HK1038121B - Method and apparatus for substantially simultaneous audio and data communication over a wireless link - Google Patents

Description

Method and apparatus for substantially simultaneous audio and data communication over a wireless link

The present invention relates to a communication method and apparatus for achieving substantially simultaneous real-time voice and data communications over a wireless communication link.

With the rapid development of communication technology, many devices, such as personal computers, have communication capabilities, including wireless communication capabilities, which are standard features. However, the wireless communication capability of the personal computer is limited due to insufficient communication between the wireless communication device and the audio system of the personal computer. For example, current GSM mobile phones specify that overlay connections to external devices, such as PCs (GSM7.05, 7.07), do not provide a multi-channel interface. Further, there is currently no standardized protocol for substantially simultaneously transferring voice and data to a mobile telephone (e.g., a PCMCIA card phone) via a COM port (PCMCIA interface).

Many digital wireless communication networks have the capability to transmit voice and data substantially simultaneously. For example, GSM and other systems provide a Short Message Service (SMS) capability in which short messages can be transmitted while a voice connection is established. However, conventional mobile phone interfaces do not allow real-time voice data to be transmitted from the mobile phone substantially simultaneously with other data.

Systems are known that enable substantially simultaneous voice and data communications. For example, U.S. patent 5,581,560 to shimade et al describes a method and system for communicating between different electronic devices, however, the method and system contemplates each communication device having a modem capable of synchronous voice and data communication. It is desirable to achieve substantially simultaneous real-time voice and data communications over a wireless communication link using standard protocols and without requiring the inclusion in the receiving communication device of the same components as in the transmitting device. It is also desirable to achieve such substantially simultaneous voice and data communication while voice information is being input and output through the audio equipment of the personal computer.

The present invention overcomes the above-identified problems and achieves other advantages by providing a method and apparatus for achieving substantially simultaneous voice and Data communications, wherein a device operates in accordance with a standard protocol, such as DSVD (Digital simultaneous voice and Data). According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the device comprises a microprocessor that provides voice and data signals in the form of DSVD frames, a wireless communication device, such as a mobile telephone, that receives the voice and data signals from the microprocessor, maps the voice and data signals into wireless channels defined by a wireless communication protocol (GSM, etc.), and transmits and receives the voice and data signals substantially simultaneously over a wireless communication link. The wireless communication device may be a PCMCIA card phone or a conventional mobile phone. The device preferably includes first and second DSVD multiplexers in the microprocessor and wireless communication device, respectively, and a PCMCIA interface between the DSVD multiplexers. The device may optionally operate in a dual voice/data mode that does not require the second device to include a DSVD modem or in a standard DSVD mode to communicate with a second device having a DSVD modem.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of enabling a communication device to operate in one of two or more modes, the two or more modes including a substantially simultaneous voice and data mode and a standard DSVD mode; receiving voice and data signals from the microprocessor in a DSVD frame format and mapping the voice and data signals into a standard wireless communication protocol (GSM, etc.); and to communicate voice and data signals substantially simultaneously over a wireless communication link.

The use of images in the method and apparatus of the present invention allows substantially simultaneous communication to be achieved without requiring each communication device to include a standard DSVD modem or multiplexer. The method and apparatus are adapted to communicate in a plurality of modes including a first mode for communicating in a standard wireless protocol and a second mode for communicating in a standard DSVD standard.

A full appreciation of the invention can be gained by taking the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention that enables substantially simultaneous voice and data communications;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart depicting the method of the present invention;

figures 3A-D illustrate exemplary communication schemes that may be performed by the device of the present invention.

Referring now to fig. 1, an apparatus for achieving substantially simultaneous voice and data communications is shown. The apparatus includes a personal computer 10, which typically includes and is controlled by a microprocessor, and a wireless communication device 12 for exchanging communication signals using one or more conventional wireless communication protocols. The wireless communication protocol may be D-AMPS (Digital American Mobile Phone System-Digital, U.S.) CDMA (code division multiple Access), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications-Global Standard), PCS (personal communication service), PDC (Portable Digital Cellular), or any other suitable wireless communication protocol. The personal computer 10 and the wireless communication device 12 are connected via a conventional PCMCIA (personal computer memory Card International Association) interface 14. The personal computer 10 includes a conventional monitor 16 for displaying information, and conventional peripheral devices such as a speaker 18 and a microphone 20. These peripherals are connected to a sound card 22, to which sound card 22 is preferably connected an audio codec (coder/decoder) for compressing or expanding, respectively, audio information from the microphone 20 or to the loudspeaker 18. The codec 24 is advantageous in minimizing the bandwidth of the transmitted signal and may be implemented by a GSM6.1 codec or other suitable component. The personal computer 10 also includes application software or components 26 for processing different types of communication signals.

