Frequency separation for multiple bluetooth devices residing on a single platform

Method and system for allocating communication frequency

The present invention relates to wireless communication. More specifically, the present invention relates to frequency separation of multiple Bluetooth devices on a single platform.

Some conventional communication systems are known to support wireless and wired communication between wireless and wired communication devices. Such communication systems range from domestic or international cellular telephone systems to the Internet and point-to-point home wireless networks. Each communication system must be designed and operated according to relevant communication standards. For example, the standards involved in the operation of wireless communication systems include but are not limited to one or more of the following: IEEE802.11, Bluetooth, Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), Digital AMPS, Global Communication System (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access ( CDMA), local multi-point distribution system (LMDS), multi-channel multi-point distribution system (MMDS) and other standards.

According to the different types of various wireless communication systems, a wireless communication device communicates directly or indirectly with other devices. The wireless communication devices include cellular phones, two-way radios, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and personal computers (PCs). , Laptop or entertainment equipment. For direct communication, that is, point-to-point communication, the devices participating in the communication adjust their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or the same multiple channels, and communicate through these channels. Each channel utilizes one or more radio frequency carriers of the wireless communication system. For indirect wireless communication, each wireless communication device communicates with a corresponding base station through a designated channel (for example, for cellular services), or communicates with a corresponding access point (for example, a home or building wireless network).

In order to enable each wireless communication device to participate in a wireless communication session, a built-in wireless transceiver is used, which includes a transmitter and a receiver, or the device is coupled with a related wireless transceiver, for example, for home and/ Or the base station or RF modem of the wireless communication network in the building. The transmitter converts the data into an RF signal by modulating the data according to a specific wireless communication standard. However, different communication systems may use different standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard and the Bluetooth standard, and they can share the same frequency spectrum.

In order to reduce the signal interference caused by sharing the RF spectrum with other communication systems, the Bluetooth standard allows frequency hopping so that information can be transmitted on different frequencies. In this way, the energy of the transmitted signal is dispersed in 79 channels in the range of 2.402GHz to 2.480GHz in the RF spectrum, with an interval of 1MHz between each channel. The Bluetooth standard allows 1,600 frequency jumps per second. The advantage of the frequency hopping system is that it distributes information over a wide frequency band. Therefore, when the signal transmission of other systems uses part of the same frequency spectrum, only part of the frequency used by the frequency-hopping Bluetooth system is noise. Similarly, only part of the Bluetooth transmission will interfere with signals transmitted by other systems.

Two or more (up to 8) Bluetooth devices can form a piconet, which includes a master device and up to 7 slave devices. The "piconet" shares the same communication data channel. The current channel capacity is generally 1 megabit per second (1 Mbps), and the theoretical upper limit is 3 Mbps. The data channel is divided into 625 microsecond time slots. The master device can initiate a connection to any slave device, and the slave device can only respond to the master device. The piconet link between the master device and the slave device can be a synchronous connectionless oriented (SCO[LU1]) or an asynchronous connectionless (ACL) link. The piconet supports at most 3 SCO links, and the remaining bandwidth will be used by ACL links.

Currently, host devices or host platforms, such as personal computers (PC), can use the Bluetooth standard for wireless keyboards and wireless mice. A single Bluetooth communication device on the PC sends and receives signals related to the wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. However, as Bluetooth devices become more and more popular, PCs will add many other Bluetooth applications, such as voice communication, audio or video data transmission, and so on. In this way, Bluetooth applications on the PC will be limited by bandwidth. Therefore, in order to accommodate more devices that wish to communicate with it through the Bluetooth standard, the PC will need more than one Bluetooth communication device. This will cause additional interference between different Bluetooth communication devices transmitting at the same time.

By comparing the prior art system with various aspects of the present invention shown in the subsequent content of this application and the drawings, the further limitations and deficiencies of the traditional method will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

The present invention relates to a frequency separation system and/or method for multiple Bluetooth devices on a single platform, which will be described more fully below in conjunction with at least one drawing, and described more fully in the claims.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for allocating communication frequencies is proposed, the method comprising: determining an initial frequency used by multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device; and allocating a first part of the determined initial frequency to A first Bluetooth communication device of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices; at least a second part selected from the remaining part of the determined initial frequency is allocated to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices on the single host device At least a second Bluetooth communication device among the communication devices.

