GB2357663A

GB2357663A - Wireless communication adaptor

Info

Publication number: GB2357663A
Application number: GB9929847A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graeme Roy Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-12-20
Filing date: 1999-12-20
Publication date: 2001-06-27
Also published as: GB9929847D0

Abstract

A wireless communication adaptor is capable of transmitting and receiving data or control signals in order to replace wired means of interfacing together pieces of equipment such as musical instruments, computer peripherals and audio equipment. The adaptor may be programmable and have interchangeable interface and connector means to allow the adaptor to be reconfigured and connected to various pieces of equipment. This allows equipment not originally made for the wireless communications standards such as the Bluetooth specification to be upgraded for use with wireless systems. In an embodiment the adaptor comprises SCART and coaxial input connectors, and means for re-formatting a UHF/VHF signal so that signals from a video device 11-17 may be wirelessly transmitted to a plurality of receivers. The adaptor also comprises output SCART and coaxial connectors to allow signals to bypass the unit and be output to a local television 12.

Description

2357663 WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS FOR ADAPTING LEGACY EQUIPMENT TO

NEW WIRELESS COMMUNICATION STANDARDS This invention relates to a reconfigurable wireless communications adapter or module with interchangeable and optionally re-programmable interface circuitry and connector means -for use with legacy equipment.

Much of the peripheral equipment or slave units in a computer system, such as printers, fax machines, modems, scanners, keyboards, a mouse are connected to the main processing unit or master unit by a variety of cable means employing various interface standards. The same is true for musical instrument which need to be connected to either amplifiers, or mixing desks and associated computer equipment via MID[ interfaces.

This tends to make the system unwieldy and complex to connect together. It also has the disadvantage that the distance between the main unit and the peripheral units is limited to the length of the cable. Extending the cable normally requires active extenders to maintain signal integrity. Other disadvantages of cable connections are that they are expensive, different peripheral equipment tend to use different interface standards and hence different cables and connectors, so there is no consistency between the connectors and cables used in the system. yet another disadvantage of connecting equipment via cable means is that when the peripheral equipment needs to be moved the cables have to be re-routed. For large office systems this is expensive, inefficient and can take a long time. Consequently, certain peripherals can then be out of use for this time period.

With other legacy equipment, such as video recorders, Set Top Boxes (ST13s), games consoles and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) players, their outputs tend to be connected to one television or display. This limits their use to one location in a home or office. Distribution of video signals around a home or office and over large distances tends to be difficult due to long cabling, signal attenuation and interface mismatch problems which corrupt the signal. Also, cabling tends to be permanent and reduces flexibility and doesn't allow for receiver mobility. Todays, systems tend to lead to solutions in which a single media source unit, such a s a video recorder, set top box, games console or a DVD player is required per room and or television or display unit. This tends to be expensive and cumbersome.

According to the present invention there is provided a wireless communications adapter or module, capable of receiving and transmitting data and control messages, having interchangeable interface and connector means to allow the wireless adapter to be reconfigured and connected to various legacy equipment which have different connector and interface means, the wireless adapter or module being connected directly to the legacy equipment via the interface connector means, the legacy equipment being equipment which has no wireless circuitry integrated as standard for transferring data between the legacy equipment and previously received and transmitted control and data messages via cable means, the cable being inserted into connector means on the legacy equipment between the legacy equipment and remote units, the wireless module means therefore replacing the cable means as the method of communication between the units allowing legacy equipment to communicate with other legacy equipment via the said wireless means or allowing legacy equipment to communicate with new equipment that contains integrated wireless means.

New wireless standards, such as Bluetooth, HomeRF and IEEE 802.11 have been designed to allow wireless communications between a master unit and peripheral equipment. The limited power of these standards allows wireless communications over short ranges. However, many manufactures wanting to adopt these new standards and incorporate them in their products will do so by integrating the relevant wireless communication circuitry directly into their products. A customer purchasing a new computer system will then be able to buy all the peripheral equipment they need already wireless enabled. As this type of equipment is always being updated to keep track with changing standards it is in the manufacturer's interest to update all the main processing unit and all the peripheral units to make them wireless enabled at the same time. Otherwise, there would be a conflict in interface standards between the equipment and this would not be acceptable to the customer.

However, there are many computer systems, hi-fi and home theatre systems in use around the world and these vary in size and complexity. If a user wished to upgrade part of his 1 her system they would probably only be able to purchase new wireless enabled peripheral equipment. And of course, this is what they would want. For example, a user may wish to upgrade his / her main processing unit for a faster processor with more memory means. Users tend to upgrade their systems in stages due to costs and the fact that many of their peripheral functions perform to the required level. Of course, the user would not want to purchase a whole new system, including the peripherals because all the associated peripherals he / her already had were not wireless enabled.

They would like to upgrade their system in stages, adopting new standards as they go. By using a wireless communication adapter or module the user could purchase a new piece of equipment and convert their legacy equipment to operate with the new wireless enabled equipment. This would allow a staggered upgrade path and allow legacy equipment to be quickly and conveniently upgraded to operate with the new wireless enabled equipment.

