EP1260062A2 - Systeme et procede de passerelle d'information - Google Patents

Systeme et procede de passerelle d'information

Info

Publication number
EP1260062A2
EP1260062A2 EP00984467A EP00984467A EP1260062A2 EP 1260062 A2 EP1260062 A2 EP 1260062A2 EP 00984467 A EP00984467 A EP 00984467A EP 00984467 A EP00984467 A EP 00984467A EP 1260062 A2 EP1260062 A2 EP 1260062A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
slave
master
master device
slave device
devices
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00984467A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Robert Baranowski
Roger William Berg
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sony Electronics Inc
Original Assignee
Sony Electronics Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Sony Electronics Inc filed Critical Sony Electronics Inc
Publication of EP1260062A2 publication Critical patent/EP1260062A2/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/66—Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
    • H04L12/2807—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
    • H04L12/2807—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network
    • H04L12/2809—Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/2803—Home automation networks
    • H04L12/283—Processing of data at an internetworking point of a home automation network
    • H04L12/2834—Switching of information between an external network and a home network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
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    • H04L61/5007—Internet protocol [IP] addresses
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L61/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
    • H04L61/50—Address allocation
    • H04L61/5069—Address allocation for group communication, multicast communication or broadcast communication
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L61/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
    • H04L61/50—Address allocation
    • H04L61/5076—Update or notification mechanisms, e.g. DynDNS
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
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    • H04L61/5084—Providing for device mobility
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/02—Protocols based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/04—Protocols specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/12—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/2866—Architectures; Arrangements
    • H04L67/2871—Implementation details of single intermediate entities
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50—Network services
    • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
    • H04L67/568—Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50—Network services
    • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
    • H04L67/59—Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q3/00—Selecting arrangements
    • H04Q3/0016—Arrangements providing connection between exchanges
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L69/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • H04L69/08—Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13097—Numbering, addressing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04Q2213/13098—Mobile subscriber
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04Q—SELECTING
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    • H04Q2213/13103—Memory
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13175—Graphical user interface [GUI], WWW interface, visual indication
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13196—Connection circuit/link/trunk/junction, bridge, router, gateway
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13298—Local loop systems, access network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13374—Paging
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13375—Electronic mail
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13378—Speech recognition, speech analysis
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13389—LAN, internet
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W28/00—Network traffic management; Network resource management
    • H04W28/16—Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W84/00—Network topologies
    • H04W84/18—Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
    • H04W84/20—Master-slave selection or change arrangements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
    • H04W88/16—Gateway arrangements

Definitions

  • This invention relates to networking of electronic devices. More particularly, this invention relates to networking of local electronic devices with an external network using a common gateway.
  • a message being routed has an associated destination address called a MAC (Media Access Control) address which the router uses to direct the message.
  • the router does not have the intelligence to decide where the message should go, but merely directs the message to the destination where the sender wants the message to be delivered.
  • the router can be a wireless router.
  • a wireless router is typically constructed of a computer platform, an Ethernet interface to a local area network (LAN), and a radio modem which changes the Ethernet data stream to a radio frequency suitable for wireless transmission.
  • Wireless routers have similar functionality as wired routers and use MAC addresses to route messages.
  • a wireless system eliminates many hardware requirements and adds mobility to the user. Generally, wireless communication is accomplished through the use of InfraRed or radio waves.
  • the IEEE 802.11 specification provides standards for both the InfraRed and the radio frequencies.
  • two standards have been developed, namely, "direct sequence” which uses a wide range of frequencies for data transmission and "frequency hopping” which provides data transmission utilizing both frequency and time domain variations.
  • InfraRed signals cannot traverse walls, closed doors, etc., as radio waves can.
  • Both radio and InfraRed schemes are expensive as they require additional circuitry and protocol processing to communicate on a wireless network because the system must be compatible with many wide area networks (WANs) and digital standards that are used for wireless data.
  • Bluetooth technology addresses the compatibility problem by developing a technology specification for small form factor, low-cost, short range radio links between portable devices.
  • FIG. 1 shows a Bluetooth network topology.
  • Devices 121 through 124 form a piconet 12.
  • a piconet is a general purpose, low powered, ad hoc radio network consisting at least two linked devices, such as a portable personal computer (PC) and a cellular telephone, but can consists up to eight linked devices. All of the devices on the piconet are peer units having identical communication connections and implementations.
  • the first unit to establish communication in piconet 12 acts as the master and the other units act as the slaves, for the duration of the piconet connection.
  • Network connection for piconet 12 is established as follows.
  • piconet 12 is established when communication needs to be established from or to a device in piconet 12, e.g., a waiting message for one of the devices in piconet 12; one of the devices in piconet 12 is initiating communication to another device in piconet 12; or one of the devices in piconet 12 is initiating communication to a device in another piconet.
  • communication may be initiated by device 121 sending a message to a device in piconet 14.
  • device 121 becomes the master unit and the remaining devices in piconet 12, i.e., devices 122, 123 and 124, become the slave units.
  • Master unit 121 establishes the clock and hopping sequence to synchronize slave units 122, 123 and 124 in piconet 12.
  • Each of the links 125 through 127 in piconet 12 includes logical link control (LLC) and media access control (MAC).
  • LLC logical link control
  • MAC media access control
  • Each of the devices 121 through 124 in piconet 12 is represented by a MAC address which is a 3 -bit physical address such as those used by Ethernet and token ring to distinguish between units participating in piconet 12. When all communication to and from devices in piconet 12 ceases, piconet 12 is broken.
  • Piconet 12 is again established when one of the devices establishes communication. However, when piconet 12 is re-established, a different device may be the master unit instead of device 121, depending on which device establishes communication first.
  • Piconet 14 similarly contains linked devices 141 and 142.
  • device 141 is the master unit and device 142 is the slave unit.
  • device 141 establishes the clock and hopping sequence to synchronize slave unit 142 in piconet 14.
  • Piconets 12 and 14 are independent from each other and do not have to be synchronized. Multiple independent and non-synchronized piconets, e.g., piconets 12 and 14, communicate through network connection 16 and form a scatternet 10.
  • Network connection 16 is, for example, an ISP (Internet Service Provider).
  • all devices are equal in terms of network awareness and capability.
