TWI736378B - Multi-member bluetooth device capable of dynamically switching operation mode, and related main bluetooth circuit and auxiliary bluetooth circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-member Bluetooth device for communicating data with a remote Bluetooth device is disclosed including: a main Bluetooth circuit and an auxiliary Bluetooth circuit. In the period during which the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit operates at a relay mode, the main Bluetooth circuit receives packets transmitted from the remote Bluetooth device and forwards the received packets to the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit; the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit does not sniff packets transmitted from the remote Bluetooth device, but will switch to a sniffing mode if a signal reception quality indicator of the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit is superior to a predetermined indicator value. In the period during which the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit operates at the sniffing mode, the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit sniffs packets transmitted from the remote Bluetooth device while the main Bluetooth circuit receives packets transmitted from the remote Bluetooth device.

Description

Multi-member Bluetooth device capable of dynamically switching operation modes, and related main Bluetooth circuit and auxiliary Bluetooth circuit

The present invention relates to Bluetooth technology, in particular to a multi-member Bluetooth device capable of dynamically switching operating modes, and related primary and secondary Bluetooth circuits.

A multi-member Bluetooth device refers to a Bluetooth device composed of multiple Bluetooth circuits that are used in conjunction with each other, such as a pair of Bluetooth headsets, a group of Bluetooth speakers, and so on. When a multi-member Bluetooth device is connected to another Bluetooth device (hereinafter referred to as a remote Bluetooth device), the remote Bluetooth device treats the multi-member Bluetooth device as a single Bluetooth device. When a traditional multi-member Bluetooth device operates, one of the member circuits is set as the main Bluetooth circuit, which is responsible for two-way data transmission with the remote Bluetooth device, while the other member circuits are set as the secondary Bluetooth circuit.

However, the wireless signal environment of Bluetooth communication may change over time, or be affected by the user's posture, usage habits, etc. If the matching operation between the main Bluetooth circuit or the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit cannot be dynamically adjusted according to the circumstances of the Bluetooth communication environment at the time, it is easy to reduce the overall operating performance of the multi-member Bluetooth device or reduce the standby time.

In view of this, how to reduce the impact of changes in the Bluetooth wireless signal environment on the overall performance of multi-member Bluetooth devices is a problem to be solved.

This manual provides a multi-member bluetooth device for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device. An embodiment of a dental device includes: a main Bluetooth circuit, including: a first Bluetooth communication circuit; a first packet analysis circuit configured to analyze packets received by the first Bluetooth communication circuit; and a first control circuit , Coupled to the first Bluetooth communication circuit and the first packet parsing circuit; and a pair of Bluetooth circuits configured to be selectively operable in a sniffing mode or a receiving mode, the second Bluetooth circuit comprising: a first Two Bluetooth communication circuits; a second packet analysis circuit configured to analyze the packets received by the second Bluetooth communication circuit; and a second control circuit coupled to the second Bluetooth communication circuit and the second packet analysis circuit; Wherein, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the inter-receiving mode, the first control circuit will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device, and use the first Bluetooth communication circuit to connect The received packet is forwarded to the secondary Bluetooth circuit, and the second control circuit will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit to receive the packet forwarded by the first Bluetooth communication circuit, but the second control circuit will not use the second Bluetooth communication circuit. The second Bluetooth communication circuit sniffs the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device; if a reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit is better than a predetermined index value, the secondary Bluetooth circuit will switch the reception mode from the second Bluetooth communication circuit Into the sniffing mode; and during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, the first control circuit will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device, and the second control The circuit will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device.

This specification also provides an embodiment of the main Bluetooth circuit in a multi-member Bluetooth device. The multi-member Bluetooth device is used for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device, and includes the main Bluetooth circuit and a secondary Bluetooth circuit that can selectively operate in a sniffing mode or an inter-receiving mode. The main Bluetooth circuit includes : A first Bluetooth communication circuit; a first packet analysis circuit configured to analyze the packet received by the first Bluetooth communication circuit; and a first control circuit coupled to the first Bluetooth communication circuit and the first packet Analyzing circuit; wherein, during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the inter-receiving mode, the first control circuit uses the first Bluetooth communication circuit to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device, and uses the first Bluetooth The communication circuit forwards the received packet to the secondary Bluetooth circuit, And the secondary Bluetooth circuit will receive the packet transferred from the first Bluetooth communication circuit, but the secondary Bluetooth circuit will not sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device; a reception quality index of the secondary Bluetooth circuit is better than In the case of a predetermined index value, the secondary Bluetooth circuit will switch from the receiving mode to the sniffing mode; and while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, the first control circuit will use the second A Bluetooth communication circuit receives the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device, and the secondary Bluetooth circuit sniffs the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device.

This specification also provides an embodiment of a secondary Bluetooth circuit in a multi-member Bluetooth device. The multi-member Bluetooth device is used for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device, and includes a main Bluetooth circuit and the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit. The auxiliary Bluetooth circuit includes: a second Bluetooth communication circuit; a second packet analysis circuit. To analyze the packet received by the second Bluetooth communication circuit; and a second control circuit, coupled to the second Bluetooth communication circuit and the second packet analysis circuit, configured to control the secondary Bluetooth circuit in a sniffing mode And an operating mode in a receiving mode; wherein, during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the receiving mode, the main Bluetooth circuit will receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device, and will receive the packets It is forwarded to the secondary Bluetooth circuit, and the second control circuit will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit to receive the packet transferred from the main Bluetooth circuit, but the second control circuit will not use the second Bluetooth communication circuit to sniff The packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device; in the case that a reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit is better than a predetermined index value, the secondary Bluetooth circuit will switch from the inter-receiving mode to the sniffing mode; And while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, the main Bluetooth circuit will receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device, and the second control circuit will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit to sniff the remote Packets sent by Bluetooth devices.

One of the advantages of the above embodiment is that the multi-member Bluetooth device dynamically adjusts the operation mode of the secondary Bluetooth circuit according to the reception quality index of the secondary Bluetooth circuit to adapt to the current Bluetooth communication environment.

Another advantage of the above embodiment is that it can prevent the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit from being ignored. It can operate in the desired way, so it can improve the overall operating performance of multi-member Bluetooth devices and/or extend the standby time.

Another advantage of the above embodiment is that the service life of the main Bluetooth circuit or the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit can be prolonged, and/or the use comfort of the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit can be improved.

Other advantages of the present invention will be explained in more detail with the following description and drawings.

100: multi-member Bluetooth device

102: remote Bluetooth device

110: first Bluetooth circuit

111: first Bluetooth communication circuit

113: first packet parsing circuit

115: first clock synchronizing circuit

117: first control circuit

120: second Bluetooth circuit

121: second Bluetooth communication circuit

123: second packet parsing circuit

125: second clock synchronizing circuit

127: second control circuit

130: third Bluetooth circuit

FIG. 1 is a simplified functional block diagram of a multi-member Bluetooth device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 3 are simplified flowcharts of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device of the present invention in a first embodiment.

4 is a simplified partial flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device of the present invention in a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a simplified partial flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device of the present invention in a third embodiment.

6 is a simplified partial flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device of the present invention in a fourth embodiment.

7 to 8 are simplified flowcharts of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device of the present invention in a fifth embodiment.

9 to 10 are simplified flowcharts of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device of the present invention in a sixth embodiment.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with related drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements or method flows.

FIG. 1 is a simplified functional block diagram of a multi-member Bluetooth device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multi-member Bluetooth device 100 is used for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device 102, and includes a plurality of member circuits. For convenience of description, only three member circuits are shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, which are the first Bluetooth circuit 110, the second Bluetooth circuit 120, and the third Bluetooth circuit 130.

In this embodiment, all member circuits in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 have similar main circuit architectures, but different additional circuit elements can be set in different member circuits, and the circuit structure of all member circuits is not limited. Exactly the same. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 includes a first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, a first packet analysis circuit 113, a first clock synchronization circuit 115, and a first control circuit 117. Similarly, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 includes a second Bluetooth communication circuit 121, a second packet analysis circuit 123, a second clock synchronization circuit 125, and a second control circuit 127.

