Wireless architecture for a traditional wire-based protocol

The following description relates generally to communication systems, and in particular to enabling conventional wired-based devices to communicate via wireless and / or wired links.

Wireless network systems are used by many to communicate wherever a user is present at a particular time (eg, home, office, travel destination, etc.). Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful (eg, enhanced functionality and / or applications, more memory) while improving portability and convenience to meet user needs. It was. Users have found many uses for wireless communication devices, including cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). For example, a wireless communication device can include the ability to capture and process images (eg, still images, moving images, video games, etc.).

Applications and / or features that operate with very high data rates have significant power requirements and / or high current levels. Such power requirements and / or current levels are readily available to devices communicating using wired protocols. However, wireless communication systems may not be capable of operating at high data rates. Therefore, the communication that the user wants to send and / or receive the communication can be restricted in some situations.

Some devices have traditionally only worked with wired features such as the Mobile Display Digital Interface (MMDI). Therefore, a user with such a mobile cannot communicate with the mobile and must incur additional costs to obtain a wireless device. It may not always be feasible. In some situations, the user achieves the benefits of both devices by operating two devices, one with wired and one with wireless. However, the costs associated with these two devices, as well as tracking both of these devices, can impose an improper burden on the user.

To solve the above and other drawbacks, techniques are provided that allow conventional wired-based protocols to communicate in either a wired or wireless architecture. The disclosed technology provides the flexibility to minimize changes to the wired architecture.

(Cross-reference to related applications) This application is entitled WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE FOR A TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and is filed May 26, 2006, US Patent Provisional Application No. 60 / 809,068, WIRELESS. ARCHITECTURE FOR A TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL, US Patent Provisional Application No. 60 / 833,564 filed on July 26, 2006, WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE FOR A TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL, July 26, 2006. Claims the benefit under 35 U.SC § 119 (e) of US Patent Provisional Application No. 60 / 833,565 filed in.

Outline of the invention

The following is a brief summary of these embodiments to give a basic understanding of some aspects of one or more embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of one or more embodiments, but is intended to identify important or definitive components of these embodiments and to delineate the scope of such embodiments. Absent. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the embodiments in a simple form as a prelude to the more detailed description described below.

According to one or more embodiments and the corresponding disclosures, various aspects are described with respect to the transfer of data traditionally communicated over a wired link by a high speed wireless communication link. The disclosed embodiments provide wired and / or wireless data communications with minimal changes to existing wired architectures.

According to an embodiment, a high-speed wireless link provides a method of determining an operating rate for transferring data transmitted in a conventional manner over a wired link. This method involves asking the host for available application data rates and measuring the round-trip delay rate. The forward link rate and the reverse link rate are determined based on the measured round trip delay rate. The operating rate is calculated based in part on the determined forward and reverse link rates. This operating rate is communicated to the receiver (eg, mobile device). Calculating the operating rate involves determining whether the forward or reverse link rate is a low rate and specifying that low rate as the operating rate. According to some embodiments, this calculation compares the forward link rate, the reverse link rate, the available application data rate of the host, and the maximum capacity of the client and is specified as the operating rate. Includes determining the lowest rate. According to some embodiments, the lowest acceptable rate is established. Then, the operating rate is adjusted if it falls below this minimum rate.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of setting a conventional wired device to communicate by either a wired protocol or a wireless protocol. In this method, the first client part is arranged in the transmitter, the second client part is arranged in the receiver, and the receiver provides the wired function and the wireless function. Including. This method involves connecting the transmitter to a data source and interfacing the first client unit with a host included in the transmitter using a wired link.

According to another embodiment, a device for wirelessly communicating over a conventional wired link is provided. The device includes a transmitter with a first client unit and a host connected by a wired link, and a receiver with a second client unit. According to some embodiments, the device communicates with a wired or wireless protocol with a query module that determines the operating rate based in part on the rates supported by medium access control and retransmission statistics. Includes assignment modules to be assigned to.

According to another embodiment, a mobile device is provided that communicates via a wired or wireless link. The mobile device includes a means of receiving an operating rate for communication, a means of communicating by a wireless link, and a means of communicating by a wired link. The mobile device also includes means of selectively deciding whether to use a wireless or wired link based in part on the operating rate received. According to some embodiments, the means of selectively deciding whether to use a wireless link or a wired link, based in part on the received operating rate, further determines whether to switch between the wireless link and the wired link. To do.

According to another embodiment, a wired or wireless link provides a method of communicating in low overhead mode. This method involves buffering forward link data, requesting one-way channel time allocation (CTA), and transmitting forward link data. According to some embodiments, this method buffers the reverse link data, requires a reverse CTA, sends the reverse link data, and reverse encapsulation. Includes communicating data to the host in packets.

