Wireless communication using a frequency hopping method

A wireless communication system that communicates by a frequency hopping method, comprising:

• a main communicating device that can be connected to an external communications path;
• a plurality of sub communicating devices, including a first and a second sub communicating device and a selected sub communicating device, that can communicate wirelessly with the main communicating device;
• a hop frequency data generator provided in each of said main communicating device and said plurality of sub communicating devices, said hop frequency data generator sequentially generating prescribed hop frequency data;
• and
• a communicating unit provided in each of said main communicating device and said plurality of sub communicating devices, each of said communicating units using the prescribed hop frequency data supplied by the corresponding hop frequency data generator to create transmission signals by frequency spreading input signals and to create output signals by frequency despreading reception signals,
• wherein said hop frequency data generator provided in each of said plurality of sub communicating devices generates hop frequency data arrays for communication between two sub communicating devices of the plurality of sub communicating devices, which data arrays are different from the hop frequency data arrays for communication between the main communicating device and a selected sub communicating device, and wherein communicating units in the first and second sub communicating devices perform direct communications therebetween using the hop frequency data arrays for communicating between the two sub communicating devices, wherein transmission signals are created by frequency spreading input signals and output signals are created by frequency despreading reception signals,
• wherein a portion of the hop frequency data arrays used for communicating between the first and second sub communicating devices has a pattern that is identical to a portion of the hop frequency data arrays used for communication between the main communicating device and the selected sub communicating device, and wherein the communicating unit of the main communicating device performs transmission and reception of control signals between said main communicating device and said plurality of sub communicating devices when the hop frequency data generator of the main communicating device generates hop frequency data in the identical portion of the data arrays,
• wherein an ordinary communication is not performed with the same frequency of the same pattern or with the frequency of a second hopping pattern.

A wireless communication system that communicates by a frequency hopping method, comprising:

• a main communicating device that can be connected to an external communications path;
• a plurality of sub communicating devices that can communicate wirelessly with the main communicating device;
• a hop frequency data generator provided in said main communicating device and each of said plurality of sub communicating devices, said hop frequency data generator sequentially generating prescribed hop frequency data for both the main communicating device and said plurality of sub communicating devices;
• and
• a communicating unit provided in said main communicating device and each of said plurality of sub communicating devices, said communicating unit using hop frequency data supplied from said hop frequency data generator to create transmission signals by frequency spreading input signals and to create output signals by frequency despreading reception signals,
• wherein said hop frequency data generator in each of said plurality of sub communicating devices generates hop frequency data arrays for communication between two selected sub communicating devices by phase-shifting the hop frequency data arrays used for communication between said main communicating device and a selected sub communicating device, and wherein said communicating units in said plurality of sub communicating devices perform direct communications between the two selected sub communicating devices by using the hop frequency data for communication between two selected sub communicating devices to create transmission signals by frequency spreading the input signals and to create output signals by frequency despreading the reception signals.

A wireless communication system that communicates by a frequency hopping method, comprising;

• a main communicating device that can be connected to an external communications path;
• a plurality of sub communicating devices that can communicate wirelessly with said main communicating device;
• a hop frequency data generator that sequentially generates prescribed hop frequency data for both said main communicating device and said plurality of sub communicating devices;
• and
• a communicating unit that uses the hop frequency data supplied from said hop frequency data generator to create transmission signals by frequency spreading input signals and to create output signals by frequency despreading reception signals,
• wherein said hop frequency data generator in each of said plurality of sub communicating devices generates hop frequency data arrays for communication between two selected sub communicating devices by increasing or decreasing a prescribed amount each of the data in the hop frequency data arrays used for communication between said main communicating device and a selected sub communicating device, and wherein said communicating units in said plurality of sub communicating devices perform direct communications between two selected sub communicating devices by using the hop frequency data for communication between two selected sub communicating devices to create transmission signals by frequency spreading input signals and to create output signals by frequency despreading reception signals.

In a wireless communication system including a main communicating device that can be connected to an external communication path and a plurality of sub communicating devices, including a first and a second sub communicating device and a selected communicating device, that can communicate wirelessly with the main communicating device, wherein a frequency hopping method is used to perform communications between the main communicating device and a selected sub communicating device by sequentially changing the frequency used by the main communicating device according to a prescribed hopping pattern and by sequentially changing the frequency used by the selected sub communicating device in synchronism with the frequency used by the main communicating device, a wireless communication method comprising the steps of:

• a) sequentially changing a frequency used by the first sub communicating device according to a first hopping pattern different from the prescribed hopping pattern and sequentially changing a frequency used by the second sub communicating device in synchronism with the frequency used by the first sub communicating device, thereby performing direct communication between the first sub communicating device and the second sub communicating device, and
• b) sequentially changing the frequency used by the main communicating device and the frequency used by at least one of the selected sub communicating device, the first sub communicating device, and the second sub communicating device according to a second hopping pattern different from both the prescribed hopping pattern and the first hopping pattern, thereby performing communication between the main communicating device and the at least one of a non-selected first sub communicating device and a non-selected second sub communicating device, wherein the frequency hopping based on the second hopping pattern is used for transmission and reception of the control signals, but not for the ordinary communication.

A wireless communication system that communicates by a frequency hopping method, comprising:

• a main communicating device that can be connected to an external communications path;
• a plurality of sub communicating devices, including a first and a second sub communicating device and a selected sub communicating device, that can communicate wirelessly with the main communicating device;
• a hop frequency data generator provided in each of said main communicating device and each of said plurality of sub communicating devices, said hop frequency data generator sequentially generating prescribed hop frequency data;
• and
• a communicating unit provided in each of said main communicating device and each of said plurality of sub communicating devices, said communicating unit using the prescribed hop frequency data supplied from said hop frequency data generator in said sub communicating device to create transmission signals by frequency spreading input signals and to create output signals by frequency despreading reception signals,
• wherein said hop frequency data generator provided in each of said plurality of sub communicating devices generates hop frequency data arrays for communication between two sub communicating devices, which data arrays are different from the hop frequency data arrays for communicating between the main communicating device and the selected sub communicating device, and wherein communicating units in the first and second sub communicating devices of said plurality of sub communicating devices perform direct communication therebetween using the hop frequency data arrays for communicating between two sub communicating devices, wherein transmission signals are created by frequency spreading input signals and output signals are created by frequency despreading reception signals, and
• each of said hop frequency data generators of said main communicating device and each of said sub communicating devices further generates a hop frequency data array for control use that is different from the hop frequency data arrays for communicating both between the main communicating device and the selected sub communicating device and between the first and second sub communicating devices, and wherein when said hop frequency data generator of the main communicating device and said hop frequency data generator of at least one of the plurality of sub communicating devices generate data from the hop frequency data array for control use, said communicating unit of said main communicating device performs transmission and reception of control signals between said main communicating device and at least one of the plurality of sub communicating devices, wherein an ordinary communication is not performed with the same frequency of the same pattern or with the frequency of a second hopping pattern.