  • the devices may change roles, with one device serving as a master for many slaves, then later serving as a slave to a new master. In other words, every device must have the capabilities to be a master.
  • defined profiles are required, the profile being a specific protocol. For example, a cordless telephone requires a cordless telephony profile; a headset requires a headset profile; a fax machine requires a fax profile; and so on.
  • a conventional gateway is typically a combination of software and hardware that connects two different networks using different protocols, or which use the same protocols but do not otherwise communicate. Some gateways, i.e., application gateways, forward data from one network to another in addition to translating protocols. Other gateways simply forward data from one network to another, without performing protocol translation. In other words, the gateway either has the intelligence to differentiate and translate different protocols or is a "dumb" channel which just passes the data to a known address. Conventional gateways are specific to the hardware platform of the two networks, the communication protocols of the two platforms and the specific applications being run. Generally, a conventional gateway is embodied as a software resident on a Web server host, or as a software application resident on a device separate from a Web host.
  • the gateway may communicate with the Web host through the Internet, or directly by other means.
  • Examples of conventional gateways include Gopher and FTP (File Transfer Protocol), both of which are client/server protocols.
  • Conventional gateways have the disadvantages of needing to change gateways with different applications or services. Therefore, what is needed is a simple and inexpensive communications system to network various electronic devices.
  • a communication device is partitioned into various units, each performing a function of the communication device.
  • a subnet is established for the units, the units including a master device acting as a dedicated master of the subnet and performing an exclusive master function of the communication device and a plurality of slave devices acting as the slaves in the subnet and performing other functions of the communication device.
  • the master device negotiates with the slave devices and intelligently routes a message to the slave devices having capability to process the message.
  • the message is from an external network.
  • the message is from a slave device in the subnet. The same protocol is used for all commumcation with the master device.
  • the master device communicates with the slave devices via a wireless communication path such as radio frequency or InfraRed.
  • the external network may be, for example, an established network such as an internet, a public land mobile network, a POTS (plain old telephone system) network, or another subnet.
  • the master device sends a synchronization message to the slave devices in the subnet.
  • the master device registers a slave device by storing a device capability word of the slave device.
  • the capability word may include, for example, data format and display resolution, in one embodiment, the master device assigns a device identification number to the registering slave device.
  • the master device sets an address in an address table if the number of slave devices is less than a predetermined maximum allowable number.
  • the master device resets an address in the address table when a corresponding slave device is disconnected from the subnet.
  • the master device assigns a group identification number to a plurality of slave devices having substantially the same capabilities.
  • the master device queries the external network for waiting data. If there is waiting data, the external network notifies the master device by sending a notification word which contains message type information. The master device then determines whether any slave devices in the subnet is capable of processing the waiting data. The master device then notifies the slave devices capable of processing the waiting data. In the alternative, the master device notifies one slave device that is capable of processing the waiting data. The slave device that has been notified acknowledges the master device if it is ready for a download, in one embodiment, a user selects the slave device to be used. The master device, after receiving the acknowledgment, requests a download from the external network which then sends the waiting data to the master device.
  • the master device then routes the waiting data to the slave device.
  • the master device selects a format of the waiting data as a function of processing capabilities of the slave device.
  • the slave device notifies the master device if the slave device is not capable of processing the waiting data.
  • the master device requests the waiting data in a second format.
  • the slave device notifies the master device of the slave device's available processing capabilities.
  • the master device upgrades a software in a slave device by searching for an upgrade software in an external network and checking, for example, version information.
  • the master device in one embodiment, comprises a first interface linked to the slave device, a first memory for storing operating software, application software and device configuration information for the master device, a second memory for storing data and a microprocessing for controlling the first interface, the first memory and the second memory.
  • the master device comprises a battery for providing power to the master device.
  • the master device comprises an operator interface.
  • the master device comprises a second interface for communicating with the external network.
  • the slave devices may be, for example, a pen phone, a watch phone, a wireless headset, or a miniature wireless display device.
  • FIG. 1 shows communication links for Bluetooth Technology.
  • FIG. 2 shows a communication system including a subnet having internal links and a link to an external communication network, all in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of a gateway device in accordance with the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 shows the functional parts of a communication device.
  • FIG. 5, which is comprised of FIGs. 5A and 5B arranged as illustrated in the key to FIG. 5, shows in flowchart of gateway communication process.
  • FIG. 6 is an embodiment of a gateway structure for a networked car.
  • FIG. 7 is an embodiment of a gateway structure for a networked house.
  • FIG. 8 is an embodiment of a gateway structure for a networked camera.
  • FIG. 9 is an embodiment of a gateway structure for music-on-demand.
  • FIG. 10. is an embodiment of a gateway structure for a restaurant guide.
  • FIG. 11 shows a pen phone wireless audio device.
  • FIG. 12 shows a watch phone wireless audio device.
  • FIG. 13 shows a wireless headset.
  • FIG. 14 shows a microdisplay.
  • a system and a method of network access using a single device that serves as a gateway for various electronic devices are provided.
  • functions of a communication device are broken apart and each function of the communication device is embodied in a device in a local network (i.e., a subnet) which includes a gateway device and at least one dependent/independent device (or slaves).
  • the devices may physically reside in the same or separate units.
  • the gateway device is the master for the subnet and has the intelligence to establish communication between the dependent/independent devices in the subnet and a peripheral system connected to an external network or between the dependent/independent devices themselves, by using a simple protocol.
  • the external network is an established network.
  • FIG. 2 shows a communication system 200, including a subnet 201 and an external communication network 202.
  • Subnet 201 is typically an unlicensed wireless link and consists various components making up a particular communication system, including a cellular/PCS phone.
  • subnet 201 is made up of a gateway device 203 and various dependent and independent devices linked together.
  • subnet 201 has low power, small footprint, 10-meter range and high data rates for at least 10 devices within the range.
  • Gateway device 203 acts as a master to all dependent/independent devices in subnet
  • gateway device 203 is the exclusive master in the subnet and has a fixed role as the master of the subnet.
