In Multi-AP transmission, when AP3 becomes a sharing AP, cooperative communication may be performed by specifying cooperative communication with AP1 and AP2 that have been notified of cooperative candidate information by MAP-Trigger (for example, C-OFDMA by AP1, AP2, and AP3). When AP1 and AP2 become sharing APs, cooperative control may be requested from AP3 by MAP-Trigger, as in the second embodiment.

[0118] In the above-mentioned Example 3, by adding transmission from AP2 to the cooperative communication shown in Example 2 (i.e., by performing C-OFDMA by AP1, AP2, and AP3), the communication delay between AP2 and STA2 can be reduced.

[0119] In this way, by including information about STAs for which low delay is required in the cooperation candidate information, it is possible to reduce the communication delay of STAs for which low delay is required.

[0120] The STAs requiring low latency may include National Security and Emergency Preparedness (NSEP) terminals.

[0121] [Format Example] Next, a format (for example, information format) for notifying cooperation candidate information as shown in the third embodiment will be described.

[0122] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a third example of the format of an element in this embodiment. Fig. 13 shows an example in which information about STAs that require low latency is included as cooperation candidate information in the Multi-AP element shown in Fig. 9.

[0123] 13, information on a STA for which low latency is required is specified as cooperation candidate information using Type=2. In the example of Fig. 13, the amount of data transmitted and received by the STA for which low latency is required ("Data Length" in Fig. 13) is notified. Note that the amount of data to be notified may be the combined amount of data transmitted and received by multiple STAs, as in the second embodiment, or may be replaced with the packet transmission time when the data amount is transmitted in a 20 MHz bandwidth, for example.

[0124] In the arrangement example of FIG. 6 and the operation example shown in FIG. 12, STA2 is a STA that requires low delay, so the Multi-AP element of AP2 is information that includes the amount of data of STA2.

[0125] Note that the format shown in Fig. 11 may be used instead of the format shown in Fig. 13. In this case, an identifier for identifying the STA for which low latency is required may be added to the Interference BSS color field shown in Fig. 11. Alternatively, a specific value of the Interference BSS color may be replaced with a value indicating the STA for which low latency is required.

[0126] In the above-described third embodiment, the cooperative candidate information includes information about STAs that require low latency, but the cooperative candidate information may include information about STAs that require low latency. For example, the cooperative candidate information may include information indicating that the STA requests prevention of interference from other APs.

[0127] Fourth Embodiment In a fourth embodiment, an example of a case where multi-AP measurement is performed in the example of the arrangement shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

[0128] 14 is a diagram showing a second example of the procedure for cooperative control according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, each AP performs multi-AP setup (step d) and multi-AP measurement (step e), and then performs multi-AP transmission (step f) based on cooperative control by the sharing AP.

[0129] In the multi-AP setup, each AP shares the list of APs that can cooperate, as shown in the multi-AP setup and multi-AP selection described in the first embodiment, with neighboring APs.

[0130] In multi-AP measurement, each AP performs measurement by referring to a list of APs that can cooperate and notifies the measurement results.

[0131] In the multi-AP transmission, the multi-AP measurement notification result is referenced and cooperative communication similar to that in the first, second and third embodiments is performed.

[0132] Below, a fourth embodiment will be described for the arrangement example of Fig. 6. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a fourth example of the operation of cooperative communication in this embodiment. Fig. 15 shows an operation example in which AP3 becomes a sharing AP and AP1 and AP3 perform cooperative communication (e.g., C-OFDMA). Fig. 15 illustrates signals transmitted and received between the communication devices shown in Fig. 6.

[0133] In the multi-AP setup, each AP generates a list of APs that can cooperate, similar to the multi-AP setup in Example 1, and notifies surrounding APs of the list of APs that can cooperate by including the list of APs in a beacon, similar to the multi-AP selection in Example 1.

