Underwater mobile body

• US 9,948,405 B1
• Filed: 04/27/2017
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kimura, Tsutomu, Baba, Motofumi, Sato, Masahiro, Nemoto, Yoshihiko, Yamauchi, Akihito, Tokuchi, Kengo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V
• Application Number:
  US15/498,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20180102854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 455 40
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 13/02 Transmission systems in which the medium consists of the earth or a large mass of water thereon, e.g. earth telegraphy

Abstract

An underwater mobile body includes: a communication unit that has a plurality of communicators adopting different communication systems and that performs underwater wireless communication with another device using one of the plurality of communicators; an acquisition unit that acquires information on depth or information varying with depth; and a control unit that controls the communication unit to switch, between the plurality of communicators and based on the acquired information, the one communicator used for underwater wireless communication.

Claims

1. An underwater mobile body comprising:

a communication unit that has a plurality of communicators adopting different communication systems and that performs underwater wireless communication with another device using one of the plurality of communicators;

an acquisition unit that acquires information on depth or information varying with depth; and

a control unit that controls the communication unit to switch, between the plurality of communicators and based on the acquired information, the one communicator used for underwater wireless communication.

2. The underwater mobile body according to claim 1,

wherein when communication is not possible with any of the plurality of communicators, the control unit moves the underwater mobile body to a predetermined position and attempts to establish communication.

3. The underwater mobile body according to claim 2,

wherein when communication is not possible with the plurality of communicators even after the movement to the predetermined position, the control unit causes a failure signal transmitter to transmit a failure signal.

4. The underwater mobile body according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit selects a communicator having a faster communication speed from the plurality of communicators in a case where the depth is smaller.

5. The underwater mobile body according to claim 4,

wherein in an area where the depth is small, the control unit selects a communicator that uses radio waves from the plurality of communicators, and in an area where the depth is large, the control unit selects a communicator that uses sound waves from the plurality of communicators.

6. An underwater mobile body comprising:

a communication unit that has a plurality of communicators adopting different communication systems and that performs underwater wireless communication with another device using one of the plurality of communicators; and

a control unit that, when depth is changed, controls the communication unit to switch the one communicator to another one of the plurality of communicators.

7. An underwater mobile body comprising:

a communication unit that performs underwater wireless communication with another device; and

a state detection unit that detects a state of the underwater wireless communication performed by the communication unit,

wherein depth is changed according to a result of the detection by the state detection unit.