In another scenario, network managers of large computer systems may want to upgrade their legacy equipment for use with a wireless standard as this removes the need for installing and maintaining long and complex cables, such as those used in an Ethernet system. Having wireless enabled legacy equipment allows the equipment to moved quickly and easily if necessary in the future.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 shows a block diagram for one configuration of the wireless communication adapter or module which include the Radio Frequency module, the baseband link controller section and logic, the host processor logic, an application processor and controller section and logic, programmable interface logic with connector means and interface circuitry with connector means.

Figure 2 illustrates one configuration of the wireless communication adapter or module which shows an interface mezzanine peb which contains legacy equipment connector means, associated interface circuitry and pcb connector means to allow the interface mezzanine pcb to be connected directly to the main wireless communication adapter or module pcb.

Figure 3 illustrates another configuration of the wireless communication adapter or module which shows an interface mezzanine pcb which contains legacy equipment connector means and pcb connector means to allow the interface mezzanine pcb to be connected directly to the main wireless communication adapter or module pcb. The legacy interface circuitry, which can be programmable or standard logic devices is now implemented on the main wireless communication adapter or module pcb.

Figure 4 shows another configuration or version of the wireless communication adapter or module which allows connection to portable legacy equipment and contains a keypad to allow remote control of the associated legacy equipment.

Figure 5 illustrates how a pair of legacy headphones can be connected to a portable version of the wireless communication adapter or module which can be carried around by a the user.

Figure 6 shows another version of the wireless communication adapter or module which has the capability to allow the connection of several legacy equipment units, such as a portable compact disc player, a portable mini disc player, or a portable radio receiver for example, which can then be used to operate with a legacy amplifier which has a corresponding wireless communication adapter or module connected, or operate with a wireless enabled amplifier.

Figure 7 shows yet another version of the wireless communication adapter or module which implements an application processor, encoder 1 decoder logic and or controller circuitry which is used to perform functions that would otherwise be used by circuitry in the legacy equipment, for example an MPEG4 encoder 1 decoder and or a voice coder 1 decoder.

Figure 8 shows a configuration of the wireless communication adapter in which it is configured for video and associated audio distribution to other remote television units, via wireless communication adapter receiver units, allowing television and or video information to be distributed to several receiver units. Source equipment control is provided by remote control and or handset means.

Figure 9 shows a configuration of the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit used for video distribution in which the unit has several inputs and can transmit one or any combination of the signal source to one or many wireless communication adapter receiver units allowing several users to access the same or different programs at different remote locations. Source equipment control is provided by remote control and or handset means.

Figure 10 shows a block diagram for one configuration of the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit for video and associated audio 1 data transmission.

Figure 11 shows a block diagram of the corresponding wireless communication adapter receiver unit for video, associated audio and data distribution and control.

In Figure 1, the wireless communication adapter or module 2 employing the present invention includes a radio frequency (RF) module lg, a baseband processing section lf, a host processor 5a with associated memory 5b, an interface circuit section 1d or lp, power supply, voltage regulation and reset circuitry 1m. The baseband processing section lf also interfaces to local memory means 6b which will consist of non volatile program memory such as FLASH memory and volatile memory such as Synchronous Random Access Memory or SRAM. A crystal oscillator 3f provides the master clock for the wireless module 2. However, phased lock loops (PLLs) integrated within the RF module 1 g and or the baseband logic section 1 f can be used to generate other clocks at different clock rates required in the system 2. Connector lc is used to directly connect the wireless communication adapter or module 2 to the connector on the legacy equipment.

The Radio Frequency (RF) module 1g consists of the following circuit blocks. A VCO tank 3h which is part of the phase lock loop circuitry which allows direct modulation on the VCO. A loop filter 3g which is responsible for filtering the tuning voltage applied to the VCO tank circuit 3h. A receive balance circuit 3e used to perform the transformation from unbalanced to balanced transmission. A transmit balance circuit 3d which performs the transformation from balanced to unbalanced transmission. It also provides the necessary biasing of the output amplifier. The antenna 3a plugs directly into the RF module 1g and is then connected to the antenna filter 3b. This fitter 3b is a band-pass filter for selecting the desired radio frequency band. As the wireless communication adapter or module 2 can be used to transmit and receive signals, the RF module l g must have a way of using the antenna 3a for transmission and reception of signals. This is achieved with the antenna switch circuit 3c. It allows the received signal to be routed to he receive circuitry 3e. At another period in time the antenna switch can then be switched so the RF module can transmit data by connecting the antenna to the transmit circuitry 3d.

The baseband section is responsible for performing the link management and controlling the timing of the transmission and reception of the various channels used by the wireless communication adapter 2. The baseband circuitry lf is also used on the transmit side to build and format the source data into packets by adding header information, then adding error correction bits using forward error correction means, such as cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs). The data attached to the header to form the desired packet can also be encrypted for security reasons. On the receive side, the baseband circuitry l f performs the inverse functions to those performed on the transmit side so it can decode the received data and perform the necessary tasks depending on whether the received packet is a data message or control message.

