Communication apparatus enabling temporal coexistence of systems

• US 8,451,857 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kurobe, Akio, Ikeda, Koji, Kuroda, Go, Koga, Hisao, Igata, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUONGCHAU BA
• Application Number:
  US13/090,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20110222554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 370/445, 370/447, 370/458, 370/459, 370/461, 370/462
• US Class Current: 370/459
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5408 using protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5441 Wireless systems or telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5479 using repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02

Abstract

A coexistence controller which performs management and control of time division for coexistence, is provided in a power line communication modem which has a function as a QoS controller for a QoS type communication system and a power line communication modem for a best-effort type communication system. In the QoS type communication system, by controlling allocation of a communication band in accordance with priorities given to the communication systems by cooperation of the coexistence controller and the QoS controller, the power line communication systems having different schemes can coexist.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a controller for managing communication slots necessary for a first communication system to which the communication apparatus belongs;

a command generator for generating a request command which requests use of a communication slot necessary for the first communication system, so as to indicate the request command to a second communication system which coexists with the first communication system via a communication medium by time division communication using the communication slots,

a transmitter for transmitting the request command generated by the command generator; and

a communication manager for controlling transmission of the request command in cooperation with the controller, wherein

the request command includes information about a priority of the request command, and

the communication manager causes, when the communication slots necessary for the first communication system cannot be secured, the transmitter to transmit the request command of a higher priority, and causes the second communication system to free half of communication slots used by the second communication system, to secure the communication slots having been freed.

2. A communication apparatus comprising:

a controller for managing communication slots necessary for a first communication system to which the communication apparatus belongs;

a command generator for generating a request command which requests use of a communication slot necessary for the first communication system, so as to indicate the request command to a second communication system which coexists with the first communication system via a communication medium by time division communication using the communication slots,

a transmitter for transmitting the request command generated by the command generator; and

a communication manager for controlling transmission of the request command in cooperation with the controller, wherein

the request command includes information about a priority of the request command, and

the communication manager causes, when the communication slots necessary for the first communication system cannot be secured, the transmitter to transmit the request command of a lower priority, and causes the second communication system to free a quarter of communication slots used by the second communication system, to secure the communication slots having been freed.