WO2002035368A1

WO2002035368A1 - Device for transmitting data flows in telecommunications terminals

Info

Publication number: WO2002035368A1
Application number: PCT/DE2000/003821
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thorsten Berg; Erich Kamperschroer; Juri Petkau; Ernst-Wilhelm Scheidemann; Michael Stenert
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2000-10-27
Filing date: 2000-10-27
Publication date: 2002-05-02
Also published as: AU2001225008A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for transmitting data flows in telecommunications terminals (TE). Said device comprises a first interface (2) for realizing a packet-oriented data flow, at least one second interface (3, 4) for realizing a line-oriented or packet-oriented data flow, and a linking device (1) for linking the data flows, whereby the linking device (1) comprises an interface access unit (7) for directly linking the data flows. This enables a significant reduction in the load placed upon a control unit (5) and improves the performance of the entire system. The interface access unit is preferably configured as a DMA controller. The inventive device is especially suited for linking a Bluetooth interface, a PC interface and a telephone-modem interface.

Description

description

DEVICE FOR TRANSMITTING DATA CURRENTS IN TELECOMMUNI ATION TRANSMITTERS

The present invention relates to a device for switching data streams in telecommunication terminals and in particular to a device for switching data packets.

Figure 1 shows a conventional telecommunications terminal TE with a device for switching data streams, as is known for example as a so-called bluetooth modem. such a telecommunication terminal TE has, for example, a cordless interface, e.g. a bluetooth interface 2, which establishes a radio connection to a mobile part MT via an antenna A. In addition, this conventional telecommunications terminal TE has, for example, a modem interface 3, which is connected via a line L, e.g. a two-wire line or a / b line is connected to a switching center V (PSTN, Public Switched Telephone Network). Furthermore, the telecommunications terminal according to FIG. 1 can have a so-called PC interface 4 for connecting a data processing device (e.g. PC or the like) via, for example, a V.24 interface. A main task of this telecommunications terminal TE is, among other things, to control the data exchange between the different interfaces 2, 3 and 4. In program-controlled telecommunications terminals, each interface or the associated hardware is described by an independent software module, not shown, a so-called device handler.

The data transfer between the interfaces 2, 3 and 4 or the associated device handlers takes place via a switching technology or link device 1. This link device is, for example, a central software module dul realizes and enables the switching through of the different data paths between the interfaces 2 to 4. So far, the linking device 1 has been solved by the use of so-called switching matrix modules, which as semiconductor components enable a direct switching through of a respective data source to a respective data sink. However, due to their mode of operation, switching matrix modules are only suitable for synchronous or wired data transmission. However, since, for example, the bluetooth interface 2 represents a packet-oriented interface and, for example, assigns data packets to be transmitted depending on the respective address data either to the PC interface 4 or the modem interface 3, such switching matrix modules cannot be used, in particular when switching packet-oriented data streams become.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block view of the conventional telecommunication terminal TE according to FIG. 1, the same reference symbols denoting identical or similar elements and a detailed description being dispensed with below.

To implement the linking device 1, the bluetooth interface 2 and the modem and PC interfaces 3 and 4 are connected directly to a data processing unit 5, which preferably has a microprocessor, as shown in FIG. The connection between the data processing unit 5 and the respective interfaces 2 to 4 of the telecommunication terminal TE is preferably implemented by a bus system B. Furthermore, according to FIG. 2, a memory unit 6 is connected to the bus system B, as a result of which the linking device 1 is implemented in connection with the data processing unit 5. One of the essential tasks of the data processing unit 5 is thus a bidirectional data transfer or between the respective ones

Interfaces 2 to 4. More specifically, for example, all of the switching center V (PSTN, Public Switched Telephone Network) coming data from the modem interface 3 decoded, digitized and then transmitted via the bus interface and the memory unit 6 from the data processing unit 5 to the bluetooth interface 2 or linked in terms of data. In the conventional device for switching data streams shown in FIG. 2, the interfaces 2 to 4 are addressed by the data processing unit 5 like external memory modules, which is usually referred to as so-called memory-mapped addressing. To be more precise, the data processing unit 5 transmits or links a byte by means of an external memory read access to, for example, the modem interface 3 and a subsequent memory write term to the bluetooth interface 2. In this way, data can be linked between the various interfaces will be realized. However, a disadvantage of such a conventional device for switching data streams in a telecommunications terminal TE is that, in particular, when packet-oriented data streams are used and in turn when very large ones are used

Data blocks, the data processing unit 5 is busy with the (relatively simple) data transmission or linking with an extraordinary amount of time and computing power. This in turn adversely affects the performance of the overall system.