Preferably, the method further includes determining which of the determined initial frequencies will interfere with other wireless communication devices.

Preferably, the method further includes deleting at least a part of the interference that has occurred from the determined initial frequency.

Preferably, the method further includes dynamically determining the deleted part.

Preferably, the method further includes reallocating the determined initial frequency based on the deletion operation.

Preferably, the method further comprises dynamically determining the interference on the determined initial frequency.

Preferably, the method further includes allocating an even part of the determined initial frequency to the first Bluetooth communication device of the two Bluetooth communication devices.

Preferably, the method further includes allocating an odd part of the determined initial frequency to a second Bluetooth communication device of the two Bluetooth communication devices.

Preferably, the method further includes allocating Bluetooth applications to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices based on at least one of the following: the available bandwidth of each of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices and the identifier of each of the Bluetooth applications .

Preferably, the method further includes reallocating the Bluetooth application to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices based on at least one of the following: the available bandwidth of each of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices and each of the Bluetooth applications The said identifier.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a machine-readable memory is provided, in which a computer program stored therein has at least one code segment for allocating communication frequencies, and the at least one code segment is executed by a machine so that the machine executes the following steps: Determine the initial frequency used by multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device; allocate the first part of the determined initial frequency to the first Bluetooth communication device among the multiple Bluetooth communication devices; At least a second part selected from the remaining part of the initial frequency is allocated to at least a second Bluetooth communication device among the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices on the single host device.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for determining which of the determined initial frequencies will interfere with other wireless communication devices.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for deleting at least a part of the interference that has occurred from the determined initial frequency.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for dynamically determining the deleted part.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for reallocating the determined initial frequency based on the deletion operation.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for dynamically determining the interference on the determined initial frequency.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for allocating an even part of the determined initial frequency to the first Bluetooth communication device of the two Bluetooth communication devices.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for allocating an odd part of the determined initial frequency to the second Bluetooth communication device of the two Bluetooth communication devices.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for allocating a Bluetooth application to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices based on at least one of the following: the available bandwidth of each of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices and each Describes the identifier of the Bluetooth application.

Preferably, the machine-readable memory further includes a code for reallocating the Bluetooth application to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices based on at least one of the following: the available bandwidth of each of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices and The identifier of each of the Bluetooth applications

According to one aspect of the present invention, a system for allocating communication frequencies is proposed. The system includes: an application controller that determines the initial frequency used by multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device; The first part of the determined initial frequency is allocated to the first Bluetooth communication device among the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices; the application controller selects at least the second part from the remaining part of the determined initial frequency Assigned to at least a second Bluetooth communication device among the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices on the single host device.

Preferably, the application controller determines which of the determined initial frequencies will interfere with other wireless communication devices.

Preferably, the application controller deletes at least a part of the interference that has occurred from the determined initial frequency.

Preferably, the application controller dynamically determines the deleted part.

Preferably, the application controller reallocates the determined initial frequency based on the deletion operation.

Preferably, the application controller dynamically determines the interference on the determined initial frequency.

Preferably, the application controller allocates an even part of the determined initial frequency to the first Bluetooth communication device of the two Bluetooth communication devices.

Preferably, the application controller allocates an odd part of the determined initial frequency to the second Bluetooth communication device of the two Bluetooth communication devices.

Preferably, the application controller allocates the Bluetooth application to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices based on at least one of the following: the available bandwidth of each of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices and the identifier of each of the Bluetooth applications .

Preferably, the application controller reassigns the Bluetooth application to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices based on at least one of the following: the available bandwidth of each of the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices and each of the Bluetooth applications The said identifier.

In combination with the following description and drawings, a more complete understanding of the advantages, aspects, novelty and corresponding embodiments of the present invention will be made.