According to another embodiment, a method of communicating in low latency mode is provided by either a wired link or a wireless link. This method involves requesting a CTA for m milliseconds in the forward direction and n milliseconds in the reverse direction, and comparing the forward CTA with the reverse CTA. According to some embodiments, this method involves transmitting reverse link data during the CTA reserved for the reverse direction and deriving the duration of the MAC frame.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for contacting the host for the application data rate provided by the host and calculating the round-trip delay is provided. Will be done. These instructions determine the forward link rate and the reverse link rate based in part on the calculated round trip delay, and the determined forward link rate and the reverse link rate. Includes determining the operating rate based on the target. According to some embodiments, these instructions include determining the maximum capacity of the client, the application data rate provided by the host, the reverse link rate, and the minimum rate of the forward link rate. .. The determined minimum rate can be specified as the operating rate. This rate is then sent to the receiver.

According to another embodiment, a processor is provided that executes a set of instructions that communicate via a wired or wireless link. These instructions include receiving the communication operating rate and selectively determining whether the communication is performed by a wired link or a wireless link based in part based on the received communication operating rate.

To achieve the aforementioned and related objectives, one or more embodiments are well described below and, in particular, have the features noted in the claims. The following description and accompanying drawings detail some exemplary aspects of one or more embodiments. However, these aspects apply the principles of various embodiments, and only a few of the various methods in which the described embodiments are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Not shown.

Detailed explanation

Various embodiments are described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, many specific details are given to provide a complete understanding of one or more aspects. However, it is clear that such an embodiment can be realized without these specific details. In other cases, well-known configurations and devices are shown in block diagram format to facilitate the description of these embodiments.

As used herein, terms such as "component", "module", "system" are either hardware, firmware, hardware-software combinations, software, or running software. It is intended to refer to an entity associated with a computer that is. For example, components can be, but are not limited to, processes, processors, objects, forms of execution, threads of execution, programs, and / or computers that run on the processor. By way of example, both the application running on the computing device and the computing device can be components. One or more components may exist within a running thread and / or process, and the components may be localized to one computer and / or distributed to two or more computers. Moreover, these components can be run from a variety of computer-readable media with various data structures stored on them. These components include, for example, a signal having one or more data packets (eg, by signal with another system, over a network such as the Internet, in a local system, and / or in a distributed system. It can communicate by local and / or remote processing according to the data from one component that interacts with the component).

In addition, various embodiments are described herein with respect to the user device. User devices are also systems, subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations, mobile devices, remote stations, access points, base stations, remote terminals, access terminals, handset, user terminals, terminals, user agents, Alternatively, it can be called a user device. User devices can be cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, PDA, portable devices with wireless connectivity, or other controls connected to a wireless modem. It can be a device.

In addition, the various aspects or features described herein can be realized as methods, equipment, or manufactured articles using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. As used herein, the term "manufactured article" is intended to include a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier wave, or medium. For example, computer-readable media are, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (eg, hard disks, floppy (registered trademark) disks, magnetic stripes, etc.), optical disks (eg, compact discs (CDs), DVDs, etc.). Etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (eg, cards, sticks, key drives, etc.).

In the following detailed description, various aspects and embodiments may be described with respect to the Mobile Display Digital Interface (MDDI) and / or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.3 Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. .. While these invention aspects are well suited for use with the disclosed embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate the use of these invention aspects in various other conventional wired-based protocols. It will be easy to see that it is also applicable to. Therefore, any reference to MDDI and / or IEEE 802.15.3 MAC is intended only to exemplify these invention aspects, with the understanding that such invention aspects have a wide range of uses.

Various embodiments are presented in terms of a system that includes many components and modules and the like. It is understood and recognized that various systems include additional components, modules, etc., and do not include all of the components, modules, etc. described in connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches can also be used. In addition, various systems include multiple modular devices such as cellular phones, smart phones, laptops, handheld communication devices, handheld computing devices, satellite radios, global positioning systems, PDAs, and / or other suitable. Device).

As shown, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 100 that allows conventional wired-based devices to communicate wirelessly. System 100 includes a transmitter 102 that communicates with the receiver 104 by wire and / or wirelessly. The transmitter 102 and the receiver 104 can be components that communicate in a conventional manner with a wired-based protocol. As will be appreciated, the system 100 may include many transmitters 102 and receivers 104, but for simplification, one transmitter 102 transmits a communication data signal to one receiver 104. Illustrated.

The communication sent from the transmitter 102 to the receiver 104 is referred to as a forward link, and the communication sent from the receiver 104 to the transmitter 102 is referred to as a reverse link. The transmitter 102 may be connected to a data source 106 (eg, storage, memory, etc.) and the receiver 104 may be connected to an interface device 108 such as a display.

