WO2016123208A1 - Procédés, dispositifs et systèmes permettant d'augmenter la portée de communication sans fil - Google Patents

Procédés, dispositifs et systèmes permettant d'augmenter la portée de communication sans fil Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2016123208A1
WO2016123208A1 PCT/US2016/015105 US2016015105W WO2016123208A1 WO 2016123208 A1 WO2016123208 A1 WO 2016123208A1 US 2016015105 W US2016015105 W US 2016015105W WO 2016123208 A1 WO2016123208 A1 WO 2016123208A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
bluetooth
transceiver
antenna
communication connection
communication
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2016/015105
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Kunpeng Zhang
Fuyong Zhao
Original Assignee
Cassia Networks 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
Priority claimed from US14/639,711 external-priority patent/US9769594B2/en
Priority claimed from US14/930,307 external-priority patent/US10178494B2/en
Application filed by Cassia Networks Inc. filed Critical Cassia Networks Inc.
Priority to EP16744028.8A priority Critical patent/EP3251221B1/fr
Priority to JP2017534352A priority patent/JP2018509019A/ja
Publication of WO2016123208A1 publication Critical patent/WO2016123208A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04B—TRANSMISSION
    • H04B1/00—Details of transmission systems, not covered by a single one of groups H04B3/00 - H04B13/00; Details of transmission systems not characterised by the medium used for transmission
    • H04B1/38—Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving
    • H04B1/40—Circuits

Definitions

  • This disclosure relates generally to a field of wireless communication and, more particularly, to methods, devices, and systems for increasing wireless communication range.
  • Bluetooth devices such as Bluetooth speakers, smart phones, smart locks, and various smart Bluetooth sensors and wearable devices, have become widely used in many applications.
  • Bluetooth technology is designed for low power and low cost operation, the communication range of Bluetooth devices is typically quite short.
  • the typical communication range between two Bluetooth devices, such as a smart phone and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) sensor is limited to tens of meters in open space and a few meters inside a house, and the Bluetooth transmission typically cannot penetrate walls.
  • BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
  • the short communication range limits the use of Bluetooth devices in scenarios where longer communication range is required.
  • the present disclosure provides a device for supporting wireless communication. Consistent with some embodiments, this disclosure provides a device for supporting wireless communication.
  • the device includes a transceiver, an antenna, and a radio frequency (RF) front end system communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the antenna.
  • the RF front end system includes a RF sampling block coupled to the transceiver and configured to sample signals received from the transceiver and output voltage signals, a RF switching logic coupled to the RF sampling block to receive the voltage signals and configured to switch the RF front end system between a transmitting mode and a receiving mode, a RF transmission gain block coupled to the RF switching logic and configured to increase a
  • a RF receiving gain block coupled to the RF switching logic and configured to suppress noise signals contained in radio frequency signals received from the antenna.
  • this disclosure provides a device for supporting wireless communication.
  • the device includes a configurable antenna system including a plurality of antenna elements. Each of the antenna elements is capable of being turned on or off to produce different antenna configurations.
  • the device further includes a transceiver configured to generate a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for each of the antenna configurations. The RSSI is generated based on signals received from a client device.
  • the device further includes an antenna logic system communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the configurable antenna system. The antenna logic system is configured to receive, from the transceiver, the RSSI for each of the antenna configurations, select an antenna configuration among the antenna configurations based on the RSSI, and configure the configurable antenna system with the selected antenna configuration.
  • RSSI received signal strength indicator
  • this disclosure provides a device for supporting wireless communication.
  • the device includes a first antenna and a second antenna.
  • the first antenna and the second antenna uses a different polarization.
  • the device further includes a first communication module configured to transmit a first radio frequency signal via the first antenna.
  • the first radio frequency signal is generated complying with a first communication protocol.
  • the device further includes a second communication module configured to transmit a second radio frequency signal via the second antenna.
  • the second radio frequency signal is generated complying with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.
  • this disclosure provides a device for supporting wireless communication.
  • the device includes a first Bluetooth transceiver for communicating with a Bluetooth device, a second Bluetooth transceiver for communicating with a client device, one or more processors, and a memory for storing instructions executable by the one or more processors.
  • the one or more processors may be configured to establish, via the first Bluetooth
  • the transceiver a first communication connection with the Bluetooth device.
  • the device may operate as a Bluetooth master device controlling the Bluetooth device.
  • the one or more processors may be further configured to transmit, via the second Bluetooth transceiver, a Bluetooth broadcast signal indicating an availability of the Bluetooth device, and establish, via the second Bluetooth transceiver, a second communication connection with the client device.
  • the device may operate as a Bluetooth slave device controllable by the client device.
