HK1032688B - Distributed radio telephone for use in a vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Distributed radiotelephone for use in a vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to mobile radiotelephones, and more particularly, to a distributed mobile radiotelephone for use in a vehicle.

Background

Currently, there are three generally accepted methods of providing cellular telephone service to a driver of a vehicle. First, a standard, hand-held cellular telephone can be used by the driver, and the power supply for the hand-held cellular telephone can be provided by the battery component of the hand-held unit itself, or by an adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter of the vehicle. Second, a standard hand-held cellular telephone can be held by a cradle mounted within the vehicle. The cradle may include an external speaker and microphone allowing hands-free operation once a call is established. Third, the vehicle may be equipped with a built-in cellular telephone that is permanently affixed to the vehicle.

Each of the above-mentioned solutions makes undesirable tradeoffs among various design goals, including ergonomics, aesthetics, functional versatility, phone performance, scalability, and ease of installation and maintenance. For example, the first solution, using a standard handheld terminal, provides versatility and ease of installation and maintenance at the expense of ergonomics, aesthetics, and phone performance. Simply put, using a hand-held cellular telephone requires that the driver's part be extremely awkward to get the phone close to the window. Even though the phone may be close to the window, it often blocks the radio path between the phone antenna and the cellular base station itself, thus limiting the performance of the phone. And the only functions available to the driver are those provided by the handheld phone.

The second solution, mounting the hand held cellular telephone in a cradle, is an improvement over the first solution. However, this solution also has drawbacks, mainly related to ergonomics, aesthetics, and phone performance. Because the stand is typically mounted out of the normal line of sight of the driver, the driver must move his or her field of view in order to use the cellular telephone. Moreover, the brackets are typically sold as after-market equipment, the appearance of which does not necessarily harmonize with the trim of the vehicle interior. The stand typically allows the power cord, microphone, and control buttons to be hung. As with the first solution, the driver is limited to the functionality provided by the hand-held phone. Unless an external enhancer is used, which also presents its own cost, installation, and aesthetic problems-the performance of the phone is limited by its power amplifier, which is designed to meet the battery constraints of the handheld terminal.

The third solution, the built-in cellular telephone, is aesthetically improved because it is typically designed to be compatible with the vehicle interior. The trade-offs are ergonomic, versatility, ease of maintenance, and ease of modification. Even in a built-in phone. The control keys of the phone are usually placed outside the driver's view. Thus, the driver needs to move his or her field of view in order to operate the phone. Furthermore, the freedom to have a detachable handheld phone is lost. When the driver leaves the vehicle, the phone is unlikely to be carried away from the vehicle. In addition, new features and functions cannot be easily added to a built-in phone, nor can it be easy to return the built-in phone to its manufacturer for repair or renewal.

Summary of The Invention

The present invention relates to a wireless telephone for use in a vehicle. The radiotelephone includes a base unit mounted in the vehicle having a wide area transceiver for communicating with a station outside the vehicle, a control unit mounted in the vehicle remote from the base unit, and a local area network for establishing a communication path between the base unit and the control unit. The local area network is adapted to transmit control and data signals between the base unit and the control unit. The control unit includes a keyboard for entering commands and data to be sent to the base unit over the local area network, and a display for displaying information to a user. The control unit may also include a speaker and microphone. Alternatively, the speaker and microphone may be contained in a remote audio unit, connected to the base unit via a local area network. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a first local area transceiver is housed within the control unit and a second local area transceiver is housed within the base unit to provide wireless communication between the base unit and the control unit. If a remote audio unit is used, the third local area transceiver will be located in the remote audio unit.

The control unit is typically mounted on the steering wheel of the vehicle. The control unit may be fully integrated into the steering column of the vehicle or, as an alternative, may be a self-contained unit attached to the steering wheel of the vehicle. The power supply of the control unit may be provided by a vehicle battery, a solar cell installed in the vehicle, or its own battery.

In one embodiment of the invention, the base unit is a sealed box concealed in the vehicle. For example, the base unit may be mounted within the dashboard or chassis of a vehicle. The user interaction with the base unit is strictly performed by the control unit. In this embodiment, certain components of the base unit, such as the wide area transceiver, may be implemented on a card that is inserted into the base unit. This makes it easy to update and repair the base unit.

