KR20050087259A - Wireless ethernet cable system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a modem for performing demodulation on a packet received in an external network and a modulation of a packet transmitted to an external network, and a packet distribution means connected to the modem and distributing a packet received in an external network to corresponding network communication devices. The present invention relates to a wireless Ethernet cable system for use in a network system including a wired connection to the packet distribution means, wirelessly transmits a packet transmitted from the packet distribution means by a Bluetooth method, and is wirelessly connected. At least one first wireless Ethernet converter for wirelessly receiving a packet generated in a network communication device in a Bluetooth manner and providing the packet to the packet distribution means; And a wired connection with the network communication device, converts a packet transmitted wirelessly from the first wireless Ethernet converter to an Ethernet protocol packet, and transmits the packet to the network communication device, and transmits the packet transmitted from the network communication device to the Bluetooth protocol. At least one second Ethernet converter may be converted into a packet and wirelessly transmitted to the first wireless Ethernet converter.

Description

Wireless Ethernet Cable System {Wireless Ethernet Cable System}

The present invention relates to a wireless Ethernet cable system, and more particularly, to wirelessly connect a network communication device to a device such as a hub or a switch when a plurality of network communication devices such as a computer or a console game machine exist in a home. Relates to a cable system.

1 is a block diagram showing a network configuration in a conventional general home.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional general home network includes a hub 102 in addition to the modem 100 when there are a plurality of network communication devices. The hub 102 is connected to a plurality of network communication computers 104 and other network communication devices 106 and 108 to communicate with the Internet network.

In FIG. 1, the network communication device may be a computer or a console game machine such as a PS2 or an X-BOX.

In the past, network communication devices including hubs and computers had to be connected by wire. Thus, a plurality of network communication devices had to be connected to a hub through a very long connector when the network communication devices exist in relatively close locations for ease of connection, or when network communication devices need to exist in different rooms.

In recent years, console game consoles such as PS2 and X-BOX have begun to support the network function, so these console game consoles also need to be connected to the Internet.

However, when the console game machines are connected to the Internet network according to the conventional method of FIG. 1, the console game machines should be connected to the hub by wire, so the console game machines should be placed in a relatively close place to the place where the hub is located.

Since these console game consoles often use TVs as display devices, they are often placed in a different room from where the computer is located. A very long connector is required to connect the console game console to the hub. There was this.

In addition, in recent years, a home often has more than two computers. In such a case, there was a space limitation in connecting two or more computers to the Internet, and cumbersome work was required.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the present invention proposes a wireless Ethernet cable system capable of wirelessly establishing an Ethernet connection for accessing an Internet network in a home or a company.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a wireless Ethernet cable system in which a plurality of network devices can wirelessly connect Ethernet using a conventional Bluetooth communication scheme.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the modem and demodulation for the packet received in the external network and the modulation of the packet transmitted to the external network and connected to the modem and the external network A wireless Ethernet cable system for use in a network system having a packet distribution means for distributing a packet received from a network communication device to a network communication apparatus, the wireless Ethernet cable system being wired to the packet distribution means and transmitting a packet from the packet distribution means. At least one first wireless Ethernet converter which transmits wirelessly by a Bluetooth method and wirelessly receives a packet generated by a network communication device connected wirelessly and provides the packet distribution means to the packet distribution means; It is coupled by wire with the network communication device, converts a packet transmitted wirelessly from the first wireless Ethernet converter into an Ethernet protocol packet, and transmits the packet to the network communication device, and transmits the packet transmitted by the network communication device to a Bluetooth protocol packet. Provided is a wireless Ethernet cable system including at least one second Ethernet converter for converting to a wireless transmission to the first wireless Ethernet converter.

The first Ethernet converter and the second Ethernet converter, a physical layer processing unit for transmitting and receiving an Ethernet packet with the packet distribution means or a network communication device; A blotus module for converting an Ethernet packet into a Bluetooth protocol packet and processing Bluetooth transmission and reception between the first wireless Ethernet converter and the second wireless Ethernet converter; And a processor for controlling a packet transfer procedure between the Bluetooth module and the physical layer processor and converting a packet transmitted from the Bluetooth module into an Ethernet protocol packet.