System 100 may operate in at least two modes of operation: low overhead mode and / or low latency mode. Low overhead mode optimizes packets sent by air (eg, radio) by requiring channel allocation time (seconds). The channel allocation time is the time when data is transmitted from either direction (transmitter to receiver, or receiver to transmitter). In low latency mode, the channel allocation time (seconds) can be determined based on knowledge of the data contained in both the forward and reverse links.

The transmitter 102 may be configured to determine the forward link rate and the reverse link rate based on various criteria (eg, reciprocating delay measurements). Transmitter 102 can send at least one reverse link encapsulated packet per frame. The reverse link encapsulated packet can be used to adapt to the forwarding of the reverse packet over the forward link. This creates a reverse link.

The receiver 104 may be configured to receive and / or transmit data communications by wired and / or wireless capabilities. Determining which features to use depends on the type of data (eg, voice, text, image, etc.), the traditional way of communicating the data (eg, wired or wireless links), the files to be transmitted or It can be based on various criteria, including packet size, as well as other criteria for data, transmitters, and / or receivers. The transmitter 102 can communicate data without knowing how the receiver 104 receives the data (eg, wired or wireless).

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 for extending the functionality of a conventional wired configuration that enables communication via a wireless link. System 200 includes transmitter 202 that communicates with receiver 204 over a forward link. The receiver 204 communicates with the transmitter 202 via a reverse link. The transmitter 202 and the receiver 204 can be devices that typically communicate over a wired protocol. However, the system 200 allows these devices to communicate by wired protocols and / or wireless protocols such as high speed wireless links. As will be appreciated, the system 200 can include many transmitters 202 and receivers 204, but for brevity, only one transmitter 202 transmitting a communication data signal to one receiver 204. Illustrated.

The transmitter 202 may include a host 206, a client unit (C1) 208, and a communication component 210. For example, host 206 can be an MDDI host. In some embodiments, the host 206 is a component separated from the transmitter 202 and may be connected to the transmitter 202 by a wired link. The client unit (C1) 208 is in sync with the host 206 or is communicating with the host 206 for clock synchronization. Client (C1) 208 may be connected to host 206, for example, by a conventional wired link (eg MDDI link). Host 206 may be configured to send or communicate packets of data to client (C1) 208. These packets can be communicated to the receiver 204 via a communication component 210 that includes a modem, such as an ultra wideband (UWB) system. Some packets (eg, MDDI round trip delay measurement packets) are processed by client (C1) 208 and communicated to receiver 204. Other packets (eg, filler packets) should not be screened out by client (C1) 208 and communicated to receiver 204. That is, a packet should not be transmitted on either the forward or reverse radio link. The filler packet keeps timing between, for example, transmitter 202 and receiver 204. Such packets may be generated by either the transmitter 202 or the receiver 204 by each client unit.

The receiver 204 may include an interface device 212 (eg, a display), a client unit (C2) 214, and a communication component 216. In some embodiments, the device 212 can be a component separate from the receiver 204 and can be connected to the receiver 204 via, for example, a wired link. Client (C2) 214 can connect to device 212 via a wired link. Client (C2) 214 can be configured to process packets received from transmitter 202. The receiver 204 can receive communications from the transmitter 202 by means of a communication component 216 that can include, for example, a UWB modem.

System 200 may be configured to operate in one of two modes of operation. These modes include low overhead mode and low latency mode. In low overhead mode, the client (C1) 208 excludes fill packets and round-trip delay packets, for example, and puts the data transmitted into a buffer contained on the communication component 210 (eg, UWB modem). Deploy. The communication component 210 can periodically request a one-way channel time allocation (CTA) from transmitter 202 to receiver 204 based on the size of the buffer, for example by UWB MAC. In the reverse direction (eg reverse link), the client (C2) 214 sends the reverse link data it wants to send, except for the filler packet, in the buffer associated with the communication component 216 (eg UWB modem). Can be placed in. In the reverse direction, the communication component 216 can request a reverse CTA.

For low latency mode, during the initialization phase, the communication component 210 (eg, UWB modem) requires CTA for m milliseconds in the forward direction and n milliseconds in the reverse direction. The expected ratio of forward: reverse in traffic is m: n, where m seconds is the forward forwarding rate R._f-mddiThe duration corresponding to. T is the superframe duration. This is determined by the latency constraints of the application (m + n) <T_CTAP<T Have a relationship.

As shown in FIG. 3, a system 300 communicating by a wired architecture and / or a wireless architecture is illustrated. System 300 includes transmitter 302 and receiver 304 that communicate over forward links (from transmitter 302) and / or reverse links (from receiver 304). Communication over forward and / or reverse links depends on specific circumstances (eg, data transmitted, data rate, quality of communication link, status of each device, etc.), by wired protocol, and / Alternatively, it can be done by wireless protocol. As will be appreciated, many transmitters 302 and receivers 304 can be included in system 300, but for brevity, only one transmitter 302 that transmits a communication data signal to one receiver 306 is illustrated. There is.

