Patent ID: 7558258

Claim:
A radio communication method by which a radio communication apparatus transmits a beacon within a beacon period so that the beacon does not conflict with other beacons transmitted within the beacon period from other radio communication apparatuses, said method comprising: a step of producing beacon period occupancy information containing: first moving status information which was included in another beacon received from another radio communication apparatus, an identifier for specifying the another communication apparatus which notified the first moving status information, and a beacon slot position which indicates a slot position of the another beacon within the beacon period; a step of generating the beacon including the beacon period occupancy information and second moving status information to notify the other radio communication apparatuses about a request for moving of its own beacon slot position; a step of transmitting the generated beacon at the radio communication apparatus's beacon slot position; a step of detecting whether there is at least one empty beacon slot located before the radio communication apparatus's beacon slot position within the beacon period; a step of monitoring a specified number of super frames to confirm that the empty beacon slot is available when an empty beacon slot is detected, each super frame including a beacon frame and a data fame, wherein the empty beacon slot is confirmed to be available when, in each of the specified number of super frames: i) a specific beacon transmitted from a specific radio communication apparatus programmed to move its beacon slot position is not received later than the radio communication apparatus's beacon slot position within the beacon period and earlier than the end of the beacon period, and ii) the specific radio transmission apparatus programmed to move its beacon slot position is not detected in other beacon period occupancy information included in the other beacons transmitted from the other radio communication apparatuses to have the specific beacon later in the the beacon period than the radio communication apparatus; and a step of moving the beacon slot to the empty beacon slot after the specified number of super frames, and transmitting the beacon in the new beacon slot, when the empty beacon slot is confirmed to be available.