The base unit may comprise a standard hand-held radiotelephone. In this embodiment, the local area transceiver may be incorporated into the radiotelephone or may be housed in a removable battery pack attached to the radiotelephone. A third alternative is to place the transceiver in a separate adapter to which the radiotelephone is connected. As a third alternative, the adapter may consist of a cradle that receives and holds the handheld radiotelephone. One advantage of placing the transceiver in a removable battery pack or adapter is that the transceiver becomes an accessory that can be offered to the user as an option.

In another embodiment of the invention, the distributed components of the radiotelephone may communicate over a LAN that is native to the vehicle. Typically, the manufacturer of the vehicle will include a local area network in the vehicle that ties the various systems of the vehicle together. The control unit, base unit and audio unit of the present invention can communicate with each other using the excess capacity of the vehicle's own LAN. Because the wireless telephone shares a LAN with various components of the vehicle, the wireless telephone may be used to extend or work with systems resident on the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle is stolen, the vehicle's security system may be programmed to establish a telephone call to notify a local law enforcement authority. The notification may also include the location of the vehicle if the vehicle also has a GPS receiver on the deck.

Various aspects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a distributed radiotelephone of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the wireless telephone.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a radiotelephone base unit.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an alternative radiotelephone audio unit.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a handheld radiotelephone for use in the distributed radiotelephone system of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a handheld radiotelephone in which the modem is contained in the cradle of the radiotelephone.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a handheld radiotelephone with a modem adapter in the form of a removable module.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a handheld wireless telephone with a modem adapter.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a handheld radiotelephone with a modem adapter in the form of a cradle.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a distributed radiotelephone utilizing an inherent vehicle-based network for communication between separate physical units.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a distributed radiotelephone having a base unit connected to a vehicle-based network and a control unit communicating with the base unit using a wireless link.

Fig. 12 is a schematic representation of a remote dialing unit for a distributed radiotelephone.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of a remote dialing unit.

Detailed Description

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a mobile telephone system of the present invention, generally designated by the numeral 10. The present mobile telephone system 10 is particularly suited for use in a vehicle. The mobile telephone system 10 is distributed over a number of separate and distinct physical units located at different locations within the vehicle. The separate physical units communicate with each other over a local wireless communication path. The preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises two physical units: a base unit 20 and a control unit 40. The base unit 20 includes a fully functional transceiver capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from a station located outside the vehicle. The control unit 40 includes interface components required for user control of the transceiver. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the base unit 20 is housed in the vehicle's chassis or dashboard, or under the vehicle's seat. The control unit 40 is preferably integrated into the steering wheel of the vehicle or, alternatively, may be attached to the steering wheel.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of the basic elements is shown. Base unit 20 includes an RF transceiver 24, control logic 26, volatile memory (RAM)28, non-volatile memory (ROM)30, and a modem 32. The RF transceiver 24, which may be a class 1 mobile telephone transceiver, is capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from stations outside the vehicle. Control logic 26 controls the operation of transceiver 24 and modem 32 in accordance with instructions stored in non-volatile memory 30. The volatile memory 28 provides a memory for temporary data that is required by the control logic 26 during operation of the mobile telephone system 10. The modem 32 provides a communication path between the base unit 20 and the control unit 40.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the base unit 20 includes a housing 22 containing the electronic components of the base unit 20. The control logic 26 is contained within the main circuit board. RF transceiver 24 and non-volatile memory 30 are contained within a separate card that plugs into a socket on the main circuit board. RF transceiver 24 and non-volatile memory 30 may be contained in a single card or may be contained in separate cards. By mounting the RF transceiver 24 and non-volatile memory 30 on a removable card, these components can be easily replaced or updated. For example, one transceiver 24 operating according to one cellular standard may be replaced with a transceiver 24 operating according to a different cellular standard. Similarly, updating or enhancing the functionality of the telephone system 10 may be performed by replacing the memory card.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the control unit 40. The control unit 40, as mentioned before, is preferably integrated into the steering wheel of the vehicle. The control unit 40 includes a keypad 44, a display 46, a microphone 48, and a speaker 50, which serve as interface components between the user and the base unit 20. The keypad 44 is used for data and command input by the user. For example, one common use of the keypad 44 is to enter a telephone number and "send" a command to establish an outgoing call. The display 46 is used to display information such as dialed numbers and call status information to the user. Microphone 48 converts the user's voice into an audio signal that is transmitted by base unit 20 to a remote station located outside the vehicle. The speaker 50 converts audio signals received by the base unit 20 into audible sound that can be heard by the user. Control logic 52 controls the operation of control unit 40 according to instructions stored in its memory. A modem 54 included in the control unit 40 provides a communication path between the control unit 40 and the base unit 20.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the modems 32 and 54 providing the communication path between the base unit 20 and the control unit 40 are short-range RF transceivers. Signals are transmitted and received over a limited distance. Modems 32 and 54 preferably operate in the unlicensed RF band, internationally licensed 2.4GHz, with slow frequency hopping to overcome interference and fading. A binary, frequency modulation scheme is used for transmission. The physical layer of the path provides a total data rate of 1mbs and a frame period of 1.25 ms.