Specific embodiments of the present invention include a method or system for frequency allocation for multiple Bluetooth communication devices of a single platform or host device. The present invention provides support for multiple Bluetooth devices on a single host device to reduce signal interference while transmitting signals. The content of the present invention includes determining the initial frequency used by multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device. The first part of the determined initial frequency is allocated to the first Bluetooth communication device among the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices; at least the second part of the remaining part of the determined initial frequency is allocated to the plurality of Bluetooth communication devices At least a second Bluetooth communication device in.

It is necessary to determine whether the determined initial frequency is being or has been interfered by other wireless communication devices. The determination of the interference of the determined initial frequency may be performed dynamically. At least a part of the determined initial frequencies that are or have been interfered with will be deleted from the determined initial frequencies. The deletion of the initial frequency may be performed dynamically, and the determined initial frequency may be re-allocated based on the deleted part.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a Bluetooth piconet used in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, there are a personal computer (PC) 100, a notebook computer 110, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) 120. Each of the three host devices or host platforms can be devices that support Bluetooth. Each master device has a Bluetooth application and a Bluetooth communication device to send and receive signals. In this way, each host device can be regarded as a Bluetooth device. In the so-called "piconet" local area network, up to 8 Bluetooth devices can communicate with each other. For a given piconet, only one Bluetooth device is the master device, and the others are slave devices.

Whenever a piconet is established, the designation of the master device is a dynamic process. A Bluetooth device can be a member of multiple piconets, but can only be designated as the master device of one piconet, and as a slave device in other piconets. The algorithm used by each Bluetooth device to determine whether it is used as a master device should consider different parameters, such as performance and power requirements. For example, because sending signals to locate other Bluetooth devices to establish a piconet requires energy and transmission bandwidth, a Bluetooth device can only passively wait for other Bluetooth devices to try to establish a connection. Find other Bluetooth devices and establish a connection with one or more Bluetooth devices. Such Bluetooth devices are designated as the master devices of the piconet. Multiple piconets can communicate with each other. For example, when a Bluetooth device is a member of more than one piconet, it is called a scatternet.

Although only a single piconet is shown in the figure, for a system that includes multiple piconets, a Bluetooth device can operate as a master device in a piconet and operate as a slave device in its adjacent piconet. For example, a Bluetooth device A can be in the first piconet P₁Runs as the main device, and in the second piconet P₂It runs as a slave device. For another example, Bluetooth device A can be used in the first piconet P₁Runs as a slave device, and in the second piconet P₂It runs as the main device. The master device, such as the PC 100, can communicate with each slave device (such as the notebook computer 110 and the PDA 120). However, the slave devices cannot communicate directly with each other. When the main device moves out of the communication range, the piconet is destroyed until another Bluetooth device establishes the piconet.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a main device used in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows host devices 200 and 205. The host device 200 includes a Bluetooth application 210, a Bluetooth communication device 212, and an antenna 214. The host device 205 includes a Bluetooth application 220, a Bluetooth communication device 222, and an antenna 224. For example, the host devices 200 and 205 are cellular phones and cellular non-handheld accessories, respectively, which enable cellular phone users to make calls without having to hold the phone. In this regard, the host device 205 may further include a microphone 226 and a speaker/handset 228. The Bluetooth communication devices 212 and 222 include appropriate logic, circuits, and/or coding to facilitate the transmission of data, instructions, and status with the Bluetooth applications 210 and 220 located on the host device 200 and/or 205, respectively. The Bluetooth communication devices 212 and 222 can also communicate data with other Bluetooth devices through the antennas 214 and 224, respectively.

In the working process, the user of the host device 200 such as a cellular phone that supports Bluetooth wants to use a non-handheld accessory that supports Bluetooth, and the accessory may be the host device 205. When turned on, the cell phone and the handheld accessory communicate with each other to establish a piconet. The cellular phone may be the host device 200, which is the master device, and the non-handheld accessory may be the host device 205, which is the slave device. As a slave device, the host device 205 can only respond to requests from the master device (for example, the host device 200). In the following description, any transmission from the slave device (such as the host device 205) is assumed to be a response to a request from the master device (such as the host device 200).