As the timing of packet transmission and reception is controlled by the baseband section lf, any frequency hopping calculations required to control the RF module 1 g are performed here and passed to the RF module 1 g at the appropriate time. The baseband link controller 6a could also be responsible for performing any authentication algorithms needed to establish the link and ensure correct user gain access.

As with most communications links, there are protocol stacks which are divided into various layers. Each layer performing key peer to peer operations. The FLASH memory 6b connected to the baseband circuitry 6a is used to store firmware which is used to implement routines such as the Link Management, host controller interface. The baseband circuitry lf can be implemented in one of several ways and could use one or more processing elements to implement the desired functions. The processing elements 5a could be any combination of the following:- microprocessors, microcontrollers, RISC processor or Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). If more than one processing element is used the partitioning of the various protocol stacks can be distributed amongst the processing elements. This allows higher layer firmware or software to be implemented in a separate processing element 5a. The firmware or software being stored in memory means 5b connected to the processing elements 5a address, data and control buses. The functions implemented by this higher layer firmware or software include command drivers for communication between the processor and lower layers, multiplexing, segmentation and reassembly (SAR) of packets, APIs for connection and message passing to higher layers which then implement functions required by the various interfaces 1 cl, 1 p, 1 c.

These interfaces include RS-232, UARTS, Universal Serial Bus (USB), PCMCIA or card bus and Firewire for example. User familiaer in the art will appreciate that there are many other interface type and the wireless communication adapter or module 2 is not limited to those mentioned above.

As both real time and non real time data can be transmitted and received by the wireless communication adapter or module 2 hardware and firmware 1 software must be used to perform these tasks. This higher layer software also include protocol stacks such as TCP/IP.

To allow the wireless communication adapter or module 2 to be connected to a piece of legacy equipment a connector lc is provided on the wireless communication adapter or module 2. This allows the wireless communication adapter or module to interface directly to the legacy equipment. Interface circuitry ld or lp provides the required signal conditioning between the legacy equipment and the wireless communication adapter or module. The interface circuitry ld or lp together with the host controller 5a implement the functions required to format the data and signals for the desired interface protocol.

In a preferred embodiment, the connector lc and interface circuitry are implemented on a separate mezzanine PCB la which connects to the main motherboard PCB 2 of the wireless communication adapter or module by connector means lb. This allows the connector type lc on associated interface circuitry ld or lp to be changed to that required to interface to the desired legacy equipment. By providing a range of different mezzanine PC13s la which have different connector lc and associated interface circuitry ld or lp a user 7 can reconfigure the wireless communication adapter or module for use with different legacy equipment. In some cases, the firmware and or software used to control and format data for the desired interface will need to be changed. However, this can be easily changed or upgraded. This can be achieved either by changing the FLASH memory 5b which is used to store the relevant interface routine. Or in another preferred embodiment, the changes could be performed via the wireless communication link in which the FLASH memory 5b on the wireless communication adapter or module is upgraded or over written from a master source at the remote end of the wireless link. This also includes updating the firmware and or software via the Internet.

In another embodiment, parts of the interface circuitry lp could be implemented in re-programmable logic, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or Programmable Array Logic (PALs). This would allow the user to change the interface circuitry 1 a, 1 c, implemented in the reconfigurable logic l p and so adapt the same wireless communication adapter or module for use with other legacy equipment. The firmware to reconfigure the interface circuitry being stored in the FLASH memory 5b. Or, the firmware required to re-configure the interface circuitry 1 p could be downloaded via the wireless link from a master source. This also includes updating the firmware and or software via the Internet.

The power supply 1 m for the wireless communication adapter or module can be derived from one of several sources depending on the configuration of the wireless communication adapter or module within the system it is being employed. The power supply can be derived from internal batteries which can also be re-chargeable batteries. This allows the unit to be connected to a battery re-charger docking station (not shown) so the unit can be easily made operational again when the batteries have used all their "charge".

The wireless communication adapter or module 2 can also derive its power from the legacy equipment either via the interface connector means lc or from a separate connector means (not shown). Thirdly, the wireless communication adapter or module can derive its power supply means from an external source, such as a main transformer or adapter. A docking unit can also be provided to so the wireless communication adapters or modules can be connected to allow the internal batteries to be re-charged.

Having the power supply provided by internal batteries allows the wireless communication adapter or module 2a to be used in portable application as long as the user 7 is within good signal range of the remote unit to allow nocorrupt and error free reception 1 transmission of the wireless data.

In another embodiment, the wireless communication adapter or module can be adapted by changing and configuring the interchangeable connector l a 1 l c and interface means l d or 'I p so it can be connected to a set of legacy headphones 4a and connector 4b. This would allow a user 7 to freely move around his 1 her house and still fisten to hi-fidelity quality music and audio signals anywhere in their home. To do so though, would mean that the remote hi-fidelity equipment was either legacy equipment 6d with a wireless communication adapter or module 2c attached so it could communicate and transfer the signals to the user wireless communication adapter or module 2a. Or that the hi-fidelity equipment 6e is already wireless enabled to the relevant standard.