  • a device having a fixed role of being a master and performing exclusive functions of a master has the advantage of less cost and complexity because the dependent/independent devices do not have to have the intelligence and sophistication of a master unit. In other words, the dependent/independent devices do not require the more expansive and complicated software and/or hardware to perform the more complicated functions of a master. Instead, the dependent/independent devices only requires a very simple communication interface to communicate with the fixed master.
  • Gateway device 203 in one embodiment acts as a network gateway between external communication network 202 and the dependent/independent devices in subnet 201.
  • Dependent devices 1 through M are devices that communicate most of their information to and from external communication network 202 via gateway device 203.
  • a display may need to receive display information from an external communication device and may not have functions on its own.
  • Independent devices 1 through N have substantial functionality when not communicating to gateway device 203 and their feature set is enhanced in the presence of a gateway device.
  • a television has substantial functionality of receiving and displaying the video and audio signals from a network outside of the gateway and in the presence of a gateway device, it may acts as a display unit for a computer.
  • gateway device 203 acts as a gateway between various dependent/independent devices in a subnet.
  • a personal computer in the subnet may turn on a television, also in the subnet, via gateway device 203.
  • gateway device 203 may house the cellular RF circuitry, a battery and the wireless circuitry needed to communicate with all dependent/independent devices in subnet 201.
  • the dependent/independent devices may include a stereo providing microphone and speaker functionality, a computer providing dialing function and a television providing a display function.
  • the stereo, computer and television each fits in the independent device category because they have substantial functionality without any gateway devices.
  • FIG. 3 shows a gateway device in detail.
  • gateway device 203 consists of an external network interface 402 for communicating to an external network such as the internet, a voice network, another gateway device in a subnet, or a mobile unit; an internal network interface 404 for communicating to a dependent/independent device in a subnet residing a short distance from each other and from the gateway device, e.g., within 10 feet of each other; a microprocessor 406 for controlling all other units in gateway device 203; a flash/ROM (read-only memory) 408 for storing the operating system, device configuration information, user interface and their related application software; a RAM (random access memory) 410 for buffering a device list and message contents; and an optional operator interface 412 such as a display or a keyboard for displaying status or user input.
  • Units in gateway device 203 generally depend on the feature set choices, hence is implementation oriented.
  • microprocessor 406 can be an 8-bit microprocessor and memory 408 is a size suitable to the selected feature set.
  • Application software gives the gateway device intelligence to decide where to route a particular message based on the type of the message received.
  • Gateway device 203 may further include a battery (not shown) for providing power to the components making up gateway device 203.
  • gateway device 203 has a design that looks like a pager (as shown in FIGs. 6 through 10).
  • the actual gateway device 203 can be of any design, the design being typically dependent upon the required battery size and a convenient way for the user to travel with the gateway device.
  • Each of the dependent/independent device in the subnet has a transmitting and receiving circuit and related software to communicate with the gateway device.
  • the communication path between the gateway device and the dependent/independent devices can be either wired or wireless.
  • the communication between gateway device 203 and dependent devices 1 through M, e.g., links 2041 through 204M, and between gateway device 203 and independent devices 1 through N, e.g., links 2061 through 206N is accomplished by any type of wireless links such as, but are not limited to, digital radio frequency (RF), analog RF or InfraRed.
  • the communication between gateway device 203 and the dependent/independent devices can also be accomplished by any wireless links that fall under any air interface (i.e., the standard operating system of a wireless network) such as AMPS (advanced mobile phone service), TDMA (time division multiple access), CDMA (code division multiple access) or GSM (global system for mobile communications).
  • AMPS advanced mobile phone service
  • TDMA time division multiple access
  • CDMA code division multiple access
  • GSM global system for mobile communications
  • Other wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth technology, wireless IEEE 1394 or any other existing or unique protocol, can be used as well.
  • the wireless links described above can be replaced with wired
  • dependent device 1 can communicate with independent device 1 via link 2041 (from dependent device 1 to gateway device 203) and link 2061 (from gateway device 203 to independent device 1).
  • dependent devices and independent devices may communicate directly with each other without gateway device 203.
  • dependent device 1 can communicate directly with another dependent device M via link 2101M; independent device 1 can communicate directly with another independent device N via link 212 IN; and dependent device M can communicate directly with independent device N via link 208MN.
  • These direct communication links are accomplished through either wired or wireless links. It is noted, however, that additional hardware/software may be needed for such direct connections.
  • the information transmitted between gateway device 203 and any of the dependent/independent devices in subnet 201 are made up of control information and payload data.
  • the control information is for establishing the communication link between gateway device 203 and a dependent/independent device in subnet 201 and for negotiating device capability.
  • Negotiating device capability is described in detail later with reference to FIG. 5.
  • the payload data is any data that needs to be transferred to a device in the subnet and includes information such as, but not limited to, voice information, video information or text information.
  • the payload data can be of any format.
  • the external communication network 202 is composed of wired or wireless communication devices and/or networks.
  • the devices/networks in external communication network 202 may be, but are not limited to, an internet 215, a voice network 216, another subnet with a gateway device 217, or a mobile unit 218.
  • the communication devices/networks in the external communication network 202 communicate with, for example, a cellular/PCS (personal communications services) base station or an internet service provider (ISP) 214 which is linked to gateway device 203 in subnet 201 via link 220.
  • link 220 may be either wired or wireless.
  • Gateway device 217 similarly has associated dependent and independent devices connected in a subnet (not shown). Therefore, a device in subnet 201 may communicate with a device in the other subnet via gateway device 203, cellular/PCS base station or ISP 214 and gateway device 217. For example, a user can initiate download of a song playing on a stereo in subnet 201 to a PC (personal computer) in the subnet where gateway device 217 is the master.
  • gateway device 217 similarly has associated dependent and independent devices connected in a subnet (not shown). Therefore, a device in subnet 201 may communicate with a device in the other subnet via gateway device 203, cellular/PCS base station or ISP 214 and gateway device 217. For example, a user can initiate download of a song playing on a stereo in subnet 201 to a PC (personal computer) in the subnet where gateway device 217 is the master.
  • PC personal computer
  • gateway device 203 facilitates communication by serving as the system master.
  • gateway device 203 is always aware of the number and type of devices that are within its range and capable of communication (e.g., powered on, physically linked) by registering each device's capabilities and storing this information in its memory.