The personal computer 10 also includes a first multiplexer 28 that exchanges audio information with the codec 24 and other types of communication signals (e.g., control data, Short Message Service (SMS) data, or other data) with the application software or component 26. The first multiplexer 28 exchanges communication signals with the wireless communication device 12 via the PCMCIA interface 14.

The wireless communication device 12 includes a logic switch 30 or other selection device having a first position that connects the first multiplexer 28 to a second multiplexer 32 and a second position that connects the first multiplexer 28 to a standard DSVD device 34. The second multiplexer 32 exchanges voice, SMS and control data with the transceiver line 36 of the wireless communication device 21, and the DSVD device 34 exchanges data signals with the transceiver line 36. In accordance with the present invention, the first and second multiplexers 28 and 32 are V.76DSVD multiplexers. It will be appreciated that because two DSVD multiplexers are provided in the same device, synchronous voice and data communications can be established between the device and a second device without the second device having to include a DSVD multiplexer or modem, as is typically required for DSVD communications. The first and second multiplexers 28 and 32 may be implemented by v.76DSVD multiplexers or other suitable components to map synchronous voice and data signals into a wireless communication format.

In operation, the initial position of the switch 30 is a first position, and the application or component 26 or codec 24 provides audio and data information substantially simultaneously (e.g., in a DSVD frame format in accordance with standard v.42lapm (link Access Protocol for modes) procedures). The audio and data frames are provided to the wireless communication device 12 through the first multiplexer 28 and the PCMCIA interface 14. The wireless communication device 10 receives frames of voice, SMS, control data, etc. through the second multiplexer 32 and maps these signals to a wireless channel structure for transmission in accordance with conventional wireless protocols. For GSM, for example, DSVD speech frames can be mapped to traffic channels TCH and DSVD data frames can be mapped to dedicated control channels DCCH. It should be appreciated that for other types of wireless communication networks, different channel structures and different mappings may be used.

The device is also capable of receiving information by placing the switch 30 in the first position. A communication signal (e.g., a 13kbit/s voice stream along with SMS information on a GSM traffic channel) is received by the transceiver circuitry 36 of the wireless communication device 12. The second DSVD multiplexer 32 maps the received traffic channel speech frames to DSVD speech frames, the SMS frames to DSVD data frames, and the DSVD speech and data frames are transmitted to the personal computer 10 through the PCMCIA interface 14 and the first DSVD multiplexer 28.

The device of fig. 1 also allows a call to be placed into the DSVD modem to do so by placing the switch 30 in the second position and then communicating between the DSVD device 34 and the DSVD modem of a separate device as in conventional DSVD schemes. DSVD communication may be performed via a wireless (as shown in fig. 1) or wired transmission medium.

As described above, the present invention uses a standard DSVD protocol in a personal computer to enable substantially simultaneous voice and data communications using known DSVD standard protocols, such as v.70, v.75, v.76, etc. By providing separate DSVD multiplexers in a single communication device, the device can communicate with a separate device that does not contain a DSVD multiplexer. By providing a switch or other suitable device to select between a second DSVD multiplexer and a standard DSVD modem, the device of the present invention can selectively communicate with a non-DSVD device or a device with a standard DSVD modem.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a flow chart of the method of the present invention. At step 100, a device for performing substantially simultaneous audio and data communications is enabled, the device operating in one of a plurality of modes, the plurality of modes comprising: in the first mode: performing substantially simultaneous audio and data communications, a second mode; the method includes performing conventional DSVD communication with a device having a DSVD modem. A suitably programmed microprocessor associated with the device interactively determines which mode to operate in. When the device is operating in the first mode, step 102 is performed in which audio and/or data signals are generated, for example in a personal computer, for transmission substantially synchronously. At step 104, the audio and data signals are mapped into a format suitable for a wireless communication protocol (e.g., GSM, CDMA, D-AMPS, PCS, PDC, etc.) and the mapped audio and data signals are provided to the wireless communication device for transmission over a PCMCIA interface. At step 106, the audio and/or data signals are transmitted over a wireless communication link according to a wireless communication protocol. At step 108, data and/or audio signals are received over a wireless communication link according to a wireless communication protocol. At step 110, the received audio and data signals are mapped into a format suitable for processing by the device (e.g., DSVD audio and data frames processed by a personal computer). The mapping can be performed by DSVD multiplexers, which are linked by a PCMCIA interface. At step 112, the device performs the necessary processing of the received mapped signal, displaying the data on a monitor, and providing audio output through a sound component in communication with the personal computer.

If, at step 100, the device is set to operate in the second mode, audio and data signals are exchanged between a standard DSVD modem included in the wireless communication device (e.g., via a separate DSVD multiplexer, through a PCMCIA interface, while bypassing a second DSVD multiplexer in the wireless communication device) and a device with a DSVD modem or other means suitable for substantially synchronous audio and data communication.