A user of a cellular phone can initiate a call from the cellular phone (e.g., host device 200). The audio signal of the cellular phone is transmitted to the Bluetooth communication device 212. The Bluetooth communication device 212 modulates the audio signal into an RF signal required by the Bluetooth standard, and transmits the RF signal through the antenna 224. The Bluetooth communication device 222 can receive the RF signal through the antenna 224, and demodulate the RF signal into a baseband signal. The baseband signal is then transmitted to the Bluetooth application 220, and the Bluetooth application 220 sends the audio signal to the speaker/handset 228, so that the user of the non-handheld accessory can hear the ringtone, information or the voice part of the called party.

Similarly, when the user of the cellular phone speaks into the microphone 226, the audio signal is transmitted to the Bluetooth communication device 222, where it is modulated into an RF signal and sent through the antenna 224. The Bluetooth communication device 212 receives the RF signal through the antenna 214 and demodulates the RF signal into a baseband signal. The baseband signal is then transmitted to the cellular phone, that is, the host device 200, which transmits the baseband signal to the called party through the cellular communication channel.

Figure 3a is a schematic diagram of frequency hopping in an embodiment of the present invention. In the graph shown in Figure 3a, the vertical axis is the frequency axis and the horizontal axis is the time axis. The frequency range is from 2.402 gigahertz (GHz) to 2.480 GHz, and a subset of the frequency range is from f_aTo f_b. The figure includes multiple Bluetooth data packets 300, 302, ..., 322. These Bluetooth data packets are at time t.₁, T₂,..., t₁₁send. The frequency range from 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz is the spectrum used by Bluetooth communication devices. From f_aTo f_bThe frequency range of may be, for example, the frequency spectrum used by a wireless local area network (WLAN) using the IEEE 802.11 standard.

In the working process, when a Bluetooth device (such as the host device 200 in FIG. 2) sends data packets, each data packet is transmitted at a different frequency. This is called "frequency hopping". The advantage of frequency hopping is that the transmitted information is scattered over a wide spectrum, so the noise in any part of the spectrum can only cause interference to a part of the transmitted information. The noise can be any signal that affects information transmission within the transmission frequency range. For example, if the WLAN device is in the frequency range f_aTo f_bThe receivers Bluetooth device can determine that the data packets 304, 306, and 322 may be damaged. The recipient's Bluetooth device will request to resend these data packets.

Figure 3b is a schematic diagram of adaptive frequency hopping in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3b is similar to Figure 3a. However, in Figure 3b, the adaptive frequency hopping technique can determine the frequency used when corrupted data packets (such as data packets 304, 306, and 322 in Figure 3a) are transmitted. After that, the Bluetooth device can determine that there is interference on these frequencies and eliminate these frequencies by mapping these frequencies to different other frequencies. Therefore, data packets 304, 306, and 322 will be transmitted on different other frequencies.

However, the adaptive frequency hopping algorithm may map the transmission frequency to another frequency that is also interfered by other communication equipment. For example, the reassigned frequency may still be at frequency f_aTo f_bWithin the range of the frequency spectrum. The Bluetooth device will determine that there is still interference at this frequency and exclude it. In this way, frequencies known to be interfered will be deleted to make information transmission more efficient.

Figure 4a is a block diagram of a host device with multiple Bluetooth communication devices in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4a, there are a host device 400, an application controller 405, a Bluetooth communication device_1 410, a Bluetooth communication device_n 420, and multiple antennas 412...422.

The host device 400 is similar to the host device 200 (FIG. 2) or the host device 205 (FIG. 2), and both communicate with a Bluetooth communication device. However, the host device 400 can communicate with one or more Bluetooth communication devices, such as Bluetooth communication device_1 410,..., and Bluetooth communication device_n 420. The application controller 405 includes appropriate circuits, logic or codes for controlling or communicating with multiple Bluetooth applications or Bluetooth communication devices on the host device 400.