In yet another embodiment, the portable wireless communication adapter or module also has an integrated keypad 2r to allow the user to transmit control message to the remote unit 6d or 6e for example, allowing the user 7 to control certain functions of the remote unit 6d or 6e for example. For example, such an adapter used in conjunction with a legacy headphone set 4a would allow the user 7 to change the track on the remote compact disc player or select another signal source on the remote hi- fidelity unit such as changing from a compact disc player to a radio tuner source. Such a wireless adapter 2a would effectively be acting as a remote control unit and wireless Many of the wireless communication standards allow several devices or units to communicate as a group. For example, Bluetooth allows a so called piconet to have up to eight different units communicating with each other. One of these units however is a master and the other units slaves. In a preferred embodiment, a user using a portable version of the wireless communication adapter or module for connecting to a headset or headphones, as described above, could also receive incoming telephone calls from a phone, either a mobile or land line connected within the house or car (if parked near the house). The incoming calls be directed to the user's portable wireless communication adapter or module and alter the user to the incoming call. The incoming would be processed and routed to the headset. This would mean that the other signal (music in this example) would be stopped so the user and the person on the other end of the phone would not hear the music. In fact, the logic (Host Processor for example) in the wireless communication adapter or module could automatically send a message to the remote compact disc player to pause the current track at a particular point when the incoming call was received allowing the user to start the music track from the exact position when the phone call is finished. This would allow the user 7 to use the remote hi-fidelity unit and control it from a remote site.

In yet another embodiment, the wireless communication adapter or module 2d can be configured to have several connectors lc to allow the connection of several legacy units. The connector means lc not having to be the same connector means lc. This would allow a user 7 to connect different types of legacy equipment to the wireless communication adapter or module 2d and time multiplex signals across the wireless link or select any one of the different legacy equipment units as the source or destination of the data. For example, instead of a user having a hi- fidelity system which contains a compact disc player, a mini disc player, a Digital Versatile Disc (DVS) player and or radio tuner. The user 7 could use a wireless communication adapter or module 2d to configure his / her hi-fidelity amplifier to be wireless enabled 6e. This would the user to user his 1 her portable compact disc player 6a, or portable mini disc player 6b, or portable MD player (not shown), or a Valkmann (not shown), or portable radio receiver 6c to the multi connector enabled wireless communication adapter or module 2d. This saves having to have two of each unit. One for the hi-fidelity unit and one for portable use. It allows the user to h ' ave a portable unit which he 1 she can then interface to their home hi-fidelity unit 6d or 6e. Therefore, there is only a need for one unit (6a, 6b, 6c for example). Hence the portable legacy units (6a, 6b, 6c for example) now have dual purpose. One purpose is for portable use. The other is for use in non portable home hi- fidelity system. This is also very convenient for the user as there are no wires to connect to the hi-fidelity unit. It is a sort of 0Plug and Playu scenario. Control of the various media units, such as the portable compact disc player, when they are connected to the multi connector wireless communication adapter or module will be via a wireless communication remote control unit (not shown).

In a preferred embodiment, the wireless communication adapter or module 2 contains an application processor, controller and or encoder / decoder circuitry 1 k which all or some of the encoding and decoding for the selected application. By having dedicated hardware 4b and software, stored in memory means 4a, on the wireless communication adapter or module 2 to perform the functions required for the desired application means that this processing doesn't need to be performed on the processor or circuitry on the legacy equipment. For example, one configuration of the wireless communication adapter or module could be in the form a PCMCIA card used in conjunction with portable a Personal Computer (PC) in which the application circuitry 1k implements an MPEG4 encoder 1 decoder allowing real time video communications. The application circuitry can consist of dedicated logic or a processor 1 controller 4b. Any firmware or software required to perform the desired application functions being stored in memory means 4a. It will be appreciated to those familiar in the art that there many application for which the application processor / controller l k could be used and is therefore not limited to that of video described above. The application processor 1 controller 1 k could be used for example to perform voice coding / decoding, data manipulation algorithms or run other algorithms to off load the processing of the main processing means used in the legacy equipment. This could also include algorithms used in mobile data applications, such as the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and associated protocols.

In certain applications there may be a need for implementing "Plug and Playo procedures. These too could be implemented in the application processor 1 controller 1 k.

In another preferred embodiment, the wireless communication adapter or module can take on a new configuration as shown in figure 8 and figure 9. In this configuration the wireless adapter is used to distribute video and the associated audio and data from the output of a Video Recorder 11, a Set Top Box (STB) 13, a games machine console 14 or a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) player 15 or a modem 17. This configuration basically consists of two wireless communication adapter units. The wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 and the wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9. Of course, there can be more than one wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9 to allow the distribution of a source signal to many receiver units 9.

The wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 can take two forms. it can have a single input for transmission or can be configured to have several inputs from several signal sources as shown in figure 9. In figure 9, the transmitter unit 8 has four inputs. These are from a Video Recorder 11, from a Set Top Box (STB) 13, from a games console 14 and from a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) player 15. Either configuration of the transmitter unit 8, that is, having a single input or multiple inputs, the unit 8 has a SCART output connector 8b and or a coax connector 8p which is used to connect the transmitter unit 8 to a local television unit 12. This allows any of the source signals to be output directly to the local television unit 12. The same signal that is being sent to the local television unit 12 can also be transmitted to the remote wireless communication adapter receiver units 9. As the transmitter unit 8 has the processing capabilities and bandwidth to transmit information from several source, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17, it can simultaneously transmit signals and information from different sources to different or groups of wireless communication adapter receiver units 9 that are located in different locations. This generally means that only one of each source unit is required in a home or office. Previously, a Set Top Box 13, or a WD player 15 would be required for each system h a home or office. This allows for cheaper systems in the home or office and provides an upgrade path to new standards with equipment that is wireless enabled.

The wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9 is attached to a television unit 12 via the television's SCART connector or coax connector. The receiver unit 9 receivers signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter unit 8, decodes them and reformats them into NTSCIPAL signals. It then remodulates them and outputs them to the television unit 12 via the unit's 9 SCART connector 9b and or coax connector 9p. The adapter 9can also connect to portable display unit 16 or larger display units 16 which are effectively monitors, the deflection control signals and RGB or UHF 1 VHF signal being provided by the adapter 9.

In these applications the remote user will need to transmit control information back to the connected source unit. These being the Video Recorder 11, the Set Top Box (STB) 13, the games console 14 or the Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) player 15 a modem 17. This control information is used to control, for example, the volume of the received audio signal, select the desired WD track, fast forward video, fast re- wind a video, pause a video, or select the desired television or satellite channel. In the games console application, the remote unit 10 will be used to transmit information back to the games console 14 to allow the remote user to participate in the game being played. As the information from the games console 14 can be transmitted via the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 to several receiver units 9, then several remote players can player or participate in the same game and be physically in different locations. In the games console application, the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 could also transmit signals to a wireless enabled modem 17 so the remote user in one home can play a game over the Internet. This can also be achieved with Set Top Boxes (ST13s) 13 that are Internet enabled.

The remote control unit 10 can also take several forms depending on the configuration of the system. For example, the remote control or handset 10 could be connected to the wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9 directly by cable or wire means. In another configuration, the remote control or handset unit 10 could transmit control information back the source equipment via the wireless communication adapter receiver 9 using infra red transmission means between the remote control or handset unit 10 and the wireless communication adapter receiver 9. The wireless adapter receiver would then process the control information and transmit this data to the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8. Here, the control information would be decoded and transferred to the relevant source unit via connection means. However, in some applications the source units, such as units 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17 may not be able to be controlled by cable means so the decoded control information can not be transferred directly to the source unit by cable means. In this case, the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 also incorporates an infra-red transmitter 8r which can transmit the decoded control signals to the source units 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17 which usually have infra-red remote control receivers allowing the units to be controlled via a hand held remote control. The wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 is effectively emulating these legacy hand held remote control units.

In another configuration, the remote control or handset unit 10 could send control information via the return wireless link directly to the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8. This can be achieved as the wireless link between the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 and the remote control or handset unit 10 is bi- directional and several units can communicate with a master unit. For example, in a BlueTooth system up to eight wireless communication adapter units can communicate with each other. Therefore, in such a system the remote control or handset unit 10 could communicate directly with the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8.

Figure 10 shows a configuration of the wireless communication adapter transmitter 8. The unit has a SCART connector 8a. for connection to a video recorder. However, the unit 8 may have several inputs (as shown in figure 9) and select one or anyoombination of inputs for processing and transmission to the wireless communication adapter receivers 9. The unit also has a coax connector to allow connection from the video UHF 1 VHF output. Module 8d will perform the necessary NTSC 1 PAL 1 SECAM decoding to output baseband signals This includes both audio and video. These signals are then converted to digital signals (if necessary) using analogue to digital converter means Be. The video, RGB and audio encoder module 8h can select the signal from one of several sources via multiplexer circuitry 8g. The encoder 8h can also include circuitry to perform MPEG2 and or MPEG4 encoding for the transportation of video, audio and data information to the receiver units 9. The selected audio and video source signals are then formatted by the baseband link controller module 8i for transmission to the wireless communication adapter receivers 9. The baseband signals are then remodulated, to say 2AGHz by the Radio Modulator 8K. The Wireless transmitter unit 8 has circuitry 8n to provide regulated power supplies. It also has circuitry 8o to implement and gene-rate the relevant clocks used in the system. To allow the input signals- to be output directly to the television unit 12, the signals from the input SCART connector 8a and input coax connector 8c can be passed directly to the output SCART connector 8b and or the output coax connector Bp. The host controller 81 is used to control the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8. This includes establishing the wireless links, performing authentication, error recovery and link management. It also includes source selection, performing higher layer protocol routines. The firmware and or software used to implement the various protocol stacks, link management and applications is stored in memory means 8m which can be accessed directly by the host controller means 81 Local memory means 8j is connected directly to the baseband link controller 8i and is used to store local variable and format data for transmission and reception.

When used as a single input source, say with a video recorder, the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 can be connected directly to the video recorder with the SCART connector 8a.