[0134] In multi-AP measurement, the cooperative control unit 106 of AP1 determines from the cooperative AP list that AP3 is capable of cooperative control with AP2. The wireless transceiver 101 and received packet decoder 103 of AP1 receive information on the received power or path loss between STA1 and AP2 from STA1 in advance. The received information on the received power or path loss between STA1 and AP2 is output to the transmission packet generator 102. The transmission packet generator 102 of AP1 outputs a packet (e.g., a Report packet) including the received power or path loss between STA1 and AP2 to the wireless transceiver 101. The Report packet is transmitted to AP3 by the wireless transceiver 101. The procedure for STA1 to transmit the received power or path loss information to AP1 is not shown, but is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment and can be performed, for example, as follows: First, STA1 receives a beacon from AP1 and obtains the cooperative AP list included in the received beacon. Because AP1 is located outside the signal reachable area from AP2, AP2 is not included in AP1's cooperative AP list. When STA1 receives a signal such as a beacon from AP2 that is not included in the list of APs that can cooperate from AP1, it notifies AP1 of the received power or path loss information between STA1 and AP2 as a measurement report based on the measurement results of the received signal.

[0135] Note that AP2 and AP3 do not need to transmit Report packets because there are no other APs that are affected by interference and cannot be controlled cooperatively. An example of an other AP that is affected by interference is APm, which interferes with a STA associated with APn. Furthermore, an other AP that cannot be controlled cooperatively with APn is APm, which cannot communicate with APn. In the example of FIG. 15 , STA2 associated with AP2 is located outside the signal reachable area from AP1, so it is not interfered with by AP1, but is affected by interference from AP3. However, AP3 is an AP that can be controlled cooperatively with AP2. Furthermore, STA3 associated with AP3 is not affected by interference from AP1 or AP2. Therefore, AP2 and AP3 do not have any other APs that are affected by interference and cannot be controlled cooperatively.

[0136] In Multi-AP transmission, when AP3 is a sharing AP, cooperative communication may be performed by specifying cooperative communication with AP1, which is the sender of the Report packet (for example, C-OFDMA between AP1 and AP3).

[0137] In this way, cooperative control using Multi-AP measurements enables cooperative operation that takes into account the effects of interference, thereby improving system throughput.

[0138] Note that measurements between STA1 and AP2 may use beacons, sounding signals (e.g., null data packets (NDPs)), or other frames. Each AP may update its list of APs that can cooperate based on the measurement results, or may re-execute all or part of the setup procedure based on the updated list of APs that can cooperate.

[0139] Although an example has been shown in which a Report packet is transmitted when there is another AP that cannot be cooperatively controlled, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, APn may transmit measurement results between another AP that it desires to cooperatively control and a STA (e.g., a STA subordinate to APn) to the other AP in a Report packet. In this case, the destination of the Report packet may be determined based on a list of APs that can cooperate. For example, AP1 may notify AP3 of the measurement results between STA1 and AP2 based on the list of APs that can cooperate.

[0140] The amount of data transmitted and received by the STA may also be added to the information transmitted in the Report packet.

[0141] Furthermore, the measurement results may be aggregated in the AP that performs cooperative control. Here, the AP that performs cooperative control may be referred to by other names such as Master AP, Coordinator AP, multi-AP coordinator, Primary AP, central AP, and Controller AP. Hereinafter, the AP that performs cooperative control may be referred to as Master AP. The Master AP may be selected based on a list of APs that can cooperate. In the above-described embodiment, AP3, which has the largest number of APs that can cooperate, may be the Master AP. This allows AP3 to receive Report packets directly from AP1 and AP2, eliminating the need to forward Report packets and preventing an increase in the amount of backhaul data.

[0142] In addition, the presence or absence of a Master AP and the ID of the Master AP may be added to the list of APs capable of cooperation. Thus, when a Multi-AP setup is performed, for example, in response to the addition of an AP after a Master AP has already been selected, the added AP may be added as an AP to be cooperatively controlled by referring to the list of APs capable of cooperation. Here, the AP to be cooperatively controlled may be referred to by other names such as Slave AP, Coordinated AP, Secondary AP, Associated AP, and Agent AP. Hereinafter, the AP to be cooperatively controlled may also be referred to as a Slave AP. Note that authentication may be performed between the Master AP and the Slave AP when the Slave AP is registered and / or added.

