ELECTRIC POWER COMMUNICATION DEVICE, ELECTRIC POWER COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, ELECTRIC POWER COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20100109843A1
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: SUGAYA, Shigeru
• Granted Patent: US 8,558,670 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0426 Power distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0617 for beam forming
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0805 with single receiver and antenna switching H04B7/0822 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming

Abstract

An electric power communication device includes a plurality of directional antennas, a plurality of electric power communication portions, and an electric power communication control portion. Each of the plurality of directional antennas has directionality, and each of the plurality of electric power communication portions has directionality. The electric power communication control portion controls which of the plurality of electric power communication portions is used for electric power communication with a partner communication device, in accordance with the directional antenna, among the plurality of directional antennas, for which receiving of an incoming wireless signal that was transmitted from the partner communication device has been detected.

Claims

1. An electric power communication device, comprising:

a plurality of directional antennas, each of which has directionality;

a plurality of electric power communication portions, each of which has directionality; and

an electric power communication control portion that controls which of the plurality of electric power communication portions is used for electric power communication with a partner communication device, in accordance with the directional antenna, among the plurality of directional antennas, for which receiving of an incoming wireless signal that was transmitted from the partner communication device has been detected.

2. The electric power communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a receiving detection portion that detects the receiving of the incoming wireless signal by a single antenna; and

an antenna control portion that sequentially switches the single antenna among the plurality of directional antennas.

3. The electric power communication device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a non-directional antenna,

wherein the antenna control portion sequentially switches the single antenna among the plurality of directional antennas and the non-directional antenna.

4. The electric power communication device according to claim 3,

wherein the electric power communication control portion uses for the electric power communication with the partner communication device the electric power communication portion whose directionality is closest to that of the directional antenna whose receiving of the incoming wireless signal has been detected by the receiving detection portion.

5. The electric power communication device according to claim 4,

wherein transmitting of an outgoing wireless signal is performed by the non-directional antenna.

6. The electric power communication device according to claim 5,

wherein the receiving detection portion, based on the incoming wireless signal that was transmitted from the partner communication device, also detects a time slot in which the incoming wireless signal will be transmitted later from the partner communication device, and

the antenna control portion switches the single antenna for the time slot that has been detected by the receiving detection portion to the directional antenna whose receiving of the incoming wireless signal that was transmitted from the partner communication device has been detected.

7. An electric power communication system, comprising:

a first electric power communication device; and

a second electric power communication device that includes

a plurality of directional antennas, each of which has directionality;

a plurality of electric power communication portions, each of which has directionality; and

an electric power communication control portion that controls which of the plurality of electric power communication portions is used for electric power communication with the first communication device, in accordance with the directional antenna, among the plurality of directional antennas, for which receiving of an incoming wireless signal that was transmitted from the first communication device has been detected.

8. An electric power communication method, comprising the steps of:

transmitting of an incoming wireless signal from a partner communication device;

detecting receiving of the incoming wireless signal by one of a plurality of directional antennas;

controlling which of a plurality of electric power communication portions, each of which has directionality, is used for electric power communication with a partner communication device, in accordance with the one of the plurality of directional antennas for which receiving has been detected.

9. A program that causes a computer to perform the steps of:

detecting that an incoming wireless signal that has been transmitted by a partner communication device has been received by one of a plurality of directional antennas;

controlling which of a plurality of electric power communication portions, each of which has directionality, is used for electric power communication with the partner communication device, in accordance with the one of the plurality of directional antennas for which receiving has been detected.