For some reasons, the host device 400 may have more than one Bluetooth communication device. The first reason is that when the bandwidth provided by a Bluetooth communication device cannot meet the demand, another Bluetooth communication device needs to be introduced to provide additional bandwidth. For example, the user may download video stream files and audio files at the same time, and connect and make calls via VoIP. Users will find that downloading video and audio files is interfering with their Internet phone connection. Therefore, it is very useful to unload the download of the video file to another piconet and download it in its dedicated piconet. The download of audio files and the VoIP call can be performed on different piconets, so that they will not be affected by video downloads.

The second reason is if the user has more than 7 Bluetooth applications, and the user wants them to run at the same time. For example, a user may use a PC with a wireless mouse and a wireless keyboard, which is connected to a PDA, a laptop computer, a printer, a scanner, and downloads music from a CD player that supports Bluetooth, and the PC Synchronize the application with the cell phone to download messages or update the phone book. Because a piconet can only handle 8 devices, a master device and 7 slave devices, if the Bluetooth communication device on the PC is the only master device, the Bluetooth communication device cannot handle all desired applications. Therefore, it is necessary to set up another Bluetooth communication device to handle some of these applications.

However, if a master device has more than one Bluetooth communication device, when the frequencies between the Bluetooth communication devices overlap, their transmission signals will interfere with each other. Therefore, the application controller 405 (which may be an application layer program) will determine the number of Bluetooth applications on the host device, and then determine how these applications are allocated to specific Bluetooth communication devices. The algorithm of how to distribute the application to a specific Bluetooth communication device can be a scheme or implementation depending on the situation. The algorithm considers, for example, the expected bandwidth requirements of the Bluetooth application, the expected maximum pulse data rate of the Bluetooth application, and the expected average data rate of the Bluetooth application. The application will have a corresponding identification code or logo. The allocation process further depends on the available frequency of the Bluetooth communication device and/or the available bandwidth of each Bluetooth communication device.

Through the algorithm, the application controller 405 further determines the available frequency of each Bluetooth communication device. For example, if there are two Bluetooth communication devices, an odd frequency is allocated to one of the Bluetooth communication devices, and an even frequency is allocated to the other Bluetooth communication device. Or, for example, if some of these frequencies are unavailable because they are known to be interfered by other communication systems (such as a local area network using the IEEE 802.11 standard), the remaining available frequencies will be allocated to two Bluetooth communication devices in an alternating manner. The allocated frequencies will be transmitted to the Bluetooth communication device so that the Bluetooth communication device can use these frequencies for reception and transmission.

The application controller 405 further determines which frequencies are available for Bluetooth transmission, that is, which frequencies are not subject to known interference from other communication devices. After that, the application controller 405 re-allocates frequencies that do not interfere with the Bluetooth communication device. In addition, the application controller 405 can redistribute the Bluetooth application among the Bluetooth devices. The algorithm for redistribution of Bluetooth applications is similar to the algorithm for allocation. The expected bandwidth requirements of Bluetooth applications, the expected maximum pulse data rate of Bluetooth applications, and the expected average data rate of Bluetooth applications must be considered. The reallocation process of the Bluetooth application further depends on the available frequency of the Bluetooth communication device and/or the available bandwidth of each Bluetooth communication device.

Fig. 4b is a schematic diagram of the transmission frequency of two Bluetooth communication devices in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4b, the lower limit of the Bluetooth spectrum is 2.402 gigahertz (GHz), and the upper limit of the Bluetooth spectrum is 2.480 GHz. In the figure, multiple transmissions labeled 430...452 and multiple transmissions labeled 460, 462, 464, 466 respectively represent partial transmissions of the first Bluetooth communication device and the second Bluetooth communication device. Each of the transmissions 430...466 has its corresponding transmission time and frequency.

Although the frequency hopping technology of Bluetooth communication devices can generally achieve interference-free communication, there are still situations where Bluetooth communication devices interfere with each other. When multiple Bluetooth devices are located in a small geographic area, or when one or more Bluetooth devices use multi-slot transmission, interference will increase. For example, PC 100 (FIG. 1) is using 5 time slots per frequency to transmit a song to PDA 120 (FIG. 1), and the PDA is playing the song instantly.