  • the gateway device uses the type of each device to decide what type of data is routed to it. For example, video type of data is routed to a television, a computer screen or a LCD display but is not routed to an oven, a telephone or a radio. Routing is accomplished using a simple protocol which is discussed in detail below. Therefore, the gateway device has routing intelligence. It is noted that the gateway device is always the dedicated master and the only master, unlike Bluetooth where each device in the piconet can change its role from a slave to the master and vice versa.
  • FIG. 4 shows an application where a typical communication device such as a cellular/PCS phone is replaced with wirelessly networked units in a local network in accordance with the present invention.
  • a typical cellular/PCS handset 310 has a transceiver 300, a user interface 304 and an audio/visual/data source 302 linked by various hard-wired communication paths, e.g., communication paths 301, 303 and 305.
  • Transceiver 300 in one embodiment contains an RF transceiver, a battery and an antenna.
  • User interface 304 may contain, for example, a keypad and a display.
  • Audio/visual/data source 302 in one embodiment, is a headset. Additional examples for the make up of a local network for a communication device are described below.
  • Transceiver 300 provides a communication path 301 from data source 302 to the outside world, e.g., an external network, over a communication medium 306.
  • User interface 304 relates status of the data from data source 302 and communication medium 306.
  • User interface 304 also allows the user to control the connectivity of communication medium 306 and communication information that is being transferred to/from transceiver 300 via communication path 305.
  • communication paths 301, 303 and 305 are hardwired within a phone unit.
  • transceiver 300, user interface 304 and audio/visual/data source 302 in the above-described cellular/PCS phone 310 may be broken apart into separate units.
  • transceiver 300 can be placed in a cellular/PCS radio module; user interface 304 can be placed in a heads-up display; and audio/visual/data source 302 can be placed in a microphone located in a car stereo.
  • the cellular/PCS radio module, the heads-up display and the stereo microphone in this example are separate and independent units.
  • the communication paths 301, 303 and 305 in one embodiment, are wired links as before. However, communication paths 301, 303 and 305, in one embodiment, are replaced by wireless links established using any conventional means described above.
  • Transceiver 300 acts as the gateway device between the external network and the dependent/independent devices, e.g., user interface 304 and audio/visual/data source 302.
  • Gateway device in addition to transceiver 300, may include, for example, a battery to provide power to the gateway device and circuitry for interfacing with an external network and dependent/independent devices in the subnet.
  • User interface 304 and audio/visual/data source 302 are either independent or dependent devices, depending on their functionality. For example, if user interface 304 is a heads-up display, it is a dependent device because it has limited functionality without a gateway device. However, if user interface 304 is a television, it is an independent device because it has substantial functionality without any gateway devices. In general, any combination of the devices mentioned above, e.g., transceiver 300, user interface 304 and audio/visual/data source 302, can be created to satisfy the application.
  • transceiver 300, user interface 304 and data source 302 can be placed in a single communication unit; transceiver 300, user interface 304 and data source 302 can be in their respective units; transceiver 300 can be in one unit and user interface 304 and data source 302 can be in another unit; user interface 304 can be in one unit and transceiver 300 and data source 302 can be in another unit; and data source 302 can be in one unit and transceiver 300 and user interface 304 can be in another unit.
  • FIG. 5 shows the flow of events after a gateway device has been established on a network and a device starts communicating with the gateway device.
  • the process starts in step 500.
  • the gateway device periodically sends a synchronization message to the dependent/independent devices in the subnet through the gateway device's control channel (step 502) to see if any new devices are in the subnet. If a new device is, for example, within range and capable of communication, e.g., powered on (step 503), the dependent/independent device synchronizes to the gateway device (step 504) and registers the dependent/independent device's capabilities with the gateway device (step 506). To register, the dependent/independent device sends a device capability word indicating the dependent/independent device's capability.
  • the capability word contains capability bits representing various capabilities such as video capable, stereo capable, etc. For example, if a device is stereo capable, the stereo capability bit is set to a "one;” if the device is audio capable, the audio capability bit is set to a "one;” if the device is video and stereo capable, both video and stereo capability bits are set to "one.”
  • the device capability word contains other information, such as format of the data, resolution of the display, etc.
  • the device capability word indicates to the gateway device the dependent/independent device's presence in the subnet. In one embodiment, the device capability word is 32 bits long. Of course, the device capability word can be of any length, depending on the amount and the detail of information desired for each dependent/independent device.
  • the gateway device receives the device capability word from the device notifying its presence.
  • the gateway device then assigns the dependent independent device a device identification number (device ID) and stores the device capability word and the corresponding identification number (step 507).
  • the device ID is eight bits long, which gives a number 0 to 255.
  • a maximum of 256 dependent/independent devices can be networked in a subnet.
  • the maximum number of dependent/independent devices in a subnet is predetermined to allow a sufficient number of devices to be networked together, yet does not create an over-crowded network. This is opposed to the Bluetooth technology where the maximum number of devices in a piconet is eight.
  • the gateway device reassigns the unused device ID number to the next registering device.
  • the gateway device assigns the device ID consecutively. For example, the first registering device is assigned a device ID of one; the second registering device is assigned a device ID of two; and so on.
  • the gateway device assigns a registering device the first available device ID. For example, device IDs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 are in use, the next registering device will be assigned a device ID of 3.
  • a device ID becomes available, for example, when a registered device is disconnected, goes out of range or powered off.
  • a registered device sends a predetermined "powerdown" message notifying the gateway device that it is powering off. For example, when a device is to be turned off by, e.g., pushing a power button, a signal is generated to signal software to do a clean shut down.
  • signal quality is monitored. A signal quality below an acceptable level and a bit error rate increase above a predetermined rate indicate the device is going out of range.
  • the gateway device continuously polls the registered devices to update network connections.
  • the gateway device continuously sends a synchronization message at a predetermined time interval to register any added devices and de-register disabled devices. Therefore, the device list is continuously updated. By continuously updating the device list, the system becomes more efficient because the master unit will avoid sending messages to a disabled or inoperable device.
  • the gateway device maintains an address table which is filled with zeroes initially to indicate that no device is registered with the gateway device.
  • the gateway device looks for the first zero in the table and assigns the device to that address. The gateway device then sets the address to a "one.”