The transmitter 302 can include a host component 306 connected to a client (C1) component 308 and a communication component 310. The receiver 304 may include a device 312 connected to a client (C2) component 314 and a communication component 316. Client (C1) component 308 and client (C2) component 314 are the respective client parts.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the transmitter 302 and / or the receiver 304 can include additional components. For example, transmitter 302 can include a signing component (not shown) that can modulate and / or code the signal according to the appropriate radio communication protocol. These signals can then be transmitted to receiver 304. In some embodiments, the coding component can be a voice coder (vocoder) with a speech analyzer that converts an analog waveform into a digital signal, or it can be another type of encoder. Suitable wireless communication protocols are, but are not limited to, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Global Mobile. It may include mobile communication systems (GSM), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), etc.

The receiver 304 can include a decoding component (not shown) that decodes the received signal and / or the data packet to be processed therein. If the data packet is successfully decrypted, the acknowledgement component (not shown) can generate an acknowledgement indicating that the data packet was successfully decrypted. This is sent to transmitter 302, notifying transmitter 302 that the data packet has been received and decrypted and does not need to be retransmitted.

Host component 306 may include query module 318 and measurement module 320. Query module 318 is configured to query Host Medium Access Control (MAC) for application data rates provided by the MAC. In the case of wireless communication, the operating rate may depend on the rate of the wireless link. The measurement module 320 may be configured to determine a forward link rate and a reverse link rate based on, for example, a round trip delay measurement specified in the radio protocol. In some embodiments, the radio operating rate is the maximum capacity of the client (C1) 308, the maximum capacity of the host 306, and the minimum of the two rates (forward link rate and reverse link rate). It is decided by things. Minimum acceptable rate R_minExists. If the measured operating rate is less than this acceptable minimum rate, the operating rate will be transmitted by the respective components (eg, communication component 310 and / or communication component 316), transmitter 302 and / or received. Adjusted by machine 304. The transmitter 302 can notify the receiver 304 of the rate at which the communication is processed.

Client (C2) component 314 can include a notification module 322 that can be configured to notify transmitter 302 of application data rates provided by the MAC. Such notifications may be based on a query received from transmitter 302 (eg, a query sent by query module 318). For a reverse link packet, the notification module 322 can specify the number of bytes required by the receiver 304 to transmit by the reverse link in the current frame. The client (C2) component may also assign communication to a wired or wireless protocol, depending on various parameters associated with the communication (eg, communication type, communication rate, transmitter, receiver, etc.). Can be configured.

The communication component 316 can include a wired module 326 and a wireless module 328. The wired module 326 may be configured to provide wired functionality and the wireless module 328 may be configured to provide wireless functionality. It can be determined whether the wireless module 328 should be used for wireless communication or the wired module 326 should be used for communication. Such a determination is the operating rate, the type of data being transmitted (eg, voice, text, image, etc.), the size of the data or file being transmitted, whether the data is communicated over a wired or wireless link It can be based on various factors including whether it is done or not. Wired module 326 and / or wireless module 328 can lose communication due to switchover issues if there is a change from one module to another (eg wireless to wired, wired to wireless). It may contain a buffer to store the content so that it does not.

Information about whether the receiver 304 is communicating over a wired link or over a wireless link need not be sent to the transmitter 302. The transmitter 302 can perform its function in substantially the same manner regardless of the communication method (wired or wireless).

According to some embodiments, the transmitter 302 may include components configured to disassemble the subframe (not shown) and the receiver 304 may include the subframe (not shown). It can contain components that are configured to reassemble. The maximum length of an MDDI subframe is, for example, about 65,536 bytes, but is usually smaller. The maximum size of an 802.15.3 MAC frame can be about 4,096 bytes or about 8,192 bytes if the base rate is about 480 Mbps. If the basic physical layer rate is about 200 Mbps, this size is about 2,048 bytes. Therefore, in order to accommodate the size of the frame, the subframe needs to be disassembled on the transmitter 302 side and reassembled on the receiver 304 side. Such disassembly and reassortment is performed by communication components 310, 316, and / or other components associated with transmitter 302 and receiver 304, respectively.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the system 400, which is an extension of the conventional wired configuration to enable wireless link communication. The system 400 can include a host 406, a client unit (C1) 408, and a transmitter 402 that includes a communication component 410. The system 400 can also include a receiver 404 that includes a device 412, a client part (C2) 414, and a communication component 416. The transmitter 402 communicates with the receiver 404 via a forward link, and the receiver 404 communicates with the transmitter 402 via a reverse link. As already described with reference to the drawings, many transmitters 402 and receivers 404 can be included in the system 400, but for the sake of brevity, one transmit to transmit the communication data signal to one receiver 404. Only machine 402 is illustrated.