The processor may include a buffer for temporarily storing a packet transmitted from the physical layer processor or the Bluetooth module; A packet transmission control unit which provides information on the start and end of the packet when the packet is delivered to the Bluetooth module, and determines whether the Bluetooth module can receive the packet and delivers the packet; A packet reception control unit for monitoring the capacity of the buffer to control packet reception from the physical layer processing unit or the Bluetooth module; A Bluetooth / Ethernet converter configured to convert the received packet into an Ethernet protocol packet when receiving a packet from the Bluetooth module; And it may include a UART transceiver for processing the packet transmission and reception with the Bluetooth module.

The Bluetooth module may include an Ethernet / Bluetooth converter converting an Ethernet packet into a Bluetooth protocol packet; An RF transmitter / receiver for transmitting and receiving a radio signal between the first wireless Ethernet converter and the second wireless Ethernet converter; A buffer to temporarily store received packets; And it may include a packet transmission and reception control unit for monitoring the capacity of the buffer, and controls the transmission and reception of the packet from the Bluetooth module or processor.

The processor may perform an interrupt routine for monitoring whether the packet is correctly received by analyzing the header information of the packet when receiving the packet from the Bluetooth module.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of a wireless Ethernet cable system according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a home network system to which a wireless Ethernet cable system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 2, a home network system to which another wireless Ethernet cable system is applied according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a modem 200, a hub 202, a computer 204, and a first wireless device connected to an Internet network. Ethernet converter 206, second wireless Ethernet converter 208, and network communication device 210.

In FIG. 2, the wireless Ethernet cable system according to the present invention is a first wireless Ethernet converter 206 and a second wireless Ethernet converter 208 connected to the hub 202.

In FIG. 2, the modem 200 demodulates a signal transmitted from the Internet network, modulates a signal transmitted from the hub 202, and transmits the signal to the Internet network. Depending on the type of Internet service provided to the user, the modem 200 may be an ADSL modem or a cable modem. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that more modems may be used depending on the Internet service providing method.

The hub 202 provides an Ethernet packet transmitted from a plurality of connected network communication devices to the modem 200, and provides a packet transmitted from the Internet network to the network communication device that requested the packet. In addition to the hub 202, a switch or an IP router may be used.

In FIG. 2, the hub 202 is connected to the computer 204 and the first wireless Ethernet converter 206 and relays communication packets of the computer and the wireless Ethernet converter.

In the past, all network communication devices, including computers, had to be wired to the hub. Therefore, when network communication devices exist in different rooms, it is inconvenient to connect with a very long cable.

However, according to the present invention, since the network communication device 210 is connected to the hub by a pair of wireless Ethernet converters 206 and 208, a plurality of network communications are inevitably connected due to a long connection or difficulty in connection. The inconvenience of having to place the devices in close proximity can be eliminated.

The network communication device 210 may be another computer, a play station, a console game machine such as an X-BOX, a laptop PDA, or the like.

The first wireless Ethernet converter 206 and the second wireless Ethernet converter 208 relay packets between the hub 202 and the network communication device 210 by Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is one of the international standards for wireless connectivity in small areas (10m to 100m) between portable devices such as mobile phones, portable PCs, network access points, and other peripherals at small, low cost and low power consumption. Bluetooth is advantageous for transmitting and receiving packets with relatively little data in a short range wirelessly. Since the Bluetooth standard is a known technology, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When a packet for network communication is provided to the second wireless internet converter 208 in the network device, the second wireless ethernet converter 208 converts it into a Bluetooth protocol packet and wirelessly transmits it to the first wireless Ethernet converter 206. to provide.

The first wireless Ethernet converter 206 converts the received Bluetooth packet into an Ethernet packet and then transfers the converted packet to the hub to enable network communication.

In general, console game consoles such as PS2 and X-BOX use a TV as a display, so they are often placed in a living room with a TV or in another room, unlike a room with a computer. According to the present invention, even if console game consoles such as PS2 or X-BOX are in a different room from the computer, it is possible to enjoy network games without connecting a long line.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless Ethernet converter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the wireless Ethernet converter according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a physical layer processor 300, a processor 302, and a Bluetooth module 304.