The main circuit elements inside the third Bluetooth circuit 130 are also similar to the aforementioned first Bluetooth circuit 110 or the second Bluetooth circuit 120, but for the sake of brevity, the internal circuit elements of the third Bluetooth circuit 130 are not shown in FIG. 1 .

In the first Bluetooth circuit 110, the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 can be used for data communication with other Bluetooth devices. The first packet parsing circuit 113 can be used to analyze the Bluetooth packet received by the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. The first clock synchronization circuit 115 is coupled to the first packet parsing circuit 113, and can be used to adjust the clock signal used by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 to synchronize the piconet used between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and other Bluetooth devices Clock (piconet clock).

The first control circuit 117 is coupled to the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, the first packet analysis circuit 113, and the first clock synchronization circuit 115, and is configured to control the operation of the aforementioned circuits. In operation, the first control circuit 117 can directly communicate with the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 in a Bluetooth wireless transmission mode, and communicate with other member circuits through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. The first control circuit 117 also uses the first packet parsing circuit 113 to analyze the packets received by the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to obtain related data or instructions.

In the second Bluetooth circuit 120, the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 can be used for data communication with other Bluetooth devices. The second packet analysis circuit 123 can be used to analyze the Bluetooth packet received by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121. The second clock synchronization circuit 125 is coupled to the second packet The analysis circuit 123 can be used to adjust the clock signal used by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to synchronize the piconet clock used between the second Bluetooth circuit 120 and other Bluetooth devices.

The second control circuit 127 is coupled to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121, the second packet analysis circuit 123, and the second clock synchronization circuit 125, and is configured to control the operation of the aforementioned circuits. In operation, the second control circuit 127 can communicate data with other Bluetooth devices through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 in a Bluetooth wireless transmission mode, and communicate data with other member circuits through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121. The second control circuit 127 also uses the second packet analysis circuit 123 to parse the packet received by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to obtain relevant data or instructions.

In practice, both the aforementioned first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 and the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 can be implemented by suitable wireless communication circuits that can support various versions of Bluetooth communication protocols. Both the aforementioned first packet analysis circuit 113 and the second packet analysis circuit 123 can be implemented by various packet demodulation circuits, digital arithmetic circuits, microprocessors, or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). accomplish. The aforementioned first clock synchronization circuit 115 and the second clock synchronization circuit 125 can be implemented by various suitable circuits that can compare and adjust the clock frequency and/or clock phase. Both the aforementioned first control circuit 117 and the second control circuit 127 can be implemented by various microprocessors or digital signal processing circuits with appropriate computing capabilities.

In some embodiments, the first clock synchronization circuit 115 or the second clock synchronization circuit 125 may also be integrated into the first control circuit 117 or the second control circuit 127. In addition, the aforementioned first packet analysis circuit 113 and the second packet analysis circuit 123 may be integrated into the aforementioned first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 and the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121, respectively.

In other words, the aforementioned first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 and the first packet analysis circuit 113 may be implemented by different circuits, or may be implemented by the same circuit. Similarly, the aforementioned second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 and the second packet analysis circuit 123 may be implemented by different circuits, or may be implemented by the same circuit.

In application, different functional blocks in the aforementioned first Bluetooth circuit 110 can also be integrated In a single circuit chip. For example, all the functional blocks in the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be integrated into a single Bluetooth controller IC. Similarly, all the functional blocks in the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can also be integrated into another single Bluetooth control chip.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, different member circuits in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can communicate with each other through their respective Bluetooth communication circuits to form various types of data networks or data links. When the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 communicates with the remote Bluetooth device 102, the remote Bluetooth device 102 treats the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 as a single Bluetooth device, and the multiple member circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 are on the same During the time, a member circuit will be selected to play the role of the main Bluetooth circuit to handle the main task of receiving packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, while the other member circuits will play the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit. character of.

The main Bluetooth circuit can use various known mechanisms to receive packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can use an appropriate mechanism to obtain the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 during the operation of the main Bluetooth circuit.

For example, when the main Bluetooth circuit receives the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, the secondary Bluetooth circuit can operate in a sniffing mode to actively sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. Alternatively, the secondary Bluetooth circuit can operate in a relay mode, and only passively receive the packets forwarded after the primary Bluetooth circuit receives the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, instead of actively sniffing the remote A packet sent by the Bluetooth device 102. The operation modes of the primary Bluetooth circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit in the aforementioned two scenarios will be described in detail in the following paragraphs.

Please note that the terms "main Bluetooth circuit" and "secondary Bluetooth circuit" mentioned in the specification and the scope of the patent application are just for the convenience of distinguishing different member circuits in different ways of receiving packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102. It does not mean whether the main Bluetooth circuit has a certain degree of control authority over other operations of the secondary Bluetooth circuit.

In addition, during the operation of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, the main Bluetooth circuit and the sub Bluetooth The role of the circuit can also be dynamically exchanged. For example, the main Bluetooth circuit can intermittently evaluate its own operating parameters such as computing load, surplus power, temperature, and/or operating environment, and when the aforementioned operating parameters meet certain predetermined conditions, the role of the main Bluetooth circuit can be handed over to Other auxiliary Bluetooth circuits.

For another example, the main Bluetooth circuit can intermittently compare the gap between its aforementioned operating parameters and the operating parameters of other secondary Bluetooth circuits, and the gap between the operating parameters of the primary Bluetooth circuit and the operating parameters of the secondary Bluetooth circuit exceeds a predetermined value. At the same time, the role of the main Bluetooth circuit is handed over to other secondary Bluetooth circuits.

For another example, the main Bluetooth circuit can also intermittently compare its own Bluetooth packet loss rate with the Bluetooth packet loss rate of other secondary Bluetooth circuits, and when the Bluetooth packet loss rate of other secondary Bluetooth circuits is relatively low, the primary Bluetooth circuit The role of the Bluetooth circuit is handed over to other secondary Bluetooth circuits.

In practice, the main Bluetooth circuit can also take the aforementioned various evaluation conditions into comprehensive consideration to determine whether to transfer the role of the main Bluetooth circuit to other secondary Bluetooth circuits.

Alternatively, the secondary Bluetooth circuit can also use various methods to determine whether the main Bluetooth circuit is disabled or missing, and when the primary Bluetooth circuit is determined to be disabled or missing, the secondary Bluetooth circuit will replace the old primary Bluetooth circuit and actively continue to play the role of the primary Bluetooth circuit. The role of the Bluetooth circuit.

As we all know, in the process of data communication between the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 and the remote Bluetooth device 102, the wireless signal environment of Bluetooth communication may change over time due to various factors, and may also be affected by the user's posture, usage habits, etc. Influence and change. In the case that the roles of the main Bluetooth circuit and the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit are not exchanged, if the matching operation between the main Bluetooth circuit and the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit cannot be dynamically adjusted according to the circumstances of the Bluetooth communication environment at the time, it is easy to reduce the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 The overall operating efficiency of the device may also reduce the standby time of the main Bluetooth circuit or the secondary Bluetooth circuit. In some cases, it may also increase the heat and temperature of the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit, thereby shortening the service life of the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit, or reducing the comfort of the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit ( Because the heat or the temperature is too high, the user may be uncomfortable Clothes).

Hereinafter, the operation mode of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 will be further described in conjunction with FIGS. 2 to 3. 2 to 3 are simplified flowcharts of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 in a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 to 3, the process located in the column of a specific device represents the process performed by the specific device. For example, the part marked in the "Main Bluetooth circuit" field is the process performed by the member circuit playing the main Bluetooth circuit; the part marked in the "Secondary Bluetooth circuit" field is the process performed by the member playing the secondary Bluetooth circuit The flow of the circuit, the aforementioned logic is also applicable to other subsequent flow charts.

As shown in FIG. 2, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 will first perform the process 202 to obtain the Bluetooth connection parameters required for receiving the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. In practice, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can use any member circuit to first connect with the remote Bluetooth device 102 to obtain related Bluetooth connection parameters, and then use the member circuit to transmit the acquired Bluetooth connection parameters to other member circuits. .