The first Bluetooth communication device at each time point t₀,..., t₁₁To transmit, and the second Bluetooth communication device is at t₁, T₄, T₇, T₁₀To transfer. Respectively at time t₀And t₁The transmission 430 and 460 use the same frequency f₁, But these transmissions occur at different times, so there will be no interference between transmissions 430 and 460. The second Bluetooth device at time t₁On the transmission 460 can communicate with the first Bluetooth device at time t₁, T₂, T₃The transmissions 432, 434, and 436 are carried out at the same time, but because of the different frequencies, there is no interference. However, the first Bluetooth device at time t₄On the transmission 438 with the second Bluetooth device at time t₄There is interference between the transmission 462 on, because the two transmissions use the same frequency f₂. Similarly, the first Bluetooth device at time t₁₁On the transmission 452 and the second Bluetooth device at time t₁₁There is interference between transmissions 462 on because they use the same frequency f₃。

For ease of illustration, this figure depicts two Bluetooth communication devices in a manner related to transmission time synchronization. Shifting the transmission time of one device relative to that of another device can also provide an example of two devices interfering with each other.

Figure 4c is a schematic diagram of frequencies allocated to two Bluetooth communication devices in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4c, frequencies 470...486 are allocated to multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device. For example, frequencies 470...476 are assigned to Bluetooth communication device_1 (device 410 in Figure 4a), and frequencies 480...486 that are different from it are assigned to Bluetooth communication device_n (Device 420 in Figure 4a). Therefore, the transmission of the Bluetooth communication device_1 410 will not interfere with the transmission of the Bluetooth communication device_n 420, because the two devices will not use the same frequency for transmission, although they may transmit at the same time. Similarly, the other Bluetooth communication devices on the host device 400 (FIG. 4a) are all assigned their own different frequency sets.

The frequency allocation algorithm can be a scheme or implementation that depends on the situation. For example, an algorithm implementation includes allocating multiple adjacent frequency bands to multiple Bluetooth communication devices one by one. Another algorithm implements a random selection of frequencies within the Bluetooth frequency range and assigns these frequencies to each of multiple Bluetooth devices. Another algorithm implementation selects a specific frequency for each Bluetooth communication device, and the frequencies may not be adjacent.

As an example, the following lists an algorithm for frequency allocation to two Bluetooth communication devices on the same host device (for example, Bluetooth communication device_1 410 and Bluetooth communication device_n 420 located on the host device 400). The algorithm includes allocating even-numbered frequencies to Bluetooth communication device_1 410, and allocating odd-numbered frequencies to Bluetooth communication device_n 420. Therefore, the frequencies 470...476 are even-numbered frequencies and are allocated to the Bluetooth communication device_1410. Similarly, the frequencies 480...486 are odd frequencies and are allocated to the Bluetooth communication device_n 420. In this way, two Bluetooth devices will not interfere with each other when performing frequency hopping.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a frequency separation method for multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, step 500 determines the number of applications supporting Bluetooth on the host device. Step 510 estimates the bandwidth requirement of the Bluetooth application on the host device. Step 520 allocates the Bluetooth application to the Bluetooth communication device. Step 530 allocates a frequency to each Bluetooth device for adaptive frequency modulation.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 4a, and FIG. 5, steps 500 to 530 can be used to allocate frequencies to multiple Bluetooth communication devices for adaptive frequency modulation, such as Bluetooth communication device_1 410 and Bluetooth communication device_n 420. In step 500, the number of Bluetooth applications present on the host device (such as PC 100) will be determined. The Bluetooth application can be used in certain devices, such as a wireless mouse, a wireless keyboard, or an interface with a PDA to synchronize the address book and/or appointment table.

In step 510, the bandwidth requirement of the Bluetooth application on the host device is estimated. This is for the balance of Bluetooth applications between different Bluetooth communication devices, or for assigning applications with high bandwidth requirements to its own piconet. For example, if a host device, such as PDA 120, has a Bluetooth application for downloading video files and other Bluetooth applications, such as a cellular phone non-handheld application, it will want to separate the video download application and the cellular phone non-handheld application into different Bluetooth communications equipment. In this way, the download of video files will not be affected by other applications that need to share Bluetooth bandwidth, nor will it affect other applications.

