Patent ID: 8498282
Filing Date: 2013-07-30
Classification: H04B,H04J,H04W

Abstract:
1. A wireless communication method whereby a plurality of master wireless communication apparatuses, which control at least one slave wireless communication apparatus in a communication area using a directional radio wave, perform communication using a superframe, the wireless communication method comprising: arranging the master wireless communication apparatuses such that directivities of respective directional radio waves to be transmitted face each other; and controlling communication by dividing the superframe into subsuperframes in a time domain and assigning the respective subsuperframes to each of the master wireless communication apparatuses and each of the master wireless communication apparatuses transmitting a beacon in the assigned subsuperframe, wherein: the directional radio wave is a radio wave in a millimeter wave band having a strong directivity; the beacon includes (i) a header including a transmission source address, (ii) information including a flag that indicates no echo, and (iii) peripheral equipment control information; the master wireless communication apparatus transmits the beacon; and another master wireless communication apparatus different from the master wireless communication apparatus changes, in the received beacon, the transmission source address, and the flag to a flag that indicates echo, without changing the peripheral equipment control information, and retransmits the changed beacon, as an echo beacon, to the slave wireless communication apparatus in a communication area of the other master wireless communication apparatus and out of a communication area of the master wireless communication apparatus.