  • the one or more processors may be further configured to receive, data directing to the Bluetooth device, from the client device via the second communication connection, and forward, the data directing to the Bluetooth device, to the Bluetooth device via the first communication connection.
  • this disclosure provides a method for supporting wireless communication.
  • the method includes establishing, via a first Bluetooth transceiver, a first communication connection between a device and a Bluetooth device.
  • the device may operate as a Bluetooth master device controlling the Bluetooth device.
  • the method may further include transmitting, via a second Bluetooth transceiver, a Bluetooth broadcast signal indicating an availability of the Bluetooth device, and establishing, via the second Bluetooth transceiver, a second communication connection between the device and a client device.
  • the device may operate as a Bluetooth slave device controllable by the client device.
  • the method may further include receiving, data directing to the Bluetooth device, from the client device via the second communication connection, and forwarding, the data directing to the Bluetooth device, to the Bluetooth device via the first communication connection.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system environment for implementing methods and systems consistent with the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a transmission path of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a receiving path of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for configuring an antenna system of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary table of received signal strength indicators (RSSIs) for selecting an antenna configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • RSSIs received signal strength indicators
  • FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an antenna system of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wireless
  • FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wireless communication hub capable of supporting multiple communication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 1 1 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a frequency hopping scheme employed by a wireless communication hub capable of supporting multiple communication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary use scenario of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary use scenario of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary use scenario of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system environment 100 for
  • the system environment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a hub 120 and client devices 1 10, 125, 130, 135, and 145.
  • the system environment 100 may also include a network 140 that allows the client devices to remotely communicate with the hub 120.
  • the client devices are connected to the hub 120 through wireless communication links.
  • the client devices may be Bluetooth devices or Bluetooth sensors that communicate to the hub 120 using Bluetooth communication protocol.
  • the client devices may also communicate to the hub 120 using other wireless communication protocol, e.g., ZigBee, WiFi, etc.
  • the hub 120 may receive radio signal from one client device (e.g., client device 1 10), process the received signal, and send corresponding radio signal to the other client device (e.g., client device 125), such that client devices may communicate with each other through the hub 120.
  • the hub 120 may amplify the received signal and/or suppress noise in the received signal from the client devices such that communication range between client devices can be effectively increased.
  • the client devices may be Bluetooth devices or sensors (or other wireless devices such as WIFI devices, Zigbee devices, etc.), and the hub 120 may be used to increase the communication range between the client devices.
  • Bluetooth devices operate in one of two modes: as a master device or a slave device.
  • the master device provides a network clock and determines the frequency hopping sequence, and the slave devices synchronize to the master's clock and follow the master's hopping frequency.
  • Each of the client devices shown in FIG. 1 may be a master device or slave device.
  • the client device 1 10 may be a master device and client devices 125, 130, and 135 may be slave devices.
  • Bluetooth master device may be a cellular phone, a tablet, a computer, a laptop, a smart watch, a TV, or other Bluetooth devices with screens and operating systems.
  • Bluetooth slave devices may be speakers, headsets, microphones, printers, smart watches, cameras, TVs, monitors, wearable devices including wristbands, pedometers, activity trackers, sleep trackers, weight scales, etc., or devices to which Bluetooth sensors are attached to sense and send relevant electric parameters, such as home appliance including washing machines, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, etc.
  • the client devices may communicate with the hub 120 through a network 140.
  • the client device 145 may remotely communicate with the hub 120 and/or other client devices via the network 140.
  • the network 140 may be any type of network that provides
  • the network 140 may be the Internet, a Local Area Network, a cellular communication network, a wireless local area network, or other suitable connections that allow the client devices to send and receive information to/from the hub 120.
  • the hub 120 may be included in a remote cloud-based network system that can be accessed by the client devices through the network 140.
  • the present disclosure provides a wireless hub that can be used to effectively increase the wireless communication range between the client devices.
  • the wireless hub may support long range transmission without requiring modification of the wireless client devices.
  • the wireless hub may function as a transparent relay that the client devices may not necessary be aware of.
  • the wireless hub may be a Bluetooth hub and support all the public profiles of Bluetooth. It is also possible to control the wireless hub through a cloud server, for example, by using a smart phone application.
  • the wireless hub may be configured to connect to a cloud server and capable of adaptively reconfigure itself based on the use history, interaction, and/or activities of the client devices and the wireless hub.
  • the hub 120 may also be called as a router, and in this disclosure, the terms of hub and router are inter-exchangeable.
  • Bluetooth protocols and devices are used to illustrate the design of the wireless hub. It should be understood, however, that similar constructions of the wireless hub can be applied to scenarios where other wireless communication protocols are used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub 200, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the Bluetooth hub 200 may include a Bluetooth transceiver 210, a RF front end system 220, and an antenna 240.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 may be configured to transmit and receive Bluetooth signals to/from Bluetooth devices.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 may include digital, analog, and radio frequency (RF) functions for generating, receiving, and encoding/decoding Bluetooth signals.
