Multimode service radio communication method and apparatus

• US 6,438,371 B1
• Filed: 04/22/1999
• Issued: 08/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
• Original Assignee: Communications Research Laboratory Independent Administrative Institution
• Inventors: Fujise, Masayuki, Harada, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuan T.
• Application Number:
  US09/296,467
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/82, 455/101, 455/99, 455/269, 455/19, 455/561, 455/553, 455/560, 455/216
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/62 for transportation systems, e.g. in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A multimode service radio communication apparatus, that provides a hand-held or vehicle-mounted terminal with radio communication and radio broadcasting information of a radio information and communication providing system including mobile communication systems and intelligent transport systems, includes a frequency division multiplexer that integration-converts individual radio or intermediate frequencies modulated for mobile telephones and broadcasts so that the modulated frequencies are included in a specific frequency band, and produces radio signals in the specific frequency band; supply device for supplying the radio signals; an antenna for receiving and transmitting the supplied radio signals; a shared antenna for receiving the transmitted radio signals; and terminals to which specific frequencies in the specific frequency band are selectively linked.

Claims

1. A multimode service radio communication system comprising an integrated base station, a local base station, and an allocation device, wherein:

said integrated base station and said local base station are connected to each other via optical fibers and are configured to communicate with each other using the optical fibers; and

said local base station and said allocation device being configured to communicate with each other using radio; and

further wherein,

said integrated base station is configured to integration-convert plural kinds of signals in respective frequency bands which do not overlap with one another into signals included in a shared frequency band, to convert the signals included in the shared frequency band into optical signals and to transmit the optical signals to said local base station via said optical fibers,

said local base station is further configured to convert the optical signals transmitted from said integrated base station via said optical fibers into signals in the shared frequency band and to apply the signals in the shared frequency band to an antenna to be radiated therefrom as radio signals, and

said allocation device comprises a shared antenna, a frequency division multiplexer, and a link unit and is further configured so that;

said shared antenna is sensitive to the shared frequency band to receive the radio signals radiated from said local base station;

said frequency division multiplexer division-converts the radio signals received by said shared antenna into plural kinds of signals in the respective frequency bands which do not overlap with one another; and

said link unit links to an external receiver to send the plural kinds of signals in the respective frequency bands which do not overlap with one another to said external receiver as a signal in a frequency band corresponding to a frequency band of said external receiver.

2. The multimode service radio communication system according to claim 1 further wherein,

said allocation device further comprises a selection input unit configured to receive a selection input designating which kind of signal to select from the plural kinds of signals to be division-converted by said frequency division multiplexer; and

when the kind of signal designated by the selection input received by said selection input unit is identical to a kind of a signal in a frequency band of the external receiver linked to said link unit, said link unit sends the signal in the frequency band of said external receiver to said external receiver.

3. The multimode service radio communication system according to claim 1, wherein said link unit is configured to link to the external receiver by radio or via a cable.

4. The multimode service radio communication system according to claim 1, wherein said link unit is linked to said external receiver via a cable when the signal in a frequency band corresponding to said external receiver is an intermediate signal modulated for said external receiver.

5. A multimode service radio communication method comprising the steps of:

integration-converting plural kinds of signals in respective frequency bands which do not overlap with one another so that those signals are included in a shared frequency band;

converting the signals in the shared frequency band into optical signals;

transmitting the optical signals via optical fibers;

converting the optical signals transmitted via the optical fibers into the signals in the shared frequency band;

emanating the signals in the shared frequency band by radio;

receiving the signals emanated by radio by a shared antenna sensitive to the shared frequency band;

division-converting the signals received by the shared antenna into the plural kinds of signals in the respective frequency bands which do not overlap with one another; and

sending the plurality of division-converted signals to an external receiver as a signal in a frequency band corresponding to a frequency band of the external receiver.

6. The multimode service radio communication method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of receiving a selection input designating which kind of signal to select from the plural kinds of signals to be division-converted and when the kind of signal designated by the received selection input is identical to a kind of signal in the frequency band of the external receiver, sending the signal in the frequency band of the external receiver to the external receiver in said sending step.

7. The multimode service radio communication method according to claim 5, wherein said sending step includes sending signals to the external receiver by radio or via a cable.

8. The multimode service radio communication method according to claim 5, wherein in a case where the signal in a frequency band corresponding to the external receiver is an intermediate signal modulated for the external receiver, sending signals to the external receiver via a cable in said sending step.