Embodiments of the present application relate generally to electrical and electronic hardware, computer software, wired and wireless network communications, Bluetooth systems, RF systems, self-powered wireless devices, and consumer electronic (CE) devices. More specifically the present application relates to provision of networked based services to Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Conventional Bluetooth devices are typically implemented as embedded systems, for each Bluetooth headset capability in a mobile device such as a cell phone, smart phone, or tablet, for example. There are some disadvantages to implementing embedded systems, such as: embedded system development can be slow and costly because embedded system design is difficult and is often bespoke, that is, customized to a particular system; end-points are more expensive as they require the capability to process a Bluetooth stack, and they require additional power to allow for processing the stack; it can be difficult to repurpose an already installed unit (e.g., adding new capabilities to an already installed unit) as this may require new hardware or at least new firmware loads, so that re-purposing time is at best typically minutes and often months; and there can be limited access to Bluetooth information (e.g., radio strengths) that could be very useful for optimizing systems.
Thus, there is a need for a very low-cost, multi-purpose, and rapidly re-purposable Bluetooth device.
Various embodiments or examples (“examples”) of the present application are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale:
Various embodiments or examples may be implemented in numerous ways, including as a system, a process, a method, an apparatus, a user interface, or a series of executable program instructions included on a non-transitory computer readable medium. Such as a non-transitory computer readable medium or a computer network where the program instructions are sent over optical, electronic, or wireless communication links and stored or otherwise fixed in a non-transitory computer readable medium. In general, operations of disclosed processes may be performed in an arbitrary order, unless otherwise provided in the claims.
A detailed description of one or more examples is provided below along with accompanying figures. The detailed description is provided in connection with such examples, but is not limited to any particular example. The scope is limited only by the claims and numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents are encompassed. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the described techniques may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the examples has not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description.
A Bluetooth (BT) baseband and host controller interface (HCI) controller are in communication with a BT peer device. As per the BT specification (e.g., Bluetooth SIG), such communications include the exchange of HCI messages between the BT HCI host controller and a BT host, on which typically run the BT profiles and application (e.g., a HandsFree profile and a HandsFree gateway application).
In the present application a BT host is configured to encapsulate and forward the HCI packets over a network (e.g., a TCP/IP network such as the Internet or VPN, a wireless network such as WiFi or WiMAX, or Ethernet connection with a network) to a compute engine, such as a server, PC, laptop, Tablet/Pad, one or more processors, or the like. The compute engine (server hereinafter) implements BT profiles and applications included in the encapsulated HCI packets. Further, the server forwards HCI packets (e.g. over a network or wireless network) from the profiles and applications on the server to a BT HCI controller and baseband.
Although the foregoing examples have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the above-described conceptual techniques are not limited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementing the above-described conceptual techniques. The disclosed examples are illustrative and not restrictive.
This application Claims Benefit of Priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/798,329, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, and titled “Bluetooth Virtualization”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
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