Patent ID: 8213456

Claim:
A communications system that uses a plurality of transmission media, the communications system comprising: a first communications interface combining adapter having: (a) a first power line communication interface; (b) a wired local area network (LAN) interface; and (c) a first wireless LAN interface having: (i) a first access point function; and (ii) a first inter-access point communication function; (d) a first interface combining means for logically combining the first inter-access point communication function and the first power line communication interface; a second communications interface combining adapter having: (a) a second power line communication interface; and (b) a second wireless LAN interface having: (i) a second access point function; and (ii) a second inter-access point communication function, the second communications interface combining adapter being connected to the first communications interface combining adapter via: (A) a power-line transmission path connected to common sockets; and (B) a wireless transmission path between wireless LAN access points; (c) a second interface combining means for logically combining the first inter-access point communication function and the first power line communication interface; a first wireless LAN terminal connected to a first access point corresponding to the first access point function; a second wireless LAN terminal connected to a second access point corresponding to the first access point function; a wired LAN terminal connected to the wired LAN interface; wherein data is transmitted as a logically combined data flow between the first wireless LAN terminal and the second wireless LAN terminal or between the second wireless LAN terminal and the wired LAN terminal via a high-speed combined interface logically formed by simultaneously using both: (a) the power-line transmission path corresponding to the first and second power line communication interfaces; and (b) inter-access point communication between the first inter-access point communication function and the second inter-access point communication function.