Bluetooth audio communication system and method for acknowledging reception of packets of audio streams at a slave and master devices

• US 10,212,569 B1
• Filed: 11/09/2017
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airoha Technology Corporation (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Inventors: Huang, Kuang-Hu, Peng, Wei-Chung, Chen, Jeng-Hong, Chen, Wei-Chih, Liu, Pete Hsinhsiang, Tseng, De-Hao, Jia, Jing-Syuan, Sung, Chih-Wei, Ho, I-Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): Sandiford, Devan A
• Application Number:
  US15/808,853
• Time in Patent Office: 467 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/22 using redundant apparatus to increase reliability
• 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 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method applied to a wireless Bluetooth audio communication system includes: providing an audio gateway of a first piconet to communicate with a master device in the first piconet and to transmit at least one packet of audio stream to the master device and a slave device; employing a first transceiver as the master device to receive the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway; and, employing a second transceiver as the slave device to receive the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway and to acknowledge the first transceiver whether the second transceiver has successfully received the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway.

Claims

1. A wireless Bluetooth audio communication system, comprising:

an audio gateway of a first piconet, configured to communicate with a master device in the first piconet and to transmit at least one packet of audio stream to the master device and a slave device;

a first transceiver used as the master device, configured to receive the at least one packet of the audio stream; and

a second transceiver used as the slave device, configured to receive the at least one packet of the audio stream transmitted from the audio gateway and configured to acknowledge to the first transceiver whether the second transceiver has successfully received the at least one packet of the audio stream;

wherein the first transceiver is further arranged to transmit a packet having a negotiation configuration command to the second transceiver to form a second piconet different from the first piconet, and the second transceiver is arranged to send a corresponding acknowledgement packet to the first transceiver if the packet having the negotiation configuration command has been successfully accepted by the second transceiver; and

a different packet of the audio stream is to be discarded by the first transceiver if the first transceiver is transmitting the packet having the negotiation configuration command to the second transceiver to negotiate with the second transceiver.

2. The wireless Bluetooth audio communication system of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver is arranged to send a first acknowledgement signal to the audio gateway when determining that the first transceiver has successfully received the at least one packet of the audio stream and has successfully received a second acknowledgement signal sent from the second transceiver.

3. The wireless Bluetooth audio communication system of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver is arranged to send a negative acknowledgement signal to the audio gateway when determining that the at least one packet of the audio stream is not successfully received by the first transceiver or the second transceiver fails to successfully receive the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway.

4. The wireless Bluetooth audio communication system of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver are capable of re-determining which one is the master device after a negotiation between the first transceiver and the second transceiver has established.

5. The wireless Bluetooth audio communication system of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver and the second transceiver are arranged to share and exchange control information and data after the second piconet is established.

6. A transceiver of a wireless Bluetooth audio communication system in which an audio gateway of a first piconet is arranged to communicate with a master device in the first piconet and to transmit at least one packet of audio stream to the master device and a slave device, the transceiver being used as the master device and comprising:

a communication circuit, configured to receive the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway; and

a processing circuit, coupled to the communication circuit, configured to control the communication circuit to acknowledge to the audio gateway whether the transceiver has successfully received the at least one packet of the audio stream and the slave device has successfully received the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway;

wherein the transceiver is further arranged to transmit a packet having a negotiation configuration command to the slave device to form a second piconet different from the first piconet, and, a different packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway is to be discarded by the transceiver if the transceiver is transmitting the packet having the negotiation configuration command to the slave device to negotiate with the slave device.

7. The transceiver of claim 6, wherein the transceiver is arranged to send an acknowledgement signal to the audio gateway when determining that the at least one packet of the audio stream is successfully received by the transceiver and also the slave device has successfully received the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway.

8. The transceiver of claim 6, wherein the transceiver is arranged to send a negative acknowledgement signal to the audio gateway when determining that the at least one packet of the audio stream is not successfully received by the transceiver or the slave device fails to successfully receive the at least one packet of the audio stream from the audio gateway.

9. The transceiver of claim 6, wherein the transceiver and the slave device are capable of re-determining which one is the master device after a negotiation between the transceiver and the slave device has established.

10. The transceiver of claim 6, wherein the transceiver and the slave device are arranged to share or exchange control information and data after the second piconet is established.