The physical layer processing unit 300 is coupled with a network connection of a network communication device, for example, a LAN card of a computer or a network adapter of a PS2, and transmits a packet transmitted from the network communication device to the processor 302, and is transmitted from an external network. A packet is received from the processor 302 and provided to the network communication device.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the physical layer processing unit 300 is coupled to the network connection of the network communication device using an RJ-45 connector.

The processor 302 transmits the Ethernet packet of the network communication device transmitted from the physical layer processing unit 300 to the Bluetooth module 304, receives the packet transmitted from the external network from the Bluetooth module 304, and receives the packet of the Ethernet protocol. And converts the converted packet to the physical layer processor 300.

When the packet of the network communication device is delivered to the Bluetooth module 304, the processor 302 enables the delivery of the packet through the buffer at a constant rate, and the start of the packet so that the Bluetooth packet conversion can be performed on a packet basis. Information about the end and the end is provided to the Bluetooth module 304.

When receiving the packet transmitted from the external network from the Bluetooth module 304, the processor 302 performs a predetermined interrupt routine to monitor whether normal packet data is received, and transmits the received packet data to the physical layer processor 300. to provide. A detailed description of the interrupt routine performed when receiving a packet from the Bluetooth module 304 will be described later with reference to a separate drawing.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processor transmits and receives a Bluetooth module and a packet in a UART manner, and may be combined with the Bluetooth module 304 using an RS232C port.

The Bluetooth module 304 wirelessly transmits the packet transmitted from the network communication device to the Bluetooth module of the corresponding wireless Ethernet converter, and provides the processor with a packet of an external network provided from the Bluetooth module of the corresponding wireless Ethernet converter. do.

When the Bluetooth module 304 receives a packet from the processor, the Bluetooth module 304 converts the packet into a Bluetooth protocol packet. Since the processor 302 provides information about the start and end of the packet, Bluetooth conversion can be done on a packet basis. The Bluetooth module may be implemented as a general Bluetooth chip.

4 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of a processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, a processor according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a buffer 400, a packet transmission controller 402, a packet reception controller 404, a UART transmitter / receiver 406, and a Bluetooth / Ethernet converter. 408 may include.

In FIG. 4, the buffer serves to temporarily store a packet provided from a physical layer connection or a packet provided from a Bluetooth module.

The packet transmission control unit 402 functions to control a transmission process for providing a packet to a physical layer connection unit or a Bluetooth module.

When providing a packet of the network communication device to the Bluetooth module, the packet transmission control unit 402 grasps the state of the Bluetooth module and when the Bluetooth module can receive the packet-for example, there is a margin in the Bluetooth module buffer. If present-control to send packet. In addition, the packet transmission control unit 402 grasps the start and end of the forwarding packet, and provides information on whether the packet is a start or end. For example, 'S' may be transmitted at the start of the packet and 'E' at the end of the packet.

The packet reception control unit 404 functions to control a processor that receives a packet from a physical layer connection unit or a Bluetooth module.

The packet reception control unit 404 checks the capacity of the buffer when receiving a packet from the Bluetooth module or the physical layer connection unit, and stops the inflow of packets when no more data can be stored in the buffer.

In addition, the packet reception control unit 404 analyzes the header information of the received packet to determine whether the packet reception is correctly performed without data loss. To this end, a preset interrupt routine is executed, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8.

The UART transmitter 406 transmits data in parallel by asynchronously the packet transmitted to the processor. UART communication is a universal communication method, which may be implemented as a general chip, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other data transmission schemes may be used in addition to the UART transmission scheme.

The Bluetooth / Ethernet converter 408 converts the received packet into an Ethernet protocol packet when the packet is transmitted from the Bluetooth module to the processor.

5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the Bluetooth module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an Ethernet / Bluetooth converter 500, an RF transmitter / receiver 502, a packet transmitter / receiver controller 504, and a buffer 506. It may include.