  • the antenna 240 may convert RF Bluetooth signals to electromagnetic waves, and vice versa.
  • the antenna 240 may include a reconfigurable antenna system or directional antenna system described later in connection with FIG. 5 and FIG. 8, respectively.
  • the Bluetooth hub 200 may also include other components, such as a processor coupled to the Bluetooth transceiver 210.
  • the Bluetooth hub 200 may further includes means to connect to the Internet, for example, an Ethernet port or a WIFI module.
  • the Bluetooth hub 200 may also be connected to the Internet via the Bluetooth transceiver 200.
  • the RF front end system 220 is communicatively coupled to the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and the antenna 240.
  • the RF front end system 220 may improve RF performance of the Bluetooth transceiver 210 by increasing its receiving sensitivity and transmission power.
  • the RF front end system 220 may include a RF sampling block 222, a RF switching logic 224, one or more RF switching blocks (e.g., 225 and 226), RF transmission gain block 228, and one or more RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230).
  • the RF sampling block 222 is coupled to the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and samples the RF signal received from the Bluetooth transceiver 210. For example, a small portion of the RF signal (e.g., less than 1 %) outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 may be passed to the RF sampling block 222, and the remaining portion of the RF signal outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 may be passed to the RF switching block 225 for transmitting to the antenna 240. In other words, the RF sampling block 222 samples the RF signal outputted from the
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 at a rate substantially lower than that of the RF signals flowing to the antenna 240.
  • the RF sampling block 222 converts the sampled RF signal into voltage signal and outputs the voltage signal to the RF switching logic 224.
  • the RF sampling block 222 may include a low pass filter that filters the voltage signal before sending it to the RF switching logic 224.
  • the filtered voltage signal may also be converted into logarithmic signals for passing to the RF switching logic 224.
  • the RF switching logic 224 is coupled to the RF sampling block 222 to receive the voltage signals and switches the RF front end system 220 between a transmitting mode and a receiving mode.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may send control signals to the RF switching blocks 225 and 226 to switch the RF front end system 220 between the transmitting mode and the receiving mode based on the voltage signals received from the RF sampling block 222.
  • the control signals may be sent from the RF switching logic 224 to the RF switching blocks 225 and 226 within hundreds of nanoseconds.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may compare the received voltage signal to a predetermined threshold, and if the voltage signal is greater than the predetermined threshold, switch the RF front end system 220 to the transmitting mode.
  • the RF transmission gain block 228 is configured to increase signal power of the RF signal received from the Bluetooth transceiver 210.
  • the RF transmission gain block 228 may be enabled or disabled by the RF switching logic 224.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may be connected with the RF transmission gain block 228 and may send control signal to the RF transmission gain block 228 to enable or disable the RF transmission gain block 228.
  • the RF transmission gain block 228 may include a ceramic filter and step RF attenuator to shape the RF signal received from the Bluetooth transceiver
  • the RF receiving gain blocks 229 and 230 are configured to suppress the noise figure of the receiving chain.
  • the RF receiving gain blocks 229 and 230 may be enabled or disabled by the RF switching logic 224.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may be connected with the RF receiving gain blocks 229 and 230 and may send control signals to the RF receiving gain blocks to enable or disable the
  • Fi and Gi are the noise factor and available power gain, respectively, of the i-th stage, and n is the number of stages. It can be seen that the overall noise figure of RF receiver is primarily established by the noise figure of its first gain stage. Consequently, a cascade of RF receiving gain blocks, such as the RF receiving gain blocks 229 and 230, may be used to further lower the noise figure of the RF front end system 220. Although two RF receiving gain blocks 229 and 230 are used in FIG. 2, it is also possible to use more or less number of RF receiving gain blocks in the RF front end system 220.
  • the RF front end system 220 includes two RF switching blocks 225 and 226.
  • the RF switching blocks are controlled by the control signal from the RF switching logic 224.
  • the two RF switching blocks 225 and 226 each may be a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch which decides the path of the RF signal. If the RF switching blocks switch to the transmission path, the RF signal flows through the RF transmission gain block 228 and feeds into the antenna 240. If the RF switching blocks switch to the receiving path, the RF signal flows from the antenna through the RF receiving gain blocks and feeds into the Bluetooth transceiver 210.
  • SPDT single pole double throw
  • RF switching blocks 225 and 226 in the RF front end system 220 to switch the path of the RF signal.
  • higher numbers of RF switching blocks may be used for implementing a more complicated architecture, such as a SP3T, SP4T or SPNT switching block.
