Communication apparatus and communication system

• US 8,521,088 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2008
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Wakizaka, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay A
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLEMING-HALL, ERICA L
• Application Number:
  US12/036,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20080207132A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,010 Days
• Field of Search: 455/63.1, 455/501
• US Class Current: 455/63.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/23 Indication means, e.g. displays, alarms, audible means
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/382 for resource allocation, admission control or handover

Abstract

There is disclosed a communication apparatus which wirelessly communicates information with a first other communication apparatus by a first communication method and using a second frequency band which is at least partially overlapping a first frequency band usable according to the first communication method. The communication apparatus includes a first communicator which implements the wireless information communication with the first other communication apparatus by the first communication method, and a requestor which requests the first other communication apparatus, where at least there is a possibility that a field strength of an external radio wave in the second frequency band is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, to increase the number of times the first other communication apparatus sends information when making the wireless information communication with the communication apparatus using the second frequency band, as compared to where there is not the possibility.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus which wirelessly communicates information with a first other communication apparatus by a first communication method and using a second frequency band which is at least partially overlapping a first frequency band usable according to the first communication method, the communication apparatus comprising:

a first communicator configured to implement the wireless information communication with the first other communication apparatus by the first communication method;

a second communicator configured to implement the wireless information communication with a second other communication apparatus, which is different from the first other communication apparatus, by a second communication method according to which the second frequency band is usable;

a judging portion configured to judge whether a communication by the second communicator is being made;

a first field-strength measuring portion configured to measure, when the judging portion has judged the communication by the second communicator is not being made, the field strength of an external radio wave in the second frequency band, the external radio wave being transmitted from an external communication apparatus other than the first other communication apparatus;

a first transmitting-number-of-times setter configured to set a transmitting number, the transmitting number being the number of times that the same information is transmitted from the first other communication apparatus to the communication apparatus in the second frequency band, wherein the first transmitting-number-of-times setter sets the transmitting number to a first value which is more than a second value when the judging portion has judged the communication by the second communicator being made, and wherein the first transmitting-number-of-times setter sets the transmitting number to the first value when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the first field-strength measuring portion is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the first transmitting-number-of-times setter sets the transmitting number to the second value when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the first field-strength measuring portion is less than the predetermined threshold;

a first request-sender configured to send a request to the first other communication apparatus for the first other communication apparatus to transmit the same information to the communication apparatus by the number of times of the transmitting number;

a first receiving-number-of-times setter configured to set a receiving number, the receiving number being the number of times that the same information is received from the first other communication apparatus by the communication apparatus in the second frequency band, the first receiving-number-of-times setter setting the receiving number to the first value when the judging portion has judged the communication by the second communicator is being made and when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the first field-strength measuring portion is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, and the first receiving-number-of-times setter sets the receiving number to the second value when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the first field-strength measuring portion is less than the predetermined threshold;

a receiver configured to receive the same information from the first other communication apparatus by the number of times of the receiving number set by the first receiving-number-of-times setter,

wherein the first request-sender is configured to send the request before the first other communication apparatus transmits the same information to the communication apparatus in the second frequency band,

wherein the first receiving-number-of-times setter is configured to set the receiving number before the first other communication apparatus transmits the same information to the communication apparatus in the second frequency band; and

wherein the first transmitting-number-of-times setter sets the first value when the judging portion has judged the communication by the second communicator is being made, without measuring of the field strength by the first field strength measuring portion.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second frequency band is included in the first frequency band.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the same information that the first communicator communicates is audio data.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first communication method by which the wireless information communication is made is a frequency hopping spread spectrum method according to which a plurality of frequency channels having respective center frequencies and defined within the first frequency band are used as the second frequency band.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the same information that the first communicator communicates is audio data, and the information that the second communicator communicates is general data.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first other communication apparatus with which the first communicator implements the wireless information communication is a cordless handset of a digital cordless telephone system, and the second other communication apparatus with which the second communicator makes the wireless information communication is a wireless LAN apparatus.

7. A communication system comprising the communication apparatus according to claim 1 and the first other communication apparatus, wherein

the first other communication apparatus includes a transmitter configured to transmit information to the communication apparatus by the first communication method, and

the transmitter is configured to transmit the same information by the number of times of the transmitting number set by the transmitting-number-of-times setter after the first other communication apparatus receives the request for the first other communication apparatus to transmit the same information to the communication apparatus by the number of times of the transmitting number.

8. A communication system comprising the communication apparatus according to claim 1 and the first other communication apparatus, wherein

the first other communication apparatus includes a transmitter configured to transmit information to the communication apparatus by the first communication method, and

the transmitter is configured to transmit the same information by the number of times of the transmitting number set by the transmitting-number-of-times setter after the first other communication apparatus receives the request for the first other communication apparatus to transmit the same information to the communication apparatus by the number of times of the transmitting number.

9. A communication system according to claim 7, wherein the first other communication apparatus includes:

a second field-strength measuring portion configured to measure the field strength of an external radio wave in the second frequency band, the external radio wave being transmitted from an external communication apparatus other than the communication apparatus;

a second transmitting-number-of-times setter configured to set the transmitting number, the transmitting number being the number of times that the same information is transmitted from the communication apparatus to the first other communication apparatus in the second frequency band, the second transmitting-number-of-times setter setting the transmitting number to a third value when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the second field-strength measuring portion is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, and the second transmitting-number-of-times setter setting the transmitting number to a forth value which is less than the third value when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the second field-strength measuring portion is less than the predetermined threshold;

a second request-sender configured to send a request to the communication apparatus for the communication apparatus to transmit the same information to the first other communication apparatus by the number of times of the transmitting number;

a second receiving-number-of-times setter configured to set the receiving number, the receiving number being the number of times that the same information is transmitted from the communication apparatus to the first other communication apparatus in the second frequency band, the second receiving-number-of-times setter setting the receiving number to the third value when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the second field-strength measuring portion is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, and the second receiving-number-of-times setter setting the receiving number to the forth value

when the field-strength of the external radio wave in the second frequency band measured by the second field-strength measuring portion is less than the predetermined threshold,

wherein the second request-sender is configured to send the request before the communication apparatus transmits the same information to the first other communication apparatus in the second frequency band, and

wherein the second receiving-number-of-times setter is configured to set the receiving number before the communication apparatus transmits the same information to the first other communication apparatus in the second frequency band.

10. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a plurality of data pieces of the same information where the first receiving-number-of-times setter sets the receiving number to the first value in the second frequency band and to select one of the plurality of data pieces as a non-erroneous data piece.