The system 400 may include a memory 418 operably connected to the receiver 404. Memory 418 is a packet type (eg, application data rate provided by MAC, wireless link operating rate, etc.) and / or packet data rate, packet type and / or packet operating mode, and / Or can store information related to wireless protocols, wired protocols, or other parameters associated with transmitting data by a combination of these protocols. For example, a wired protocol is used for communication, and it is determined whether to switch to the wireless protocol or vice versa without interruption or stop during communication.

Processor 420 is operational to receiver 404 (and / or memory 418) to facilitate analysis of information related to determining whether a particular communication should be sent over a wired or wireless protocol. Can be connected. Processor 420 is received by a dedicated processor for analyzing and / or generating information communicated to receiver 404, a processor that controls one or more components of system 400, and / or receiver 404. It can be a processor that performs both analysis and generation of information and controls one or more components of system 400.

The memory 418 stores the data communication rate and the protocol associated with the operating rate, and takes an operation of controlling communication such as between the receiver 404 and the transmitter 402. This allows the system 400 to apply stored protocols and / or algorithms to achieve improved communication in wireless networks as described herein. It has been evaluated that the data storage (eg, memory) elements described herein are either volatile or non-volatile memory or can include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Should be. As an example, but not limited to, non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), EPROM (EPROM), EEROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) that acts as external cache memory. As an example, but not a limitation, RAM includes, for example, Synchronous RAM (DRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), Double Data Rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchronous Link. It can be used in many formats such as DRAM (SLDRAM) and Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). The disclosed embodiments of memory 418 are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and other suitable types of memory.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system 500 that communicates with a conventional wired device via a wired or wireless link. The system 500 is represented as a functional block that represents the functionality provided by the processor, software, or a combination thereof (eg, firmware). System 500 includes a receiver 502 that can be configured to receive operating rates for communication. This operating rate can be received, for example, from a transmitter or transmitter host. This operating rate allows the communication rate to be set up or established in both the forward and reverse directions. System 500 also includes a radio communicator 504 that may be configured to transmit and / or receive communications by radio protocol. Wired communication unit 506 may be configured to transmit and / or receive communication by a wired protocol.

It should be noted that in the forward and / or reverse direction, packet expansion and / or new packets may exist. For example, in the forward direction, MDDI transmitter information can be added to the packet. This packet extension can provide MDDI transmitter information to the MDDI client at the receiver end. This information can include the rate at which the MDDI host and client should operate on the transmitter. In the opposite direction, the extension to the client function packet contains about 4 bytes for MDDI receiver MAC information and about 2 bytes for MDD receiver client information, but other extensions are also possible.

The system 500 also includes a determination unit. The determination unit can selectively determine whether to use the wireless communication unit that communicates by the wireless protocol or the wired communication unit that communicates by the wired protocol. Such determination can be made selectively based on various parameters such as communication operating rate. Other parameters may be used to make this determination. For example, this determination is not only about how a particular communication was transmitted and / or received in a conventional manner (eg, history analysis), the type of communication (eg, voice, image, text, etc.), but also the communication. , Transmitter, and / or other parameters related to the receiver.

FIG. 6 illustrates a typical forward link MDDI data transfer 600 in low overhead mode according to the various embodiments presented herein. One type of mode in which the MDDI transmitter 602 sends data to the MDDI receiver 604 can be a low overhead mode. In this mode, packets sent wirelessly are optimized for channel allocation time. The channel allocation time is the time required for data to be sent from either direction (eg, forward or reverse). The MDDI transmitter 602 can include a client unit (C1) 606 and the MDDI receiver 604 can include a client processing unit (C2) 608.

The MDDI client (C1) 606 can place the data to be sent in a buffer, such as a UWB modem. This data sent should exclude unnecessary packets, such as fill packets and round-trip delay packets. MDDI data is sent to transmitter MAC610 as shown in 612. Transmitter MAC610 (or UWB MAC) requests at least one CTA from MDDI transmitter 602 to MDDI receiver 604 periodically or continuously, for example based on the size of the buffer.

Transmitter MAC610 can request forward link CTA from piconet controller (PNC) MAC616 at 614 (eg, periodically or continuously). At 618, the PNC MAC616 can respond to transmitter MAC610 with a channel time response code. This response code can indicate whether the data was communicated correctly. After the channel time response code is correctly received, the transmitter MAC610 can send MDDI data to the receiver MAC620, as illustrated in 622.

FIG. 7 illustrates a typical reverse link MDDI data transfer 700 in low overhead mode according to the various embodiments presented herein. The MDDI receiver 702 can initiate communication directed at the MDDI transmitter 704 with a reverse link. The MDDI receiver 702 can include a client unit (C2) 706 and the MDDI transmitter 704 can include a client unit (C1) 708.

