Communication Apparatus And Communication System

• US 20080207132A1
• Filed: 02/25/2008
• Published: 08/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Wakizaka, Masaaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,521,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/63.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/23 Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/382 for resource allocation, admission control or handover

Abstract

There is disclosed a communication apparatus which wirelessly communicates information with a first other communication apparatus by a first communication method and using a second frequency band which is at least partially overlapping a first frequency band usable according to the first communication method. The communication apparatus includes a first communicator which implements the wireless information communication with the first other communication apparatus by the first communication method, and a requestor which requests the first other communication apparatus, where at least there is a possibility that a field strength of an external radio wave in the second frequency band is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, to increase the number of times the first other communication apparatus sends information when making the wireless information communication with the communication apparatus using the second frequency band, as compared to where there is not the possibility.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus which wirelessly communicates information with a first other communication apparatus by a first communication method and using a second frequency band which is at least partially overlapping a first frequency band usable according to the first communication method, the communication apparatus comprising:

a first communicator which implements the wireless information communication with the first other communication apparatus by the first communication method; and

a requestor which requests the first other communication apparatus, where at least there is a possibility that a field strength of an external radio wave in the second frequency band is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, to increase the number of times the first other communication apparatus sends information when making the wireless information communication with the communication apparatus using the second frequency band, as compared to where there is not the possibility.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the requestor includes a field-strength measuring portion for measuring the field strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band, and requests the first other communication apparatus, where the field strength measured by the field-strength measuring portion is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, to increase the number of times as compared to where the field strength measured is smaller than the predetermined threshold.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the requester includes:

an external-radio-wave detecting portion which detects the external radio wave in the second frequency band;

a field-strength measuring portion which measures the field strength of the external radio wave as detected by the external-radio-wave detecting portion;

a determining portion which determines whether the field strength measured by the field-strength measuring portion is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold or not; and

a first requesting portion which requests the first other communication apparatus, when the determining portion determines that the field strength measured is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, to increase the number of times from an initial value.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the requestor further includes a second requesting portion which requests the first other communication apparatus to restore the number of times to the initial value when the determining portion determines that the field strength measured is smaller than the predetermined threshold after the first requesting portion has requested the first other communication apparatus to increase the number of times from the initial value.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second frequency band is included in the first frequency band.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information that the first communicator communicates is audio data.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first communication method by which the wireless information communication is made is a frequency hopping spread spectrum method according to which a plurality of frequency channels having respective center frequencies and defined within the first frequency band are used as the second frequency band.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second communicator which wirelessly communicates information with a second other communication apparatus, which is different from the first other communication apparatus, by a second communication method according to which the second frequency band is usable, and wherein the requestor requests the first other communication apparatus, while the second communicator is held in a state capable of making the wireless information communication with the second other communication apparatus, to increase the number of times as compared to while the second communicator is not held in the state.

9. The communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information that the first communicator communicates is audio data, and the information that the second communicator communicates is general data.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first other communication apparatus with which the first communicator implements the wireless information communication is a cordless handset of a digital cordless telephone system, and the second other communication apparatus with which the second communicator makes the wireless information communication is a wireless LAN apparatus.

11. A communication system comprising:

the communication apparatus according to claim 1; and

the first other communication apparatus which includes a transmission-number setting portion which increases the number of times when the increase is requested by the requestor of the communication apparatus.

12. A communication system comprising:

the communication apparatus according to claim 2; and

the first other communication apparatus which includes a transmission-number setting portion which increases the number of times when the increase is requested by the requester of the communication apparatus.

13. A communication system comprising:

the communication apparatus according to claim 8; and

the first other communication apparatus which includes a transmission-number setting portion which increases the number of times when the increase is requested by the requestor of the communication apparatus.