Radio receiving apparatus and radio receiving method

• US 7,940,863 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2006
• Issued: 05/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Masanori, Sugino, Satoshi, Okita, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Corrielus; Jean B
• Application Number:
  US12/066,390
• Publication Number:
  US 20090154526A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,687 Days
• Field of Search: 375/224, 375/285, 375/316, 375/340, 375/342, 375/346
• US Class Current: 375/316
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/719 Interference-related aspects

Abstract

A radio receiving apparatus of the present invention is for receiving a radio signal having pulsating signals occurring at specific periods, wherein the radio receiving apparatus corrects signal levels received during communication in individual regions into which each of the aforementioned periods is divided based on signal levels received in the individual regions under conditions where the radio signal is not received. As a result of this correction, the radio receiving apparatus of the present invention can decrease the influence of noise having periodicity and improve reliability of communication.

Claims

1. A radio receiving apparatus for receiving a radio signal having pulsating signals occurring at specific periods, said radio receiving apparatus comprising:

a receiver for receiving the radio signal;

a regional level acquirer for acquiring first signal levels, each obtained by said receiver in one of individual regions into which each of the specific periods is divided;

a regional level storage for storing second signal levels acquired by said regional level acquirer in the individual regions under conditions where the radio signal is not received by said receiver for the individual regions;

a corrector for correcting the first signal levels in the individual regions obtained by said receiver based on the second signal levels in the individual regions stored in said regional level storage, respectively; and

a demodulator for demodulating the radio signal according to the first signal levels in the individual regions corrected by said corrector.

2. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said regional level acquirer acquires the first signal levels in the individual regions while successively offsetting the individual regions in which the first signal levels are acquired.

3. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said regional level acquirer acquires the first signal levels in the individual regions over the specific periods, calculates average values of the first signal levels thus acquired in time durations corresponding to the individual regions in each of the specific periods, and causes said regional level storage to store the average values calculated for the time durations as the second signal levels in the individual regions.

4. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said corrector performs correction by subtracting the second signal levels in the individual regions stored in said regional level storage from the first signal levels in the individual regions obtained by said receiver, respectively.

5. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said corrector performs correction by adding differences between a preset reference value and the second signal levels in the individual regions stored in said regional level storage to the first signal levels in the individual regions obtained by said receiver, respectively.

6. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said regional level acquirer causes said regional level storage to store differences between a preset reference value and the first signal levels acquired in the individual regions as the second signal levels in the individual regions, and said corrector performs correction by adding the second signal levels in the individual regions stored in said regional level storage to the first signal levels in the individual regions obtained by said receiver, respectively.

7. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said receiver comprises:

an antenna for receiving the radio signal and outputting a received signal;

a filter for extracting at least part of components in a frequency band used by the radio signal with a received signal input into said filter;

a detector for detecting one of an envelope and peaks of an output of said filter;

an integrator for accumulating an output of said detector for a specific integration period; and

an analog-to-digital converter for A/D-converting an output voltage of said integrator;

wherein said demodulator adjusts the specific integration period of said integrator based on values A/D-converted by said analog-to-digital converter; and

said radio receiving apparatus further comprises a gain controller for adjusting a frequency passband of said filter according to a variance of the values A/D-converted by said analog-to-digital converter.

8. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein said receiver further comprises an amplifier connected between said filter and said detector, wherein a gain of said amplifier is adjusted by a signal fed from said gain controller.

9. The radio receiving apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein said gain controller judges whether a received signal exists from the variance of the values A/D-converted by said analog-to-digital converter and restricts acquisition of the variance during the specific integration period in which the received signal exists.

10. A radio receiving method for receiving a radio signal having pulsating signals occurring at specific periods, said radio receiving method comprising:

receiving the radio signal by a receiver;

acquiring first signal levels, each obtained by the receiver in one of individual regions into which each of the specific periods is divided;

storing second signal levels acquired in the individual regions under conditions where the radio signal is not received by the receiver in a regional level storage for the individual regions;

correcting the first signal levels in the individual regions based on the second signal levels stored in the regional level storage, respectively; and

demodulating the radio signal according to the corrected first signal levels in the individual regions.