For example, in one embodiment, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can control the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to establish a Bluetooth connection with the remote Bluetooth device 102 in the process 202, and connect the first Bluetooth circuit 110 to The Bluetooth connection parameters between the remote Bluetooth devices 102 are transmitted to other member circuits such as the second Bluetooth circuit 120 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, so that other member circuits can then use the Bluetooth connection parameters to receive the remote Bluetooth device 102 packets sent out.

For another example, in another embodiment, the second control circuit 127 of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can control the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to establish a Bluetooth connection with the remote Bluetooth device 102 in the process 202, and connect the second Bluetooth circuit The Bluetooth connection parameters between 120 and the remote Bluetooth device 102 are transmitted to other member circuits through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121, so that other member circuits can use the Bluetooth connection parameters to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102 . On the other hand, the second control circuit 127 can also combine the device identification data of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 with the remote Bluetooth device in the process 202. The Bluetooth connection parameters between 102 are transmitted to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121, so that the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can perform bidirectional packet transmission with the remote Bluetooth device 102 in the subsequent process. After that, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will be changed to only receive packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 in one direction, and will not send packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102 to avoid the problem of packet conflicts in the remote Bluetooth device 102.

For the convenience of description, the following assumes that in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, the main member circuit currently selected to process the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is the first Bluetooth circuit 110, and the other member circuits (for example, The aforementioned second Bluetooth circuit 120 and third Bluetooth circuit 130) play the role of a secondary Bluetooth circuit.

In the process 204, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can notify the other member circuits in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 (for example, the aforementioned second Bluetooth circuit 120 and the third Bluetooth circuit 130) through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. The first Bluetooth circuit 110 plays the role of the main Bluetooth circuit and instructs other member circuits to play the role of the secondary Bluetooth circuit and operate in the sniffing mode. That is, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will be responsible for the main work of receiving packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, and other member circuits can only sniff the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, but are not allowed to send commands and data. , Or other related packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102.

Then, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will perform the process 206.

In the process 206, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, but the first control circuit 117 will not pass through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 The packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102 are forwarded to other secondary Bluetooth circuits.

In operation, the first control circuit 117 can use the Bluetooth connection parameters acquired in the process 202 to perform packet transmission with the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, so as to receive various transmissions from the remote Bluetooth device 102. Packets, or send various packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102. It can be seen from the operation description of the foregoing process 202 that the first Bluetooth circuit The Bluetooth connection parameters used by 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102 for packet transmission may be obtained by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 itself, or may be transmitted by other member circuits (for example, the second Bluetooth circuit 120).

Every time the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 receives a packet from the remote Bluetooth device 102, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can transmit a corresponding acknowledgement message through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 To the remote Bluetooth device 102. If the remote Bluetooth device 102 does not receive the corresponding confirmation information of the specific packet, it will retransmit the specific packet to the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. In practice, various suitable packet handshake mechanisms can be used between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102 to reduce or avoid the occurrence of packet missing.

On the other hand, when the main Bluetooth circuit receives the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, other member circuits that play the role of the secondary Bluetooth circuit will proceed to the process 208 and continue to operate in the sniffing mode to sniff the remote Bluetooth device 102. Packets. For example, in the process 208, the second control circuit 127 of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 may use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 according to the Bluetooth connection parameters obtained in the process 202. In an embodiment, the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 can sniff all Bluetooth packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. In another embodiment, the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 only sniffs the Bluetooth packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the first Bluetooth circuit 110, and does not sniff the remote Bluetooth device 102 to send to the multi-member Bluetooth. Bluetooth packets of devices other than device 100. From the description of the foregoing process 202, it can be seen that the Bluetooth connection parameters used by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 may be obtained by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 itself, or may be other members. Circuit (for example, the first Bluetooth circuit 110).

The secondary Bluetooth circuit may perform the process 210 every time it sniffs the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. In the process 210, the secondary Bluetooth circuit sends a notification message corresponding to the sniffed packet to the primary Bluetooth circuit, but does not send any confirmation message to the remote Bluetooth device 102. For example, every time the second Bluetooth circuit 120 sniffs When the remote Bluetooth device 102 sends a packet, the second control circuit 127 can proceed to the process 210 to transmit a corresponding notification message to the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121, but the second control circuit 127 The control circuit 127 will not transmit any confirmation information to the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121.

In practice, the secondary Bluetooth circuit can also be changed to perform the aforementioned process 210 when the primary Bluetooth circuit inquires whether the secondary Bluetooth circuit has sniffed a specific packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102.

In other words, during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, although the primary Bluetooth circuit and other secondary Bluetooth circuits will receive the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 in this embodiment, only the primary Bluetooth circuit will receive the packet when receiving the packet. The confirmation message is sent to the remote Bluetooth device 102, and other secondary Bluetooth circuits will not send the confirmation message to the remote Bluetooth device 102, so as to avoid the remote Bluetooth device 102 from causing misjudgment. Since the remote Bluetooth device 102 does not know that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is sniffing the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 does not send the corresponding confirmation message to the remote Bluetooth device 102, the second Bluetooth circuit Between 120 and the remote Bluetooth device 102, no packet handshaking procedure is performed for the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102.

In this embodiment, the purpose of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 sending the aforementioned notification information to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is not to perform a packet handshaking procedure with the first Bluetooth circuit 110, but to allow the first Bluetooth circuit 110 to be able to Know whether the second Bluetooth circuit 120 misses any packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102.

In addition, the purpose of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 sending the aforementioned notification information to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is not for the first Bluetooth circuit 110 to decide whether to send the aforementioned confirmation information to the remote Bluetooth device 102 based on it. The first control circuit 117 of this embodiment does not check whether the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 has received the aforementioned notification information from the second Bluetooth circuit 120 before transmitting the aforementioned confirmation message to the remote Bluetooth device 102. Therefore, the timing of the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 transmitting the confirmation information to the remote Bluetooth device 102 is independent of whether the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 has received the aforementioned notification information from the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In practice, the aforementioned notification information sent by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be implemented in various suitable data formats. For example, when the second Bluetooth circuit 120 receives a specific Bluetooth packet from the remote Bluetooth device 102, the second control circuit 127 can retrieve the corresponding packet sequence number from the specific Bluetooth packet, and combine the packet sequence number with the packet sequence number. The device code or device identification data for identifying the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is combined or encoded into notification information corresponding to the specific Bluetooth packet. For another example, the second control circuit 127 may extract appropriate packet identification data from the specific Bluetooth packet, and combine or encode the packet identification data together with the device code or device identification data that can be used to identify the second Bluetooth circuit 120 Into the notification message corresponding to the specific Bluetooth packet.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that in the process of the remote Bluetooth device 102 successively sending out multiple Bluetooth packets, each secondary Bluetooth circuit will repeat the aforementioned process 208 and process 210 under normal circumstances, and then transmit multiple notification messages to the first. A Bluetooth circuit 110. For example, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 repeats the process 208 and the process 210 to transmit a plurality of notification messages corresponding to the plurality of Bluetooth packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the first Bluetooth circuit 110.

In actual operation, each secondary Bluetooth circuit may occasionally miss some packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, and the missed packets and the number of packets for different secondary Bluetooth circuits may also be different. Therefore, the primary Bluetooth circuit can perform the process 212 intermittently or periodically to determine whether the individual secondary Bluetooth circuit misses the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 based on a plurality of notification messages from the individual secondary Bluetooth circuit.

For example, in the process 212, the first control circuit 117 of the first bluetooth circuit 110 can check whether the second bluetooth circuit 120 misses the notification sent by the remote bluetooth device 102 according to a plurality of notification messages from the second bluetooth circuit 120. Part of the packet. The first packet parsing circuit 113 can parse multiple packet serial numbers or multiple packet identification data from a plurality of notification messages sent from the second Bluetooth circuit 120. The first control circuit 117 can check whether these packet serial numbers or packet identification data have continuity, so as to check whether the second Bluetooth circuit 120 misses some packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. If the aforementioned packet sequence number or If the packet identification data is discontinuous, the first control circuit 117 can determine that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 has missed a packet corresponding to the missing packet sequence number or packet identification data. According to the missing packet sequence number or packet identification data, the first control circuit 117 can further define which packets are missed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

As mentioned above, a packet handshaking mechanism is adopted between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102. Therefore, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 should be able to successfully obtain all the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 under normal circumstances.