As shown in 712, the MDDI receiver 702 can send MDDI data to the receiver MAC710. The receiver MAC710 can request a reverse link CTA from PNC MAC714 at 716. This request can correspond to data sent in the opposite direction. PNC The MAC 714 can respond at the 718 with a channel time response code. The receiver MAC710 can send MDDI data to the transmitter MAC722 by CTA at 720. As shown in 724, the transmitter MAC722 can send, or give, MDDI data to client (C1) 708 shortly before or substantially at the same time receiving MDDI data from receiver MAC710 at 724. .. The MDDI transmitter host 726 can transmit and / or receive at least one reverse link capsule per frame, as shown in 728 and 730. Reverse link data can be proactively transmitted without waiting for a data request. The client can specify the number of bytes that must be sent on the reverse link in the current frame. Host 726 can allocate this request in the reverse link capsule packet accordingly.

FIG. 8 illustrates a low latency mode MDDI connection setup 800 according to the various embodiments presented herein. In low latency mode, the channel allocation time can be determined in both forward and reverse directions, based on inferences derived from the data contained in the packet. The MDDI transmitter 802 can include a client part (C1) 806 and a host 804. During the initialization phase, the UWB modem on transmitter 802 can send a MAC query to transmitter MAC808 on 810. A MAC query is a query sent to find out the rates supported by the MAC and retransmission statistics. The transmitter MAC808 can respond to the query at 812. This response can be a MAC response indicating the rate supported by the MAC retransmission statistics.

Transmitter 802 requires CTA setup 814 for m milliseconds in the forward direction and n milliseconds in the reverse direction. The expected forward: reverse ratio in traffic should be m: n. At 816, a channel time request (CTRQ) is sent to PNC MAC818. The channel time response code is sent in the reverse direction, such as 820, and forward to the receiver MAC824, such as 822. As illustrated in 826, the MDDI transmitter 802 can initiate MDDI transfer.

R_f-mddiThe duration corresponding to the MDDI forward link transfer rate of is m seconds. Then, when the superframe duration determined by the latency constraint of the application is T, the following equation holds. m + n <T_CTAP<T In low latency mode, link data is sent while the CTA is held in the opposite direction. Depending on the arrival time of the reverse link data for the MAC superframe, the transfer can have the maximum latency expressed by the following equation. T_rl= ceil [{k * (N / R)₁+ RIFS + H / R₂) + SIFS + T_ACK} / n] * T Where k is the average number of retransmissions experienced by the MAC frame. N is the size of the reverse link packet sent. n is the reverse link CTA duration in each superframe. R₁Is the physical layer transmission rate of MDDI data (MAC payload), R₂Is the physical layer transmission rate of the PHY header, MAC header, and preamble. H is the sum of the MAC header size, the PHY header size, and the preamble size. SIFS is a short frame interval duration. RIFS is the retransmission frame interval duration. T_ACKIs the duration of the transmission of the ACK. T is the superframe duration. For explanatory purposes, the ACK policy is assumed to be Imm-ACK. According to these, the latency T of the forward link packet_flCan be determined. Application latency constraints on forward and reverse links are given, and the duration of MAC frames is derived accordingly. For example, various algorithms, methods, and / or techniques may be applied to derive the duration of the MAC frame and / or the latency of the forward link packet.

Given the typical systems illustrated and described, methods implemented according to one or more embodiments set forth herein are better understood with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 9-12. Let's go. While these methods are shown and described as a series of actions (or functional blocks) for the sake of brevity of description, these actions according to such methods are in different order and / or herein. It should be understood and recognized that the order of these actions is not limited as they can occur at the same time as actions other than those shown and described. Furthermore, not all of the illustrated actions are required to realize the following methods. Various operations may be achieved by software, hardware, combinations thereof, or any other suitable means for performing the functions associated with these operations (eg, devices, systems, processes, components). Should be recognized. It is recognized that these actions are merely to illustrate certain aspects set forth herein in abbreviated form, and that these actions can be illustrated by fewer and / or more actions. Should be. Those skilled in the art will understand and recognize that methods can also be represented as states of interrelated events, such as phase diagrams.

As shown in FIG. 9, a method 900 of setting a conventional wired device to communicate by a wired protocol and / or a wireless protocol is illustrated. In 902, the first client unit is located in the MDDI transmitter. The MDDI transmitter can be wireless and can be connected to a data source. MDDI transmitters also include MDDI hosts connected or interfaced to the client section, for example by conventional wired MDDI links.

In the 904, a second client unit is placed on the MDDI receiver, which can be a wireless MDDI receiver. The MDDI receiver can be connected to a device that could be, for example, a display. The client unit arranged in the MDDI transmitter and the client unit arranged in the MDDI receiver are different parts of the same client. It should be noted that each of these parts of the client can be achieved by a processor, software, or a combination thereof (eg, firmware).