[0143] In addition, the Slave AP may refer to the list of APs that can cooperate when selecting a transfer route for information to be notified to the Master AP. For example, in the above example, if AP1 is the Master AP, AP2 may refer to the list of APs that can cooperate and send notification information to the Master AP to AP3 that can communicate with AP1.

[0144] Furthermore, buffer status information and the like may be included in the notification information sent to the Master AP.

[0145] Although examples of the cooperative AP list and cooperation candidate information in the Multi-AP element format have been described in the above-described first, second, and third embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the Multi-AP element may have a format that combines the cooperative AP list and cooperation candidate information. In this case, the number of cooperative APs may be added to the format to clearly indicate the data length of the cooperative AP list.

[0146] Furthermore, in the above-described second, third, and fourth embodiments, examples have been shown in which the amount of data transmitted and received by the STA is notified, but the amount of data to be notified may be the amount of data for each AC (access category).

[0147] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, examples of cooperative communication using C-OFDMA have been shown, but C-SR (Coordinated-Spatial Reuse), C-BF (Coordinated Beamforming), or JT (Joint Transmission) may be used instead of C-OFDMA. In this case, at least one of path loss information, received power, a transmission power specification value of another AP (e.g., attenuation from a beacon), and channel information may be added to the cooperative candidate information shown in the second and third embodiments. Alternatively, in this case, channel information may be added to the measurement results shown in the fourth embodiment.

[0148] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an example in which a Candidate Set is set has been shown, but the list of APs that can cooperate may be transmitted to the Master AP, and the Master AP may refer to the list of APs that can cooperate to set and update the Candidate Set.

[0149] In the above example, data transmission is instructed by a MAP-Trigger in Multi-AP transmission, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, a shared AP may transmit a trigger after the MAP-Trigger. Furthermore, the MAP-Trigger and the trigger of the shared AP may be an MU-RTS Trigger. This allows transmissions by neighboring APs and STAs to be stopped, reducing the impact of interference.

[0150] Although an example has been shown in which information such as the cooperative AP list, cooperation candidate information, and MAP rank information is notified by beacon, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, a Multi-AP flag may be added to the Capability Information field notified by beacon, and when there is information to be notified, the Multi-AP flag may be enabled and notified by beacon or individual communication. Furthermore, information such as MAP rank information may be information included in a format defined as a Multi-AP Capability element, for example.

[0151] In the above-described embodiment, an example of the configuration of an Element is described, but the information to be notified is not limited to the information shown in the above-described embodiment, and for example, other information may be added, or at least a portion of the defined information may be deleted.

[0152] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the terms frame, element, field, and subfield are regions (ranges or configurations) included in a signal, and are examples of names for regions (ranges or configurations) in which information is set. These terms may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0153] Furthermore, the names of frame, element, field, subfield, and the like in the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described examples.

[0154] Furthermore, in each of the above-described embodiments, the AP that instructs cooperative communication and the AP that is instructed to perform cooperative communication are described as "Sharing AP" and "Shared AP," respectively, but this is not limited to these terms and other terms may be used.

[0155] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiments have been described based on the 11be format as a non-limiting example, the format to which an embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied is not limited to the 11be format. An embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to, for example, IEEE 802.11bd (NGV (Next Generation V2X)), a next-generation standard of IEEE 802.11p, which is an in-vehicle standard.

[0156] The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software in conjunction with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit, and each process described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely controlled by a single LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of a single chip that includes some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may have data input and output. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may also be called an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI.

[0157] The integrated circuit method is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. Also, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed after LSI manufacturing, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells within the LSI, may be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital processing or analog processing.

[0158] Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, it is natural that such technology may be used to integrate functional blocks. The application of biotechnology, etc. is also a possibility.