The versatility of the present invention can be demonstrated by the examples shown in fig. 3A-D. In the example shown in fig. 3A, a voice call is established between a standard telephone 40 and an apparatus 52 according to the present invention via a public switched telephone network PSTN42, and a mobile network 44 comprising a Mobile Switching Center (MSC)46, Base Station Controllers (BSC)48 and a base station 50.

In the example shown in fig. 3B, a voice call is established between a mobile phone 41 and the inventive apparatus 52 via a mobile phone system comprising a first base station 50a, a first base station controller 48a, a mobile switching center 46, a second base station controller 48B, and a second base station 50B.

In the example shown in fig. 3C, the voice call and SMS (short message service) transmission can be performed substantially simultaneously. This scheme can also transmit faxes and e-mails. This example includes first and second devices 52a and 52b that communicate through first and second base stations 50a and 50b, first and second base station controllers 48a and 48b, and mobile switching center 46.

A standard DSVD connection is shown in fig. 3D for substantially simultaneously transmitting voice/data, e-mail, and/or fax data. This example includes first and second devices 52a and 52b, a public switched telephone network 42, a mobile switching center 46, base station controllers 48 and base stations 50. It should be noted that in this example, device 52a is configured to transmit data using a standard DSVD modem (i.e., with reference to fig. 1, switch 30 or other selection device is placed in the second position.

While the foregoing description contains many specifics and specifications, it will be understood that these are merely for purposes of explanation and are not to be construed as limitations of the present invention. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the details of the invention described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention being defined by the following claims and their logical equivalents.

Claims (20)

1. An apparatus for substantially simultaneously communicating voice and data communication signals over a communication link, comprising:

a computer for providing voice and data signals in a digital simultaneous voice and data frame format; and

a wireless communication device for receiving digital simultaneous voice and data frames from a computer, mapping the frames into wireless channels defined by a wireless communication protocol, and transmitting the voice and data signals substantially synchronously over a wireless communication link,

the method is characterized in that: the wireless communication device comprises a DSVD multiplexer for performing said mapping.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer comprises a codec for performing expansion or compression of the speech signal.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the codec is a GSM6.1 codec.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication device further receives voice and data signals via the antenna and provides the received voice and data signals to the computer in a digital simultaneous voice and data frame format via a PCMCIA interface.

5. The device of claim 1 further comprising a PCMCIA interface between the computer and the wireless communication device for exchanging communication signals between the computer and the wireless communication device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the wireless communication protocol is one of GSM, D-AMPS, CDMA, PCS or PDC.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the DSVD multiplexer maps voice frames to traffic channels and data frames to control channels.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the wireless communication device includes a switch for switching between a mode of mapping voice and data frames onto the traffic channel and the control channel, respectively, and a mode of mapping voice and data frames onto the traffic channel together.

9. A method for communicating between first and second communication devices, the method comprising the steps of:

activating the first communication device to operate in one of at least two modes, a first mode mapping audio and data signals contained in the DSVD frame into a wireless communication protocol, and a second mode for performing substantially simultaneous audio and data communication in accordance with the DSVD protocol;

receiving audio and data signals in a DSVD frame format;

mapping the audio and data signals into a wireless communication protocol;

transmitting the audio and data signals substantially simultaneously, characterized in that the mapping step is performed by a DSVD multiplexer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the DSVD multiplexer operates according to the dsvdv.76 standard.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

receiving audio and data signals substantially simultaneously in accordance with a wireless communication protocol;

mapping the audio and data signals into a DSVD frame;

providing the DSVD frame to the computer; and are

The audio information contained in the DSVD frame is output through a sound system of the computer.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

compressing the audio signal prior to the step of receiving the audio and data signals in the DSVD frame format; and are

The audio signal contained in the DSVD frames is decompressed before the outputting step.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein: the wireless communication protocol is one of GSM, D-AMPS, CDMA, PCS and PDC.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein voice frames are mapped to traffic channels and data frames are mapped to control channels.

15. A wireless communication device for communicating voice and data communication signals substantially simultaneously over a communication link, said device comprising:

an interface for receiving digital simultaneous voice and data frames from a computer; and

a transceiver circuit for transmitting voice and data signals substantially simultaneously over a wireless communication link;

the method is characterized in that: the apparatus includes a DSVD multiplexer for mapping the frame into a wireless channel defined by a wireless communication protocol.

16. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein: the wireless communication device also receives voice and data signals at the transceiver circuitry via the antenna and provides the received voice and data signals to the computer in a digital simultaneous voice and data frame format via a PCMCIA interface.

17. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein: the interface is a PCMCIA interface.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein: the wireless communication protocol is one of GSM, D-AMPS, CDMA, PCS or PDC.

19. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein: the DSVD multiplexer maps voice frames to traffic channels and data frames to control channels.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein: it comprises a switch for switching between two modes of operation, one mode for mapping voice and data frames onto the traffic channel and the control channel, respectively, and the other mode for mapping voice and data frames onto the traffic channel together.