  • Bluetooth hub 200 can be modified to apply to scenarios where other wireless communication protocols are used.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 in FIG. 2 may be replaced by a transceiver capable of transmit and receive signals of other wireless communication protocols, such as WIFI, and the resulting hub 200 would be capable of supporting communications between devices using other wireless communication protocols.
  • the Bluetooth hub 200 may also be called as a Bluetooth router, and in this disclosure, the terms of Bluetooth hub and Bluetooth router are inter-exchangeable.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a transmission (TX) path 300 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, during transmission of Bluetooth signals, the TX path 300 of a Bluetooth hub, the TX path 300 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, during transmission of Bluetooth signals, the TX path 300 of a Bluetooth hub, the TX path 300 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, during transmission of Bluetooth signals, the
  • Bluetooth transceiver 210 sends RF signal to the RF front end system 220.
  • a small portion of the RF signal outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 is fed into the RF sampling block 222, and the remaining portion of the RF signal is fed into the RF switching block 225.
  • the RF sampling block 222 may take approximately 1% of the RF energy outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and convert the sampled RF signal into voltage signal.
  • the RF sampling block 222 passes the voltage signal into the RF switching logic 224 for controlling the operation mode the RF front end system 220.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may compare voltage of the received voltage signal to a predetermined threshold, and if the voltage is greater than the predetermined threshold, the RF switching logic 224 may switch the RF front end system 220 to the transmitting mode. In the transmitting mode, the RF switching logic 224 sends control signal to RF switching blocks 225 and 226 to switch the RF signal to the transmission path and sends transmission enabling logic to the RF transmission gain block 228.
  • the transmission enabling logic enables the RF transmission gain block 228 to perform the signal amplifying functionalities on the RF signal.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may also send receiving disabling logic to RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230).
  • the receiving disabling logic disables the RF receiving gain blocks to perform any noise suppression functionalities since no RF signal is passed to the RF receiving gain blocks when the RF front-end system 220 is in the transmitting mode.
  • the RF signal outputted from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 is passed to the RF transmission gain block 228 and then fed to the antenna.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a receiving (RX) path 400 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may compare voltage of the voltage signal received from the RF sampling block 222 to a predetermined threshold, and if the voltage is lower than the predetermined threshold, the RF switching logic 224 may switch the RF front end system 220 to the receiving mode.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 stops transmitting RF energy into the RF front end system 220, and the RF switching logic 224 switches the RF signal to the receiving path.
  • the RF signal received from the antenna is fed into the RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230) and inputted into the Bluetooth transceiver 210.
  • the received signal may bypass the RF sampling block 222.
  • the RF switching logic 224 sends control signal to RF switching blocks 225 and 226 to switch the RF signal to the receiving path and sends receiving enabling logic to the RF receiving gain blocks (e.g., 229 and 230).
  • the receiving enabling logic enables the RF receiving gain block 230 to perform noise suppression functionalities on the RF signal received from the antenna.
  • the RF switching logic 224 may also send transmission disabling logic to RF transmission gain block 228.
  • the transmission disabling logic disables the RF transmission gain block 228 to perform any signal amplifying functionalities since no RF signal is passed to the RF transmission gain block 228 when the RF front-end system 220 operates in the receiving mode.
  • the RF signal outputted from the antenna is passed to the RF transmission receiving gain block 230 and then fed into the Bluetooth transceiver 210 for decoding of the Bluetooth signal.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 stops transmitting RF energy to the RF front end system 220 when the front-end RF system 200 operates in the receiving mode.
  • the RF sampling block 222 does not receive the RF signal from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 or provide any output to the RF switching logic 224 when the RF front-end system 220 operates in the receiving mode.
  • the receiving path of the Bluetooth hub bypasses the RF sampling block 222 and the RF transmission gain block 228 when the RF front-end system 220 operates in the receiving mode.
  • the Bluetooth hub 500 includes a Bluetooth transceiver 210, a RF front end system 220, an antenna logic system 510, and a reconfigurable antenna system 520.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 includes a Bluetooth transceiver 210, a RF front end system 220, an antenna logic system 510, and a reconfigurable antenna system 520.
  • Bluetooth transceiver 210 and RF front end system 220 have been described above in connection with FIGs. 2-4.
  • the reconfigurable antenna system 520 may include a plurality of antenna elements, and each of the antenna elements may be turned on or off independently. Thus, a unique antenna radiation pattern may be formed by turning on or off each of the antenna elements. In other words, different antenna
  • the reconfigurable antenna system 520 may be configured by the antenna logic system 510 with a specific antenna configuration of the antenna elements.
  • the antenna logic system 510 includes a feedback logic input port connected to the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and a control logic output port connected to the reconfigurable antenna system 520.