In step 520, various Bluetooth applications on the host device are allocated to multiple Bluetooth communication devices. This can be done by considering a variety of different parameters, such as bandwidth estimation for different Bluetooth applications and the number of Bluetooth applications. Bluetooth applications that wish to use more bandwidth than other applications will be assigned to a Bluetooth device alone or together with other applications that use less bandwidth. If multiple Bluetooth communication devices provide different available bandwidths, those Bluetooth applications that require or are expected to require more bandwidth than other applications will be allocated to Bluetooth communication devices that can provide higher bandwidth.

In step 530, multiple frequency sets are allocated to multiple Bluetooth communication devices. This is necessary to prevent multiple Bluetooth communication devices on the same host device from interfering with each other when communicating. By assigning a specific frequency set for adaptive frequency hopping, each Bluetooth communication device will not interfere with each other during transmission. The set of frequencies allocated to different Bluetooth communication devices can be determined by corresponding algorithms. For example, an algorithm for two Bluetooth communication devices on the same host device assigns an even frequency to one Bluetooth device and an odd frequency to another Bluetooth device. In another example, the algorithm for frequency allocation between different Bluetooth communication devices of the same host device uses an alternate allocation method. For example, if there are 3 Bluetooth communication devices in a host device, every three frequencies are allocated to the 3 Bluetooth communication devices in turn. When considering those frequencies with known interference, these schemes need to be modified. Those frequencies with interference will be deleted from the list of frequencies to be allocated, and the remaining frequencies will be allocated to the Bluetooth communication device.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of frequency re-allocation and application re-allocation in a frequency separation method for multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, step 600 to step 630 are similar to step 500 to step 530 in FIG. Step 600 determines the number of available Bluetooth applications on the host device. Step 610 estimates the bandwidth requirements of the available Bluetooth applications on the host device. Step 620 dispatches the available Bluetooth application to the Bluetooth communication device. Step 630 allocates a frequency to each Bluetooth device for adaptive frequency modulation. Step 640 determines whether the frequency allocated to each Bluetooth communication device needs to be re-allocated. Step 650 determines whether the Bluetooth application needs to be re-assigned to each Bluetooth communication device.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 4a, and FIG. 6, steps 600 to 650 can be used to allocate frequencies to multiple Bluetooth communication devices for adaptive frequency modulation, such as Bluetooth communication device_1 410 and Bluetooth communication device_n 420. In step 600, the number of Bluetooth applications present on the host device (such as PC 100) will be determined. The Bluetooth application can be used in devices such as a wireless mouse or wireless keyboard, or an interface with a PDA to synchronize the address book and/or appointment table.

In step 610, the bandwidth requirement of the Bluetooth application on the host device is estimated. This is for the balance of Bluetooth applications between different Bluetooth communication devices, or for assigning applications with large bandwidth requirements to its own piconet. For example, if a host device, such as PDA 120, has a Bluetooth application to download video files and other applications, such as a cellular phone hand-held application, it wants to separate the video download application and the cellular phone hand-held application to different Bluetooth communication devices. In this way, the completion of the download of the video file will not be interfered by other applications that need to share the Bluetooth bandwidth, nor will it interfere with other applications.

In step 620, various Bluetooth applications on the host device are allocated to multiple Bluetooth communication devices. This can be done by considering a variety of different parameters, such as the bandwidth estimation of Bluetooth applications and the number of Bluetooth applications and the bandwidth of different Bluetooth communication devices. Bluetooth applications that wish to use more bandwidth than other applications will be assigned to a Bluetooth communication device alone or together with other applications that use less bandwidth. If Bluetooth communication devices can provide different available bandwidths, those Bluetooth applications that require or are expected to require more bandwidth than other applications will be allocated to Bluetooth communication devices that can provide higher bandwidth.