In FIG. 5, the Bluetooth / Ethernet converter 500 converts a packet transmitted to a Bluetooth module into a packet conforming to a Bluetooth protocol. When the packet provided from the network transmission device is delivered to the Bluetooth module of the combined wireless Ethernet converter, the Ethernet / Bluetooth converter 500 converts the received Ethernet packet into a Bluetooth protocol packet. As mentioned above, the conversion is done on a packet basis. Packet conversion is a known technique, and a description of the packet conversion procedure is omitted.

The RF transmitter / receiver 502 processes RF transmission and reception between Bluetooth modules of the first Ethernet converter and the second Ethernet converter. Like a general Bluetooth method, a signal is transmitted by a frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) method during RF communication, and direct VCO modulation may be used when modulating an RF signal.

The packet transmission / reception control unit 504 functions to control packet transmission / reception operations with other Bluetooth modules or processors. Upon packet reception, the packet transmission / reception control unit 504 checks the capacity of the buffer 506 to limit packet reception through communication with the processor when the buffer capacity is exceeded. When the packet transmission / reception control unit 504 receives the packet transmission restriction request signal from the processor, the packet transmission / reception control unit 504 restricts the transmission of the packet until there is room in the buffer of the processor.

The buffer 506 functions to temporarily store packet data provided to the Bluetooth module.

6 is a flowchart illustrating the overall operation of the wireless Ethernet converter system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, first, a physical layer processor coupled to a network connection unit of a network communication device receives a packet provided from a network communication device (S600).

The physical layer processor transmits the received packet to the processor, and the processor transmits the received packet to the Bluetooth module in a UART manner (S602). When the packet is transmitted from the physical layer processor to the processor, it is preferably delivered in bytes.

The Bluetooth module receiving the packet from the processor converts it to a Bluetooth protocol packet (S604). As described above, the Bluetooth conversion is performed on a packet basis, and the processor provides information on the start and end of the packet.

The Bluetooth module wirelessly transmits the converted packet to the corresponding wireless inner converter (S606).

The Bluetooth module receiving the wirelessly transmitted packet is provided to the processor through the UART, and the processor converts the Bluetooth packet into an Ethernet packet (S608).

After converting the Ethernet packet, the processor executes an interrupt routine for receiving the packet and checks whether the packet is normally received (S610).

The processor transmits the received packet to the physical layer processor, and the packet is transmitted to the hub through the physical layer processor (S612).

7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 7, steps S700 to S712 are operations of a processor of a second wireless Ethernet converter that receives a packet from a network communication device, and steps S714 to S720 are operations of a processor of a first wireless Ethernet converter corresponding to a second wireless Ethernet converter. It is shown.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the power of the wireless Ethernet converter is turned on, an initialization process of the processor chip is performed (S700).

After the initialization is completed, the processor checks whether the register is normal (S702).

The processor checks whether packet reception from the Ethernet physical layer processing unit is normally performed (S704).

If the packet reception is normal, the received packet is stored in the buffer, and it is determined whether the packet length to be received exceeds the buffer capacity of the current processor (S706).

If there is enough buffer capacity, the processor transmits a 'S' indicating the start point of the packet to the Bluetooth module (S708).

After notifying the start point of the packet, the processor provides the packet data to the Bluetooth module using the UART (S710).

When all data included in one packet is transmitted, the processor transmits 'E' (S712).

The processor of another wireless Ethernet converter corresponding to the wireless Ethernet converter having the processor performing the steps S700 to S712 checks the interrupt routine when the Bluetooth module delivers the packet (S714).

The interrupt routine executed in the processor determines whether packet reception from the Bluetooth module is normally performed (S716).

In addition, it is determined whether there is room in the buffer of the processor when receiving a packet from the Bluetooth module (S718).

The packet received from the Bluetooth module is transmitted to the network through the physical layer connection unit (S720).

8 is a flowchart illustrating an interrupt routine procedure of a processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, first, an interrupt is put in a closed state so that an interrupt is not applied to the processor (S800).

Thereafter, the packet character data from the Bluetooth module is received (S802). After receiving the character data, it is determined whether the p_index value, which is a variable of the processor, is 0 (S804). p_index is a variable for determining whether the data of the packet is received and is incremented each time one character data is input.