  • the reconfigurable antenna system 520 may scan through each of the antenna configurations.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 (or a processor associated with the Bluetooth transceiver 210) may generate a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) for each of the antenna configurations based on signals received from Bluetooth client devices.
  • the antenna logic system 510 may receive feedback from the Bluetooth transceiver 210, including the RSSI of each of the antenna configurations for each client device.
  • the antenna logic system 510 may select a preferred antenna configuration based on the RSSIs and configure the reconfigurable antenna system 520 with the preferred antenna configuration for the corresponding client device. For example, the antenna logic system 510 may select an antenna configuration corresponding to the highest RSSI among all the antenna configurations. In some embodiments, the antenna logic system 510 may take into account both the RSSI and the prior selected antenna configuration in deciding which antenna configuration to select for the client device. In some embodiments, the antenna logic system 510 may take into account the RSSI, the bit error rate (BER), the packet error rate (PER), and/or the noise floor of the communication path in deciding which antenna configuration to select for the client device. By selecting the antenna configuration based on the feedback provided by the Bluetooth transceiver 210, the reconfigurable antenna system 520 may achieve higher antenna gain and receive less noise, thereby increasing the communication range of the Bluetooth client devices.
  • BER bit error rate
  • PER packet error rate
  • FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 for configuring an antenna system of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be performed by the Bluetooth hub 500 described above in connection with FIG. 5.
  • the Bluetooth hub scans through the different antenna configurations and generates a corresponding RSSI for each of the antenna configurations.
  • the reconfigurable antenna system 520 may scan through the antenna configurations, and the
  • Bluetooth transceiver 210 may generate the RSSI corresponding to each of the antenna configurations. If there is a plurality of Bluetooth client devices in the system, the Bluetooth hub may generate a set of RSSIs for each of the client devices. The Bluetooth transceiver 210 (or a processor associated with the Bluetooth transceiver 210) may feedback the RSSIs to the antenna logic system 510 for selection of the antenna configuration. In some embodiments, a processor of the Bluetooth hub may select an antenna configuration based on the RSSIs and feedback the selected antenna configuration to the antenna logic system 510.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary table 700 of RSSIs for selecting an antenna configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the table 700 illustrates the sets of RSSIs collected by the Bluetooth hub during the initialization stage.
  • the table 700 includes RSSIs for a plurality of Bluetooth client devices, i.e., client A to client X.
  • the Bluetooth hub selects an antenna configuration for the client devices based on RSSIs. For each client device, a same or different antenna configuration may be selected. For example, the
  • Bluetooth hub may select the antenna configuration with the highest RSSI among all the antenna configurations for each client device. For another example, the
  • Bluetooth hub may select the prior antenna configuration if the RSSI corresponding to the prior antenna configuration remains above a predetermined value. If the RSSI corresponding to the prior antenna configuration falls below a predetermined value, the corresponding antenna configuration with the highest RSSI among all the antenna configurations may be selected. It is also possible that other types of signal strength indicator may be used in place of the RSSI for selecting the preferred antenna configuration.
  • the Bluetooth hub configures the reconfigurable antenna system 520 with the selected antenna configuration, and the selected antenna configuration is used to communicate with the corresponding Bluetooth client device.
  • the antenna logic system 510 may configure the reconfigurable antenna system 520 with the selected antenna configuration via the control logic output port.
  • the selected antenna configuration may be used to communicate with the corresponding Bluetooth client device within a timeout, that is, a predetermined time period.
  • the method 600 may return to step 602 to scan through the antenna configurations and obtain updated RSSIs for each of the antenna configurations.
  • the timeout may be set to a value less than one second, for example, 300ms.
  • the antenna logic system 510 may update the selected antenna configuration based on the updated RSSIs.
  • a selected antenna configuration is used to communicate with a client device for a predetermined time period, and the selected antenna configuration is updated after the predetermined time period to reflect the current RF channel conditions.
  • the method 600 achieves higher antenna gain and lower noise, and as a result, increases the communication range of the client devices.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a Bluetooth hub 800, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the Bluetooth hub 800 includes a Bluetooth transceiver 210, a RF front end system 220, a RF energy splitter 810, and a plurality of antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 and RF front end system 220 have been described above in connection with FIGs. 2-4.
  • the RF energy splitter 810 is coupled with the RF front end system 220, and the RF energy flows from the RF front end system 220 to the RF energy splitter 810.
  • the RF energy splitter 810 is configured to divide the RF energy, for example, equally, into N parts and feed the split RF energy into each of the N directional antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N.
  • Each of the directional antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N may be configured to radiate in a different direction, and the combination of all the antenna elements may cover the entire area of the network.
  • each of the directional antenna elements 820-1 to 820-N may be configured to radiate in a direction towards 1/N part of the area. In doing so, higher antenna gain may be achieved for the Bluetooth hub in comparison with those using omni-directional antennas.