  • a disconnecting device sends a signal to the gateway device to reset the address back to a zero.
  • the above embodiment requires at least two tables to match the address with the capability words. Specifically, one table is needed to assign the address to a certain device and another table is needed to match the address to a capability word.
  • capability words are stored in the address table. In this embodiment, if all bits of the capability words are zero, the address is not used. However, if not all bit are zero, the address is in use. Only one table is needed to match the capability word to the address. In general, any appropriate method can be used to assign device IDs.
  • a group ID is assigned to a group of dependent/independent devices having substantially the same capabilities.
  • the gateway device can then broadcast a message to multiple devices. For example, a television, a computer screen and a palm top are all video capable and thus can be assigned to a common group ID.
  • a dependent/independent device with a device ID and a group ID will ignore messages that are not broadcast messages and are not addressed to it or its group.
  • the dependent/independent device will only respond to messages that are broadcast messages or are addressed to it or to its group. For example, if a message is addressed to a video capable group, the television and the computer monitor will respond but not the stereo.
  • the gateway device After the gateway device assigns the device ID and/or the group ID, the gateway device stores the device ID and the device capability word in a memory at the gateway device (step 507).
  • the device list including the device ID and the corresponding device capability word are pre-programmed into a memory instead of generated by the polling process described above.
  • the gateway device now knowing the capability of each dependent independent device in the subnet, queries the external network through the network control channel to check for any waiting data (step 508).
  • the network control channel also checks for waiting data when no new device is in the subnet in response to the synchronization message (step 503).
  • the query is sent to, for example, an internet server.
  • the server receives the query from the gateway device and looks for waiting data (step 512). If there is waiting data (step 513), the server notifies the gateway device of the waiting data through the network control channel (step 514).
  • the notification message includes information indicating the type waiting data.
  • the waiting data may be in HTML format, text or graphics.
  • the gateway device receives the notification message from the server and checks its device list to see if any device is capable of processing the waiting data. If one or more dependent/independent devices are capable of processing the data, the gateway device informs the appropriate dependent/independent device of the waiting data (step 518). In one embodiment, when multiple dependent/independent devices have similar or the same capability, the gateway device will select a device to process the waiting data and send the notification message to that particular dependent/independent device. The gateway device may select the device based on, for example, efficiency. For instance, if a video image of 32-bit resolution is waiting to be directed and there is a computer screen with a 32-bit resolution and a palm top with an 8-bit resolution in the subnet, the gateway device will direct the image to the computer screen. In another embodiment, all the dependent/independent devices that are capable of processing the waiting data are notified. In this embodiment, a 32-bit image is sent to all video capable devices, e.g., both the computer screen and the palm top.
  • An example is used to illustrate the routing function of a gateway device.
  • the gateway device When an MPEG-4 (Motion Pictures Experts Group standard which support two-way video traffic, lower bandwidth lines and user interactivity that allows one to select parts of a program and ignore others) capable device connects to the network, the gateway device is responsible for finding the proper MPEG-4 connection on the external network side and routing MPEG-4 data whenever possible. Similarly, if the device has the capability to browse web pages, the gateway device requests the type of pages the device is capable of, e.g., HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), HDML (Hand-Held Device Markup
  • the type of pages can also be one that runs Java (Java is a portable object-oriented language which is compiled into byte codes), ActiveX (ActiveX provides a framework for dynamically extending capabilities of Web clients (browsers) as well as Web servers), or any of the common browser plugins.
  • the gateway device waits.
  • the dependent/independent device or devices receive the notification of waiting data from the gateway device.
  • the dependent/independent device then sends an acknowledgment to the gateway device through the control channel to inform the gateway device that it is ready for downloading (step 522). This handshake is to ensure that the device is ready to receive the waiting data.
  • the gateway device will not receive such acknowledgment from that dependent/independent device.
  • the gateway device waits for a predetermined time delay, then searches its device list to select another dependent/independent device capable of processing the waiting data and repeats the process.
  • the gateway device waits for a predetermined time delay, then sends the waiting data to all the dependent/independent devices that returned an acknowledgment.
  • the user may select the dependent/independent device that he wants to use for the download.
  • a list of all dependent/independent devices having capability of processing the waiting data is displayed, for example, on a computer screen or a television screen.
  • the user selects a dependent/independent device from, for example, a keyboard or a remote control.
  • the gateway device then notifies the selected dependent/independent device of waiting data. If the selected dependent/independent device is ready for downloading, it sends an acknowledgment back to the gateway device as described above.
  • the gateway device having received the acknowledgment from the selected device, downloads the waiting data to the selected device.
  • the user may select multiple dependent/independent device for the download.
  • a list of acknowledging devices is displayed. The user then selects from the list of devices that are ready for download. The gateway device then sends the waiting data to the selected device. In one embodiment, multiple dependent/independent devices may be selected. When one or more devices respond with an acknowledgment message, the gateway device requests download from the external network through its network control channel (step 524).
  • the server selects the download site based upon the best format the dependent/independent device is capable of processing. For example, if the waiting data is video data, a computer with a full screen is capable of processing full resolution, thus, the format downloaded is in full data format. However, if the device is a PDA which has a lower resolution, a data format with narrower bandwidth is requested. If only one format is available, data in that format is downloaded.
  • the server receives the data request from the gateway device, retrieves the data from the external network and sends data in the appropriate format to the gateway device through the network data channel (step 528).
  • the gateway device routes the data to the appropriate device(s) that are ready for the download through the data channel (step 530).
  • the dependent/independent devices receive and then process the received data (step 532).
  • the process continues in step 534 where a decision of whether a network request from a registered device is made.
  • the gateway then process the request step 536.
  • the request can be, for example, a request for a different display resolution.
  • the server may restore a stored resolution.
  • the server may modify, e.g., reduce the resolution, based on the request.
  • the process returns to step 502.
  • step 534 is executed.
