NFMI based robustness

• US 10,015,623 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2016
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Thoen, Steven Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US15/185,929
• Publication Number:
  US 20170366924A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 455425, 370338
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/22 using redundant apparatus to increase reliability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/245 by using the properties of transmission codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0097 Relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724 User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/144 camera and display on the same optical axis, e.g. optically multiplexing the camera and display for eye to eye contact
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/03 Connection circuits to selectively connect loudspeakers or headphones to amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/05 Detection of connection of loudspeakers or headphones to amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/11 Transducers incorporated or for use in hand-held devices, e.g. mobile phones, PDA's, camera's
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 : Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 : Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

One example discloses an apparatus for near-field magnetic induction (NFMI) based robustness, including: a first wireless device including a first wireless signal interface and a first NFMI signal interface; wherein the first wireless signal interface is configured to receive a data set from a third wireless device; wherein the first NFMI signal interface is configured to communicate with a second wireless device through a second NFMI signal interface; and wherein the first wireless device is configured to detect an error in the data set received from the third wireless device and in response to detecting the error configure the first NFMI signal interface to receive the data set from the second wireless device through the second NFMI signal interface.

Claims

1. An apparatus for near-field magnetic induction (NFMI) based robustness, comprising:

a first wireless device including a first wireless signal interface and a first NFMI signal interface, wherein the first wireless signal interface is configured to receive a complete data set from a third wireless device, the first NFMI signal interface is configured to continuously communicate with a second wireless device through a second NFMI signal interface, the first wireless device is configured to detect an error in the data set received from the third wireless device, in response to detecting the error, configure the first NFMI signal interface to receive the complete data set over an NFMI channel from the second wireless device through the second NFMI signal interface, and configure the NFMI channel to stream the complete data set to both the first wireless device and the second wireless device, wherein the complete data set includes both mono-audio and microphone data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first wireless signal interface is a primary interface for receiving the complete data set and the first NFMI signal interface is a backup interface for receiving the complete data set.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first wireless device is configured to not receive the complete data set from the second wireless device until the first wireless device requests transfer of the complete data set.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the transfer request includes at least one of a switch roles of the first and second wireless devices request or a set-up a new wireless connection with the third wireless device request.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second wireless device is configured to receive the complete data set from the third wireless device through a second wireless signal interface.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless signal interface includes at least one of a Bluetooth Classic wireless interface or a Bluetooth Low Energy wireless interface.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the NFMI based robustness includes at least one of providing an alternate data set path, a network reconfiguration, network switching, signal retransmission, or signal diversity.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data set further comprises at least one of media data, video playback data, audio playback data, sensor data, health status data, battery status, or device settings.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the error is at least one of an error caused by body shadowing, the data set is no longer being received, the data set is degraded, the data set has a signal strength below a threshold value, the data set contains digital or analog errors, a corrupted data set error, an incomplete data set error, or an erratic data set error.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second wireless devices are hearables and the third wireless device is at least one of a smartphone or a wearable.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless devices include at least one of a microphone;

an earbud, a hearable, a smartphone, a smartwatch, a wearable device, a tablet, or a computer.

12. An article of manufacture including at least one non-transitory, tangible machine-readable storage medium containing executable machine instructions for robustness, wherein the article includes a first wireless device including a first wireless signal interface and a first Near-Field Magnetic Induction (NFMI) signal interface and a second wireless device including a second wireless signal interface, and a second NFMI signal interface, comprising:

instructions for configuring the first wireless signal interface to receive a complete data set from a third wireless device;

instructions for configuring the first NFMI signal interface to communicate continuously with the second wireless device through the second NFMI signal interface;

instructions for configuring the first wireless signal to detect an error in the complete data set received from the third wireless device and, in response to detecting the error, request that the second wireless device send the complete data set over an NFMI channel to the first NFMI signal interface from the second NFMI signal interface; and

instructions for streaming the complete data set to both the first wireless device and the second wireless device over the NFMI channel, wherein the complete data set includes both mono-audio and microphone data.

13. A method for NFMI based robustness, comprising:

receiving a complete data set at a first wireless device from a third wireless device through a wireless channel;

communicating continuously between the first wireless device and a second wireless device through an NFMI channel;

detecting an error in the complete data set that the first wireless device received from the third wireless device;

requesting that the second wireless device send the complete data set to the first wireless device over the NFMI channel in response to detecting the error; and

streaming the complete data set to both the first wireless device and the second wireless device over the NFMI channel, wherein the complete data set includes both mono-audio and microphone data.