[0159] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system (collectively referred to as a communications apparatus) that has a communications function. The communications apparatus may include a radio transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The radio transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, or both functions. The radio transceiver (transmitter and receiver) may include a radio frequency (RF) module and one or more antennas. The RF module may include an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, or the like. Non-limiting examples of communication devices include telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine devices, communication-enabled vehicles or mobile transportation (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and combinations of the above devices.

[0160] The communication devices are not limited to portable or mobile devices, but also include any kind of non-portable or fixed equipment, devices, and systems, such as smart home devices (such as home appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or measuring devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines, and any other "things" that may exist on an IoT (Internet of Things) network.

[0161] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communication satellite systems, and the like, as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0162] A communications apparatus also includes devices such as controllers and sensors connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0163] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0164] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control circuit that determines communication partner devices with which communication is possible and generates first cooperative control information including information indicating the communication partner devices, and a transmitting circuit that transmits the cooperative control information to at least one of the communication partner devices.

[0165] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a receiving circuit is provided that receives second coordination control information from at least one of the communication partner devices, the second coordination control information including information indicating a third communication device with which the at least one communication partner device can communicate.

[0166] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first cooperative control information includes information indicating whether or not effective cooperative control is available.

[0167] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first coordination control information includes information that integrates information on a plurality of fourth communication devices associated with the communication device.

[0168] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first coordination control information includes information about a channel between the communication device and a fourth communication device associated with the communication device.

[0169] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first coordination control information includes information indicating the amount of data to be transmitted to a fourth communication device associated with the communication device and / or the amount of data to be received from the fourth communication device.

[0170] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first cooperative control information includes information regarding interference experienced by a fourth communication device associated with the communication device.

[0171] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first coordination control information includes information regarding the capability of a fourth communication device associated with the communication device, or information regarding a request of the fourth communication device.

[0172] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission circuit transmits the first cooperation control information using a beacon.

[0173] In a communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device determines communication partner devices with which it can communicate, generates first cooperative control information including information indicating the communication partner devices, and transmits the cooperative control information to at least one of the communication partner devices.

[0174] The disclosures of the specification, drawings and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-049958, filed on March 25, 2022, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0175] One embodiment of the present disclosure is useful in wireless communication systems.

[0176] 100 AP 101, 201 Radio transmission / reception unit 102, 202 Transmission packet generation unit 103, 203 Received packet decoding unit 104, 204 Reception quality measurement unit 105, 205 Control signal generation unit 106 Cooperative control unit 110, 210 Control unit 200 STA

Claims

1. A control circuit that determines a communication partner device that can communicate and generates first cooperative control information including information indicating the communication partner device, A transmitting circuit that transmits the aforementioned cooperative control information to at least one of the communication partner devices, A communication device equipped with the following features.

2. The receiving circuit includes a receiving circuit that receives second cooperative control information from at least one of the communication partner devices, which includes information indicating a third communication device with which the at least one communication partner device can communicate. The communication device according to claim 1.

3. The first cooperative control information includes information indicating whether or not effective cooperative control is being performed. The communication device according to claim 1.

4. The first cooperative control information includes information that integrates information relating to a plurality of fourth communication devices associated with the communication device, The communication device according to claim 1.

5. The first cooperative control information includes information regarding the channel between the communication device and a fourth communication device that is associated with the communication device. The communication device according to claim 1.

6. The first cooperative control information includes information indicating the amount of data to be transmitted to a fourth communication device associated with the communication device, and / or the amount of data to be received from the fourth communication device. The communication device according to claim 1.

7. The first cooperative control information includes information regarding interference experienced by a fourth communication device associated with the communication device. The communication device according to claim 1.

8. The first cooperative control information includes information regarding the capabilities of a fourth communication device that associates with the communication device, or information regarding the requests of the fourth communication device. The communication device according to claim 1.

9. The transmission circuit transmits the first cooperative control information using a beacon. The communication device according to claim 1.

10. Each of the communication device and the communication partner device is an access point. The communication device according to claim 1.

11. The communication device Determine the communication partner device that can communicate with you, First cooperative control information is generated, which includes information indicating the communication partner device. The cooperative control information is transmitted to at least one of the communication partner devices. Communication method.