  • the gateway device is capable of locating the appropriate software upgrade for any device in the subnet. For example, the gateway device may look for upgrades for the devices that are registered, the device may periodically detect an incompatibility and notify the gateway device, or the user may request an upgrade such as from a peripheral manufacturers website. The gateway device is then responsible to locate the upgrade in the network and then gets the upgrade from the network to the device. In general, the initiation of the upgrade is application software dependent. In one embodiment, the user prompts the system to look for an upgrade. This is because the user may have to pay for access to the external network on a minute by minute basis and should be afford the opportunity to decide when and how often the upgrade is performed.
  • the protocol used for gateway communication is now described.
  • the protocol is packetized to allow multiple devices to communicate at once.
  • the air (wireless) protocol can use a Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA) structure, assigning time slots to devices to prevent collisions.
  • TDMA Time-Division Multiple Access
  • CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
  • each data path has an associated priority so that high priority data is transferred faster.
  • the gateway device is responsible for holding off a lower priority data stream to preference a higher priority data stream.
  • data security provisions are provided to take into consideration of another user's device, e.g., another gateway device, within the range of a gateway device.
  • error detection is employed to insure the robustness of the link.
  • error correction is employed to further insure the robustness of the link.
  • the communication between any device and the gateway device follows a simple protocol.
  • the command set includes the following example of commands and command categories, shown in TABLE I,. It is noted, however, that different commands and command categories may be used.
  • a simple command set keeps the interface simple between the gateway device and the dependent/independent devices.
  • a dependent/independent device simply sees in the Display command, for example, that E-Mail is waiting.
  • the dependent/independent device then optionally requests the waiting E-Mail with a Receive command.
  • the E-Mail message is then read from the external network and transmitted from the gateway device with a Transmit command that has the E-Mail message as its data.
  • the gateway device handles the difficult task of connecting the dependent/independent device to the external network or another dependent/independent device that is compatible with the dependent/independent device
  • the protocol between the dependent independent device and the gateway device is simple enough to keep the dependent/independent device simple, small, and inexpensive, yet powerful enough to provide user satisfaction.
  • the following examples illustrate specific applications using a gateway device.
  • the first example is a networked car shown in FIG. 6. While a user is driving along and listening to car stereo 606, the gateway phone 602 in a briefcase in the back seat receives an incoming call. Gateway phone 602 sends a signal to mute car stereo 606 and sends a signal to display a message "CALL" at a heads-up display 604. After pressing the "ANSWER" button on car stereo 606 acknowledging that it is ready to download data, the user has a hands free conversation with the calling party, using the microphone anywhere in the car, such as car stereo 606.
  • the subnet consists of gateway phone 602, car stereo 606 and heads-up display 604, with gateway phone 602 being the gateway device, car stereo 606 being an independent device and heads-up display 604 being a dependent device.
  • Gateway phone 602 communicates with a cellular/PCS base 608 and routes the phone message to car stereo 606 and heads-up display 604 on the subnet.
  • the calling party asks the receiving party to meet him in a restaurant that the receiving party has never been to. After hanging up, the receiving party presses the
  • gateway phone 602 is the gateway device communicating to an ISP 610 to retrieve direction 612 from the internet. Gateway phone 602 then routes the direction information to heads-up display 604.
  • FIG. 7 Another example is a networked house shown in FIG. 7. While watching television 702 with audio through a user's home stereo 704, the user's gateway phone 706 on his belt receives a call from a caller via cellular PCS base 710. The gateway phone 706 sends a signal to mute the user's stereo 704 and sends a signal to display "INCOMING CALL" and the caller ID information on the user's television screen 702. Caller ID provides information about the calling party. The caller ID service is typically available to telephone subscribers for a small additional monthly fee. Under current wireline standards, frequency-encoded digital caller ID information is transmitted between the first and second ring signals.
  • Caller ID information is typically recorded by caller ID devices whether the associated telephone is answered or not.
  • a conventional caller ID device is within a phone unit or connected to a phone via a wired link.
  • the caller ID device usually receives, stores and displays digital caller ID information.
  • the gateway device receives and stores the caller ID information in a memory at the gateway device and transmits it wirelessly to television 702 for display.
  • the gateway device stores a video or audio image associated with a directory match ID with the incoming call.
  • video image may be a digital picture, clip art file, wave (e.g., *.wav) or a *.mp3 file for audio imaging.
  • the display device stores the caller ID information.
  • Gateway phone 706 receives the answer signal from remote control device 708 and negotiates the video format of the call with the cellular PCS base 710 so that the video format is compatible with television 702. If data format is compatible with television 702, the image of the caller is displayed in a picture-in-picture (PIP) window (or full screen, if the television is not capable of PIP.) In one embodiment, the voice conversation comes through stereo 704 and uses the microphone in remote control device 708. If the incoming call is not a video call, no video is displayed. If the caller sends his location, a map pops up on television 702, with the location of the caller highlighted. If the user gets up and leave the room, the hands-free conversation is continued on the next closest stereo, television, or personal computer.
  • PIP picture-in-picture
  • the subnet first includes gateway phone 706, television 702 and stereo 704 in the living room.
  • gateway phone 706 When the user leaves the living room, i.e., the gateway device moves, television 702 and stereo 704 may go out of range and drop out of the subnet.
  • another television or stereo or personal computer may come into range and register with gateway phone 706, forming a new subnet.
  • Gateway phone 706 which was routing video data to television 702 in the living room may now route the video data to a computer in the bedroom.
  • the gateway principles can be applied to create a very simple wireless network between home entertainment devices, appliances, security systems, and other electronics and to create a gateway device for all of these devices to access an external network over a cable, phone, or antenna.
  • the next example is a photographer who carries a cellular/PCS phone that works as a gateway device as shown in FIG. 8. After receiving a voice call on his cellular/PCS phone 804 to alert him of an event, the photographer can send pictures from his digital camera 802 wirelessly through his gateway phone 804 to a destination 806 on the internet. The camera simply sends the data, while the gateway phone 804 does the internet negotiations over the cellular/PCS system 808 to place the photo where it should go.
  • gateway phone 804 is the gateway device and digital camera 802 is an independent device on the subnet. If digital camera 802 is within range of the photographer's PC 806, the photos can be sent to PC 806 using the same protocol, and PC 806 can act as the gateway device.
  • the development cost of a combined cellular/PCS camera would be much higher than the separate units, so developing separate units, i.e. peripheral devices, is not only less costly, but also allows piece by piece upgrades.
