Information processing apparatus and method, and provision medium

• US 6,751,197 B1
• Filed: 10/18/1999
• Issued: 06/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sadanaka, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): HSU, ALPUS
• Application Number:
  US09/419,935
• Time in Patent Office: 1,702 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/253, 370/280, 370/329, 370/332, 370/333, 370/335, 370/342, 370/349, 370/389, 370/395.1, 370/401, 370/402, 370/465, 455/13.4, 455/38.3, 455/522, 455/67.3, 455/68, 455/69, 709/223, 709/224, 709/238, 709/253, 710/20, 710/21, 710/60, 710/62, 714/704, 714/706, 714/708
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0045 Arrangements at the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/16 in which the return channel carries supervisory signals, e.g. repetition request signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/20 using error rate

Abstract

In an information processing apparatus for transmitting information to and/or receiving the same from another information processing apparatus via radio communication, the information transmitted from a transmitting node is received by a receiving node, and a bit error rate of the information is counted by an error correction decoder. A host processor recognizes the communication quality on the basis of the bit error rate thus counted. The host processor controls the transmission output level of a transmitting amplifier or controls the modulation mode of a modulator in accordance with the recognized communication quality, whereby the communication quality in such radio communication can be exactly grasped to consequently realize satisfactory communication with a stable quality.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for transmitting data information to and/or receiving data information from another information processing apparatus by isochronous packet transfer and asynchronous packet transfer, said apparatus comprising:

a receiver for receiving the data information by isochronous packet transfer over a wireless communication channel and including a demodulator for demodulating the received data information and being adapted to be selectively switched between demodulation modes having different transfer rates;

a communication quality recognizer for recognizing a communication quality based on the data information received by said receiver;

a communication quality information generator for generating communication quality information based on the communication quality recognized by said communication quality recognizer, wherein said communication quality information is a bit error rate based on an error correction code contained in the received isochronous packet and the demodulation mode of the demodulator is switched in response to said communication quality information; and

a transmitter for transmitting, by the asynchronous packet transfer over the wireless communication channel, the communication quality information generated by said communication quality information generator.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said data information is transmitted and/or received by isochronous packet transfer conforming with a wireless IEEE1394 bus standard.

3. An information processing apparatus for transmitting data information to and/or receiving data information from another information processing apparatus by isochronous packet transfer and asynchronous packet transfer, said apparatus comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting the data information to said another information processing apparatus by isochronous packet transfer over a wireless communication channel and including a modulator for modulating the data information to be transmitted and being adapted to be selectively switched between modulation modes having different transfer rates;

a receiver for receiving by the asynchronous packet transfer over the wireless communication channel communication quality information generated based on a communication quality recognized in response to reception of the data information by said another information processing apparatus; and

a communication quality controller for controlling the communication quality based on the communication quality information received by said receiver,

wherein said transmitter transmits the data information over the wireless communication channel with the communication quality controlled by said communication quality controller, and

wherein said communication quality controller controls said modulator to switch between modulation modes based on the communication quality information.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said communication quality controller controls a transmission output level of the data information, and said transmitter transmits the data information at the transmission output level controlled by said communication quality controller.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said communication quality controller controls an information transmission rate, and said transmitter transmits the data information at the transmission rate controlled by said communication quality controller.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said data information is transmitted and/or received by isochronous packet transfer and asynchronous packet transfer conforming with a wireless IEEE1394 bus standard.