Patent Application
20080026696
The application relates to methods and systems for a data transmission that allows a headset to transmit/receive data to/from an AP (access point) and a terminal device for use therein.
Recently, with a rapid spread of a wireless LAN, a telephone call using the wireless LAN is being tried. The telephone call using the wireless LAN is referred to as VoWLAN (voice over wireless LAN). Moreover, as the Bluetooth technique has been spread, it is being increased to listen music or to speak to a person over the telephone by using a headset wirelessly connected to a terminal device such as a notebook computer, a cellular phone or the like.
As described above, the related art has various disadvantages. During a telephone call, the terminal device is connected to a network through the wireless LAN while the terminal device is connected with the headset by using the Bluetooth. A conflict can occur since the wireless LAN may use the same frequency band as the Bluetooth. For example, since both the wireless LAN and the Bluetooth use an unlicensed 2.4 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) frequency band, the terminal device cannot communicate with the headset through the use of the Bluetooth when a station, e.g., the terminal device, is communicating with the AP by using the wireless LAN. Further, a communication between the terminal device and the AP cannot also be carried out through the wireless LAN when the terminal device is communicating with the headset by using the Bluetooth. In order to perform a real-time voice telephone call, however, a process of transmitting voice data between the terminal device and the AP and a process of transmitting voice data between the terminal device and the headset have to be repeated. Therefore, systems and methods are needed to manage resources efficiently.
An object of embodiments of the application is to solve at least the problems and/or disadvantages in the related art or to provide at least the advantages described herein in whole or in part.
Another object of embodiments is to provide voice data transmission methods and voice data transmission systems that allow a headset wirelessly coupled with a terminal device to transmit voice data to an AP and to receive voice data from the AP via the terminal device by managing resources of first communication type (e.g., a wireless LAN) and a second communication type (e.g., Bluetooth) using the same frequency band.
To achieve objects of embodiments of the application in whole or in part, there is provided a voice data transmission method in a system including a terminal device, a headset to communicate with the terminal device according to a Bluetooth protocol and an access point (AP) to communicate with the terminal device according to a wireless LAN protocol that can include performing a first communication between the terminal device and the headset during a first period of a cycle, performing a second communication between the terminal device and the AP during a second period of the cycle, the second period being the remaining period from the cycle except the first period, the second communication including receiving downlink voice data from the AP by the terminal device and repeating the performing a first communication and the performing a second communication, wherein the receiving downlink voice data from the AP by the terminal device, includes transmitting a PS-Poll (power save poll) frame to the AP by the terminal device, and receiving the downlink voice data from the AP by the terminal device in response to the PS-Poll frame.
To achieve objects of embodiments of the application in whole or in part, there is provided a system, that can include a headset, an access point (AP) and a terminal device to communicate with the headset according to a Bluetooth protocol to transmit downlink voice data to the headset and to receive uplink voice data from the headset and to communicate with the AP according to a wireless LAN protocol to transmit the uplink voice data to the AP and to receive the downlink voice data from the AP, the terminal device to send a power save poll (PS-Poll) frame to the AP to receive the downlink voice data from the AP responsive to the PS-Poll frame both within a period during which a transmission/reception between the terminal device and the headset is not to be performed.
To achieve objects of embodiments of the application in whole or in part, there is provided A terminal device that can include a Bluetooth baseband processor, a wireless LAN baseband processor to transmit/receive data to/from the Bluetooth baseband processor, an RF circuit coupled to the Bluetooth baseband processor and the wireless LAN baseband processor, an antenna coupled to the RF circuit and a resource scheduler to control the Bluetooth baseband processor to repeatedly perform a transmission and a reception, and to control the wireless LAN baseband processor to perform a transmission and a reception only within a period (during which the Bluetooth baseband processor does not perform the transmission and the reception), said resource scheduler to control the wireless LAN baseband processor to transmit a PS-Poll frame to an access point (AP) and receive data from the AP within said period.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements wherein:
FIGS. 3(a)-3(b) are diagrams that show a voice data transmission method in accordance with a first embodiment of the application; and
FIGS. 4(a)-4(b) are diagrams that show a voice data transmission method in accordance with a second embodiment of the application.
