Wireless repeating apparatus

• US 6,560,208 B1
• Filed: 12/08/1999
• Issued: 05/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahari, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONTEE, JOY KIMBERLY
• Application Number:
  US09/456,312
• Time in Patent Office: 1,245 Days
• Field of Search: 370/315, 370/316, 370/327, 370/349, 370/337, 370/350, 455/7, 455/11.1, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/412, 455/413, 455/414, 379/355.01, 379/333.02, 379/333.04
• US Class Current: 370/327
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15528 Control of operation parameters of a relay station to exploit the physical medium
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0096 Channel splitting in point-to-point links

Abstract

Wireless repeating apparatus are arranged so that a series of information items transmitted from either a portable wireless information terminal or an information processing apparatus are stored in an information storing unit. When transmission requests for the stored information are received from the portable wireless information terminals by an information transmitting/receiving unit, the stored information is read from the information storing unit, and transmitted by electromagnetic waves to the portable wireless information terminals.

Claims

1. A wireless repeating apparatus for receiving information to be repeated, transmitted from a wireless communication apparatus on a transmission side by way of electromagnetic waves, and also for transmitting the received information to be repeated to a wireless communication apparatus on a reception side by way of electromagnetic waves, the apparatus comprising:

information receiving means for receiving information from an external source of the information in response to a transmission request from an external wireless communication apparatus;

information storing means for storing the information as stored information; and

storage information transmitting means for reading the stored information from said information storing means when another transmission request for the stored information is received and for transmitting the stored information, without repeatedly retrieving the information from the external source, to the external wireless communication apparatus, as a transmission request source, by way of electromagnetic waves.

2. The wireless repeating apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising transmission control means for transmitting the information to be repeated at a high power when the information to be repeated is repeated, and for transmitting information-dispatching information at lower power when the information-dispatching information is transmitted.

3. The wireless repeating apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said information receiving means receives information-dispatching information from a wireless information terminal, and said information storing means stores the information received as information-dispatching information.

4. The wireless repeating apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising external connecting means for connecting to an information processing apparatus via a cable, wherein said information storing means stores information to be repeated and information-dispatching information, the information to be repeated being received through the information receiving means, and the information-dispatching information being received from the information processing apparatus through the external connecting means.

5. The wireless repeating apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said storage information transmitting means responds to a plurality of requests for the same information and said information storing means provides the information without access to the information processing apparatus.

6. The wireless repeating apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said external connecting means receives information transmitted from the information processing apparatus through the cable, and said information storing means stores the information transmitted by the information processing apparatus.

7. The wireless repeating apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein said information storing means comprises a temporary-information storing means for temporarily storing the information to be repeated and a non-temporary-information storing means for persistently storing the information-dispatching information.

8. A wireless repeating system comprising:

a first repeating apparatus communicating with a source of information through one of electromagnetic waves and a cable;

a second repeating apparatus communicating with the first repeating apparatus and with a plurality of wireless information terminals, for transmitting information, in response to a transmission request from one of the wireless information terminals, without access to said first repeating apparatus for the information when said second repeating apparatus has already transmitted the information previously, the information having been previously retrieved from the source of information via said first repeating apparatus.

9. The wireless repeating system according to claim 8, wherein said second repeating apparatus comprises:

a receiver for receiving a plurality of transmission requests through electromagnetic waves; and

a transmitter for transmitting information to the wireless information terminals through electromagnetic waves; and

a controller connected to said receiver and said transmitter.

10. The wireless repeating system according to claim 8, wherein said transmitter transmits the transmission requests at lower power than transmission of information to another repeating apparatus.

11. The wireless repeating system according to claim 8, wherein said second repeating apparatus comprises an information storing unit for storing the information transmitted from the source of information for response to subsequent transmission requests.

12. The wireless repeating system according to claim 11, wherein said information storing unit stores temporal information, as repeating information, to be repeated to another repeating apparatus.