If the first control circuit 117 detects that a certain pair of Bluetooth circuits missed part of the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, the process 214 is performed, and the packets missed by the pair of Bluetooth circuits are transmitted through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. Give the secondary Bluetooth circuit.

For example, in the case that the first control circuit 117 detects that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 missed a specific packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, the first control circuit 117 can proceed to the process 214 to transfer the second Bluetooth communication circuit 111 The packets missed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 are sent to the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will perform the process 216 to receive the packet transmitted by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121. In other words, during the period when the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is operating in the sniffing mode, the second control circuit 127 can use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to receive packets from the first Bluetooth circuit 110, so as to obtain data from the remote Bluetooth device 102. Packets sent out but missed by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121.

By repeating the aforementioned operations, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can fill in all missed packets with the assistance of the first Bluetooth circuit 110. Similarly, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can use the aforementioned method to assist other secondary Bluetooth circuits to fill in the missing packets.

While the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, if the secondary Bluetooth circuit needs to send commands, data, or related packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102, it must forward the commands, data, or related packets to the remote via the primary Bluetooth circuit.端Bluetooth device 102. For example, if the second Bluetooth circuit 120 needs to send commands, data, or related packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102, the aforementioned commands, data, or related packets must be transmitted through the second Bluetooth The communication circuit 121 transmits to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 that plays the role of the main Bluetooth circuit, and then forwards it to the remote Bluetooth device 102 by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 to avoid the problem of packet conflict in the remote Bluetooth device 102.

In other words, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, all member circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 will receive packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, but only the primary Bluetooth circuit is allowed to send commands, data, or other related packets to Remote Bluetooth device 102.

It can be seen from the foregoing description that a packet handshaking mechanism is adopted between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102 to avoid missing packets, and the timing of the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 sending confirmation information to the remote Bluetooth device 102 , It has nothing to do with whether the first Bluetooth circuit 110 has received the aforementioned notification information from the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Therefore, when other secondary Bluetooth circuits receive the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, the action of sending corresponding notification information to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will not interfere or delay the communication between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102. The inter-packet handshaking procedure does not cause additional operational burden on the first Bluetooth circuit 110 to perform the aforementioned packet handshaking procedure.

On the other hand, since other secondary Bluetooth circuits in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 (for example, the aforementioned second Bluetooth circuit 120 and third Bluetooth circuit 130) will sniff the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, each secondary Bluetooth device Under normal circumstances, the circuit will receive most of the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. Therefore, the first Bluetooth circuit 110, which is the main Bluetooth circuit, only needs to transmit the packets missed by the individual secondary Bluetooth circuits to the corresponding secondary Bluetooth circuit, instead of transmitting all the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to each Secondary Bluetooth circuit.

Therefore, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 uses the method of FIG. 2 to interact with the remote Bluetooth device 102, which can greatly reduce the packet forwarding burden of the main Bluetooth circuit (in this example, the first Bluetooth circuit 110), thereby saving the main Bluetooth circuit. power consumption. In this way, the working time and standby time of the main Bluetooth circuit can be effectively extended.

In addition, it can greatly reduce the data transmission between the main Bluetooth circuit and other member circuits. Transmission bandwidth requirements can simplify the hardware design of the main Bluetooth circuit and other member circuits, and/or reduce circuit complexity and circuit cost.

During operation, various suitable existing data synchronization mechanisms can be used between the main Bluetooth circuit and other secondary Bluetooth circuits to ensure that different member circuits can synchronously play the audio data or video data transmitted by the remote Bluetooth device 102, thereby Avoid inconsistencies in the playback timing of different member circuits.

It can be seen from the foregoing description that while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, although the roles of the primary Bluetooth circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit have not changed, the wireless signal environment of Bluetooth communication may change over time due to various factors. It may be affected by the user's posture and usage habits. If the matching operation between the main Bluetooth circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit cannot be dynamically adjusted according to the circumstances of the Bluetooth communication environment at the time, it is easy to reduce the overall operating performance of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, and it may also reduce the main Bluetooth circuit or the secondary Bluetooth circuit. Standby time. In some cases, the service life of the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit may be shortened, or the comfort of using the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the main Bluetooth circuit may be reduced.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, the process 302 is also intermittently performed to calculate the data throughput of the packets it sniffs. For example, in the process 302, the second control circuit 127 of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can calculate the data volume of the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 sniffed by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to generate a corresponding data throughput .

Then, the second control circuit 127 can perform the process 304 to compare the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 with a predetermined threshold.

If the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is higher than the predetermined threshold, it means that the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is within the normal range and the wireless signal environment for the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication is sufficient at that time ideal. In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can continue to operate in the sniffing mode, and repeat the operations of the aforementioned process 208 to process 304.

Conversely, if the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is lower than the predetermined threshold, it means that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication at that time is not ideal, or the remote Bluetooth device 102 sends out The amount of packets is very small, even in sleep mode. In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can perform the process 306.

In the process 306, the second control circuit 127 generates a first mode switching request, and transmits the first mode switching request to the main Bluetooth circuit through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121. The aforementioned first mode switching request is used to request the main Bluetooth circuit to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch from the sniffing mode to the indirect receiving mode. In practice, various suitable data formats can be used to implement the first mode switching request.

In the process 308, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 uses the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive the first mode switching request from the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 310, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 determines whether to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode. In this embodiment, after receiving the aforementioned first mode switching request, the first control circuit 117 can determine whether to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operating mode according to a predetermined rule, and perform corresponding follow-ups based on the result of the determination. Processing flow. If the first control circuit 117 determines that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is not allowed to switch the operation mode after the judgment, the process 312 is performed. Conversely, if the first control circuit 117 decides to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode after the judgment, the process 316 will be performed.

After the first Bluetooth circuit 110 allows the secondary Bluetooth circuit to switch the operation mode, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can switch from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode, and then the first Bluetooth circuit 110 needs to send the remote Bluetooth device 102 The packet is forwarded to the second Bluetooth circuit 120. As a result, the computing load, power consumption, heat generation, and data bandwidth requirements between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will be increased.

Therefore, after receiving the aforementioned first mode switching request, the first control circuit 117 can evaluate the current computing load, surplus power, temperature, and/or availability of the first Bluetooth circuit 110. The data bandwidth and other factors are allowed to switch the operation mode of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 only when the evaluation result meets the predetermined conditions. For example, the first control circuit 117 can be used when the computing load of the main Bluetooth circuit is lower than a predetermined level, the remaining power is higher than a predetermined threshold, the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature, and/or the available data bandwidth exceeds a predetermined value. Then, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is allowed to switch the operation mode.

In the process 312, the first control circuit 117 generates a rejection message indicating that the first Bluetooth circuit 110 does not allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operating mode, and transmits the rejection message to the second Bluetooth circuit through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 120.

In the process 314, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 uses the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to receive the rejection message from the first Bluetooth circuit 110. In this case, the second control circuit 127 will control the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to continue to operate in the sniffing mode according to the instruction of the rejection message, and repeat the operations of the aforementioned process 208 to process 304.

In the process 316, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 generates a first mode switching instruction for instructing the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode, and communicates via the first Bluetooth The circuit 111 transmits the first mode switching instruction to the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 318, the second bluetooth communication circuit 121 receives the first mode switching instruction from the first bluetooth circuit 110, and the second control circuit 127 controls the second bluetooth circuit 120 according to the first mode switching instruction. The operation mode is switched from sniffing mode to indirect reception mode.

Then, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will perform the process 320, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will perform the process 322.

In the process 320, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, and forward the received packets through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 Give the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 322, the second control circuit 127 controls the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to operate in the indirect reception mode, and uses the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to receive the transfer from the first Bluetooth circuit 110. Packets passed by. However, while the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is operating in the indirect reception mode, the second control circuit 127 does not use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. In other words, while the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is operating in the indirect reception mode, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 indirectly obtains the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the first Bluetooth circuit 110.