To transmit received control messages from the remote wireless communication adapter receiver units 9 or directly from the remote control or handset 10 an infra-red transmitter 8r is provided. Decoded control messages are reformatted by the host controller 81 and baseband link controller unit 8i and re-transmitted to via the infra-red transmitter 8r to the various attached source units 11, 13, 14 and 15. These units having integrated remote control circuitry to decode these control messages and implement the required function.

Figure 11 shows a configuration of the wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9. Connector 9a allows the unit 9 to be connected to an aerial for the reception of conventional terrestrial television. The received signal can be passed to the television unit 12 via the SCART connector gb or coax connector 9p. This allows the user to use the television 12 in normal mode. If however, the user would like to watch a a video, a satellite program, or a DV13 or play a game, the user can watch these programs or videos or games in a remote location. This means that the user only needs one of each unit as the source data provided from these units can be transmitted to several remote locations and wireless communication adapter receiver units 9. This allows legacy source data units, such a s a Video Recorder 11, a Set Top Box (STB) 13, or a games console 14 or a Digital Versatile Disc (M) player 15 to be used to transmit signals to remote locations in a home or office. This also allows several users to say, watch a satellite program in another location to where the STB 13 is located. This means only one STB unit 13 is required rather than having a STB 13 in each separate location where a television 12 is located.

The wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9 has the appropriate power supply and regulation circuitry 9r. It also has the appropriate clock generator circuitry go. Signals transmitted from the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 8 are received by the wireless communication adapter receiver unit 9 via the antenna 9s. The Radio frequency module 9k performs the RF processing and demodulates the received signal to extract the baseband information. This information is then passed to the baseband link controller 9i which performs baseband decoding, such CRC check, header decoding and removal, error checking and de-multiplexing and formatting of the received data messages into the correct format for further processing by the host controller 91.

The audio, data and video source signals are formatted by the baseband link controller module 9i before being transferred to the Digital to Analogue Converter (DAC) means 9h. The baseband link controller can also include circuitry to perform MPEG2 and or MPEG4 decoding for information encoded in these formats by the transmitter unit 8. The analogue output from the DAC 9h is in[put to the NTSC 1 PAL/ SECAM encoder 9g for conversion to selected television format. This includes all the synchronisation and sub-carrier modulation circuitry. The output of the encoder 9g is passed to the modulator 9f which performs the necessary intermediate frequency (IF) and or UHF 1 VHF modulation. The output of the modulation module 9f is output via coax connector 9p. An alternative output from the encoder 9g is that corresponding to a SCART for output via the SCART connector 9b. The output from the coax connector 9p is selected from one of two sources via multiplexer 9c. If the user wishes to view a terrestrial program then the aerial connection 9a is routed through the multiplexer 9c to the coax connector 9b. However, if the user wishes to select a program source generated on the remote legacy equipment 11, 13, 14 or 15, then the output from the modulator 9f is routed via the multiplexer 9c to the coax connector 9p.

The host controller 91 is used to control the wireless communication adapter transmitter unit 9. This includes establishing the wireless links, performing authentication, error recovery and link management. It also includes source selection and performing higher layer protocol routines. The firmware and or software used to implement the various protocol stacks, link management and applications is stored in memory means 9m which can be accessed directly by the host controller means 91. Local memory means gj is connected directly to the baseband link controller 9i and is used to store local variable and format data for transmission and reception.

To allow program selection and control of the various remote legacy equipment units 11, 13, 14 15, a remote control and or handset 10 is used. This can connect to the wireless communication adapter or module receiver 9 by cable means using connector 9q. Signals from the connector 9q are buffered and encoded and interface circuitry means 9d before being passed to the baseband link controller 9i to be formatted for transmission.

Alternatively, the remote control or handset unit 10 can have infra-red transmission means which are received and decoded by the infra-red interface and encoding means 9e before being passed to the baseband link controller 9i to be formatted for transmission.

Claims

1. A wireless communications adapter or module, capable of receiving and transmitting data and control messages, having interchangeable interface and connector means to allow the wireless adapter to be reconfigured and connected to various legacy equipment which have different connector and interface means, the wireless adapter or module being connected directly to the legacy equipment via the interface connector means, the legacy equipment being equipment which has no wireless circuitry, including any radio frequency or infra-red circuitry means, integrated as standard for transferring data between the legacy equipment and previously received and transmitted control and data messages via cable means, the cable being inserted into connector means on the legacy equipment between the legacy equipment and remote units, the wireless module means therefore replacing the cable means as the method of communication between the units allowing legacy equipment to communicate with other legacy equipment via the said wireless means or allowing legacy equipment to communicate with new equipment that contains integrated wireless means.

2. A wireless communications adapter or module as claimed in claim 1 which employs programmable logic to implement the interface circuitry allowing the wireless adapter or module to be reconfigured to operate with different interface standards, the reconfiguration data for the programmable logic being stored in memory means on the wireless module and loaded into the programmable logic device by the host processor on the wireless module, the desired interface type and functionality being selected by switch selector means within the wireless module.

