Wireless communication apparatus and method

• US 7,075,455 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2003
• Issued: 07/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Saitoh, Kenji, Imaizumi, Masaaki, Nishimura, Naoki, Shibata, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yacob, Sisay
• Application Number:
  US10/601,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20040005889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.28, 340/602, 455/423, 455/41.1, 359/591
• US Class Current: 340/870.28
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A wireless communication apparatus and method is provided which makes discrete functional elements perform a cooperative work without various limitations caused by a wired configuration. The wireless communication apparatus has a plurality of fine functional elements 3 each having a communication unit for data transmission and reception by using radio waves or light and one or more unit other than the communication unit, and a base station 4 for controlling and collectively managing the fine functional elements through communications with the fine functional elements, wherein one or more units other than the communication unit are activated through communications of one of the fine functional elements 3 received control information from the base station 4 with another of the fine functional elements 3 via the communication units, to thereby make the discrete functional elements 3 perform a cooperative work.

Claims

1. A wireless communication apparatus comprising:

a functional element group including a plurality of functional elements each performing a first function and a second function, wherein the first function is a wireless communication, the second function is measuring a physical value, and the functional element group is capable of measuring the physical value in a broader range rather than a range measured by each one of the functional elements and forms a network system arranged to perform a wireless communication among the functional elements through the first function; and

a base station for collectively managing the plurality of functional elements and for wireless communication with each of the functional elements to control the functional element group or to receive data from the plurality of functional elements.

2. A wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the functional elements are used in different environments.

3. A wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the functional elements sense respectively different object substances through measuring the physical value by the second function.

4. A driving method for wireless communication apparatus comprising:

a functional element group including a plurality of functional elements each performing a first function and a second function, wherein the first function is a wireless communication, the second function is measuring a physical value, and the functional element group is capable of measuring the physical value in a broader range rather than a range measured by each one of the functional elements and forms a network system arranged to perform a wireless communication among the functional elements through the first function; and

a base station for collectively managing the plurality of functional elements, the method comprising steps of;

controlling the functional element group based on the wireless communication between the base station and each of the functional elements; and

receiving and transmitting a data between the base station and each of the functional elements.