If the p_index value is 0, it is determined whether the received character data is 'S' (S806). If the character data is not 'S' when the p_index value is 0, the interrupt is opened as an error (S820).

When the character data is 'S' when the p_index value is 0, the value of p_index is increased and the next character data is received (S808).

If the p_index value is not 0, it is determined whether the p_index value matches the packet length (S810). If the p_index value does not match the packet length, not all data included in one packet has been received yet, and the character data is stored in the buffer (S812), and the p_index value is increased (S808).

If the p_index value matches the packet length, all data of one packet is received, and it is determined whether the value of the character data is 'E' indicating the end of the packet (S814).

When the received character data is 'E', the flag, which is an internal variable of the processor, is turned on to inform that the packet has received all the data (S816).

When all packet data is received, the p_index value is set to 0 (S818), and the interrupt is opened (S820).

As described above, according to the wireless Ethernet cable system according to the present invention, since network communication devices can be wirelessly connected to a hub or a switch, the Internet communication of the network communication devices without the need for direct space connection and wires. There is an advantage to enable this.

In particular, the present invention may be usefully used to connect console game consoles that have recently started to support network functions with the Internet network.

1 is a block diagram showing a network configuration in a conventional general home.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a home network system to which a wireless Ethernet cable system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a wireless Ethernet converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram illustrating a module configuration of a processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a Bluetooth module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flow chart showing the overall operation of a wireless Ethernet converter system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a processor in accordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a flowchart illustrating an interrupt routine procedure of a processor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (5)

A network having a modem for performing demodulation on a packet received from an external network and a modulation of a packet transmitted to an external network, and a packet distribution means connected to the modem and distributing a packet received from an external network to corresponding network communication devices. In the wireless Ethernet cable system used in the system, A wired connection to the packet distribution means, wirelessly transmits a packet transmitted from the packet distribution means, and wirelessly receives a packet generated by a network communication device connected wirelessly by Bluetooth; At least one first wireless Ethernet converter for providing to the packet distribution means; It is coupled by wire with the network communication device, converts a packet transmitted wirelessly from the first wireless Ethernet converter into an Ethernet protocol packet, and transmits the packet to the network communication device, and transmits the packet transmitted by the network communication device to a Bluetooth protocol packet. Wireless Ethernet cable system, characterized in that it comprises a conversion to at least one second Ethernet converter for wireless transmission to the first wireless Ethernet converter. The first Ethernet converter and the second Ethernet converter, A physical layer processor for transmitting and receiving an Ethernet packet with the packet distribution means or a network communication apparatus; A blotus module for converting an Ethernet packet into a Bluetooth protocol packet and processing Bluetooth transmission and reception between the first wireless Ethernet converter and the second wireless Ethernet converter; And And a processor for controlling a packet forwarding procedure between the Bluetooth module and the physical layer processor and converting a packet transmitted from the Bluetooth module into an Ethernet protocol packet. The method of claim 2, The processor, A buffer for temporarily storing a packet transmitted from the physical layer processor or the Bluetooth module; A packet transmission control unit which provides information on the start and end of the packet when the packet is delivered to the Bluetooth module, and determines whether the Bluetooth module can receive the packet and delivers the packet; A packet reception control unit for monitoring the capacity of the buffer to control packet reception from the physical layer processing unit or the Bluetooth module; A Bluetooth / Ethernet converter configured to convert the received packet into an Ethernet protocol packet when receiving a packet from the Bluetooth module; And Wireless Ethernet cable system comprising a UART transceiver for processing packet transmission and reception with the Bluetooth module. The method of claim 2, The Bluetooth module, An Ethernet / Bluetooth converter for converting an Ethernet packet into a Bluetooth protocol packet; An RF transmitter / receiver for transmitting and receiving a radio signal between the first wireless Ethernet converter and the second wireless Ethernet converter; A buffer to temporarily store received packets; And And a packet transmission / reception control unit for monitoring the capacity of the buffer and controlling the transmission and reception of packets from a Bluetooth module or a processor. The method of claim 2, The processor performs an interrupt routine for monitoring whether the packet is received correctly by analyzing the header information of the packet when receiving the packet from the Bluetooth module.