A packet switched, path controlled protocol is used in which each packet is transmitted in a different frequency hop. Two full duplex logical channels are derived from the packet stream-one being a synchronous voice channel carrying a 64kbs sampled audio signal using robust source and channel coding, and the other being an asynchronous data channel with ARQ error recovery capability of 170 to 200kbs capacity.

Referring now to fig. 4, a block diagram of a remote audio unit 60 is shown. Remote audio unit 60 is an accessory whose primary purpose is to enhance audio performance by providing multiple microphones that cancel noise and an external speaker that optimizes the fidelity of the voice output. As shown in fig. 4, the remote audio unit 60 includes a pair of speakers 62, each with its own power amplifier, and a microphone 64. Alternatively, the speaker 62 and microphone 64 may be placed in separate audio units 60 so that they may be placed in the vehicle independently of each other. Remote audio unit 60 includes a modem 68 in communication with base unit 20. Control logic 66 controls the operation of remote audio unit 60.

In use, a vehicle driver may initiate a telephone call by entering a telephone number using the keypad 44 and pressing the "send" key. A "send" command is sent from the control unit 40 to the base unit 20 via the modems 32 and 54 along with the dialed number. The base unit 20 then initiates the call in accordance with normal cellular telephone practice. Once the call is established, the audio signals received by the base unit 20 are sent to either the control unit 40 or the remote audio unit 60 and converted to audible sound by the speakers 50 or 64. A microphone 48 in the control unit 40 converts the driver's voice into an audio signal that is transmitted to the base unit 20 for further transmission to a remote station outside the vehicle.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, dividing the phone into separate physical units, communication over a wireless local area network solves a long standing problem in car phones: how to integrate a cellular phone into the steering wheel of a vehicle. In the past, attempts have been made to place the keyboard in the steering wheel. However, efforts to integrate phone functionality into the steering wheel with great significance have failed, primarily because the clock spring is the only robust way to provide connection for electronics integrated into the steering wheel. However, the clock spring may not provide the large number of connections required to support the broad spectrum of cellular telephone functions required by consumers. Moreover, the bell spring has a high self-inductance. Therefore, it is not suitable for transmitting VHF and UHF signals generated by radio communication. In particular, VHF and UHF signals cannot pass through the clock spring to or from the antenna. Thus, in the past, the special requirements for the RF path of cellular telephones have prevented the integration of the telephone into the steering wheel rack.

The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by eliminating the need to transmit RF signals or wireless signals through a clock spring into the steering wheel. Instead, control information or audio signals are transmitted from the control unit 40 in the steering wheel to the base unit 20 by RF rather than by the bell spring of the steering wheel. The Bell spring is used only to provide operating power to the control unit 40 in the steering wheel.

Referring now to fig. 5 and 6, there is shown a handheld radiotelephone 100 that may be used as the base unit 20 in the distributed telephone system 10. The radiotelephone 100 includes a main housing 102 and a removable battery pack 130, the main housing 102 containing an RF transceiver 103, memory 104, control logic 106, keypad 108, display 110, and audio processing circuitry 112. A microphone 114 and a speaker 116. The main chassis 102 may also include a GPS receiver 120 for receiving position data from satellites. The battery compartment 130 contains a power source that may contain either rechargeable batteries or an adapter into which a power source may be plugged.

To the extent described thus far, the handheld telephone 100 is not different from a typical handheld radiotelephone. However, the hand-held telephone of the present invention includes a built-in modem 118 for communicating with the built-in control unit 40 in the vehicle. In fig. 6, the modem 118 is shown in the main housing 102 of the handset 100. However, the modem 118 may also be included in the removable battery pack 130, as shown in phantom in FIG. 6. An advantage of the latter approach is that the modem 118 is removable and therefore may be provided as an optional accessory to the handset 100 rather than as an integral part of the telephone 100.

