Transmission device and gain control method

• US 7,418,242 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2004
• Issued: 08/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Futagi, Sadaki, Takakusaki, Keiji, Miyamoto, Shoji, Sumasu, Atsushi, Nihei, Takao
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Lee
• Application Number:
  US10/579,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20060285582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 455/245.1, 455/232.1, 455/234.1, 455/234.2, 455/69, 455/70, 455/522, 375/345, 370/336, 370/337, 370/345, 370/347
• US Class Current: 455/70
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3036 in high-frequency amplifiers or in frequency-changers H03G3/3052, H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0416 having gain or transmission power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/52 using AGC [Automatic Gain Control] circuits or amplifiers

Abstract

An apparatus that can lower the possibility of failing reception modulation in communication where data is transmitted with and without directivity and prevent deterioration of transmission efficiency caused by retransmission. With this apparatus, a gain control signal multiplex section (203) time division multiplexes a directional transmission signal and a gain control signal. A transmission level control section (204) controls the transmission power level of a gain control signal so that the transmission power level of the gain control signal is smaller than the transmission power level of a directional transmission signal and the received power level of the gain control signal is larger than a received power level of a nondirectional transmission signal at the receiving side, and controls the transmission power level of a directional transmission signal so that the received power level of the directional transmission signal is larger than the received power level of a nondirectional transmission signal and the received power level of a gain control signal at the receiving side.

Claims

1. A transmission apparatus comprising:

a gain control signal generating section that generates a gain control signal comprising a signal for adjusting a gain for a received signal of a communicating party;

a gain control signal multiplex section that time division multiplexes a directional transmission signal and the gain control signal so that the gain control signal is transmitted a predetermined time before a frame in which the directional transmission signal is transmitted in bursts;

a transmission level control section that sets a transmission power level of the gain control signal so that a transmission power level of the gain control signal is smaller than a transmission power level of the directional transmission signal and a received power level of the gain control signal is larger than a received power level at a communicating party of a nondirectional transmission signal; and

a transmission section that transmits the directional transmission signal and the gain control signal at the transmission power level set at said transmission level control section with directivity, and transmits the nondirectional transmission signal without directivity.

2. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a code multiplex section that code multiplexes the nondirectional transmission signal and the gain control signal, wherein:

said transmission level control section sets the transmission power level of the gain control signal so that the received power level adding the received power level of the gain control signal code multiplexed at said code multiplex section and the received power level of the nondirectional transmission signal is smaller than the received power level of the directional transmission signal; and

said transmission section transmits the gain control signal and the directional transmission signal with directivity and transmits the nondirectional transmission signal without directivity.

3. The transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmission level control section obtains a received power level ratio between a received power level of a received signal at one antenna receiving a signal transmitted from a communicating party and a received power level of a received signal in which a signal transmitted from the communicating party is received with directivity at a plurality of antennas including said one antenna, and sets a transmission power level of the gain control signal so that a power level obtained by dividing a transmission power level of the gain control signal by the received power level ratio is larger than a transmission power level of the nondirectional transmission signal.

4. A transmission apparatus comprising:

a control signal generating section that obtains a received power level ratio between a received power level of a received signal at one antenna receiving a signal transmitted from a communicating party and a received power level of a received signal in which a signal transmitted from the communicating party is received with directivity and generates power level information comprising information of the received power level ratio;

a control signal multiplex section that time division multiplexes a directional transmission signal and the power level information so that the power level information comprising information of the received power level of the directional transmission signal at the communicating party is transmitted to the communicating party before the directional transmission signal is transmitted; and

a transmission section that transmits the power level information and the directional transmission signal multiplexed at the control signal multiplex section with directivity.

5. A gain control method comprising steps of:

generating a gain control signal comprising a signal for adjusting a gain for a received signal of a communicating party;

time division multiplexing a directional signal and the gain control signal so that the gain control signal is transmitted a predetermined time before a frame in which the directional signal is transmitted in bursts;

setting a transmission power level of the gain control signal so that a transmission power level of the gain control signal is smaller than the transmission power level of the directional signal and a received power level of the gain control signal is larger than a received power level of a nondirectional signal at a communicating party;

transmitting the directional signal and the gain control signal at the set transmission power level with directivity and transmits the nondirectional signal without directivity; and

controlling a gain at a dynamic range including the received power level of the received nondirectional signal, the gain control signal and the directional signal.