Communication system, and endpoint device and interrogator

• US 7,911,325 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2004
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ohashi, Tsuyoshi, Nagai, Takuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman; Brian A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Khan; Omer S
• Application Number:
  US10/791,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20040235428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,574 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 370/344, 370/343, 340/7.32, 340/7.36, 340/7.37, 340/636.19, 340/636.1, 340/455, 340/855.8, 340/539.3, 340/10.34, 340/333
• US Class Current: 340/10.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer

Abstract

A communication system wherein each endpoint device which has received an interrogating signal from an interrogator responds with a reflected signal generated by modulating the interrogating signal with appropriate information, wherein each endpoint device includes a distance detecting portion operable to detect a distance between the interrogator and the endpoint device, a reflecting portion operable to receive and reflect the interrogating signal, an information generating portion operable to generate replying information to be transmitted to the interrogator, a band determining portion operable to determine, on the basis of the detected distance, a frequency band of a modulating signal used to modulate a reflected signal generated by the reflecting portion, and a modulating-signal generating portion operable, according to the replying information, to generate the modulating signal having a frequency within the determined frequency band. The distance detecting portion may be provided in the interrogator, rather than in the endpoint device. The frequency of the modulating signal may be determined on the basis of the number of the endpoint devices ready for communication with the interrogator, or a distribution of overall frequency utilization ratio of the reflected signals received from the individual endpoint devices.

Claims

1. An endpoint device for responding to an interrogator after receiving an interrogating signal containing a main carrier by transmitting a reflected signal generated by modulating the main carrier with appropriate information, the endpoint device comprising:

an individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion operable to set a distribution of an individual frequency utilization ratio which is a ratio of time period during which each frequency channel is used as a hopping frequency of a subcarrier signal in which a frequency hopping is implemented and which is used to modulate the main carrier, over a predetermined range of frequency of the subcarrier signal that consists of a plurality of mutually adjacent frequency channels;

a frequency determining portion operable on the basis of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio set by the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion to determine a frequency of the subcarrier signal by random selection within the predetermined range of frequency;

a battery cell; and

a power-source-information detecting portion operable to detect at least two discrete operating states of the battery cell, the at least two discrete operating states of the battery cell being at least able to power the endpoint device;

wherein in response to a supply voltage of the battery cell being lower than a predetermined threshold value, the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion is configured to shift a statistical center frequency of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio to a lower frequency by selecting a first individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern from a plurality of individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution patterns that includes at least the first individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern and a second individual-frequency-utilization ratio-distribution pattern,

wherein the first individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern is relatively high in the relatively low frequency channels and the second individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern is relatively high in the relatively high frequency channels.

2. The endpoint device according to claim 1, wherein the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion is operable to raise a center frequency of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal, when a supply voltage of the battery cell detected by the power-source-information detecting portion is higher than a predetermined threshold value.

3. The endpoint device according to claim 1, wherein the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion is operable to select one of a plurality of different individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution patterns each of which represents a relationship between the plurality of mutually adjacent frequency channels and the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal, the endpoint device including a memory storing data table representative of the different individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution patterns, the frequency determining portion being operable to hop the frequency of the subcarrier signal according to the selected one of the different individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution patterns.

4. The endpoint device according to claim 1, wherein the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion is operable to set the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal so that a center frequency of the distribution is lower when the battery cell is a primary battery cell, than when the battery cell is other than the primary battery cell.

5. The endpoint device according to claim 1, further comprising a solar cell as a power source device.

6. The endpoint device according to claim 1, wherein the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion is operable to set the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal, by changing at least an amount of data transmitted with the reflected signal and a time period during which the reflected signal is transmitted, each time the reflected signal having a selected one of the mutually adjacent frequency channels is transmitted.

7. A communication system comprising:

an interrogator having a transmitting portion operable to transmit an interrogating signal containing a main carrier; and

a plurality of endpoint devices each operable to receive the interrogating signal and respond to the interrogator with a reflected signal that is generated by modulating the main carrier with appropriate information;

each endpoint device including;

(a) an individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion operable to set a distribution of an individual frequency utilization ratio which is a ratio of a time period during which each frequency channel is used as a hopping frequency of a subcarrier signal in which a frequency hopping is implemented and which is used to modulate the main carrier over a predetermined range of frequency of the subcarrier signal, which consists of a plurality of mutually adjacent frequency channels,

(b) a frequency determining portion operable on the basis of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio set by the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion to determine a frequency of the subcarrier signal by random selection within the predetermined range of frequency,

(c) a battery cell, and

(d) a power-source-information detecting portion operable to detect supply-voltage information indicative of at least two discrete supply voltages of the battery cell, the at least two discrete supply voltages of the battery cell being at least able to power the endpoint device;

the interrogator including;

(i) an overall-frequency-utilization-ratio determining portion operable to determine a distribution of an overall frequency utilization ratio of the reflected signal received from the plurality of endpoint devices,

(ii) an endpoint-device monitoring portion operable on the basis of the supply-voltage information received from the power-source-information detecting portion to determine one of a plurality of predetermined supply voltage ranges in which the supply voltage of the battery cell detected by the power-source-information detecting portion of the each endpoint device falls, and

(iii) a switching-information generating portion operable on the basis of the distribution of the overall frequency utilization ratio determined by the overall-frequency-utilization-ratio determining portion, and a result of determination by the endpoint-device monitoring portion, to generate switching information on the basis of which the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio determining portion of the each endpoint device sets the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal;

the transmitting portion of the interrogator being operable to transmit the interrogating signal containing the main carrier and the switching information generated by the switching-information generating portion; and

the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion is configured to shift a statistical center frequency of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio to a lower frequency in response to a supply voltage of the battery cell being lower than a predetermined threshold value,

wherein the statistical center is shifted based on the switching information generated by the switching-information generating portion and one of the at least two discrete supply voltages of the battery cell detected by the power-source-information detecting portion,

the statistical center is shifted by selecting a first-individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern from a plurality of individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution patterns that includes at least the first individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern and a second individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern, and

wherein the first individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern is relatively high in the relatively low frequency channels and the second-individual-frequency-utilization-ratio distribution pattern is relatively high in the relatively high frequency channels.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein the switching-information generating portion is operable to generate the switching information for raising a center frequency of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal of the each endpoint device, when the overall-frequency-utilization-ratio determining portion determines that the overall frequency utilization ratio of the reflected signals in low frequency channels of the predetermined range of frequency of the subcarrier signal is higher than a predetermined threshold value.

9. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein the switching-information generating portion is operable to generate the switching information for lowering a center frequency of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal of the each endpoint device, when the overall-frequency-utilization-ratio determining portion determines that the overall frequency utilization ratio of the reflected signals in the predetermined range of frequency of the subcarrier signal is lower than a predetermined threshold value.

10. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of endpoint devices include at least one first endpoint device wherein a primary battery cell is provided as the battery cell, and at least one second endpoint device wherein a secondary battery cell is provided as the battery cell, the switching-information generating portion being operable to generate the switching information that causes the individual-frequency-utilization-ratio setting portion of each of the at least one first endpoint device to set the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal so that a center frequency of the distribution of the individual frequency utilization ratio of the subcarrier signal of the each first endpoint device is lower than that of the each second endpoint device.