Fig. 7-9 are intended to illustrate a handheld radiotelephone that uses a distributed telephone system for modem adapter 150. in fig. 7, modem adapter 150 is in the form of a removable module that plugs into a system interface on handheld telephone 100. Modem adapter 150 includes a modem 152 that allows communication with control unit 40 and a power adapter 154 that provides power to handheld telephone 100. The modem 150 may also be in the form of a cradle, mounted in a vehicle, as shown in fig. 9.

The handheld radiotelephone 100 of the present invention may operate in a conventional manner. That is, the handset's own keypad 108, display 110, microphone 114 and speaker 116 operate in the usual manner to provide a user interface. When in the on-board mode, the hand-held radiotelephone interface components may be at least partially inoperative, in lieu of being controlled by the control unit 40 integrated into the steering wheel of the vehicle. The handheld radiotelephone 100 communicates with the control unit 40 via the modem 118.

The above-described embodiment of the distributed radiotelephone system 10 of the present invention relies on a low power, limited range RF link to provide communications between the base unit 10, the control unit 40, and the audio unit 60. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that other types of communication links may be used in the connections of the present invention. For example, one alternative is to utilize a fiber optic network to connect the various physical units of the distributed wireless telephone system 10. Typically, fiber optic networks are installed in vehicles at the time of manufacture for connecting ignition, charging, security, and accessory systems of the vehicle. The physical elements of the distributed radiotelephone 10 of the present invention may communicate with each other using this existing vehicle network. The physical elements of the distributed telephony system 10 become an adjunct to the vehicle's native network.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a distributed wireless telephone system 10 that utilizes an existing vehicle network 200 to communicate between various physical units. The radiotelephone system includes a base unit 20, a control unit 40, and optionally an audio unit 60, connected via a modem to a conventional vehicle network, generally designated 200. The vehicle network 200 includes a communication network 202, such as a fiber optic network. Attached to the communication network 202 are the ignition system 204, the charging system 206, the security system 208, the location system 210, the diagnostic system 212, and various accessories 214 of the vehicle. Because these legacy vehicle systems are attached to the same network 202 as the distributed radiotelephone 10 of the present invention, the radiotelephone 10 of the present invention can operate in conjunction with vehicle systems to enhance these systems. For example, if the vehicle is stolen, the vehicle security system 208 may be programmed to set up a phone call to notify a law enforcement authority locally. The content of the notification may include the location of the vehicle if the vehicle or the wireless telephone 10 has a GPS receiver. In another example, the radiotelephone 10 may be used to provide telemetry, transmit diagnostic information about the vehicle itself, or software to adjust various microprocessor functions of various vehicle systems.

Fig. 11 illustrates an alternative method of connecting the radiotelephone 10 of the present invention to a vehicle network 200. As shown in fig. 11, the base unit 20 is connected to an onboard communication network 202 in the vehicle by means of bridges, portals, routers, packet switches, or similar devices. The base unit 20 then communicates with the control unit 40 and the audio unit 60 via the wireless path as previously described. In the preferred embodiment, the bridge, portal, or router is located in the base unit 20, but may be a separate unit.

In the embodiments shown in fig. 10 and 11, the problems associated with connecting to a steering wheel hub are solved by transmitting control information in baseband digital form on one of a plurality of leg clock spring paths, or by modulating the control information on a leg of a clock spring path that is also used for other purposes, such as powering other electronic devices integrated with the steering wheel hub. The resulting path is then connected to the communication network 202 via a standard modem.

Referring now to fig. 12, another embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the control unit 40 is replaced by a remote dial unit 80 having a housing 82 attached to the steering wheel of the vehicle by bus bars, clips, or other suitable fastening means, the remote data unit 80 preferably being located in front of the steering wheel. Thus, the user can hold both hands on the steering wheel while driving (at the 10 o 'clock and 2 o' clock positions).

Fig. 13 is a functional diagram of the remote dialing unit 80. The remote dialing unit 80 includes a keypad 86 for entering dialing instructions, an encoder 88 for entering encoded data by a user, and a local transmitter 90 for transmitting dialing instructions to the base unit 20.