The invention is therefore based on the object of developing a device for switching data streams in a telecommunications terminal in such a way that improved performance of the overall system can be achieved at low cost.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the features of patent claim 1.

In particular through the use of a linking device, which an interface access unit for direct Linking the data streams of the various interfaces and having a control unit for controlling the interface access unit, a direct link between the interfaces can also be implemented in the case of packet-oriented data streams with a high data rate, whereby the data processing unit is relieved and the performance of an overall system is improved.

The interface access unit preferably consists of a so-called DMA control unit (Direct Memory Access). Since such DMA modules or controllers represent standard modules, the device for switching data streams can be implemented particularly cost-effectively.

Furthermore, the linking device can have a storage device for storing an individual linking program, so that in connection with the interface access unit, so-called virtual links or interfaces can be easily accessed by an application located above it.

Software can be built up, a respective switching function can be implemented particularly easily and comfortably in this way.

The interface access unit is preferably controlled as a function of address data via the control unit. With such an implementation, the data processing unit or control unit is particularly relieved, since only the user data from the interface access unit are linked directly and the actual switching task is carried out only on the basis of the available address data.

Alternatively, however, the interface access unit can also be controlled as a function of periodically occurring interrupt signals, which also means that a purely line-oriented tied link or data transmission between the respective interfaces.

The invention is described below with reference to an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing.

Show it:

Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram of a telecommunications terminal with a conventional switching device;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the telecommunication terminal according to FIG. 1 with a detailed representation of the conventional switching device;

FIG. 3 shows a simplified illustration of a data packet to be switched; and

Figure 4 is a simplified block diagram of a telecommunications terminal with a switching device according to the invention.

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If the interface access unit has 7 further I / O

Channels, virtual data links can also be set up to these or between them. The combination of the interface access unit 7 and the linking software thus enables flexible construction of so-called links or connections between interfaces connected to the interface access unit or the DMA controller 7. A higher-level application software is thus given the opportunity to set up virtual links and thus interconnect or convey the data streams as required.

The invention has been described above using a bluetooth interface for a packet-oriented interface. However, it is not limited to this and rather includes all other packet-oriented interfaces that enable packet-oriented data transmission. In the same way, the further interfaces 3 and 4 are not limited to a PC interface and a modem interface, but can also represent further packet and / or line-oriented interface systems in the same way. In particular, ISDN, DECT, xDSL interfaces and the like can be used. Furthermore, the present invention has been described using a DMA controller for the interface access unit. However, it is not limited to this and rather includes all further interface access units with which a direct linkage of data streams between respective interfaces is made possible. Furthermore, instead of a microprocessor, any further data processing unit can also be used as the control unit of the linking device.

Claims

claims

1. Device for switching data streams in telecommunications terminals with a first interface (2) for realizing a packet-oriented data stream; at least one second interface (3, 4) for realizing a line or packet-oriented data stream; and a linking device (1) for linking the data streams of the first and at least one second interface, characterized in that the linking device (1) has an interface access unit (7) for directly linking the data streams of the first and at least one second interface (3 , 4) and a control unit (5) for controlling the interface access unit (7).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the interface access unit (7) has a DMA controller.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the linking device

(1) furthermore has a storage device (6) for storing a link program.

4. Device according to one of the claims 1 to 3, since it is characterized by the fact that the first interface is a bluetooth interface (2) and the at least one second interface is a modem interface (3).

5. Device according to one of the claims 1 to 4, because by marked that the interface access unit (7) is controlled as a function of address data (H) by the control unit (5).

6. Device according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the interface access unit (7) is controlled in dependence on periodically occurring interrupt signals.