Please note that the aforementioned first control circuit 117 performs the determination procedure of the process 310 first, and then performs the process 316 after determining that the first Bluetooth circuit 110 meets the predetermined condition is just an example, and does not limit the actual implementation of the present invention. In practice, the first control circuit 117 may also skip the determination procedure of the aforementioned flow 310 and directly proceed to the flow 316 after receiving the aforementioned first mode switching request.

It can be seen from the foregoing description that the second Bluetooth circuit 120, which plays the role of the secondary Bluetooth circuit, will intermittently compare the data throughput it has sniffed with a predetermined threshold during operation in the sniffing mode to evaluate its own Bluetooth. Whether the wireless signal environment deteriorates, or whether the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is significantly reduced. As long as the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is higher than the aforementioned predetermined threshold (that is, the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is within the normal range, and the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is still sufficient. Ideally), the first Bluetooth circuit 110, which plays the role of the main Bluetooth circuit, will not instruct the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch to the indirect reception mode. In this case, the first bluetooth circuit 110 only needs to transfer the packets missed by the second bluetooth circuit 120 to the second bluetooth circuit 120, and does not need to forward all the packets sent by the remote bluetooth device 102 to the second bluetooth circuit 120. Therefore, the operating burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be reduced, and the working time and standby time of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be prolonged, and the gap between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be reduced. Data transmission bandwidth requirements.

Only when the throughput of data sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is lower than the aforementioned predetermined threshold, that is, the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 becomes unsatisfactory, and the remote Bluetooth device 102 sends The amount of packets is small or in sleep mode Only when the first Bluetooth circuit 110 instructs the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will forward all packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the second Bluetooth circuit 120, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will stop sniffing the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, so it can The operation burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 are reduced. In this way, the working time and standby time of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can also be prolonged, the service life of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be prolonged, and/or the use comfort of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be improved. The foregoing method may even allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to enter the power saving mode, the sleep mode, or the sleep mode, so as to further reduce the power consumption of the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Similarly, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the data throughput sniffed by the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the aforementioned method.

Therefore, using the operating modes of the aforementioned Figures 2 and 3, the main Bluetooth circuit in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the secondary Bluetooth circuit from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode, and adaptively change the main Bluetooth circuit. The matching operation between the circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can realize load balance, power consumption balance, or heat balance management mechanism among the multiple Bluetooth circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, so it can improve the multi-member Bluetooth device 100. Overall performance, extend the life of the Bluetooth circuit, or improve the user experience.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a simplified partial flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 of the present invention in a second embodiment. The operation process described in FIG. 4 can be combined with the operation process described in the foregoing FIG. 2.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode, the process 302 is also intermittently performed to calculate the data throughput of the packets it sniffs. However, after the secondary Bluetooth circuit in this embodiment performs the process 302, it does not perform the aforementioned process 304, but performs the process 404 in FIG. 4, and transmits the data throughput of the sniffed packets to the main Bluetooth. Circuit.

For example, after the second Bluetooth circuit 120 calculates the aforementioned data throughput in the process 302, the process 404 is performed. At this time, the second control circuit 127 will pass through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 transmits the data throughput to the first Bluetooth circuit 110.

In the process 406, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 uses the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive the data throughput from the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Next, the first control circuit 117 will perform the process 408 to compare the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 with a predetermined threshold.

If the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is higher than the predetermined threshold, it means that the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is within the normal range, and the wireless signal environment for the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to perform Bluetooth communication at that time is sufficiently ideal . In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will repeat the operations of the aforementioned process 406 and process 408 without adjusting the operation mode of the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Conversely, if the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is lower than the predetermined threshold, it means that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication at that time is not ideal, or the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 The amount is very small, even in sleep mode. In this case, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can perform the same operations as the aforementioned process 316 to process 322 in FIG. 3.

Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3, only when the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is lower than the aforementioned predetermined threshold, that is, the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 becomes unavailable. Ideally, when the remote Bluetooth device 102 sends a small amount of packets or is in a sleep mode, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 instructs the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will forward all packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the second Bluetooth circuit 120, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will stop sniffing the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, so it can The operation burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 are reduced. In this way, the working time and standby time of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can also be prolonged, the service life of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be prolonged, and/or the use comfort of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be improved. The foregoing method can even allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to enter the power saving mode, the sleep mode, or the sleep mode, so as to further reduce the second Bluetooth circuit. Power consumption of circuit 120.

Similarly, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the data throughput sniffed by the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the aforementioned method.

Therefore, using the aforementioned operating modes of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the main Bluetooth circuit in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the secondary Bluetooth circuit from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode, and adaptively change the main Bluetooth circuit. The matching operation between the circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can realize load balance, power consumption balance, or heat balance management mechanism among the multiple Bluetooth circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, so it can improve the multi-member Bluetooth device 100. Overall performance, extend the life of the Bluetooth circuit, or improve the user experience.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which shows a simplified partial flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 of the present invention in a third embodiment. The operation process described in FIG. 5 can be combined with the operation process described in the foregoing FIG. 2.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the main Bluetooth circuit will intermittently perform the process 502 during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode to calculate the data throughput of the packets sniffed by the secondary Bluetooth circuit.

For example, in the process 502, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can calculate the odor of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 based on the frequency of transmitting the missing packets to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. Detected data throughput.

Under normal circumstances, the lower the frequency at which the first control circuit 117 transmits the missing packets to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, it means that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 sniffs the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. The smoother the operation is, the higher the throughput of data sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will be. Conversely, the higher the frequency at which the first control circuit 117 transmits the missing packets to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, the lower the operation of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to sniff the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. It goes well, so the throughput of the data sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will be lower. Therefore, the first control circuit 117 can indirectly calculate the second Bluetooth communication circuit based on the frequency of transmitting the missing packets to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. Data throughput sniffed by the Bluetooth circuit 120.

Then, the first control circuit 117 can perform the process 408 to compare the calculated data throughput with a predetermined threshold.

If the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is higher than the predetermined threshold, it means that the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is within the normal range, and the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication is sufficiently ideal at that time. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will repeat the operations of the aforementioned processes 502 and 408 without adjusting the operation mode of the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Conversely, if the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is lower than the predetermined threshold, it means that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication at that time is not ideal, or the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 Very rarely, even in sleep mode. In this case, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can perform the same operations as the aforementioned process 316 to process 322 in FIG. 3.

Only when the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is lower than the aforementioned predetermined threshold, that is, the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 becomes unsatisfactory, and the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 The first Bluetooth circuit 110 instructs the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode when the amount is small or in the sleep mode. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will forward all packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the second Bluetooth circuit 120, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will stop sniffing the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, so it can The operation burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 are reduced. In this way, the working time and standby time of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can also be prolonged, the service life of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be prolonged, and/or the use comfort of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be improved. The foregoing method may even allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to enter the power saving mode, the sleep mode, or the sleep mode, so as to further reduce the power consumption of the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Similarly, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the data throughput sniffed by the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the aforementioned method.

Therefore, using the aforementioned operating modes of FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the main Bluetooth circuit in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode, and adaptively change the main Bluetooth circuit. The matching operation between the circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can realize load balance, power consumption balance, or heat balance management mechanism among the multiple Bluetooth circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, so it can improve the multi-member Bluetooth device 100. Overall performance, extend the life of the Bluetooth circuit, or improve the user experience.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which shows a simplified partial flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 of the present invention in a fourth embodiment. The operation process described in FIG. 6 can be combined with the operation process described in the aforementioned FIG. 2.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the main Bluetooth circuit will also intermittently perform the process 502 during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode to calculate the data throughput of the packets sniffed by the secondary Bluetooth circuit. However, after the main Bluetooth circuit in this embodiment performs the process 502, it does not perform the aforementioned process 408, but performs the process 604 in FIG. 6, and transmits the calculated data throughput of the packet to the secondary Bluetooth circuit for processing. Further judge.