  • FIG. 9 Another example is music-on-demand shown in FIG. 9. While listening to music on a mini-disc or portable music player 902, the user can preview the latest music release from a source 906 on the internet via ISP 908, and purchase the music release with the touch of a button on mini-disc or portable music player 902. After purchase, the song is downloaded from source 906 to gateway device 904 which negotiates and routes the song to mini-disc or portable music player 902.
  • the mini-disc can be replaced with, for example, a small flash-card or flash box that holds music and replays it on demand.
  • a PDA 1002 can get location information from a gateway device 1004 (from the CDMA infrastructure) and request entertainment information for the area from existing HTML systems. Gateway device 1004 routes the data from the selected web site 1006 to PDA 1002 for formatting. This approach allows PDAs the benefit of connectivity while keeping the size small and the design simple.
  • a phone is split into smaller pieces to give the user the perception of a smaller phone.
  • the difficulty in splitting the phone into smaller pieces is that the user must be able to control the phone from this small device so the phone itself never leaves the belt or the purse.
  • the biggest change to the user is that the large RF circuitry and associated battery (e.g., the gateway device) can be in a remote location, even during a phone conversation.
  • the user interface could be in a tiny device the size of a credit card.
  • the audio can be carried to/from the user through a very small headset.
  • the user may rely on the headset with voice recognition for dialing, and may never see the gateway device during the course of the day.
  • the user will perceive the cellular phone as being a very small, manageable device.
  • the cellular/PCS phone provides high-speed connection and can be used in applications that benefit every target consumer. The consumers can "mix-and-match" their internet-ready equipment, purchasing only the items that they need.
  • the gateway device also gives basic devices (wrist watch, refrigerator, alarm clock) an added dimension of connectivity without significantly increasing product cost.
  • the gateway architecture benefits the manufacturers as well.
  • a manufacturer would need to create an array of products that are all cellular/PCS compatible, or make the cellular/PCS phone modular so that it can be connected to one device at a time.
  • the cellular/PCS phone by allowing the cellular/PCS phone to act as a gateway device for all peripheral devices that can talk to it by adding a simple, low power, wireless interface to the gateway device for each peripheral device, a device could be made "internet-ready" for a cost much less than by adding full power cellular circuitry for each peripheral device.
  • the gateway concept can be applied to a wide variety of devices on any kind of network, the alternate uses have a very wide range. The principles can be applied wherever device cost can be lowered and size can be reduced by moving high-power complex communication circuitry off a common device.
  • the first implementation is a pen phone wireless audio device shown in FIG. 11.
  • the pen phone wireless audio device 1100 is in the shape and size of a pen and has functionality of a pen.
  • pen phone wireless audio device 1100 has added functionality of a telephone.
  • the cellular/PCS communication circuitry e.g., the transceiver
  • the transceiver is placed in a gateway device.
  • the pen phone wireless audio device provides a user interface device that is separate from the transceiver.
  • the pen phone wireless audio device acts as a dependent device of the gateway device because its functionality is limited without a gateway device to route audio or process voice commands.
  • the pen phone wireless audio device 1 100 incorporates for example, a microphone at the bottom 1102 and a speaker at the top 1104 of pen phone wireless audio device 1100.
  • the microphone is electrically coupled to a transmitting circuit while the speaker is electrically coupled to a receiving circuit.
  • the transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit communicate with a gateway device having a transceiver via wireless communication paths.
  • the user may, for example, have a two-way conversation by holding the pen phone wireless audio device up to the side of his face, aligning the top of the pen phone wireless audio device with his ear and the bottom of pen phone wireless audio device 1100 near the mouth.
  • pen phone wireless audio device 1100 upon reception of a radio signal, informs the user of signal reception by a ring indication.
  • the ring indication is audible.
  • ring indication is vibration. Both ring indications can be accomplished by conventional hardware and software.
  • audio sound can be implemented by any suitable piezo electric transducer and internal vibration can be implemented by any suitable rotating counter weight.
  • dialing in one embodiment, is accomplished either with voice recognition (with VR processing in the gateway device) or a modification of Jogdial NavigatorTM dialing system manufactured by Sony Electronics Inc.
  • a voice recognition apparatus as that described in U.S. Patent
  • the voice recognition apparatus includes a microphone device for sensing the initiating voice and a voice recognition circuit for recognizing a voice input to the microphone and for performing a dialing operation based on the voice.
  • the voice recognition apparatus further includes a mute switch which enables/disables the voice recognition circuit.
  • the radio telephone apparatus when set to the voice recognition mode following the off-hook operation, the radio telephone apparatus is in a state of waiting for entry of the destination- identifying voice, that is, in the state in which the voice inputted to a microphone device may be transmitted as electrical signals to the voice recognition circuit.
  • the voice recognition circuit When the destination-identifying voice is inputted to the microphone device, the voice recognition circuit proceeds to identify the destination by associating the information corresponding to the electrical signals transmitted from the microphone device with destination-related information stored in the memory. The voice recognition circuit then proceeds to control the transmitting circuit etc. of the radio telephone apparatus for effectuating the transmitting operation. Alternatively, any known voice recognition and auto-dial may be used.
  • the jog-dial dialing system as described in U.S. Patent No. 5,905,964, entitled “Portable Communication Apparatus” by Sudo, Fukuharu, issued on May 18, 1999, and assigned to Sony Corporation, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirely.
  • the jog-dial dialing system described in the '964 patent which has an up, down and click input is modified for the present application in that the up/down is translated into rotation of the pen body 1106, and the click is a button on top 1108 of the pen.
  • This combination is then used to scroll through selections that are shown on, e.g., a liquid crystal display 1110 comprising a matrix of pixels, and to choose the desired telephone number with a click. New numbers can be entered by the spin-and-click method, or dialed using voice recognition.
  • the pen phone wireless audio device 1100 retains the writing functionality of a pen.
  • Watch phone wireless audio device 1200 is an implementation of a user interface device that is separated from the transceiver, which is the gateway device in this example.
  • Watch phone wireless audio device 1200 incorporates a microphone, speaker, and limited user interface, similar to the pen phone wireless audio device described above.
