Patent ID: 8300756

Claim:
An intermittent operative communication apparatus for use in a telecommunications system including a plurality of communication devices, said apparatus waiting for receiving data at a predetermined interval and sending data received from a source device among the plurality of communication devices to a receiver device among the plurality of communication devices, said receiver device waiting for data at the predetermined interval, said apparatus comprising: a selector for selecting one of the plurality of communication devices as a reference device that has a reference timing at which said reference device waits for receiving data; a timing controller for setting a receiving timing at which said apparatus waits for receiving data; and a timing estimator to estimate a timing that corresponds to the reference timing of the reference device by using a timing at which a response signal, that is transmitted in response to a signal from the apparatus, is received from said reference device or another timing at which data are sent to said reference device, said timing controller setting the receiving timing to be the timing estimated by said timing estimator shifted by a predetermined value.