SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HIGH SPEED LOCAL CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN LOCAL DEVICES

• US 20080002658A1
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Soliman, Samir S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,923,267 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/343
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

A device and method is provided to facilitate direct high speed data transfer between at least two wireless devices in order to support high speed local connectivity while mitigating the need for multimedia servers. A short range high speed link is established between wireless devices using an uplink band of a licensed spectrum in the case of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems and the same band in the case of Time Division duplex (TDD) systems, hence enhancing the spectrum efficiency.

Claims

1. A method operational on an originator wireless device for establishing a peer-to-peer channel in a wireless network, comprising:

requesting a peer-to-peer channel for communicating directly with a target wireless device;

obtaining the peer-to-peer channel from a wireless network manager; and

transferring data through the peer-to-peer channel directly to the target wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer channel is configured to enable both Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) wireless devices to communicate with each other.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the peer-to-peer channel is a communication channel in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) network and an uplink channel in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) network, both the communication channel and uplink channel using nominally the same frequency and allocated timeslots to facilitate interoperability between the TDD-enabled and FDD-enabled wireless devices.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the peer-to-peer channel is an uplink channel in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) wireless device and is used for both receiving and transmitting.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the originator wireless device is a cellular phone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the target wireless device includes one of either a computer, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant, an audio device, a video device, a camera, a display device, a printer, or a digital storage device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the direct peer-to-peer channel identifies the target wireless device.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising

obtaining a list of potential target wireless devices;

and

selecting the target wireless device from the list.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising

scanning for available channels;

identifying one or more available channels; and

requesting at least one of the one or more identified channels for the direct peer-to-peer channel.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the originator wireless device uses the target wireless device for backing up data.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving confirmation from the target wireless device that the transferred data was received; and

notifying the network manager that the peer-to-peer channel can be deallocated.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

aggregating one or more channels in the peer-to-peer channel to increase its bandwidth.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the peer-to-peer channel is a local communication link for short-range communications between the originator wireless device and the target wireless device.

14. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a storage device;

a wireless transceiver;

a processor coupled to the storage device and the wireless transceiver, the processor configured to

request a peer-to-peer channel for communicating directly with a target wireless device;

obtain the peer-to-peer channel from a wireless network manager; and

transfer data through the peer-to-peer channel directly to the target wireless device.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the peer-to-peer channel is configured to enable both Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) wireless devices to communicate with each other.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the peer-to-peer channel is a communication channel in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) network and an uplink channel in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) network, both the communication channel and uplink channel using nominally the same frequency and allocated timeslots to facilitate interoperability between the TDD-enabled and FDD-enabled wireless devices.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the wireless transceiver includes a diversity receiver chain configurable to receive on an uplink channel frequency when operating in peer-to-peer mode and on a downlink channel frequency otherwise.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the wireless transceiver is configured to communicate on a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) network, the transceiver further including

a transmitter circuit tuned to transmit on an uplink frequency;

a first diversity receiver circuit tuned to receive on a downlink frequency; and

a second diversity receiver circuit adjustable to receive on either the uplink frequency or the downlink frequency depending on its mode of operation.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to

identify one or more potential target wireless devices from which the target wireless device is selected.

20. A wireless communication device, comprising:

means for requesting a peer-to-peer channel for communicating directly with a target wireless device;

means for obtaining the peer-to-peer channel from a wireless network manager; and

means for transferring data through the peer-to-peer channel directly to the target wireless device.

21. The wireless communication device of claim 20, further comprising:

means for transmitting on an uplink channel frequency; and

means for receiving on the uplink channel frequency when operating in peer-to-peer mode and on a downlink channel frequency otherwise.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 20, further comprising:

means for receiving confirmation from the target wireless device that the transferred data was received; and

means for notifying the network manager that the peer-to-peer channel can be deallocated.

23. A processing device comprising

a processing circuit configured to

request a peer-to-peer channel for communicating directly with a target wireless device;

obtain the peer-to-peer channel from a wireless network manager; and

transfer data through the peer-to-peer channel directly to the target wireless device.

24. The processing device of claim 23 wherein the peer-to-peer channel is a local communication link for short-range communications with the target wireless device.

25. The processing device of claim 24 wherein the peer-to-peer link is defined by a frequency and timeslot.

26. A machine-readable medium having one or more instructions operational on an originator wireless device for establishing a peer-to-peer channel in a wireless network, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

request a peer-to-peer channel for communicating directly with a target wireless device;

obtain the peer-to-peer channel from a wireless network manager; and

transfer data through the peer-to-peer channel directly to the target wireless device.

27. The machine-readable medium of claim 26 further having one or more instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

obtain a list of potential target wireless devices; and

select the target wireless device from the list.

28. The machine-readable medium of claim 26 further having one or more instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

scan for available channels;

identify one or more available channels; and

request at least one of the one or more identified channels for the direct peer-to-peer channel.

