US-12627368-B2 - Repeater device and repeating method

Abstract

In a repeater device: a communication device receives position information of a forwarding source device and a forwarding destination device using a first communication scheme; based on the position information of the forwarding source device, a moving mechanism moves the repeater device to a position at which it is capable of communicating with the forwarding source device using a second communication scheme; the communication device receives data from the forwarding source device using the second communication scheme; a storage device stores the data; based on the position information of the forwarding destination device received by the communication device, the moving mechanism moves the repeater device to a position at which it is capable of communicating with the forwarding destination device using the second communication scheme, and the communication device transmits the data stored in the storage device to the forwarding destination device using the second communication scheme.

Inventors

• Yutaka Murakami
• Nobuhiko HASHIDA

Assignees

• PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20230828

Priority Date

20180906

Claims (1)

1. 1 . A communication device that is mobile, the communication device comprising: a main body; and a repeater that is physically and detachably coupled to the main body to form a single mobile device, and is separable from the main body, wherein the repeater includes: a repeater communication unit configured to repeat communication between a first communication device and the main body; and a second interface configured to communicate with the main body, the main body includes: a controller configured to separate the repeater inside an area in which communication with the first communication device is possible; a communication unit configured to communicate with the first communication device via the repeater outside the area in which communication with the first communication device is possible; and a first interface configured to communicate with the repeater, and data transmitted from the first interface is transmitted to the first communication device via the second interface and the repeater communication unit, wherein all data transmitted from the first interface is transmitted to the first communication device only via the second interface and the repeater communication unit, regardless of whether the main body and the repeater are separated or not separated; wherein the main body further includes a sensor, and the communication unit is configured to transmit data obtained by the sensor to the first communication device.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/076,188, filed Oct. 21, 2020, which is a U.S. continuation application of PCT International Patent Application Number PCT/JP2019/018459 filed on May 8, 2019, claiming the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/668,539 filed on May 8, 2018, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/679,414 filed on Jun. 1, 2018, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/686,877 filed on Jun. 19, 2018, and Japanese Patent Application Number 2018-167358 filed on Sep. 6, 2018 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a repeater device, a repeating method, a transmitting method, a transmitting device, a receiving method, and a receiving device. 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional example of a communication method performed using a plurality of antennas is a communication method called multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). In multi-antenna communication typified by MIMO, data reception quality and/or a data communication rate (per unit time) can be enhanced by modulating transmission data of a plurality of streams and simultaneously transmitting modulated signals from different antennas using the same frequency (common frequency). Furthermore, in such multi-antenna communication, an antenna having a quasi-omni pattern which allows a transmitting device to have a substantially constant antenna gain in various directions in a space may be used when multicast/broadcast communication is performed. For example, WO2011/055536 discloses that a transmitting device transmits a modulated signal using an antenna having a quasi-omni pattern. On the other hand, even if high transmission speeds were achieved in a wireless communication scheme, if a surrounding network is slow, a system for taking advantage of the high speeds needs to be constructed. SUMMARY There is a desire for further improvement in performance of the entire system and support for new forms of services when a communication method exemplified by a communication method that uses a plurality of antennas is used. A transmitting device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a plurality of transmit antennas, and further includes: a signal processor configured to generate a first baseband signal by modulating data of a first stream and generate a second baseband signal by modulating data of a second stream; and a transmission unit configured to generate, from the first baseband signal, a plurality of first transmission signals having mutually different directivities, generate, from the second baseband signal, a plurality of second transmission signals having mutually different directivities, and transmit the plurality of first transmission signals and the plurality of second transmission signals at the same time. When a request for transmission of the first stream is received from a terminal, the transmission unit is further configured to generate, from the first baseband signal, a plurality of third transmission signals having mutually different directivities and being different from the plurality of first transmission signals, and transmit the plurality of third transmission signals. According to the present disclosure, it possible to facilitate an improvement in performance of the communication system and support for new forms of services. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS These and other objects, advantages and features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a base station; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an antenna unit of the base station; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of the base station; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a terminal: FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an antenna unit of a terminal; FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a terminal; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state of communication between the base station and terminals; FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing a relation of a plurality of streams; FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame configuration; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame configuration; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a symbol configuration; FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state of communication between the base station and terminals; FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a relation of a plurality of modulated signals; FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame configuration; FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a fram