Description
Title of Invention
COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHOD,
AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Technical Field
[OOO 11
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a
communication control method, and a communication system.
Background Art
[0002]
Recently, a new communication method has been developed. The
communication method uses a high-frequency electromagnetic wave referred to as a
millimeter wave to increase the communication speed of wireless communication.
The millimeter wave is regarded to have a wavelength of 10 to 1 mm and a
frequency of 30 to 300 GHz so that a channel can be allocated in, for example, 60
GHz band by the GHz unit.
[0003]
Generally, the millimeter wave has characteristics of more strongly traveling
in a straight line and having a return loss larger than a microwave. Thus, a wireless
communication pathway in a millimeter wave communication is mainly a direct
wave or a wave reflected around once. Further, the millimeter wave has a
characteristic of having a large free space propagation loss (a short reach of radio
wave). Thus, in the case of performing wireless communication using the
millimeter wave, while there is an advantage, in comparison with a case where the
microwave is used, that the space is easy to divide, the communication distance will
be shorter.
[0004]
To compensate such a disadvantage of the millimeter wave in order to use a

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CLAIMS
Claim 1
A communication apparatus comprising:
a first wireless communication part capable of performing wireless
5 communication according to a first communication scheme; and
a second wireless communication part capable of performing wireless
communication according to a second communication scheme that uses a higher
frequency band than the first communication scheme,
wherein the second wireless communication part determines a reception
10 timing to receive a beacon transmitted according to the second communication
scheme based on a time when a predetermined control signal has been received by
the first wireless communication part, and forms, at the determined reception timing,
a reception beam having a directionality learned in advance.
15 Claim 2
The communication apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the control signal includes information indicating whether the
beacon is transmitted following the control signal.
20 Claim 3
The communication apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein, when the beacon has not normally been received at the reception
timing, the second wireless communication part attempts to learn the directionality of
the reception beam again.
25
Claim 4
The communication apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the control signal includes information indicating a temporal
difference from a time when the control signal is received to the reception timing of
30 the beacon.