  • the Bluetooth hub may determine, for a particular Bluetooth device, which directional antenna element receives the strongest signal from that Bluetooth device.
  • the Bluetooth hub may determine that the Bluetooth device falls in an area covered by that directional antenna element, and use that directional antenna element to transmit RF signals for the Bluetooth device.
  • the Bluetooth hub may feed all of the RF energy for the Bluetooth device to that directional antenna element, instead of equally dividing the RF energy to all the antenna elements.
  • Bluetooth hub 800 can be modified to apply to scenarios where other wireless communication protocols are used.
  • the Bluetooth transceiver 210 in FIG. 8 may be replaced by a transceiver capable of transmit and receive signals of other wireless communication protocols, and the resulting hub 800 would be capable of supporting communications between devices using other wireless communication protocols.
  • Certain functional blocks may be omitted in the Bluetooth hub 900 without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
  • the RF front end system 200 may be omitted in the Bluetooth hub 800, and the RF energy may flow directly from the Bluetooth transceiver 210 to the RF energy splitter 810.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wireless
  • the wireless communication hub 900 capable of supporting multiple communication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the wireless communication hub 900 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 910, a Bluetooth module 920, and a WIFI module 930 for supporting both Bluetooth and WIFI communications.
  • PCB printed circuit board
  • the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be placed apart on the PCB 910, for example, at opposite ends of the PCB 910. As shown in FIG. 9, the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be also placed at opposite sides of the PCB 910. In some embodiments, the physical distance between the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be configured to be greater than a predetermined distance to ensure isolation between them.
  • the wireless communication hub may include a Bluetooth module and a Zigbee module, and the Bluetooth module and Zigbee module may be placed apart on the PCB, for example, at an opposite end of the PCB, to reduce interference to each other.
  • the wireless communication hub may include a Bluetooth module, a WIFI module, and a Zigbee module, and the three modules may be placed apart on the PCB with a minimum physical distance between one another to reduce interference to one another.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a wireless
  • the wireless communication hub 1000 capable of supporting multiple communication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the wireless communication hub 1000 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 910, a Bluetooth module 920, a Bluetooth antenna 1010, a WIFI module 930, and a WIFI antenna 1020 for supporting both Bluetooth and WIFI communications.
  • PCB printed circuit board
  • the Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be placed apart on the PCB 910, for example, by having a physical distance greater than a predetermined minimum distance.
  • interference between the communication modules may be reduced by using different antenna polarizations and PCB RF paths between each communication modules.
  • the Bluetooth antenna 1010 is configured to have a horizontal polarization
  • the WIFI antenna 1020 is configured to have a vertical polarization.
  • the PCB RF path to the Bluetooth antenna 1010 is in a vertical direction
  • the PCB RF path to the WIFI antenna 1020 is in a horizontal direction.
  • Bluetooth module 920 and the WIFI module 930 may be achieved by the different polarizations of the Bluetooth antenna and WIFI antenna and the different directions of PCB RF paths between the Bluetooth module and the WIFI module.
  • interference between the communication modules may be reduced by using time-domain isolation.
  • a processor e.g., a CPU of the wireless communication hub may function as a communication controller and execute a timing algorithm to determine the time slots for each of the communication module to transmit and/or receive data.
  • the processor may send control signal to the Bluetooth module such that the Bluetooth module refrains from transmission at the same time when the WIFI module is transmitting and/or receiving data.
  • the processor may send control signal to the WIFI module such that the WIFI module refrains from transmission at the same time when the Bluetooth module is transmitting and/or receiving data.
  • the wireless communication hub may include a Bluetooth module and a Zigbee module, and the Bluetooth antenna and Zigbee antenna may be configured to have different polarizations.
  • the Bluetooth module and Zigbee module may be configured to transmit and/or receive at different time slots to avoid interference to each other.
  • FIG. 1 1 illustrates an exemplary diagram of a frequency hopping scheme 1 100 employed by a wireless communication hub capable of supporting multiple communication protocols, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Frequency-domain isolation may be achieved by implementing a master frequency hopping algorithm by a processor (e.g., a CPU) of the wireless
  • the processor of the wireless communication hub may perform a background scanning of the entire bandwidth of the WIFI channel and the Bluetooth channel to select frequency channel of the WIFI communication and Bluetooth communication at the next hopping cycle.
  • the WIFI communication is scheduled at channel A, and the Bluetooth communication is scheduled at frequency channel set 1 , i.e., channels 1 -17.
  • the interference between the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communication is minimized.
  • the scheduled frequency channels for the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communication are used in one frequency hopping cycle for a predetermined time period. During one frequency hopping cycle, the scheduled frequency channels for the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communication remain unchanged.
