Wireless communication device and wireless communication method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method that improve a throughput without increasing an overhead of a wireless frame. The wireless communication device performing communications by using a wireless frame containing a control channel and a data channel, for improving the throughput without increasing the overhead of the wireless frame, comprises a structuring unit allocating, as second control information, part of control information used for communication control to the data channel with respect to a transmitted wireless frame to be transmitted to one other wireless communication device.

1 . A wireless communication device performing communications by using a wireless frame containing a control channel and a data channel, comprising: 
 a structuring unit allocating, as second control information, part of control information used for communication control to the data channel with respect to a transmitted wireless frame.    
     
     
         2 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 1 , further comprising 
 a rate determination unit determining, based on information of a channel status with a wireless communication device as a transmission destination, redundancy of the data channel with respect to the transmitted wireless frame,    wherein the structuring unit, when the determined redundancy of the data channel becomes higher than redundancy of the control channel, allocates the second control information to the data channel.    
     
     
         3 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 1 , wherein the structuring unit dually allocates the second control information to the control channel and to the data channel.  
     
     
         4 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 1 , wherein the structuring unit allocates, as first control information, the information used for the demodulation process and for the decoding process in the wireless communication device receiving the transmitted wireless frame to the control channel, and sets other control information as the second control information.  
     
     
         5 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 1 , wherein the structuring unit sets, as the second control information, control information related to a received wireless frame in the control information with respect to the transmitted wireless frame.  
     
     
         6 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 an error detection unit detecting an error in data allocated to the received control channel;    an estimating unit estimating the control information that should be allocated to the received control channel; and    a demodulating/decoding unit demodulating and decoding, if an error is detected by the error detection unit, the data allocated to the received data channel by using the control information estimated by the estimating unit.    
     
     
         7 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 6 , further comprising generation unit extracting the control information contained in the data demodulated and decoded by the demodulating/decoding unit, and generating the control channel and the data channel that should be transmitted by using the extracted control information.  
     
     
         8 . A wireless communication device performing communications by using a wireless frame containing a control channel and a data channel, comprising: 
 an error detection unit detecting an error in data allocated to the received control channel;    an estimating unit estimating control information that should be allocated to the received control channel; and    a demodulating/decoding unit demodulating and decoding, if an error is detected by the error detection unit, the data allocated to the received data channel by using the control information estimated by the estimating unit.    
     
     
         9 . A wireless communication device according to  claim 8 , further comprising 
 a generation unit extracting control information contained in the data demodulated and decoded by the demodulating/decoding unit, and generating respective data allocated to the control channel and to the data channel by using the extracted control information with respect to the transmitted wireless frame.    
     
     
         10 . A wireless communication method using a wireless frame containing a control channel and a data channel, comprising: 
 a structuring step of allocating, as second control information, part of control information used for communication control to the data channel with respect to a transmitted wireless frame.    
     
     
         11 . A wireless communication method according to  claim 10 , further comprising 
 a rate determination step of determining, based on information of a channel status with a wireless communication device as a transmission destination, redundancy of the data channel with respect to the transmitted wireless frame,    wherein the structuring step allocates, when the determined redundancy of the data channel becomes higher than redundancy of the control channel, the second control information to the data channel.    
     
     
         12 . A wireless communication method according to  claim 10 , wherein the structuring step dually allocates the second control information to the control channel and to the data channel.  
     
     
         13 . A wireless communication method according to  claim 10 , wherein the structuring step allocates, as first control information, in the pieces of control information, the information used for the demodulating process and for the decoding process in the wireless communication device receiving the transmitted wireless frame to the control channel, and sets other control information as the second control information.  
     
     
         14 . A wireless communication method according to  claim 10 , wherein the structuring step sets, with respect to the transmitted wireless frame, as the second control information, the control information related to a received wireless frame in the control information.  
     
     
         15 . A wireless communication method according to  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 an error detection step of detecting an error in data allocated to the received control channel;    an estimating step of estimating the control information that should be allocated to the received control channel; and    a demodulating/decoding step of demodulating and decoding, if an error is detected in the error detection step, the data allocated to the received data channel by use of the control information estimated in the estimating step.    
     
     
         16 . A wireless communication method according to  claim 15 , further comprising 
 a generation step of extracting the control information contained in the data demodulated and decoded in the demodulating/decoding step, and of generating respective data allocated to the control channel and to the data channel with respect to the transmitted wireless frame.