Embodiments according to the application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Such embodiments are exemplary and not to be construed as limiting. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
The terminal device 10 can carry out a communication with the headset 20 according to a Bluetooth protocol to transmit downlink voice data to the headset 20 and receive uplink voice data from the headset 20. The headset 20 can perform a Bluetooth communication with the terminal device 10 and can include a speaker and a microphone to enable a voice telephone conversation. The terminal device 10 can be an apparatus capable of performing a wireless LAN communication (e.g., first communication) and a Bluetooth communication (e.g., second communication) and, for example, it may be a notebook, a cellular phone, a PDA (personal digital assistant) or the like. However, embodiments of the application are not intended to be limited by such an exemplary disclosure.
The terminal device 10 can communicate with the AP 30 according to a wireless LAN protocol to transmit uplink voice data to the AP 30 and receive downlink voice data from the AP 30. The AP 30 can be coupled to a network 40 or the like, to transmit and receive data (e.g., voice) for a wireless or telephone conversation.
In order to receive downlink voice data from the AP 30 in the system shown in
The terminal device 10 can employ the single RF circuit 14 and antenna 15 although it includes two baseband processors 12 and 13. One reason the terminal device 10 can employ the single RF circuit 14 and antenna 15 is that the Bluetooth and the wireless LAN can use the same frequency band. However, embodiments of the application are not intended to be limited by such an exemplary disclosure. For example, the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 and the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 can be coupled with separate RF circuits and separate antennas, respectively, which can operate in the same, overlapping or different frequency bands.
The Bluetooth baseband processor 12 can transmit/receive data (e.g., voice) to/from the wireless LAN baseband processor 13. Uplink voice data transmitted from a headset (e.g., the headset 20) to the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 via the antenna 15 and the RF circuit 14 is sent to the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 and then the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 can transmit the sent uplink voice data to a network (e.g., to the AP 30 through the RF circuit 14 and the antenna 15). Further, downlink voice data transmitted from the AP 30 to the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 via the antenna 15 and the RF circuit 14 can be sent to the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 and then the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 transmits the sent downlink voice data to a headset (e.g., to the headset 20 through the RF circuit 14 and the antenna 15).
The terminal device can include a memory. For example, a buffer memory (not shown) can be coupled between the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 and the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 so that data (e.g., the sent voice data) can be stored temporarily before output (or processing).
The resource scheduler 11 can control a period during which the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 transmits and receives voice data and a period during which the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 transmits and receives voice data. For example, the resource scheduler 11 can control the above-mentioned periods such that the periods do not conflict with each other while the voice data are transmitted and received in a timely fashion, which can enable a voice conversation. Methods for controlling the Bluetooth baseband processor 12 and the wireless LAN baseband processor 13 by the resource scheduler 11 can be easily understood from method embodiments such as a voice data transmission method (described later) in accordance with an embodiment of the application, and thus their descriptions are omitted here.
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Since the terminal device 10 can manage a timing for transmitting/receiving voice data, it is preferable that the terminal device 10 serves as a master while the headset 20 serves as a slave. However, embodiments of the application are not intended to be limited by such an exemplary disclosure.
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A process of transmitting uplink voice data to the AP 30 by the terminal device 10 during the wireless LAN communication can be easily carried out since the terminal device 10 can control the timing. For example, as shown in
Since a period during which the terminal device 10 receives voice data from the AP 30 by using the wireless LAN communication can be determined by the AP 30, the terminal device 10 may not control a timing for receiving voice data through the wireless LAN communication. Accordingly, the AP 30 can transmit downlink voice data to the terminal device 10 at any time, so that the Bluetooth transmission period may conflict with the transmission/reception period of the AP 30. Therefore, it may often occur that the downlink voice data cannot be transmitted from the AP 30 to the terminal device 10. At this time, the AP 30 can conduct a retransmission by lowering a transmission speed, e.g., by increasing a data transmission period in order to transmit voice data safely. However, if the data transmission period is increased, a probability of conflicting with the Bluetooth transmission/reception period can also be increased. Therefore, it can become more difficult in this case to transmit voice data from the AP 30 to the terminal device 10.
In order to reduce a likelihood of or to prevent such a situation and to control a timing for receiving voice data by the terminal device 10, embodiments of the application can make use of a PS-Poll (power save poll) frame. For example, the terminal device 10 can enter into a PS (power save) mode in order to prevent the AP 30 from transmitting voice data to the terminal device 10 at any time. A process of entering into the PS mode is not shown in
Further, in one embodiment, the terminal device 10 can receive a Beacon frame periodically, and only when the Beacon frame indicates that there are data to be transmitted from the AP 30 to the terminal device 10, the terminal device 10 transmits the PS-Poll frame to the AP 30. For example, it is not needed for the terminal device 10 to transmit the PS-Poll frame to the AP 30 whenever it has an opportunity, and therefore, the terminal device 10 can transmit the PS-Poll frame to the AP 30 only when the Beacon frame previously received (e.g., immediate previous) indicates that there are data to be transmitted.