  • Watch phone wireless audio device 1200 also fits into the dependent category of gateway devices, since its functionality is limited without a gateway device to route audio or process voice command.
  • Watch phone wireless audio device 1200 incorporates a microphone electrically coupled to a transmitting circuit and a speaker electrically coupled to a receiving circuit. The transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit communicate with a gateway device via wireless communication paths.
  • watch phone wireless audio device 1200 with a display 1202 allows a two-way conversation, for example, by using the watch phone wireless audio device 1200 as a speakerphone.
  • the conversations take place at arm's length.
  • both the microphone and the speaker are embedded in the device.
  • wristband 1204 has a speaker that flips out to sit in the palm of the hand with a microphone (not shown) attached to wristband 1204, allowing a conversation when the palm is cupped over the ear.
  • the speaker and the microphone may be any suitable speakers and microphones.
  • a speaker wire (not shown) may run up the user's arm and into the ear of the speaker to give more private conversation.
  • both the ear plug and the microphone use wire connections.
  • the gateway device in one embodiment, is controlled with voice commands as that described in the '261 patent.
  • the gateway device is a keypad (not shown) that includes multiple pressure-activated switches for user input.
  • a jog-dial 1206 may be added to give a user interface similar to that described in the '964 patent.
  • Another embodiment incorporates a suitable touch screen with handwriting recognition.
  • a third example of a dependent/independent device is a wireless headset 1301 with hookswitch control and call alert shown in FIG. 13. In one embodiment, the headset has a normal functionality of receiving and transmitting radio signals.
  • the headset performs functionality such as incoming call indication, caller ID information (e.g., LED display, LCD display), hookswitch control, volume control and battery indication (e.g., LED display, beeper).
  • the headset incorporates a microphone electrically coupled to a transmitting circuit and a speaker electrically coupled to a receiving circuit.
  • the transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit communicate with a gateway device via wireless communication paths.
  • the gateway device mutes, e.g., the stereo the headset is connected to, and activates an incoming call indication in the form of, for example, a beep or a ring to alert the user of an incoming call.
  • Hookswitch control operates such that when the hookswitch is open, all parts of the telephone are disconnected from the telephone line except a ringer circuit.
  • switching equipment in the central office notifies the receiving party's telephone to alert the receiving party to an incoming telephone call.
  • the receiving party lifts the handset from its cradle to answer the incoming telephone call, the hookswitch closes, and the connection between the calling party and the receiving party.
  • the headset combined with voice recognition for dialing and feature control, gives the user enough control to never touch the actual phone in normal operation.
  • the headset can be folded in half when not in use.
  • the headphone can fold and unfold for hookswitch control.
  • the microphone is separated from the headset to allow attachment to a lapel or sun visor in a vehicle.
  • the fourth implementation of a dependent/independent device is a miniature wireless display device 1401 shown in FIG. 14 along with a U.S. 5-cent coin to illustrate the relative size of device 1401.
  • Miniature wireless display devices are displays that use a silicon chip as the substrate material.
  • the chip also houses the addressing electronics (at least an active matrix with integrated drivers), usually implemented in standard CMOS technology. This mature technology generates very reliable and stable circuits and allows very small pixel pitches ( ⁇ 10 um) and high display resolutions. Microdisplays are small and can be used in projectors, head-mounted displays, view-finders or other lens- view display systems.
  • Electroluminescence EL
  • vacuum fluorescence VF
  • reflective Liquid Crystal effects tilting or deforming of micromirrors (requires micro-machining).
  • LCOS Liquid Crystal on Silicon
  • Navigation keys are located on the device to interact with the software that is controlling the displayed image from the gateway device.
  • the virtual display fits into the gateway concept in that the information that is shown is either generated by the gateway device or routed by the gateway device to the display from a source on the infrastructure.
  • the display can be used for picture/video review or web browsing. Because it is small and wireless, it can be attached to a keychain or a retractable tether.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Computing Systems (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Medical Informatics (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
  • Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
  • Small-Scale Networks (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif et un procédé de communication entre plusieurs dispositifs. Ce procédé consiste à diviser un dispositif de communication en plusieurs unités, chacune exécutant une fonction du dispositif, à établir un sous-réseau destinés à ces unités, lesquelles comprennent une unité maître agissant en tant que maître du sous-réseau et exécutant une fonction maître exclusive, ainsi que plusieurs unités esclaves agissant en tant qu'esclaves du sous-réseau et exécutant d'autres fonctions du dispositif de communication. L'unité maître négocie avec les unités esclaves et achemine de manière intelligente un message aux unités esclaves dotées de la capacité de traiter ce message. Dans un mode de réalisation, le message vient d'un réseau extérieur. Dans un autre mode de réalisation, le message vient d'une unité esclave du sous-réseau. Le même protocole est utilisé pour communiquer avec l'unité maître. Dans une variante de réalisation, l'unité maître communique avec une unité esclave par l'intermédiaire d'un trajet de communication sans fil, tel qu'un trajet de fréquence radioélectrique ou un trajet infrarouge. Le réseau extérieur est un réseau établi, tel qu'un réseau du type Internet, une unité mobile, un réseau vocal ou un autre sous-réseau.
EP00984467A 1999-12-23 2000-12-15 Systeme et procede de passerelle d'information Withdrawn EP1260062A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

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US47056299A 1999-12-23 1999-12-23
US470562 1999-12-23
PCT/US2000/034184 WO2001048977A2 (fr) 1999-12-23 2000-12-15 Systeme et procede de passerelle d'information

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EP1260062A2 true EP1260062A2 (fr) 2002-11-27

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EP (1) EP1260062A2 (fr)
JP (1) JP2003519943A (fr)
KR (1) KR20020082474A (fr)
AU (1) AU2108101A (fr)
CA (1) CA2393936A1 (fr)
TW (1) TW561745B (fr)
WO (1) WO2001048977A2 (fr)

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Publication number Publication date
KR20020082474A (ko) 2002-10-31
CA2393936A1 (fr) 2001-07-05
TW561745B (en) 2003-11-11
WO2001048977A2 (fr) 2001-07-05
WO2001048977A3 (fr) 2002-09-12
JP2003519943A (ja) 2003-06-24
AU2108101A (en) 2001-07-09

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