Radio communication system, transmitting apparatus, receiving apparatus, processing method and program

• US 20050002421A1
• Filed: 04/29/2004
• Published: 01/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Redwood Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Kunio, Ito, Osamu
• Granted Patent: US 7,545,832 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0483 Transmitters with multiple parallel paths
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1809 Selective-repeat protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0096 Channel splitting in point-to-point links
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A transmitting apparatus includes a data dividing unit operable to divide data into pieces of transmittable data, a data outputting unit operable to add a dividing order to the divided pieces of transmittable data to form transmission data, and a transmitter operable to transmit the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously. As a result, the effects of using different transmission paths simultaneously and efficient transmission by a form of transmission corresponding to a state of communication are realized.

Claims

1. A transmitting apparatus, comprising:

a data dividing unit operable to divide data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

a data outputting unit operable to add a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data; and

a transmitter operable to transmit the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously.

2. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said data dividing unit divides the data such that the transmission data are transmitted in substantially equal time lengths.

3. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when the response indicates that a piece of the transmission data in the previous data transmission has failed to be received, said data dividing unit divides the data such that transmission data identical to the transmission data in the previous data transmission is retransmitted.

4. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when the response indicates that a piece of the transmission data in the previous data transmission has failed to be received, said data dividing unit divides the data such that transmission data related to the transmission data in the previous data transmission is transmitted in the different transmission paths simultaneously.

5. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 4,

wherein said transmitter transmits the transmission data related to the transmission data in the previous data transmission in a modulation mode identical with a modulation mode of a transmission path in which reception of transmission data in the previous data transmission has succeeded.

6. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when the responses to previous data transmissions indicate that the transmission data in the previous data transmissions has failed to be received at least a predetermined number of times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that there are no subsequent transmissions in the one transmission path.

7. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when the responses to previous data transmissions indicate that the transmission data in the previous data transmissions has failed to be received at least a predetermined number of consecutive times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that there are no subsequent transmissions in the one transmission path.

8. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when said response determining unit determines that the responses to previous data transmissions have successfully been received at least a predetermined number of times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that subsequent transmissions are made in the one transmission path.

9. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when said response determining unit determines that the responses to previous data transmissions have successfully been received at least a predetermined number of consecutive times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that subsequent transmissions are made in the one transmission path.

10. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when the responses to previous data transmissions indicate that the transmission data in the previous data transmissions has failed to be received at least a predetermined number of times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that subsequent transmissions in the one transmission path are made in a modulation mode having a higher noise resistance.

11. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when the responses to previous data transmissions indicate that the transmission data in the previous data transmissions has failed to be received at least a predetermined number of consecutive times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that subsequent transmissions in the one transmission path are made in a modulation mode having a higher noise resistance.

12. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when said response determining unit determines that the responses to previous data transmissions have successfully been received at least a predetermined number of times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that subsequent transmissions in the one transmission path are made in a modulation mode having a lower noise resistance.

13. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a response determining unit operable to determine a response to a previous data transmission in each of the different transmission paths,

wherein when said response determining unit determines that the responses to previous data transmissions have successfully been received at least a predetermined number of consecutive times in one of the transmission paths, said data dividing unit divides the data such that subsequent transmissions in the one transmission path are made in a modulation mode having a lower noise resistance.

14. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a carrier sense unit operable to report a state of availability of each of the transmission paths prior to data transmission,

wherein said transmitter does not transmit the transmission data in a selected transmission path reported to be unavailable by said carrier sense unit even when the selected transmission path becomes available after the data transmission is started in transmission paths other than the selected transmission path.

15. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the different transmission paths use frequency bands different from each other.

16. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the different transmission paths use the same frequency band but different channels from each other in the frequency band.

17. A transmitting apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the different transmission paths use the same channel but propagation paths having different transfer functions from each other in the channel.

18. A receiving apparatus, comprising:

a data receiving unit operable to receive transmitted data in different transmission paths simultaneously, the transmitted data including divided pieces of data to which a dividing order has been added; and

a data merging unit operable to merge the received data according to the dividing order.

19. A receiving apparatus as claimed in claim 18, further comprising:

a data determining unit operable to determine a state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths; and

a response outputting unit operable to output an identical response to each of the different transmission paths, the response including the state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths.

20. A receiving apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the different transmission paths use frequency bands different from each other.

21. A receiving apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the different transmission paths use the same frequency band but different channels from each other in the frequency band.

22. A receiving apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the different transmission paths use the same channel but propagation paths having different transfer functions from each other in the channel.

23. A communication system, comprising:

a transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus for performing radio communication;

said transmitting apparatus including a data dividing unit operable to divide data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

a data outputting unit operable to add a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data; and

a transmitter operable to transmit the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously; and

said receiving apparatus including a data receiving unit operable to receive the transmission data in the different transmission paths simultaneously;

a data merging unit operable to merge the received transmission data according to the dividing order;

a data determining unit operable to determine a state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths; and

a response outputting unit operable to output an identical response to said transmitting apparatus in each of the different transmission paths, the response including the state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths.

24. A communication system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the different transmission paths use frequency bands different from each other.

25. A communication system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the different transmission paths use the same frequency band but different channels from each other in the frequency band.

26. A communication system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the different transmission paths use the same channel but propagation paths having different transfer functions from each other in the channel.

27. A processing method, comprising:

dividing data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

adding a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data; and

transmitting the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously.

28. A processing method, comprising:

dividing data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

adding a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data;

transmitting the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously; and

when the transmitted transmission data has failed to be received in one of the transmission paths, dividing the data such that transmission data identical to the transmitted transmission data is retransmitted.

29. A processing method, comprising:

dividing data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

adding a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data;

transmitting the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously; and

when the transmitted transmission data has failed to be received in one of the transmission paths, dividing the data such that transmission data related to the transmitted transmission data is transmitted in the different transmission paths simultaneously.

30. A processing method, comprising:

receiving transmitted data in different transmission paths simultaneously, the transmitted data including divided pieces of data to which a dividing order has been added;

merging the received data according to the dividing order;

determining a state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths; and

outputting an identical response to each of the different transmission paths, the response including the state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths.

31. A recording medium recorded with a program for causing a computer to execute a method of data communication, the method comprising:

dividing data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

adding a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data; and

transmitting the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously.

32. A recording medium recorded with a program for causing a computer to execute a method of data communication, the method comprising:

dividing data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

adding a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data;

transmitting the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously; and

when the transmitted transmission data has failed to be received in one of the transmission paths, dividing the data such that transmission data identical to the transmitted transmission data is retransmitted.

33. A recording medium recorded with a program for causing a computer to execute a method of data communication, the method comprising:

dividing data into pieces of data to be transmitted;

adding a dividing order to the divided pieces of data to form transmission data;

transmitting the transmission data in different transmission paths simultaneously; and

when the transmitted transmission data has failed to be received in one of the transmission paths, dividing the data such that transmission data related to the transmitted transmission data is transmitted in the different transmission paths simultaneously.

34. A recording medium recorded with a program for causing a computer to execute a method of data communication, the method comprising:

receiving transmitted data in different transmission paths simultaneously, the transmitted data including divided pieces of data to which a dividing order has been added;

merging the received data according to the dividing order;

determining a state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths; and

outputting an identical response to each of the different transmission paths, the response including the state of data reception in each of the different transmission paths.