WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION CENTER MODULE, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR RELAYING WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

• US 20140295904A1
• Filed: 03/08/2012
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Shouhei, Nakashima, Yoshihide
• Granted Patent: US 9,125,178 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/521
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

There is provided a wireless communication system which solves various problems generated by allowing a terminal to transmit an emergency alert. In the wireless communication system, an emergency alert terminal (210) includes an emergency alert section (211) for broadcasting an emergency alert, and a connection request terminal (220) includes a connection request section (221) for transmitting a connection request signal to request connection to an emergency alert terminal (210). The emergency alert terminal (210) includes an automatic communication initiation section (212) for allowing a communication with the connection request terminal (220) upon transmission of the connection request signal from the connection request section (221) of the connection request terminal (220) after transmission of the emergency alert.

Claims

1. A wireless communication system used in a restaurant, comprising a wireless communication center module and a plurality of wireless communication terminals which perform a wireless communication with each other via the wireless communication center module, wherein

a plurality of the wireless communication terminals have an emergency alert function, while some of the wireless communication terminals further have a connection request function,

the wireless communication terminal having the emergency alert function comprises an emergency alert section for broadcasting an emergency alert,

the emergency alert section transmits an emergency alert signal to the wireless communication center module in response to user'"'"'s emergency alert operation by executing the emergency alert function,

the wireless communication terminal having the connection request function further to the emergency alert function comprises a connection request section for transmitting a connection request signal to a wireless communication terminal which transmitted the emergency alert,

the connection request section transmits a connection request signal to the wireless communication center module in response to user'"'"'s connection request operation by executing the connection request function,

the wireless communication center module comprises:

a broadcast communication section for broadcasting, in response to reception of the emergency alert signal, the emergency alert to the wireless communication terminals other than the wireless communication terminal which transmitted the emergency alert signal; and

a communication control section for transmitting, in response to reception of the connection request signal, a communication control signal to put the wireless communication terminal which transmitted the emergency alert in a communicable state, and

the wireless communication terminal comprises an automatic communication initiation section for automatically allowing, in response to reception of the communication control signal, a communication with the wireless communication terminal which transmitted the connection request signal.

3. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the broadcast communication section of the wireless communication center module preferentially reserves a communication channel used for the wireless communication to broadcast the emergency alert.

11. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein

a plurality of the wireless communication terminals include a wireless communication terminal having a response function,

the wireless communication terminal having the response function comprises a response section for transmitting a response signal for responding to the emergency alert in accordance with specified operation by the user, and

the broadcast communication section terminates broadcasting of the emergency alert in response to reception of the response signal.

12. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein

some wireless communication terminals out of a plurality of the wireless communication terminals comprise a speaker,

some wireless communication terminals out of a plurality of the wireless communication terminals comprise a speaker control section for transmitting a speaker control signal for controlling so that the sound of the emergency alert is outputted or not outputted from the speaker, and

the broadcast communication section of the wireless communication center module sets to transmit or not to transmit the sound of the emergency alert to the wireless communication terminal having the speaker in response to reception of the speaker control signal.

2. (canceled)

4-10. -10. (canceled)

13-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A wireless communication system used in a restaurant, comprising:

a wireless communication center module; and

a plurality of the wireless communication terminals,

a plurality of the wireless communication terminals performing a wireless communication with each other via the wireless communication center module with use of a plurality of communication channels,

a first wireless communication terminals and a second wireless communication terminals being included in a plurality of the wireless communication terminals, the first wireless communication terminal having a dedicated communication channel and the second wireless communication terminal having a plurality of communication channels different from the dedicated communication channel, wherein

the second wireless communication terminal performs broadcast communication to other wireless communication terminals by specified operation and transmits its own ID signal to the wireless communication center module, and if the first wireless communication terminal requests connection from the second wireless communication terminal which performed the broadcast communication after the second wireless communication terminal performs the broadcast communication, the wireless communication center module allows a communication only between the first wireless communication terminal and the second wireless communication terminal based on the received ID signal of the second wireless communication terminal.

24. The wireless communication system according to claim 23, wherein one of a plurality of the communication channels other than the communication channel dedicated to the first wireless communication terminal is preferentially used for the communication between the first wireless communication terminal and the second wireless communication terminals.

25. The wireless communication system according to claim 23, wherein the communication channel dedicated to the first wireless communication terminal is used for the communication between the first wireless communication terminal and the second wireless communication terminals.