Control method for high-frequency radio equipment and high-frequency radio system

• US 7,664,535 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nihon Dempa Kogyo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nihon Dempa Kogyo Company Limited
• Inventors: Onishi, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao; Minh D
• Application Number:
  US12/213,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20090072947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 455/562.1, 455/422, 455/440, 455/13.4, 455/513, 455/296, 455/436, 370/335, 370/342, 370/328, 370/331
• US Class Current: 455/562.1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/61 Signal comprising different frequencies, e.g. frequency hopping
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0805 with single receiver and antenna switching H04B7/0822 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/086 using weights depending on external parameters, e.g. direction of arrival [DOA], predetermined weights or beamforming
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 13/00 Code division multiplex systems for frequency hopping H04B1/713

Abstract

A control method for a high-frequency radio equipment and a high-frequency radio equipment system in spread spectrum radio data communication are provided which are interference-tolerant and can maintain transmission quality with improved receiving sensitivity.

A high-frequency radio equipment system provided with, in a base station, an antenna part comprised by a plurality of antennas, a radio part for amplifying a received signal, band-limiting and down-converting it to an intermediate frequency, a signal processing part for carrier-demodulating the signal inputted from the radio part, demodulating the signal which was despread-spectrum processed and synchronized and decoding the received data, an antenna control part for determining a code error rate for the received data inputted from the signal processing part, forming an appropriate antenna pattern based on the error rate and outputting a signal for controlling an antenna switching part according to the information of the antenna pattern.

Claims

1. A control method for high-frequency radio equipment in a base station that receives an extremely low radio wave from a portable equipment comprising the steps of:

receiving a signal of an extremely low radio wave which is spread-spectrum modulated according to an initial setting antenna pattern or an antenna pattern formed from an antenna status table;

checking an identifier contained in the received data by despread-spectrum demodulation;

only when the identifier matches an identifier stored on the receiving side, determining an state of communication environment by determining a code error rate of the received data, comparing the determined code error rate with a threshold value of a code error rate in favorable communication environment set in advance and comparing a difference between the both with a reference value calculated from a past adjustment history;

decreasing a spreading ratio and increasing a transmission rate when the communication environment is stable;

increasing a spreading ratio and decreasing a transmission rate when the communication environment is unstable;

determining whether the error rate has become lower than the former value or not after the increase of the spread ratio;

forming an antenna pattern specifying an antenna for reception from a plurality of arranged antennas by referring to the antenna status table when the error rate has not become lower;

adjusting synthesized directivity of the plurality of arranged antennas according to the state of the communication environment by selecting an antenna based on the formed antenna pattern;

returning the determination processing of the state of communication environment when the error rate has become lower the former value; and

repeating from the reception processing of a signal of an extremely low radio wave which is spread-spectrum modulated to the adjustment processing of synthesized directivity of antenna.

2. The control method for high-frequency radio equipment according to claim 1,

wherein the antenna status table stores the antenna selected for use with respect to the ratio wave receiving angle,

the determination of the communication environment state is made by determining the size of the difference between a code error rate of the received data and the threshold value of a code error rate based on the reference value,

and the forming of the antenna pattern in relation to the size of the difference is realized by referring the antenna status table.

3. The control method for high-frequency radio equipment according to claim 2,

wherein if the size of the difference between a code error rate of the received data and the threshold value of a code error rate is large compared with a reference value, the antenna pattern is formed in order to have a receiving sensitivity in the direction at the angle of 180 degrees with respect to the current angle.

4. The control method for high-frequency radio equipment according to claim 2,

wherein if the size of the difference between a code error rate of the received data and the threshold value of a code error rate is small compared with a reference value, the antenna pattern is formed in order to have a receiving sensitivity in the direction at the adjacent angle with respect to the current angle.

5. The control method for high-frequency radio equipment according to claim 1,

wherein, when the determined communication environment is stable, it is determined whether the spreading ratio is at the lower limit or not in a predetermined range, when a spreading ratio is not at the lower limit in a predetermined range, information instructing a decrease of the spreading ratio for the subsequent received frames is sent to the transmission side, and the receiving operation is performed at the decreased spreading ratio on the receiving side.

6. The control method for high-frequency radio equipment according to claim 1,

wherein, when the determined communication environment is unstable, it is determined whether the spreading ratio is at the upper limit or not in a predetermined range, when a spreading ratio is not at the upper limit in a predetermined range, information instructing an increase of the spreading ratio for the subsequent received frames is sent to the transmission side, and the receiving operation is performed at the increased spreading ratio on the receiving side.

7. A high-frequency radio equipment system provided with a base station for receiving an extremely weak radio wave from a portable equipment in the spread spectrum communication method, the base station comprises:

an antenna part provided with a plurality of antennas;

a radio part for amplifying and band-limiting the extremely weak radio wave taken in from the antenna part, down-converting and amplifying it to an intermediate frequency band;

a signal processing part for carrier-demodulating the signal inputted from the radio part, demodulating the signal which was despread-spectrum processed and synchronized, and decoding the received data;

an antenna switching part for adjusting directivity at the antenna part by selecting a specific antenna; and

an antenna control part for forming an antenna pattern at the antenna switching part according to a code error rate for the data of the received signal obtained at the signal processing part only when an identifier contained in the received signal matches an identifier stored in advance;

wherein the radio part uses a crystal filter for amplifying and band-limiting the extremely weak radio wave taken in from the antenna part, a crystal resonator for oscillating a high-frequency local signal for down-converting the band-limited signal to an intermediate frequency band, and the crystal filter and the crystal oscillator are mounted in a single module container made of a material whose respective temperature characteristic is substantially the same;

the antenna control part is provided with an antenna status table storing plural antenna patterns corresponding to a specific directivity in advance and the current directivity, compares with a code error rate of the received data and a threshold value of a code error rate in favorable communication environment set in advance, determines an state of communication environment by comparing a difference between the both with a reference value calculated from a past adjustment history, decreases a spreading ratio and increases a transmission rate when the communication environment is stable, increases a spreading ratio and decreases a transmission rate when the communication environment is unstable, determines whether the error rate has become lower than the former value or not after the increase of the spread ratio, forms an antenna pattern specifying an antenna for reception from a plurality of arranged antennas by referring to the antenna status table when the error rate has not become lower, and returns the determination processing of the state of communication environment when the error rate has become lower the former value after the increase of the spread ratio.

8. The high-frequency radio equipment system according to claim 7,

wherein when the determined communication environment is stable, it is determined whether the spreading ratio is at the lower limit or not in a predetermined range, the antenna control part adjusts the directivity at the antenna part by forming an antenna pattern and then, when the spreading ratio is not at a lower limit within a predetermined range, information instructing a decrease of the spreading ratio for the subsequent received frames is sent to the portable equipment and a control signal is outputted so that the receiving operation is performed at the decreased spreading ratio at the radio part and the signal processing part of the base station.

9. The high-frequency radio equipment system according to claim 7,

wherein when the determined communication environment is unstable, it is determined whether the spreading ratio is at the upper limit or not in a predetermined range, the antenna control part adjusts the directivity at the antenna part by forming an antenna pattern and then, when the spreading ratio is not at an upper limit within a predetermined range, information instructing an increase of the spreading ratio for the subsequent received frames is sent to the portable equipment and a control signal is outputted so that the receiving operation is performed at the increased spreading ratio at the radio part and the signal processing part of the base station.