Communication apparatus and communication method

• US 20070167144A1
• Filed: 01/18/2007
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Koga, Hisao, Kodama, Nobutaka
• Granted Patent: US 8,144,845 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/402
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5441 Wireless systems or telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

A communication apparatus 100 is equipped with, as plural communication sections capable of communicating with another communication apparatus over different transmission lines, a powerline communication section which performs a wired transmission using a powerline PL and a wireless communication section which performs a wireless transmission. The communication apparatus 100 causes at least one of the powerline communication section and the wireless communication section to perform a communication. If at least one of the powerline communication section and the wireless communication section is not to perform a communication, operation of that communication section is suspended.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus which performs a communicating operation over a plurality of transmission lines, the communication apparatus comprising:

a first communication section for performing a communicating operation over a first transmission line;

a second communication section for performing a communicating operation over a second transmission line different from the first transmission line; and

a control section for suspending the communicating operation of one of the first communication section and the second communication section.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transmission line includes a powerline.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second transmission line includes a wireless line.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first communication section and the second communication section has a receiving circuit for receiving a signal from another communication apparatus;

and

the control section suspends a receiving operation by the receiving circuit of one of the first communication section and the second communication section.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the receiving circuit includes a plurality of circuit elements;

and

the control section suspends a function of at least one of the plurality of circuit elements.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the receiving circuit includes a plurality of circuit elements;

and

the control section lowers, in performance, a function of at least one of the plurality of circuit elements.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the first communication section and the second communication section has a transmitting circuit for transmitting a signal to another communication apparatus;

and

the control section suspends a transmitting operation by the transmitting circuit of one of the first communication section and the second communication section.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmitting circuit includes a plurality of circuit elements;

and

the control section suspends a function of at least one of the plurality of circuit elements.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmitting circuit includes a plurality of circuit elements;

and

the control section lowers performance of a function of at least one of the plurality of circuit elements.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising information acquiring section for acquiring transmission line information representing status of each of the first transmission line and the second transmission line,

wherein the control section suspends the communicating operation of one of the first communication section and the second communication section on the basis of the transmission line information.

11. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein each of the first communication section and the second communication section has a receiving circuit for receiving a signal from another communication apparatus and a transmitting circuit for transmitting the signal to said another communication apparatus;

the transmitting circuit transmits the signal having a predetermined signal level to said another apparatus;

the receiving circuit receives the signal returned from said another apparatus; and

the information acquiring section acquires the transmission line information on the basis of both the transmitted signal and the received signal.

12. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control section calculates transmission rate of the each of first communication section and the second communication section on the basis of the transmission line information, and suspends the communicating operation of one of the first communication section and the second communication section on the basis of the transmission rate.

13. The communication apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the transmission rate is an average value.

14. The communication apparatus according to claim 12, wherein if a transmission rate is lower than a predetermined threshold value, the control section suspends the communicating operation of a communication section corresponding to the lower transmission rate out of the first communication section and the second communication section.

15. The communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control section cancels a suspension state of the suspended communication section on the basis of the transmission line information.

16. A communication apparatus which performs a communication over a plurality of transmission lines, the communication apparatus comprising:

a first communication section for performing a communication over a first transmission line;

a second communication section for performing a communication over a second transmission line different from the first transmission line;

an information acquiring section for acquiring transmission line information representing status of each of the first transmission line and the second transmission line; and

a control section for selecting one of the first communication section and the second communication section on the basis of the transmission line information.

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 16, wherein each of the first communication section and the second communication section has a receiving circuit for receiving a signal from another communication apparatus and a transmitting circuit for transmitting the signal to said another communication apparatus;

the transmitting circuit transmits the signal having a predetermined signal level to said another apparatus;

the receiving circuit receives the signal returned from said another apparatus; and

the information acquiring section acquires the transmission line information on the basis of both the transmitted signal and the received signal.

18. A communication method for performing a communication over a plurality of transmission lines, wherein the communication method comprising the steps of:

performing a communicating operation over a first transmission line;

performing a communicating operation over a second transmission line different from the first line; and

suspending the communicating operation of one of the communicating operation over the first transmission line and the communicating operation over the second transmission line.