29. A method operational on a target wireless device for communicating over a peer-to-peer channel in a wireless network, comprising:

receiving an invitation from a network manager to setup a peer-to-peer channel with an originator wireless device;

sending a reply to the network manager accepting the invitation; and

receiving data through the peer-to-peer channel directly from the originator device.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

storing the received data locally; and

sending confirmation to the originator wireless device that the data was received.

31. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

configuring a receiver to receive on an uplink channel frequency when the target wireless device is a Frequency Division Duplex device.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein the peer-to-peer channel is configured to enable both Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) wireless devices to communicate with each other using allocated timeslots on a particular frequency.

33. A wireless communication device, comprising:

means for receiving an invitation from a network manager to setup a peer-to-peer channel with an originator wireless device;

means for sending a reply to the network manager accepting the invitation; and

means for receiving data through the peer-to-peer channel directly from the originator device.

34. The wireless communication device of claim 33 further comprising:

means for storing the received data locally; and

means for sending confirmation to the originator wireless device that the data was received.

35. The wireless communication device of claim 33 further comprising:

means for adjusting the frequency on which the wireless communication device receives from an downlink channel frequency to an uplink channel frequency when the wireless communications device is a Frequency Division Duplex device.

36. A processing device comprising

a processing circuit configured to

receive an invitation from a network manager to setup a peer-to-peer channel with an originator wireless device;

send a reply to the network manager accepting the invitation;

listen on the peer-to-peer channel; and

receive data through the peer-to-peer channel directly from the originator wireless device.

37. The processing device of claim 36 wherein the peer-to-peer channel is a local communication link for short-range communications with the target wireless device.

38. The processing device of claim 36 wherein the peer-to-peer link is defined by a frequency and timeslot.

39. A machine-readable medium having one or more instructions operational on an target wireless device for communicating over a peer-to-peer channel in a wireless network, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

receive an invitation from a network manager to setup a peer-to-peer channel with an originator wireless device;

send a reply to the network manager accepting the invitation;

listen on the peer-to-peer channel; and

receive data through the peer-to-peer channel directly from the originator wireless device.

40. The machine-readable medium of claim 39 further having one or more instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

store the received data locally; and

send confirmation to the originator wireless device that the data was received.

41. The machine-readable medium of claim 39 further having one or more instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

adjust a receiver of the wireless transceiver to receive on an uplink channel frequency when the wireless communications apparatus is a Frequency Division Duplex device.

42. A radio transceiver comprising:

a transmitter circuit tuned to transmit on an uplink frequency;

a first diversity receiver circuit tuned to receive on a downlink frequency; and

a second diversity receiver circuit adjustable to receive on either the uplink frequency or the downlink frequency depending on its mode of operation.

43. The radio transceiver of claim 42 further comprising:

a first antenna coupled to the transmitter circuit to transmit signals from the transmitter circuit, the first antenna is also coupled to the first diversity receiver circuit to receive signals for the first diversity receiver circuit; and

a second antenna coupled to the second diversity receiver circuit to receive signals for the second diversity receiver circuit.

44. A method operational on a wireless network manager apparatus for establishing a peer-to-peer channel between wireless devices, comprising:

receiving a request for a peer-to-peer link between an originator wireless device and a target wireless device;

allocating a channel for the peer-to-peer link; and

notifying the originator and target wireless devices of the allocated channel.

45. The method of claim 44 further comprising:

notifying the target wireless device of the peer-to-peer link request by the originator wireless device; and

determining whether the target wireless device is willing to accept the peer-to-peer link with the originator wireless device.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising:

notifying the originator wireless device that the target wireless device has accepted the peer-to-peer link.

47. The method of claim 44 wherein the peer-to-peer link is defined by a frequency and timeslot.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein the frequency is a communication channel in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) network and an uplink channel in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) network to facilitate interoperability between the TDD-enabled and FDD-enabled wireless devices.

49. The method of claim 44 further comprising:

obtaining a list of available and reachable wireless devices in the vicinity of originator device; and

sending the list of wireless devices to the originator wireless device from where the target wireless device can be selected.

50. The method of claim 49 further comprising:

identifying the wireless devices in the list by employing radio frequency (RF) signatures from the wireless devices to group them according to geographical location.

51. The method of claim 44 further comprising:

receiving a message indicating that the peer-to-peer link can be deallocated; and

deallocating the channel for the peer-to-peer link.

52. A network manager device comprising

a wireless communication circuit through which to communicate with wireless devices on a network;

and

a processing circuit coupled to the wireless communication circuit, the processing circuit configured to

receive a request for a peer-to-peer link between an originator wireless device and a target wireless device;

allocate a channel for the peer-to-peer link; and

notify the originator and target wireless devices of the allocated channel.

53. The device of claim 52 wherein the processing circuit is further configured to

notify the target wireless device of the peer-to-peer link request by the originator wireless device;

determine whether the target wireless device is willing to accept the peer-to-peer link with the originator wireless device;

notify the originator wireless device that the target wireless device has accepted the peer-to-peer link;

receive a message indicating that the peer-to-peer link can be deallocated; and

deallocate the channel for the peer-to-peer link.