In step 630, multiple frequency sets are allocated to multiple Bluetooth communication devices. This is necessary to prevent multiple Bluetooth communication devices on the same host device from interfering with each other when communicating. By allocating a specific frequency set for adaptive frequency hopping, each Bluetooth communication device will not interfere with each other during transmission. The frequency set allocated to different Bluetooth communication devices is determined by a corresponding algorithm, and the algorithm may be a solution or implementation depending on the situation. For example, an algorithm for two Bluetooth communication devices on the same host device assigns an even frequency to one Bluetooth device and an odd frequency to another Bluetooth device. In another example, the method of frequency allocation between different Bluetooth communication devices of the same host device adopts an alternate allocation method. For example, if a host device has 3 Bluetooth communication devices, then every three frequencies are allocated to the three Bluetooth communication devices in turn. When considering those frequencies with known interference, these schemes need to be modified. Those frequencies that have been interfered will be deleted from the list of frequencies to be allocated, and the remaining frequencies will be allocated to the Bluetooth communication device.

In step 640, the frequencies allocated to Bluetooth communication devices (such as Bluetooth communication device_1 410 and Bluetooth communication device_n 420) are re-allocated. For example, the reallocation is based on those Bluetooth frequencies that interfere with the frequencies used by other communication devices. The frequency re-allocation method is similar to the frequency allocation method described in step 630.

In step 650, each Bluetooth application on the host device will be reassigned to multiple Bluetooth communication devices. In step 650, when determining whether to reassign Bluetooth applications, for example, the estimated or measured bandwidth requirements of Bluetooth applications and the number of Bluetooth applications will be considered. The way of application re-dispatch is similar to the way of dispatch in step 620.

The present invention can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The present invention can be implemented in a centralized manner in at least one computer system, or implemented in a decentralized manner by different parts distributed in several interconnected computer systems. Any computer system or other equipment that can implement the method is applicable. The combination of commonly used software and hardware can be a general computer system with a computer program installed, and the computer system is controlled by installing and executing the program to make it run according to the method. In a computer system, a processor and a storage unit are used to implement the method.

The present invention can also be implemented by a computer program product. The package contains all the features capable of realizing the method of the present invention. When it is installed in a computer system, the method of the present invention can be realized by running. The computer program in this document refers to any expression that can be written in any programming language, code, or symbol. The instruction set enables the system to have information processing capabilities to directly implement specific functions, or to perform the next step. After one or two steps, a specific function is realized: a) conversion into other languages, codes or symbols; b) reproduction in a different format.

The present invention is illustrated through several specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that various changes and equivalent substitutions can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, various modifications can be made to the present invention for specific situations or specific situations without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the disclosed specific embodiments, but should include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

<p>100Personal Computer (PC)</p><p>110laptop</p><p>120Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)</p><p>200, 205Host device</p><p>210Bluetooth Application</p><p>212Bluetooth communication equipment</p><p>214antenna</p><p>220Bluetooth application</p><p>222Bluetooth communication equipment</p><p>224antenna</p><p>226Microphone</p><p>228Speaker/Handset</p><p>300, 302, ..., 322Bluetooth data package</p><p>400Host Equipment</p><p>405Application Controller</p><p>410Bluetooth communication equipment_1</p><p>420Bluetooth Communication Device_n</p><p>412,...,422antenna</p><p>430,...,452transmission</p><p>460, 462, 464, 466transmission</p><p>470,...,486frequency</p>

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a Bluetooth piconet used in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a block diagram of a host device used in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3a is a schematic diagram of frequency hopping in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3b It is a schematic diagram of adaptive frequency hopping in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4a is a block diagram of a host device with multiple Bluetooth communication devices in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4b is two Bluetooth communication devices in an embodiment of the present invention A schematic diagram of the transmitted frequency; Figure 4c is a schematic diagram of the frequencies allocated to two Bluetooth communication devices in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a frequency separation of multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device in an embodiment of the present invention Flow chart; Figure 6 is a flow chart of frequency separation with frequency reallocation and application reallocation for multiple Bluetooth communication devices on a single host device in an embodiment of the present invention.