For example, after the first Bluetooth circuit 110 calculates the data throughput sniffed by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 in the process 502, the process 604 is performed. At this time, the first control circuit 117 transmits the calculated data throughput to the second Bluetooth circuit 120 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111.

In the process 606, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 uses the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to receive the data throughput from the first Bluetooth circuit 110.

Next, the second control circuit 127 will perform the aforementioned process 304 to compare the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 with a predetermined threshold.

If the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is higher than the predetermined threshold, it means that the amount of packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is within the normal range, and the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication is sufficiently ideal at that time. In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will repeat the operations of the aforementioned process 208 and process 210.

Conversely, if the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is lower than the predetermined temporary The boundary value indicates that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication at that time is not ideal, or the remote Bluetooth device 102 sends out a small amount of packets, or is even in a sleep mode. In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can perform the aforementioned process 306 to generate a first mode switching request, and transmit the aforementioned first mode switching request to the main Bluetooth circuit through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121.

Next, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can perform the same operations as the aforementioned process 308 to process 322 in FIG. 3.

Similar to the aforementioned embodiment of FIG. 5, only when the data throughput calculated by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is lower than the aforementioned predetermined threshold, that is, the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 becomes unsatisfactory. Only when the remote Bluetooth device 102 sends out a small amount of packets or is in a sleep mode, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 instructs the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode from the sniffing mode to the indirect reception mode. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will forward all packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the second Bluetooth circuit 120, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will stop sniffing the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, so it can The operation burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 are reduced. In this way, the working time and standby time of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can also be prolonged, the service life of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be prolonged, and/or the use comfort of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be improved. The foregoing method may even allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to enter the power saving mode, the sleep mode, or the sleep mode, so as to further reduce the power consumption of the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Similarly, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the data throughput sniffed by the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the aforementioned method.

Therefore, using the aforementioned operating modes of Figures 2 and 6, the primary Bluetooth circuit in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operating mode of the secondary Bluetooth circuit from the sniffing mode to the indirect receiving mode, and adaptively change the primary Bluetooth. The matching operation between the circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can realize load balance, power consumption balance, or heat balance management mechanism among the multiple Bluetooth circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, so it can improve the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 The overall performance of the Bluetooth circuit can be extended, or the user experience can be improved.

In the foregoing embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 6, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 evaluates the secondary Bluetooth circuit based on the data throughput calculated by the secondary Bluetooth circuit or the primary Bluetooth circuit during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the sniffing mode. Whether the Bluetooth wireless signal environment deteriorates, or whether the packet volume sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 is significantly reduced, and based on the evaluation results, determine whether to switch the operating mode of the secondary Bluetooth circuit from the sniffing mode to the indirect receiving mode . However, these are only some examples, and do not limit the actual implementation of the present invention. In practice, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can also dynamically determine whether to switch the operating mode of the secondary Bluetooth circuit according to changes in the Bluetooth wireless signal environment during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the indirect reception mode.

For example, FIGS. 7 to 8 are simplified flowcharts of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 in a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 may first perform the aforementioned process 202 to obtain the Bluetooth connection parameters required for receiving the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. The foregoing description of the operation mode and embodiment changes of the process 202 in FIG. 2 is also applicable to the embodiment in FIG. 7.

For the convenience of explanation, the following also assumes that the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is a member circuit of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 that is currently selected to process the main work of receiving packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, and other member circuits (for example, The aforementioned second Bluetooth circuit 120 and third Bluetooth circuit 130) play the role of a secondary Bluetooth circuit.

In the process 704, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 may notify other member circuits in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 (for example, the aforementioned second Bluetooth circuit 120 and third Bluetooth circuit 130) through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, and then The first Bluetooth circuit 110 plays the role of the main Bluetooth circuit, and instructs other member circuits to play the role of the secondary Bluetooth circuit, and operates in the indirect reception mode. That is, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will be responsible for processing the main work of receiving the packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102, and the other member circuits only need to receive the packets transferred from the first Bluetooth circuit 110 without sniffing the remote Bluetooth device 102, and does not allow other member circuits to send commands, data, or other related packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102.

Then, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the indirect reception mode, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 performs the process 706.

In the process 706, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, and the first control circuit 117 will also use the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. The packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102 are forwarded to other secondary Bluetooth circuits. For example, the first control circuit 117 can forward the packet from the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the second Bluetooth circuit 120 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111.

In operation, the first control circuit 117 can use the Bluetooth connection parameters acquired in the process 202 to perform packet transmission with the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111, so as to receive various transmissions from the remote Bluetooth device 102. Packets, or send various packets to the remote Bluetooth device 102. According to the operation description of the aforementioned process 202, the Bluetooth connection parameters used by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102 for packet transmission may be acquired by the first Bluetooth circuit 110 itself, or may be other member circuits. (For example, the second Bluetooth circuit 120).

As mentioned above, various suitable packet handshaking mechanisms can be used between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the remote Bluetooth device 102 to reduce or avoid the occurrence of missing packets.

In the process 708, the secondary Bluetooth circuit operates in the indirect reception mode to receive the packet transferred from the first Bluetooth circuit 110. For example, the second control circuit 127 can control the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to operate in the indirect reception mode, and use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to receive the packet transferred from the first Bluetooth circuit 110. As mentioned above, while the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is operating in the indirect reception mode, the second control circuit 127 will not use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. In other words, while the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is operating in the indirect reception mode, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 indirectly obtains the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the first Bluetooth circuit 110.

As shown in Figure 7, during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the indirect reception mode, the process 710 is also intermittently performed to calculate a reception quality index corresponding to the signal reception status of its own Bluetooth communication circuit ( signal reception quality indicator). For example, in the process 710, the second control circuit 127 of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can evaluate the Bluetooth signal reception status of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 at the time to calculate a corresponding reception quality index. In practice, the aforementioned reception quality indicators can use packet error rate (PER), bit error rate (BER), signal reception strength (signal reception strength), and quality of service (quality of service). service, QoS), or other index values that can represent the Bluetooth signal reception status of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 at the time.

Then, the second control circuit 127 can perform a process 712 to compare the aforementioned reception quality index with a predetermined index value.

If the reception quality index calculated by the second control circuit 127 is worse than the predetermined index value, it means that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication is not ideal at that time. In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can continue to operate in the indirect reception mode, and repeat the operations of the aforementioned process 708 to process 712.

Conversely, if the reception quality index calculated by the second control circuit 127 is better than the predetermined index value, it means that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication at that time is sufficiently ideal. In this case, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can perform the process 714.

In the process 714, the second control circuit 127 generates a second mode switching request, and transmits the second mode switching request to the main Bluetooth circuit through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121. The foregoing second mode switching request is used to request the main Bluetooth circuit to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode. In practice, various suitable data formats can be used to implement the second mode switching request.

In the process 716, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 uses the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive the second mode switching request from the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 718, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 determines whether to allow Allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode. In this embodiment, after receiving the aforementioned second mode switching request, the first control circuit 117 can determine whether to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operating mode according to a predetermined rule, and perform corresponding follow-up according to the result of the determination. Processing flow. If the first control circuit 117 determines that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is not allowed to switch the operation mode after the judgment, the process 802 in FIG. 8 will be performed. Conversely, if the first control circuit 117 decides to allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode after the judgment, the process 806 in FIG. 8 will be performed.

Since the first Bluetooth circuit 110 allows the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can switch from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode, and then the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will sniff the remote Bluetooth by itself. The packet sent by the device 102, so the first Bluetooth circuit 110 does not need to forward the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the second Bluetooth circuit 120. As a result, the computing load, power consumption, or heat generation of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 may increase, but the data bandwidth requirement between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be reduced, and the first Bluetooth circuit 120 can also be reduced. The calculation load, power consumption, or calorific value of the Bluetooth circuit 110.

Therefore, after receiving the aforementioned second mode switching request, the first control circuit 117 can evaluate whether there are factors that are not suitable for the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode at that time, and if not, it can allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operation mode. . For example, the first control circuit 117 may allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 when the computing load of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is lower than a predetermined level, the remaining power is higher than a predetermined threshold, and/or the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature. The circuit 120 switches the operation mode. For another example, the first control circuit 117 may allow the second Bluetooth circuit 110 only when the computing load of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 is higher than a predetermined level, the remaining power is lower than a predetermined threshold, and/or the temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature. The Bluetooth circuit 120 switches the operation mode.