Although FIGS. 3(a)-3(b) illustrate one example of performing the wireless LAN transmission within the first four slots during which the Bluetooth transmission/reception is not conducted and executing the wireless LAN reception within the second four slots during which the Bluetooth transmission/reception is not performed, embodiments of the application are not intended to be so limited. For example, it is also possible to perform both of a transmission and a reception within a period (e.g., four slots) during which the Bluetooth transmission/reception is not conducted. However, since the four slots period is very short, e.g., 2.5 ms, it is preferable to separately perform a transmission and a reception.
FIGS. 4(a)-4(b) are diagrams that illustrate a voice data transmission method in accordance with a second embodiment of the application. The voice data transmission method embodiment of
As shown in
In case of employing the eSCO method, it is possible to adjust the cycle, the period during which the Bluetooth communication between the terminal device 10 and the headset 20 is performed and the period during which the Bluetooth communication between the terminal device 10 and the headset 20 is not performed. Accordingly, in the cycle of 34 slots, the period of 6 slots during which the Bluetooth communication is conducted and the period of 28 slots during which the Bluetooth communication is not conducted are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting embodiments of the application.
As described above, by using the PS-Poll, the terminal device 10 can receive downlink voice data transmitted from the AP 30 safely within a limited period. However, even when the reception operation is controlled by using such embodiment, it can occur that the terminal device 10 fails to receive the downlink voice data. In such a case, the AP 30 can perform a retransmission by decreasing a transmission rate of voice data, e.g., by increasing a transmission period. However, if the transmission period of voice data is increased, a possibility of receiving the voice data by the terminal device 10 is lowered. Moreover, if the terminal device 10 again fails to receive the voice data from the AP 30, the transmission period can be increased still more, and in this case, situations can continue getting worse.
In order to prevent or reduce occurrence of such situations, in accordance with one embodiment of the application, the terminal device 10 can interrupt a communication with the headset 20 and preferentially receive the downlink voice data transmitted from the AP 30, e.g., when the terminal device 10 fails to receive the downlink voice data transmitted from the AP 30 a predetermined number of times. The predetermined number of times may be a once, e.g., one time, or a plural number. By using the above-described method, a situation where of continuously increasing the length of the downlink voice data transmitted from the AP 30 to the terminal device 10 can be reduced in likelihood or prevented.
Embodiments of methods and systems for transmitting data (e.g., voice) by using the first communication type (e.g., wireless LAN) and the second communication type (e.g., Bluetooth) in accordance with the application have various advantages. For example, a voice telephone communication using the headset wirelessly connected with the terminal device can be carried out by cooperatively managing resources of the wireless LAN and the Bluetooth employing the same frequency band.
Moreover, embodiments of methods and systems for transmitting voice data by using the wireless LAN and the Bluetooth can use a terminal device to control a reception timing of downlink voice data by using a data signal for prescribed communication patterns (e.g., the PS-Poll frame), to reduce or avoid transceiving conflict or solve problems caused by transmitting the downlink voice data from the AP to the terminal device at any time. Embodiments of methods and systems for transmitting voice data by using the wireless LAN and the Bluetooth can prevent the downlink voice data from being transmitted from the AP to the terminal device at any time by operating in a prescribed mode (e.g., the PS mode).
Further, embodiments of methods and systems for transmitting voice data by using the wireless LAN and the Bluetooth can reduce the likelihood or prevent the length of a frame including the downlink voice data transmitted by the AP from being increased by interrupting the Bluetooth communication with the headset and preferentially receiving the downlink voice data transmitted from the AP when the terminal device fails to receive the downlink voice data transmitted from the AP a prescribed number of times.
Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments. Furthermore, for ease of understanding, certain method procedures may have been delineated as separate procedures; however, these separately delineated procedures should not be construed as necessarily order dependent in their performance. That is, some procedures may be able to be performed in an alternative ordering, simultaneously, etc.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2006-0071212 | Jul 2006 | KR | national |
