Transmitting device, receiving device, and optical communication method

• US 20080219676A1
• Filed: 02/22/2008
• Published: 09/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kaoru, Ozaki, Fumio, Sonoura, Takafumi, Sato, Hirokazu, Tokura, Seiji, Hashimoto, Hideaki
• Application Number:
  US12/071,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20080219676A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/140
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication

Abstract

A receiving device includes a light-receiving unit receiving a light transmitted from a light source, luminance of the light changing corresponding to an information, the light-receiving unit having a plurality of light-receiving elements detecting the light repeatedly at times different from one another, and a decoding unit decoding a light-receiving signal outputted from the light-receiving unit into the information.

Claims

1. A receiving device, comprising:

a light-receiving unit receiving a light transmitted from a light source, luminance of the light changing corresponding to an information, the light-receiving unit having a plurality of light-receiving elements detecting the light repeatedly at times different from one another; and

a decoding unit decoding a light-receiving signal outputted from the light-receiving unit into the information, the light-receiving signal including signal components detected from the light-receiving elements at times different from one another.

2. The receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an optical system condensing the light from the light source on the light-receiving unit; and

a signal extracting unit extracting a signal component from the light-receiving signal, the signal component being generated by at least one of the light-receiving elements included in an area corresponding to the condensed light,

wherein the decoding unit decodes the signal component extracted at the signal extracting unit into the information.

3. The receiving device according to claim 2,

wherein the light-receiving unit receives lights of which luminance changes from a plurality of light sources, and

the signal extracting unit separates and extracts a plurality of signal components corresponding to each of images of the light sources, from the light-receiving signal.

4. The receiving device according to claim 3,

wherein the light-receiving unit further includes a color filter.

5. A transmitting device transmitting information to a receiving device having plural light-receiving elements detecting a light repeatedly at times different from one another, comprising:

a first light source; and

a first control unit controlling luminance of the first light source with corresponding to an information.

6. The transmitting device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a second light source; and

a second control unit controlling luminance of the second light source at a time corresponding to the control of the luminance of the first light source by the first control unit.

7. The transmitting device according to claim 6,

wherein the information is divided into plural communication units, and

the second control unit controls the luminance of the second light source based on at least a part of address information corresponding to each communication unit.

8. The transmitting device according to claim 7,

wherein the second control unit controls the luminance of the second light source based on the part of a address information, and the transmitting device further comprising:

a third light source; and

a third control unit controlling luminance of the third light source based on another part of the address information at a time corresponding to the control of the luminance of the first light source by the first control unit.

9. The transmitting device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a second light source emitting light of reference luminance; and

a conversion unit converting the information into a signal based on the reference luminance,

wherein the first control unit controls the luminance of the first light source based on the signal converted at the conversion unit.

10. The transmitting device according to claim 5, further comprising:

an information adding unit adding transmission start information to the information,

wherein the first control unit controls the luminance of the first light source based on the information to which the transmission start information is added at the information adding unit.

11. An optical communication method, comprising:

controlling luminance of a light source with corresponding to an information;

receiving a light from the light source by a light-receiving unit having plural light-receiving elements detecting a light repeatedly at times different from one another; and

decoding a light-receiving signal outputted from the light-receiving unit into the information, the light-receiving signal including signal components detected from the light-receiving elements at times different from one another.

12. The optical communication method according to claim 11, further comprising:

an optical system condensing the light from the light source on the light-receiving unit; and

a signal extracting unit extracting a signal component from the light-receiving signal, the signal component being generated by at least one of the light-receiving elements included in an area corresponding to the condensed light,

wherein the decoding unit decodes the signal component extracted at the signal extracting unit into the information.

13. The optical communication method according to claim 12,

wherein the light-receiving unit receives lights of which luminance changes from a plurality of light sources, and

the signal extracting unit separates and extracts a plurality of signal components corresponding to each of images of the light sources, from the light-receiving signal.

14. The optical communication method according to claim 13,

wherein the light-receiving unit further includes a color filter.