In the process 802, the first control circuit 117 generates a rejection message indicating that the first Bluetooth circuit 110 does not allow the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch the operating mode, and transmits the rejection message to the second Bluetooth circuit through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 120.

In the process 804, the second Bluetooth circuit 120 uses the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to receive the rejection message from the first Bluetooth circuit 110. In this case, the second control circuit 127 will control the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to continue to operate in the indirect reception mode according to the instruction of the rejection message, and repeat the operations of the aforementioned process 708 to process 712.

In the process 806, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 generates a second mode switching instruction for instructing the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode, and communicates via the first Bluetooth The circuit 111 transmits the second mode switching instruction to the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 808, the second bluetooth communication circuit 121 receives the second mode switching instruction from the first bluetooth circuit 110, and the second control circuit 127 controls the second mode switching instruction of the second bluetooth circuit 120 according to the second mode switching instruction The operation mode is switched from the inter-receiving mode to the sniffing mode.

Then, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will perform the process 810, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will perform the process 812.

In the process 810, the first control circuit 117 of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, but the first control circuit 117 will not pass through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 The packet from the remote Bluetooth device 102 is forwarded to the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 812, the second control circuit 127 of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 may use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 according to the Bluetooth connection parameters obtained in the process 202. In an embodiment, the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 can sniff all Bluetooth packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102. In another embodiment, the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 only sniffs the Bluetooth packets sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 to the first Bluetooth circuit 110, and does not sniff the remote Bluetooth device 102 to send to the multi-member Bluetooth. Bluetooth packets of devices other than device 100. From the description of the foregoing process 202, it can be seen that the Bluetooth connection parameters used by the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 when sniffing the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 may be obtained by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 itself, or may be other From a member circuit (for example, the first Bluetooth circuit 110).

Next, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can perform the same operations as the aforementioned process 210 to process 216 in FIG. 2.

Please note that the aforementioned first control circuit 117 performs the determination procedure of the process 718 first, and then performs the process 806 after determining that the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be allowed to switch the operating mode. Way. In practice, the first control circuit 117 may also skip the determination procedure of the foregoing process 718 and proceed directly to the process 806 after receiving the foregoing second mode switching request.

It can be seen from the foregoing description that the second Bluetooth circuit 120, which plays the role of the secondary Bluetooth circuit, will intermittently compare the reception quality index corresponding to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 with the predetermined index value while operating in the indirect reception mode. , In order to evaluate whether the Bluetooth signal receiving condition of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is significantly improved at that time. As long as the reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is worse than the aforementioned predetermined index value, that is, the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication at that time is not ideal, and the first Bluetooth circuit plays the role of the main Bluetooth circuit. 110 will not instruct the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch to the sniffing mode, so as to prevent the second Bluetooth circuit 120 from wasting computing resources and power in performing inefficient packet sniffing operations.

Only when the reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is better than the aforementioned predetermined index value, that is, the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 becomes sufficiently ideal, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will indicate The second Bluetooth circuit 120 switches the operation mode from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode. In this case, the first bluetooth circuit 110 only needs to transfer the packets missed by the second bluetooth circuit 120 to the second bluetooth circuit 120, and does not need to forward all the packets sent by the remote bluetooth device 102 to the second bluetooth circuit 120. Therefore, the operating burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be reduced, and the working time and standby time of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be prolonged, and the gap between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be reduced. Data transmission bandwidth requirements.

Similarly, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can be compared with the aforementioned method, according to the third Bluetooth circuit The data throughput sniffed by 130 is used to dynamically switch the operation mode of the third Bluetooth circuit 130.

Therefore, using the aforementioned operating modes of FIGS. 7 and 8, the main Bluetooth circuit in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode, and adaptively change the main Bluetooth circuit. The matching operation between the circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can realize load balance, power consumption balance, or heat balance management mechanism among the multiple Bluetooth circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, so it can improve the multi-member Bluetooth device 100. Overall performance, extend the life of the Bluetooth circuit, or improve the user experience.

Please refer to FIG. 9 to FIG. 10, which illustrate a simplified flowchart of the operation method of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 of the present invention in a sixth embodiment.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, during the period when the secondary Bluetooth circuit is operating in the indirect reception mode, the process 710 is also intermittently performed to calculate a signal corresponding to the signal reception status of its own Bluetooth communication circuit. Receiving quality indicators. However, after performing the process 710, the secondary Bluetooth circuit in this embodiment does not perform the aforementioned process 712, but performs the process 912 in FIG. 9, and transmits the reception quality index calculated by itself to the main Bluetooth circuit.

For example, after the second Bluetooth circuit 120 calculates the aforementioned reception quality index in the process 710, the process 912 is performed. At this time, the second control circuit 127 transmits the reception quality index to the first Bluetooth circuit 110 through the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121.

In the process 914, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 uses the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive the reception quality index from the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

Next, the first control circuit 117 will perform a process 916 to compare the reception quality index calculated by the second Bluetooth circuit 120 with a predetermined index value.

If the reception quality index calculated by the second control circuit 127 is worse than the predetermined index value, it means that the wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication is not ideal at that time. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can perform the process 802 in FIG. 10.

Conversely, if the reception quality index calculated by the second control circuit 127 is better than the predetermined index value, it represents the wireless signal environment in which the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is performing Bluetooth communication at that time. Ideal enough. In this case, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can perform the process 806 in FIG. 10.

In the process 806, the first control circuit 117 will generate a second mode switching instruction for instructing the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode, and switch the second mode through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 The switching instruction is transmitted to the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 808, the second bluetooth communication circuit 121 receives the second mode switching instruction from the first bluetooth circuit 110, and the second control circuit 127 controls the second mode switching instruction of the second bluetooth circuit 120 according to the second mode switching instruction The operation mode is switched from the inter-receiving mode to the sniffing mode.

Then, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will perform the process 810, and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 will perform the process 812.

In the process 810, the first control circuit 117 will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111 to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device 102, but the first control circuit 117 will not send the remote Bluetooth device 102 through the first Bluetooth communication circuit 111. The incoming packet is forwarded to the second Bluetooth circuit 120.

In the process 812, the second control circuit 127 may use the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device 102 according to the Bluetooth connection parameters obtained in the process 202.

Next, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can perform the same operations as the aforementioned process 210 to process 216 in FIG. 2.

Many of the processes in FIG. 10 are the same as the foregoing embodiment in FIG. 8. Therefore, the foregoing description of the operation mode and embodiment changes of the corresponding process in FIG. 8 is also applicable to the embodiment in FIG. 10.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 in this embodiment will intermittently compare the reception quality index corresponding to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 with the reception quality index corresponding to the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 while the second Bluetooth circuit 120 is operating in the indirect reception mode. The predetermined index values are compared to evaluate whether the Bluetooth signal receiving condition of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 at that time is significantly improved. As long as the reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is worse than the aforementioned predetermined index value, that is, The wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 for Bluetooth communication was not ideal at the time. The first Bluetooth circuit 110, which plays the role of the main Bluetooth circuit, would not instruct the second Bluetooth circuit 120 to switch to the sniffing mode, so as to avoid the second Bluetooth circuit 120. Wasting computing resources and power in performing inefficient packet sniffing operations.

Only when the reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit 121 is better than the aforementioned predetermined index value, that is, the Bluetooth wireless signal environment of the second Bluetooth circuit 120 becomes sufficiently ideal, the first Bluetooth circuit 110 will indicate The second Bluetooth circuit 120 switches the operation mode from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode. In this case, the first bluetooth circuit 110 only needs to transfer the packets missed by the second bluetooth circuit 120 to the second bluetooth circuit 120, and does not need to forward all the packets sent by the remote bluetooth device 102 to the second bluetooth circuit 120. Therefore, the operating burden, power consumption, and heat generation of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be reduced, and the working time and standby time of the first Bluetooth circuit 110 can be prolonged, and the gap between the first Bluetooth circuit 110 and the second Bluetooth circuit 120 can be reduced. Data transmission bandwidth requirements.