  • the WIFI communication is scheduled at channel Z
  • the Bluetooth communication is scheduled at frequency channel set X, i.e., channels 18-37. That is, the frequency channels used by the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communication may vary from time to time, while at a given time instant, the frequency channels used by the WIFI communication and the Bluetooth communication are not overlapping in order to minimize the
  • the processor of the wireless communication hub may perform a background scanning of the entire bandwidth of the WIFI channel and the Bluetooth channel to select frequency channel of the WIFI communication and Bluetooth communication for the next hopping cycle or future hopping cycles.
  • the processor of the wireless communication hub may determine a set of hopping frequencies for the Bluetooth communication, and the Bluetooth protocol stack which implements the functionalities of higher layers of Bluetooth protocol may determine the exact hopping channels for Bluetooth communication.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a Bluetooth hub 1200, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the Bluetooth hub 1200 may include two dual-mode Bluetooth chips 1210 and 1220, a data bus 1230, a main CPU 1240, a Bluetooth stack 1250, and an application layer 1260.
  • the dual-mode Bluetooth chips 1210 and 1220 may be configured to communicate with other Bluetooth client devices.
  • the CPU 1240 may be configured to execute instructions associated with operations of the Bluetooth hub 1200.
  • the CPU 1240 may execute certain instructions and commands to provide wireless communication, using the Bluetooth chips 1210 and 1220.
  • the Bluetooth stack 1250 may implement the higher layer functionalities provided in the Bluetooth protocol.
  • the application layer 1260 may be used for interacting with and managing end-user applications.
  • the Bluetooth hub 1200 may also include other auxiliary components, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), secondary storage (for example, a hard disk drive or flash memory).
  • RAM random access memory
  • ROM read only memory
  • secondary storage for example, a hard disk drive or flash memory
  • Bluetooth hub 1200 can be modified to apply to scenarios where other wireless communication protocols are used.
  • the Bluetooth chips 1210 and 1220 and Bluetooth stack 1250 in FIG. 12 may be replaced by chips and protocol stack of other wireless communication protocols, such as WIFI, and the resulting hub 1200 would be capable of supporting communications between devices using other wireless communication protocols.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary use scenario 1300 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • communication is to be established between a Bluetooth device, such as a Bluetooth speaker 1310 and the smart phone 1320 through the Bluetooth hub 1200.
  • the smart phone 1320 acts as a Bluetooth master device that controls the Bluetooth speaker 1310 which acts as a Bluetooth slave device.
  • the Bluetooth hub 1200 may pair with the Bluetooth speaker 1310 first and act as a master of the Bluetooth speaker 1310.
  • the paring between the Bluetooth hub 1200 and the Bluetooth speaker 1310 may occur automatically without any user intervention. For example, when the user left home, the Bluetooth speaker 1310 loses connection with its smart phone master and starts to broadcast its availability.
  • the Bluetooth hub 1200 can then discover and pair with the Bluetooth speaker 1310 (e.g., using its first Bluetooth chip 1210) as its master.
  • the pairing can be configured to be permanent unless one side is powered off.
  • the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the hub coordinated by the CPU 1240 of the hub, can then broadcast, on behalf of the Bluetooth speaker 1310, that it is the Bluetooth speaker 1310.
  • the smart phone 1320 (e.g., when comes back home) can then pair with the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the Bluetooth hub 1200 without knowing it is communicating to the Bluetooth speaker 1310 through a hub in between.
  • the Bluetooth hub operates as a transparent relay between the Bluetooth speaker 1310 and the smart phone 1320.
  • the Bluetooth hub 1200 acts as a master device to the Bluetooth speaker 1310, and at the same time, acts as a slave device to the smart phone 1320 by using the two Bluetooth chips in the hub.
  • one Bluetooth master device can be associated with multiple Bluetooth slave devices
  • one Bluetooth slave device can be associated with only one Bluetooth master device at a given time.
  • the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the hub may act as a slave and it can have only one phone master at a given time.
  • n e.g. three
  • one chip may act as a master to control various Bluetooth devices and the other n-1 (e.g. two) Bluetooth chips may act as slaves to allow extending ranges for more than one pair of communication devices at the same time.
  • FIG. 14 illustrates another exemplary use scenario 1400 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG.
  • Bluetooth chip 1210 may act as a master to control various Bluetooth devices, such as the Bluetooth speaker 1310 and the BLE alarm sensor 1330, and the other two Bluetooth chips 1220-1 and 1220-2 may act as slaves and communicate with the smart phone 1320 on behalf of Bluetooth speaker 1310 and the BLE alarm sensor 1330, respectively.
  • Bluetooth chips 1220-1 and 1220-2 may act as slaves and communicate with the smart phone 1320 on behalf of Bluetooth speaker 1310 and the BLE alarm sensor 1330, respectively.