The 906 provides wired and wireless capabilities. This feature is included in the MDDI receiver and allows the MDDI receiver to receive by wired, wireless, and both features.

As an example, but not limited to, an MDDI receiver can be, for example, a mobile device that receives cinematic communications displayed on a CRT screen or display. The mobile device will be connected to a wall-mounted display, where movies will be displayed on the wall and others will be able to watch the video. When the mobile device is multifunctional, it can broadcast movies on the display and, at substantially the same time, send and receive voice communications different from those associated with movies. Therefore, users of mobile devices can communicate differently from movies. An example where this can be applied is when the user's child is watching a movie and the user wants to answer the phone and leave. Therefore, the movie is displayed by the wired function, and the user can communicate by the wireless function at substantially the same time.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method 1000 for determining an operating rate according to one or more disclosed embodiments. In wireless MDDI, for example, the MDDI operating rate depends in part on the rate of the wireless link. How to determine the operating rate 1000 starts with 1002. In 1002, the host MAC is queried for available application data rates (eg, application data rates provided by the MAC). This query can be requested, for example, by an MDDI host.

At 1004, the round trip delay is measured. Round-trip delay measurements can be used at 1006 to determine or determine the forward and reverse link rates. According to some embodiments, round-trip delay measurements can be specified in the wired MDDI protocol used.

At 1008, the operating rate is calculated. This operating rate can be calculated based in part on comparing the forward link rate with the reverse link rate to determine which of the two rates is the smallest. The smallest of these two rates can be specified as the operating rate. In some embodiments, the smallest of these two rates is further compared to both the maximum capacity of the MDDI host and the maximum capacity of the MDDI client (C1). The minimum or lowest rate based on this comparison is assigned as the operating rate.

Minimum acceptable rate R established or predetermined based on communication parameters_minMust exist. If this calculated operating rate is lower than the minimum acceptable rate, adjustments can be made to increase the rate. At 1010, the operating rate is communicated or transmitted to a receiver (eg, MDDI receiver), which is informed of the rate at which communication will continue.

In Method 1000 described above, for example, the transmitter can query the host MAC through a query module. The transmitter can also measure the round trip delay, determine the forward and reverse link rates, and use the measurement module to calculate the operating rate. The transmitter can also use the communication components to transmit the operating rate to the receiver. It should be understood that the above description is for illustrative purposes only and other components related to one or more embodiments set forth herein can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 11, a method 1100 of communicating in a low overhead mode is exemplified according to various embodiments shown herein. A forward link is shown on the left side of the figure and a reverse link is shown on the right side of the figure.

At 1102, forward link data is placed in the buffer. What is excluded from the data placed in the buffer can be unwanted data, such as fill packets and / or round-trip delay packets. This data can be buffered, for example, by the MDDI client (C1) on the MDDI transmitter. In 1104, a one-way CTA is required (eg, periodically or continuously). UWB MAC can request this information from the MDDI transmitter to the receiver, for example, based on the size of the buffer. At 1106, forward link data is transmitted.

In the reverse direction, the host sends at least one reverse link-encapsulated packet per frame. The client (eg, receiver) can specify the number of bytes that must be sent on the reverse link in the current frame. The host (eg, transmitter) can assign this request in a reverse link encapsulated packet. In 1108, the reverse link data that needs to be sent is placed in the buffer, for example by the MDDI client (C2). The buffer can be located on the UWB modem of the MDDI receiver. On the 1100, for example, the UWB modem on the MDDI receiver side sends a reverse CTA request. This request can be for CAT in the reverse direction, which corresponds to the data that must be sent in the reverse direction.

The MDDI client (C2) on the receiver can take the lead in transmitting reverse link data to the client (C1) on the transmitter at 1112. As illustrated, in 1114, the MDDI client (C1) on the transmitter sends the data it has to the MDDI host in a backward-encapsulated packet.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method 1200 of communicating in low latency mode according to various embodiments presented herein. A forward link is shown on the left side of the figure and a reverse link is shown on the right side of the figure. During the initialization phase in low latency mode, at 1202, for example a UWB modem on the transmitter, requests a CTA for m milliseconds in the forward direction. At 1204, request CTA for n milliseconds in the opposite direction. At 1206, a comparison is made between the forward CTA and the reverse CTA received in response to these requests. The expected ratio of forward: reverse in traffic is m: n. m milliseconds is R_f-mddiThe duration corresponding to the MDDI forward link transfer rate of (m + n) <T_CTAP<T It should be noted that Where T is the superframe duration, which can be determined by the latency constraints of the application.