Similarly, the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the data throughput sniffed by the third Bluetooth circuit 130 according to the aforementioned method.

Therefore, using the aforementioned operating modes of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the main Bluetooth circuit in the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 can dynamically switch the operation mode of the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit from the indirect reception mode to the sniffing mode, and adaptively change the main Bluetooth circuit. The matching operation between the circuit and the secondary Bluetooth circuit can realize load balance, power consumption balance, or heat balance management mechanism among the multiple Bluetooth circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100, so it can improve the multi-member Bluetooth device 100. Overall performance, extend the life of the Bluetooth circuit, or improve the user experience.

Please note that the number of member circuits of the multi-member Bluetooth device 100 in each of the foregoing embodiments can be reduced to two, or can be increased according to the needs of actual circuit applications.

In the specification and the scope of the patent application, certain words are used to refer to specific elements, and those skilled in the art may use different terms to refer to the same elements. This specification and the scope of the patent application do not use differences in names as a way to distinguish elements, but use differences in functions as a basis for distinction. In the specification and patent application The "include" mentioned in the scope is an open term and should be interpreted as "include but not limited to". In addition, the term "coupling" here includes any direct and indirect connection means. Therefore, if it is described in the text that the first element is coupled to the second element, it means that the first element can be directly connected to the second element through electrical connection, wireless transmission, optical transmission, or other signal connection methods, or through other elements or connections. The means is indirectly connected to the second element electrically or signally.

The description method of "and/or" used in the description includes one of the listed items or any combination of multiple items. In addition, unless otherwise specified in the specification, any term in the singular case includes the meaning of the plural case at the same time.

The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims of the present invention should fall within the scope of the present invention.

100: Multi-member Bluetooth device

102: Remote Bluetooth device

110: The first Bluetooth circuit

111: The first Bluetooth communication circuit

113: The first packet analysis circuit

115: The first clock synchronization circuit

117: The first control circuit

120: second bluetooth circuit

121: Second Bluetooth communication circuit

123: The second packet analysis circuit

125: Second clock synchronization circuit

127: second control circuit

130: third bluetooth circuit

Claims (10)

A multi-member Bluetooth device (100) for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device (102). The multi-member Bluetooth device (100) includes: a main Bluetooth circuit (110), including: a first Bluetooth communication circuit (111); a first packet parsing circuit (113) configured to analyze the packets received by the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111); and a first control circuit (117) coupled to the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) and the first packet parsing circuit (113); and a pair of Bluetooth circuit (120), configured to be selectively operable in a sniffing mode or a receiving mode, the second Bluetooth circuit (120) includes: A second Bluetooth communication circuit (121); a second packet analysis circuit (123) configured to analyze the packets received by the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121); and a second control circuit (127), coupled to The second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) and the second packet analysis circuit (123); wherein, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is operating in the inter-receiving mode, the first control circuit (117) will use The first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) receives the packet from the remote Bluetooth device (102), and uses the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) to forward the received packet to the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120), And the second control circuit (127) will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) to receive the packet transferred from the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111), but the second control circuit (127) will not use the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111). The second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) sniffs the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device (102); when a reception quality index of the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) is better than a predetermined index value, the pair of Bluetooth The circuit (120) will switch from the receiving mode to this Sniffing mode; and while the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is operating in the sniffing mode, the first control circuit (117) will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) to receive the remote Bluetooth device (102) The second control circuit (127) will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device (102). The multi-member Bluetooth device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the second control circuit (127) calculates the reception quality index, and the first control circuit (117) and the second control circuit (127) One of) will compare the reception quality index with the predetermined index value. A main Bluetooth circuit (110) in a multi-member Bluetooth device (100), the multi-member Bluetooth device (100) is used for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device (102), and includes the main Bluetooth circuit (110) and A pair of Bluetooth circuit (120) that can selectively operate in a sniffing mode or a receiving mode, the main Bluetooth circuit (110) includes: a first Bluetooth communication circuit (111); a first packet parsing circuit ( 113), configured to analyze the packet received by the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111); and a first control circuit (117), coupled to the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) and the first packet parsing circuit ( 113); wherein, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is operating in the inter-receiving mode, the first control circuit (117) will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) to receive the remote Bluetooth device (102) ), and use the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) to forward the received packet to the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120), and the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) will receive the first Bluetooth communication circuit ( 111) The transmitted packet, but the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) will not sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device (102); a reception quality index on the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is better than a predetermined In the case of the indicator value, the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) will switch from the receiving mode to the sniffing mode; and While the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is operating in the sniffing mode, the first control circuit (117) will use the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) to receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device (102), And the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) will sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device (102). The main Bluetooth circuit (110) according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit (120) calculates the reception quality index, and the first control circuit (117) and the auxiliary Bluetooth circuit (120) are One will compare the reception quality index with the predetermined index value. The main Bluetooth circuit (110) according to claim 4, wherein the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is further configured to compare the reception quality index with the predetermined index value; wherein, if the reception quality index is better than The predetermined index value, the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111) will receive a mode switching request generated by the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120), wherein the mode switching request is used to request the main Bluetooth circuit (110) to allow the The secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) switches from the receiving mode to the sniffing mode. The primary Bluetooth circuit (110) according to claim 4, wherein the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is further configured to transmit the reception quality index to the first Bluetooth communication circuit (111), and the first control circuit ( 117) It is further configured to compare the reception quality index with the predetermined index value; wherein, if the reception quality index is better than the predetermined index value, the first control circuit (117) will communicate via the first Bluetooth The circuit (111) transmits a mode switching instruction to the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) to instruct the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) to switch from the inter-receiving mode to the sniffing mode. A secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) in a multi-member Bluetooth device (100), the multi-member Bluetooth device (100) is used for data transmission with a remote Bluetooth device (102), and includes a main Bluetooth circuit (110) and The secondary Bluetooth circuit (120), the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) includes: a second Bluetooth communication circuit (121); a second packet analysis circuit (123), configured to analyze the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) received Packets received; and A second control circuit (127), coupled to the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) and the second packet parsing circuit (123), is configured to control the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) in a sniffing mode and a Mode of operation in the indirect reception mode; wherein, while the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is operating in the indirect reception mode, the main Bluetooth circuit (110) will receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device (102) , And forward the received packet to the secondary bluetooth circuit (120), and the second control circuit (127) will use the second bluetooth communication circuit (121) to receive the transmitted data from the main bluetooth circuit (110) Packet, but the second control circuit (127) will not use the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) to sniff the packet sent by the remote Bluetooth device (102); in a receiver of the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) When the signal quality index is better than a predetermined index value, the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) will switch from the receiving mode to the sniffing mode; and when the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is operating in the sniffing mode During this period, the main Bluetooth circuit (110) will receive packets from the remote Bluetooth device (102), and the second control circuit (127) will use the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) to sniff the remote Bluetooth Packet sent by the device (102). The secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) according to claim 7, wherein the second control circuit (127) calculates the reception quality index, and the main Bluetooth circuit (110) and the second control circuit (127) are One of them compares the reception quality index with the predetermined index value. The secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) according to claim 8, wherein the second control circuit (127) is further configured to compare the reception quality index with the predetermined index value; wherein, if the reception quality index is superior At the predetermined index value, the second control circuit (127) will send a mode switching request to the main Bluetooth circuit (110) through the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) to request the main Bluetooth circuit (110) to allow The secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) is switched from the inter-receiving mode to the sniffing mode. The secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) according to claim 8, wherein the second control circuit (127) is also configured to transmit the reception quality index to the main Bluetooth circuit (110) through the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121), so that the main Bluetooth circuit (110) can compare the reception quality index with the predetermined index Value; wherein, if the reception quality index is better than the predetermined index value, the second Bluetooth communication circuit (121) will receive a mode switching instruction generated by the main Bluetooth circuit (110), and the second The control circuit (127) switches the secondary Bluetooth circuit (120) from the receiving mode to the sniffing mode according to the mode switching instruction.

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