  • the Bluetooth hub 1200 operates to extend communications ranges for both the Bluetooth speaker 1310 and the BLE alarm sensor 1330 at the same time.
  • FIG. 15 illustrates another exemplary use scenario 1500 of a Bluetooth hub, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG.
  • the first Bluetooth chip 1210 of the Bluetooth hub 1200 is connected to n (n > 1 ) Bluetooth devices, e.g. a Bluetooth speaker 1310, a BLE alarm sensor 1330, a Bluetooth LED light 1340, a BLE power plug 1350, and a BLE blood pressure measuring device 1360.
  • n > 1
  • Bluetooth devices e.g. a Bluetooth speaker 1310, a BLE alarm sensor 1330, a Bluetooth LED light 1340, a BLE power plug 1350, and a BLE blood pressure measuring device 1360.
  • the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the hub can broadcast its identity in the following round-robin fashion.
  • the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the hub can first announce that it is Bluetooth end device 1 (e.g., the BLE alarm sensor 1330), and then after a predetermined time period, such as x milliseconds (x is a parameter that is user configurable), the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the hub will announce that it is Bluetooth end device 2 (e.g., the Bluetooth LED light 1340). And then after a predetermined time period, such as x milliseconds, the second Bluetooth chip 1220 of the hub will announce that it is Bluetooth end device 3 (e.g., the Bluetooth speaker 1310), and so on and so forth. This will allow the smart phone 1320 to connect to and control multiple Bluetooth end devices through the Bluetooth hub 1200 without requiring the Bluetooth hub 1200 to have more than two Bluetooth chips.
  • x is a parameter that is user configurable

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif d'assistance à la communication sans fil. Le dispositif comprend un émetteur-récepteur, une antenne, et un système frontal à fréquence radio (RF) accouplé en communication à l'émetteur-récepteur et à l'antenne. Le système frontal RF peut comprendre : un bloc d'échantillonnage RF accouplé à l'émetteur-récepteur et configuré pour échantillonner des signaux reçus de l'émetteur-récepteur et fournir en sortie des signaux de tension ; une logique de commutation RF accouplée au bloc d'échantillonnage RF pour recevoir les signaux de tension et configurée pour commuter le système frontal RF entre un mode transmission et un mode de réception ; un bloc de gain de transmission RF accouplé à la logique de commutation RF et configuré pour augmenter une puissance de transmission des signaux reçus de l'émetteur-récepteur ; et un bloc de gain de réception RF accouplé à la logique de commutation RF et configuré pour éliminer les signaux parasites présents dans des signaux de fréquence radio reçus de l'antenne.
PCT/US2016/015105 2015-01-30 2016-01-27 Procédés, dispositifs et systèmes permettant d'augmenter la portée de communication sans fil WO2016123208A1 (fr)

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EP16744028.8A EP3251221B1 (fr) 2015-01-30 2016-01-27 Procédés, dispositifs et systèmes permettant d'augmenter la portée de communication sans fil
JP2017534352A JP2018509019A (ja) 2015-01-30 2016-01-27 無線通信範囲を拡大する方法、機器およびシステム

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US201562110262P 2015-01-30 2015-01-30
US201562110250P 2015-01-30 2015-01-30
US62/110,250 2015-01-30
US62/110,262 2015-01-30
US14/639,711 US9769594B2 (en) 2015-01-30 2015-03-05 Methods, devices and systems for increasing wireless communication range
US14/639,711 2015-03-05
US14/789,614 2015-07-01
US14/789,614 US9730003B2 (en) 2015-01-30 2015-07-01 Methods, devices and systems for supporting wireless communication
US201562187956P 2015-07-02 2015-07-02
US62/187,956 2015-07-02
US14/930,307 2015-11-02
US14/930,307 US10178494B2 (en) 2015-01-30 2015-11-02 Bluetooth transparent relay

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CN109191815A (zh) * 2018-08-16 2019-01-11 国网内蒙古东部电力有限公司电力科学研究院 一种无线辅助接点传递装置及方法
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CN111010221A (zh) * 2018-10-04 2020-04-14 赛普拉斯半导体公司 用无线通信设备实现天线分集的系统、方法和设备
CN111010221B (zh) * 2018-10-04 2023-10-27 赛普拉斯半导体公司 用无线通信设备实现天线分集的系统、方法和设备
CN110234178A (zh) * 2019-06-11 2019-09-13 深圳云里物里科技股份有限公司 一种蓝牙网关及设置方法、系统、计算机可读存储介质
CN114630403A (zh) * 2022-01-28 2022-06-14 浙江大华技术股份有限公司 一种信道选择方法、节点、系统及计算机可读存储介质

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