The base unit 20 preferably includes a radiotelephone 100 as shown in fig. 5 and 6 with a local transceiver 118 replaced by a local transceiver capable of receiving data transmitted from the remote data unit 80. The RF path is a simple ASK (on/off operation).

Rather than communicating directly with the radiotelephone, the remote data unit 80 may communicate with a cradle designed to hold the telephone 100. The local area receiver is contained in the cradle and the cradle sends commands to the radiotelephone 100 over the system bus.

The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are therefore to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims (19)

1. A portable communication device for a vehicle with a steering wheel comprising:

a) a base unit including a wide area transceiver for communicating with a station external to said vehicle

b) A control unit integrated with a steering wheel of said vehicle, said control unit comprising:

i) an input device for receiving user input to control said transceiver;

ii) a user display for displaying to said user the user information received from said base station; and

c) a wireless local area network operatively connecting said base unit to said control unit for transmitting control and data signals between said control unit and said base unit.

2. A portable communications device according to claim 1 wherein said local area network comprises a first local area transceiver disposed in said control unit and a second local area transceiver disposed in said base unit.

3. The portable communication device according to claim 2 wherein said base unit comprises a mobile hand-held radiotelephone and a cradle disposed within said vehicle for receiving and holding said mobile hand-held radiotelephone, wherein said cradle comprises an interface for connecting to said mobile hand-held radiotelephone.

4. A portable communications device according to claim 3 wherein said second local area transceiver is housed in said cradle.

5. A portable communications device according to claim 3 wherein said base unit further comprises an adapter for connecting to a system bus on said hand-held wireless telephone, and wherein said second local area transceiver is housed in said adapter.

6. The portable communication device according to claim 1 wherein said wide area transceiver is detachable from said base unit

7. The portable communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a remote audio unit disposed within said vehicle, wherein said remote audio unit is connectable to said base unit via said local area network such that audio signals can be exchanged between said remote audio unit and base unit.

8. The portable communication device according to claim 7 wherein said remote audio unit comprises a microphone for generating audio signals from audible sound which are then transmitted over said local area network to said base unit for further transmission to said external station, and a speaker for generating audible sound from audio signals transmitted from said base station to said audio unit.

9. A portable communication system for a vehicle, said vehicle including a steering wheel, said steering wheel including a ring and a center portion, said portable communication system comprising:

a base unit disposed within said vehicle including a wide area transceiver for communicating with stations outside of said vehicle;

a control unit disposed on the steering wheel of said vehicle remote from said base unit, said control unit including an input device for receiving user input to control said transceiver;

a wireless communication link operatively connected to said base unit and said control unit for transmitting control information from said control unit to said base unit; and

a holder for detachably fixing the control unit to a ring portion of the steering wheel.

10. The portable communication system of claim 9, wherein said retainer comprises at least one strap wrapped around said loop portion.

11. The portable communication system of claim 9, wherein said holder comprises a clip.

12. The portable communication system of claim 9 wherein said local network comprises a wireless local area transmitter disposed in said control unit and a wireless local area receiver disposed in said base unit.

13. The portable communication system of claim 12, wherein said base unit comprises a mobile hand-held radiotelephone and a cradle disposed within said vehicle for receiving and holding said mobile hand-held unit, wherein said cradle comprises an interface for connecting to said mobile hand-held unit.

14. The portable communication system of claim 13, wherein said local area receiver is disposed within said cradle.

15. The portable communication system of claim 13, wherein said base unit further comprises an adapter for connecting to a system bus on said hand-held unit, wherein said local area receiver is disposed in said adapter.

16. The portable communication system of claim 9 wherein said wide area transceiver is detachable from said base unit.

17. The portable communication system of claim 9, further comprising a remote audio unit disposed within said vehicle, said remote audio unit operatively connected to said base unit such that audio signals are exchanged between said remote audio unit and said base unit.

18. The portable communication system of claim 17, wherein said remote audio unit includes a microphone for generating audio signals from audible sound, and then transmitting said audio signals to said base unit for further transmission to a station external to said vehicle and a speaker for generating audible sound from the audio signals transmitted by said base unit to said audio unit.

19. A portable communication system according to claim 9, wherein said input means comprises a keypad for entering commands to be dialed in and subsequently transmitting these commands to said base unit via said wireless communication link.