3. A wireless communications as claimed in claim 2 in which the programmable logic used to implement the interface circuitry can be reconfigured via the inherent wireless means form a remote source.

4. A wireless communications adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim in which the wireless adapter or module derives its power from either an internal power source, such a batteries or re-chargeable batteries, or from the legacy equipment or from external power supply means.

5. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim which can be connected internally to either legacy equipment or new equipment in which the wireless communication adapter or module is implemented on a printed circuit board or daughter board and can be inserted and interfaced directly into a printed circuit board slot on the motherboard within the equipment.

6. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 4 which can be connected internally to either legacy equipment or new equipment in which the wireless communication adapter or module is implemented on a printed circuit board or mezzanine card with connector means and can be connected and interface directly into a printed circuit board connector on the motherboard within the equipment.

7. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 4 which can be connected internally to either legacy equipment or new equipment in which the wireless communication adapter or module is implemented on as a PCMCIA / PC Card format and can be connected and interface directly into a printed circuit board connector on the motherboard within the equipment.

8. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim in more than one communication channel is supported, the various communications channels being able to transfer either non real time data and or real time data, the different communication channels being time multiplexed on the main wireless channel between the adapter and corresponding remote unit.

9. A wireless communications adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim in which the wireless protocol employed to transfer control and data messages between the adapter and other remote equipment is based on the Bluetooth Communication standard, or the HomeRF standard or lEE1E 802.11 wireless LAN Standard.

10. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim in which the wireless adapter module is not connected directly to the legacy equipment using the connector means, but by short cable means which links the connector on the legacy equipment to the connector on the wireless adapter or module.

11. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim which interfaces to legacy portable equipment means and allows a signal source from the said portable equipment to be transmitted to a remote unit, the remote unit being either legacy equipment that also has a wireless communication adapter or module for transferring control and data between itself and the portable equipment, or equipment that is wireless enabled and has the wireless circuitry integrated as part of the equipment.

12. A wireless communications adapter or module as claimed in claim 11 in which the wireless communication adapter or module is configured to operate with either a portable compact disc player, or a portable mini disc player, or a cassette player, or a "Walkman", or a portable radio receiver, or a Personal Design Assistant (PDA), or a mobile phone or a lap top personal computer, which can then transfer the source signal or data to a wireless enabled hifidelity amplifier or system allowing the portable legacy equipment to be used as part of a non portable hi- fidelity system, effectively allowing the portable legacy equipment to have dual purpose.

13. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 12 which is used to connect a legacy headphone set to the wireless adapter or module, enabling the legacy headset to be used in a wireless environment where the source signal or data is transmitted by the said wireless means from either legacy equipment which is wireless enabled with a said wireless communication adapter or module, or equipment which has the wireless circuitry integrated as part of the equipment, to the legacy headset allowing the user to move around freely as long as the user is within reception range of the source signal and the signal is not corrupted.

14. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 13 in which the wireless communication adapter or module can also receive incoming phone calls for a wireless enabled mobile phone or line connected phone, or from mobile phone or land, line connected phone which is connected a remote wireless communication adapter or module allowing the user to be interrupted and the call directed to the headset so the user can answer the call, the original music signal being stopped until the phone call is finished.

15. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 14 in which the wireless adapter or module transmits a message automaticafly when an incoming phone call is received, to the remote wireless adapter or module, which can be either integrated or separate, instructing the music source to be paused at that particular place until the phone call is finished, when another message is automatically or manually sent to the remote unit to instruct the music source to begin playing again from the paused position.

16. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13 in which the wireless communication adapter or module has the connection means to allow the connection of more than one portable legacy equipment and can select the signal source from any of the connected equipment.

17. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claims 11 to 14 in which there is an integrated keypad means that allows the user to control the remote equipment and select the desired functionality.

18. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim in which an additional application processor, controller and or coding / decoding circuitry is implemented, allowing some or all the application processing to be performed locally to the wireless communication adapter or module and hence off loading the required processing from the processing means implemented in the legacy equipment or attached equipment.

19. A wireless communication adapter or module in which the adapter has SCART and or coax connectors for connection to the output of either a legacy set top box or legacy video recorder apparatus via the set top box's or video recorder's SCART connector and or UHF 1 VHF coax connector output means to allow the transmission and distribution of the video, audio and data signals from the video program being played by the video recorder apparatus and or transmission and distribution of the selected television program via the video recorder terrestrial decoder or set top box to one or more corresponding wireless communication adapter receiver apparatus, the adapter having encoding means to encode the video, audio and data information from the SCART input connector and formatting and transmission means to transmit the encoded data from the SCART input connector to one or more wireless adapter receiver units, the adapter also having demodulator means to demodulate the UHF 1 VHF signal, such as a PAL, NTSC or SECAM formatted signal, input from the video recorder or set top box, this demodulated signal being re-formatted, encoded for transmission using the local wireless link protocol, the signals from the SCART input connector and or from the input coax connector being also output directly to the adapter's output SCART connector and output coax connector to allow the signals to effectively by-pass the unit and be output to a local television or display apparatus.

20. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 20 which has a an integrated infra-red transmitter and associated circuitry means which can emulate a local remote control unit, remote control messages being received by the wireless communication adapter or module over the local wireless protocol, these message being decoded and then reformatted by circuitry means in the wireless adapter unit for transmission to the local source media unit, this arrangement allowing a remote user to control the legacy equipment attached to the wireless communication adapter or module which have integrated infra-red remote control means, this allows users in another rooffi or office to control the remote legacy equipment from a larger and non-line of sight distance.

21 A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 20 which can connect to several legacy equipment units and select, encode and transmit one or any combination of the output signal or information from the connected legacy equipment using a local wireless protocol to one or more remote wireless receiver units.

22. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 21 which can be used and configured for connection to a games console so the games console's video, audio and data output can be input to the wireless adapter unit, encoded, formatted and re-transmitted to one or more remote wireless adapter receiver units.

23. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 21 which can be used and configured for connection to a Digital Versatile Disc (M) player so Digital Versatile Disc player's video, audio and data output can be input to the wireless adapter unit, encoded, formatted and retransmitted to one or more remote wireless adapter receiver units.

24. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 21 which can be used and configured for connection to a modem so video, audio and data received from an Internet connection can be input to the wireless adapter unit, encoded, formatted and re-transmitted to one or more remote wireless adapter receiver units.

25. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 21 which employs MPEG2 and or MPEG4 encoding to encode and format the input video, audio and data information or signals.

26. A wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit as claimed in claim 21 which has the means to allow the connection of one or more video or graphic sources, these sources including a video recorder, a Set Top Box (STB), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)Player, a computer games console, the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter having means to process, encode and transmit one or any combination of the input source signals to one or more wireless communication adapter or module receivers units to allow users at remote locations to watch the same or different programs from one or more of the selected sources, thus allowing legacy video and games equipment to be used by users in different locations and not be connected by cable means.

27. A wireless communication adapter or module capable of receiving and transmitting data and control messages, having interchangeable interface and connector means to allow the wireless adapter to be reconfigured and connected to various legacy equipment which have different connector and interface means, the wireless adapter or module being connected directly to the legacy equipment via the interface connector means, configured as a receiver unit to receiver signals and information transmitted from a wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 21 which has circuitry means to demodulate the received signals, decode the baseband information, reformat and encode the baseband information to the appropriate form-at for output to a television unit, or a display unit which can also include audio means so the user can listen to any audio information, the unit also having processing, formatting, encoding and transmission means to allow duplex operation so remote user information can be sent back via the wireless link protocol return link to control the legacy equipment connected to the corresponding wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit.

28. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 27 which has connection means to also allow connection to an aerial for receiving terrestrial transmission, this input signal being buffered and or output directly via connector means, effectively by-passing the wireless unit circuitry, so the unit can be connected to a television unit or display unit allowing the user to watch terrestrial programs.

29. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 28 which has a remote control and or handset unit connected to the wireless communication adapter or module via cable means, the remote control or handset unit having circuitry to generate control messages to control the and interact, with the source equipment means connected to the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit, these control signals first being processed and then transmitted to the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit via the return radio frequency link from the wireless communication adapter or. module receiver unit to the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit.

30. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 28 which has a remote control and or handset unit connected to the wireless communication adapter or module via an infra-red communication link means, the remote control or handset unit having circuitry to generate control messages to control the source equipment means, these control signals first being processed and then transmitted to the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit via the return radio link using the wireless link protocol.

31. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in claim 28 which has an associated remote control and or handset unit, the remote control or handset unit having circuitry to generate, encode and transmit the control messages to the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit via the return radio frequency link, which then decodes these messages for transfer to the selected signal source equipment.

32. A wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit as claimed in claims 19 to claim 31 in which the wireless communication adapter or module transmitter unit has an integrated infra-red transmitter to allow the transmission of the received control messages from the remote control and or handset units to the signal source equipment, such as a video recorder, a set top box (STB), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) player, that have integrated infra-red remote control receivers to decode the transmitted control messages and then implement the requested function.

32. A wireless communication adapter or module receiver unit as claimed in claims 27 to claim 31 which can be connected directly or indirectly via cable means to a monitor unit, the wireless communication adapter or module receiver unit having integrated circuitry to perform the necessary line and field scan and deflection to display the decode video correctly.

33. A wireless communications adapter or module as claimed in claims 19 to claim 32 in which the wireless protocol employed to transfer control and data messages between the adapter and other remote equipment is based on the Bluetooth Communication standard, or the HomeRF standard or lEEE 802.11 wireless LAN Standard.

34. A wireless communications adapter or module as claimed claims 19 to claim 33 which the wireless adapter or module derives its power from either an internal power source, such a batteries or re-chargeable batteries, or from the legacy equipment or from external power supply means.

35. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim in which Plug and Play means are implemented.

36. A wireless communication adapter or module as claimed in any preceding claim which can be connected to a docking unit which is used re- charge the internal batteries of the wireless communication adapter or module when it is not being used.

37. A wireless communication adapter or module as described herein with reference to Figures 1 - 11 of the accompanying drawings.