In low latency mode, in the reverse direction, at 1208, the reverse link data is sent with the CTA secured in the reverse direction. In 1210, the duration of the Mac frame is derived from the application latency constraints on the forward and reverse links. In the following equation, k is the average number of retransmissions experienced by the Mac frame. N is the size of the reverse link packet sent and n is the reverse link CTA duration in each superframe. R₁Is the physical layer transmission rate of MDDI data (MAC payload). R₂Is the physical layer transmission rate of the PHY header, MAC header, and preamble. H is the sum of the MAC header size, the PHY header size, and the preamble size. SIFS is a short frame interval duration. RIFS is the retransmission frame interval duration. T_ACKIs the duration of the transmission of the ACK. T is the superframe duration. For explanatory purposes, the ACK policy is assumed to be Imm-ACK. According to these, the latency T of the forward link packet_flCan be determined using various algorithms, methods, and / or techniques. Depending on the arrival time of the reverse link data for the MAC superframe, the transfer can have the maximum latency expressed by the following equation. T_rl= ceil [{k * (N / R)₁+ RIFS + H / R₂) + SIFS + T_ACK} / n] * T As shown in FIG. 13, a conceptual block diagram of a possible configuration of the terminal 1300 is illustrated. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the exact configuration of the terminal 1300 may vary depending on the specific application and overall design constraints. Processor 1302 can implement the systems and methods disclosed herein.

Terminal 1300 can be implemented using a front-end transceiver 1304 connected to antenna 1306. Baseband processor 1308 may be connected to transceiver 1304. The baseband processor 1308 can be implemented in software-based architectures, or other types of architectures. A microprocessor, among other things, can be used as a platform for running software programs that provide control and system-wide management capabilities. Digital signal processors (DSPs) are implemented in a built-in communication software layer that executes application-specific algorithms that reduce processing demands on the microprocessor. DSPs can be utilized to provide various signal processing functions such as pilot signal acquisition, time synchronization, frequency tracking, spread spectrum processing, modulation and demodulation functions, and forward error correction.

Terminal 1300 can also include various user interfaces 1310 connected to baseband processor 1308. User interface 1310 can include keypads, mice, touch screens, displays, bells, vibrators, audio speakers, microphones, cameras, and / or other input / output devices.

Baseband processor 1308 includes processor 1302. In the software-based implementation of the base band processor 1308, processor 1302 can be a software program running on a microprocessor. However, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, processor 1302 is not limited to this embodiment and includes hardware implementation, software implementation, or a combination thereof. It can be achieved by any means well known in the art. It can perform various functions described herein. Processor 1302 may be connected to memory 1312 for storing data.

It is understood that the embodiments described herein can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or any combination thereof. When these systems and / or methods are implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, program code or code segments, they are stored in machine-readable media such as storage elements. A code segment can represent any combination, data structure, or program statement consisting of a procedure, function, subprogram, program, routine, subroutine, module, software package, class, or instruction group. A code segment can be connected to a hardware circuit or other code segment by passing or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory content. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be delivered, transferred, or transmitted using any suitable means, including memory sharing, message delivery, token delivery, network transmission, and the like.

The above includes examples of one or more embodiments. Of course, it is not possible to describe all possible combinations of components or methodologies intended to describe these embodiments, but those skilled in the art will be able to replace such embodiments or even more combinations. Can be recognized as possible. Accordingly, the embodiments described herein are intended to include all such modifications, modifications, and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims. Further, as long as the term "contains" is used either in the detailed description or in the claims, such term is interpreted as "providing" when used as a transition term in the claims. It is intended to be as comprehensive as the term "prepared".

<figref num="1">FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system that allows conventional devices to communicate wirelessly.</figref><figref num="2">Figure 2 illustrates a system that extends the functionality of traditional wired settings to enable wireless link communication.</figref><figref num="3">Figure 3 illustrates a system that communicates over a wired and / or wireless architecture.</figref><figref num="4">FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a system that extends a conventional wired setting that allows communication via a wireless link.</figref><figref num="5">FIG. 5 illustrates a system that communicates via a wired or wireless link using a conventional wired device.</figref><figref num="6">FIG. 6 illustrates typical forward link MDDI data transfer in low overhead mode according to the various embodiments presented herein.</figref><figref num="7">FIG. 7 illustrates a typical reverse link MDDI data transfer in a low overhead mode according to the various embodiments presented herein.</figref><figref num="8">FIG. 8 illustrates a low latency mode MDDI connection setup according to the various embodiments presented herein.</figref><figref num="9">FIG. 9 illustrates a method of setting a conventional wired device to communicate by a wired protocol and / or a wireless protocol.</figref><figref num="10">FIG. 10 illustrates a method of determining the operating rate according to one or more disclosed embodiments.</figref><figref num="11">FIG. 11 illustrates a method of communicating in low overhead mode according to various embodiments presented herein.</figref><figref num="12">FIG. 12 illustrates a method of communicating in low latency mode according to various embodiments presented herein.</figref><figref num="13">FIG. 13 illustrates a schematic block diagram of possible configurations of terminals.</figref>