RF bus access protocol and transceiver

• US 20080182613A1
• Filed: 01/31/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rofougaran, Ahmadreza (Reza)
• Granted Patent: US 8,068,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/550.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/10 Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks

Abstract

A method for accessing an RF begins by determining whether information is to be transmitted via the RF bus. The method continues by determining whether the RF bus is available when the information is to be transmitted via the RF bus. The method continues by securing access to the RF bus when the RF bus is available. The method continues by converting the information into RF bus signal and by transmitting the RF bus signal via the RF bus when access to the RF bus is secured.

Claims

1. A method for accessing a radio frequency (RF) bus, the method comprises:

determining whether information is to be transmitted via the RF bus;

when the information is to be transmitted via the RF bus, determining whether the RF bus is available;

when the RF bus is available, securing access to the RF bus;

converting the information into RF bus signal; and

transmitting the RF bus signal via the RF bus when access to the RF bus is secured.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises at least one of:

voice signals;

audio signals;

video signals;

data;

text; and

graphics.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether information is to be transmitted via the RF bus comprises:

identifying a target of the information;

determining that the target is accessible via the RF bus; and

when the target is accessible via the RF bus, indicating that the information is to be transmitted.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprises:

determining type of the information to be transmitted;

when the type of the information is of a first type, indicating that the information is to be transmitted via the RF bus; and

when the type of the information is of a second type, indicating that the information is to be transmitted via a wireline link.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the RF bus is available comprises at least one of:

utilizing a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

utilizing a request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange access protocol;

utilizing a poll-response access protocol;

interpreting a control time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

interpreting a control frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

interpreting a control code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

utilizing a request-grant access protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the securing access to the RF bus comprises at least one of:

accessing the RF bus in accordance with a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

accessing the RF bus in response to a favorable request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange;

accessing the RF bus in accordance with a poll-response access protocol;

accessing the RF bus via an allocated time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

accessing the RF bus via an allocated frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

accessing the RF bus via an allocated code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

accessing the RF bus in accordance with a request-grant access protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the RF bus is available and the securing access to the RF bus comprises at least one of:

communicating with a RF bus controller via a wireline link; and

communicating with the RF bus controller via the RF bus.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting the information into RF bus signal comprises:

converting the information into a baseband or near baseband symbol stream;

up-converting the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into an up-converted signal; and

transmitting the up-converted signal as the RF bus signal in accordance with an RF transmission setting.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the converting the information into a baseband or near baseband symbol stream comprises at least one of:

utilizing a standard single input single output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary single input single output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard single input single output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a standard multiple input multiple output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary multiple input multiple output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard multiple input multiple output data modulation protocol; and

utilizing a baseband beamforming data modulation protocol.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the up-converting the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into an up-converted signal comprises at least one of:

selecting a local oscillation based on an allocated RF bus resource;

converting Cartesian coordinates of the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the up-converted signal;

converting polar coordinates of the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the up-converted signal; and

converting hybrid coordinates of the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the up-converted signal.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the up-converted signal as the RF bus signal in accordance with the RF transmission setting comprises at one of:

transmitting multiple phase adjusted representations of the up-converted signal as the RF bus signal in accordance with an in-air beamforming RF transmission setting;

transmitting the RF bus signal via a waveguide in accordance with a waveguide RF transmission setting; and

transmitting the RF bus signal via free space in accordance with a free space RF transmission setting.

12. A method for receiving a radio frequency (RF) bus signal via an RF bus, the method comprises:

determining whether information is to be received via the RF bus;

when the information is to be received via the RF bus, determining access parameters to the RF bus for receiving the information;

during access to the RF bus in accordance with the access parameters, receiving an RF bus signal; and

converting the RF bus signal into the information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining whether the information is to be received via the RF bus comprises at least one of:

utilizing a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

utilizing a request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange access protocol;

utilizing a poll-response access protocol;

interpreting a control time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

interpreting a control frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

interpreting a control code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

utilizing a request-grant access protocol.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining the access parameters to the RF bus comprises at least one of:

receiving the RF bus signal in accordance with a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

receiving the RF bus signal in accordance with a request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange;

receiving the RF bus signal in accordance with a poll-response access protocol;

receiving the RF bus signal via an allocated time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

receiving the RF bus signal via an allocated frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

receiving the RF bus signal via an allocated code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

receiving the RF bus signal in accordance with a request-grant access protocol.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining the access parameters to the RF bus comprises at least one of:

communicating with a RF bus controller via a wireline link; and

communicating with the RF bus controller via the RF bus.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the converting the RF bus signal into the information comprises:

converting the RF bus signal into an up-converted signal in accordance with an RF transmission setting;

down-converting the an up-converted signal into a baseband or near baseband symbol stream; and

converting the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the information.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the converting the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the information comprises at least one of:

utilizing a standard single input single output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary single input single output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard single input single output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a standard multiple input multiple output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary multiple input multiple output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard multiple input multiple output data demodulation protocol; and

utilizing a baseband beamforming data demodulation protocol.

18. A radio frequency (RF) bus transceiver comprises:

a transmitter coupled to;

determine whether outbound information is to be transmitted via the RF bus;

when the outbound information is to be transmitted via the RF bus, determine whether the RF bus is available;

when the RF bus is available, secure access to the RF bus;

convert the outbound information into outbound RF bus signal; and

transmit the outbound RF bus signal via the RF bus when access to the RF bus is secured; and

a receiver coupled to;

determine whether inbound information is to be received via the RF bus;

when the inbound information is to be received via the RF bus, determine access parameters to the RF bus for receiving the inbound information;

during the access to the RF bus in accordance with the access parameters, receive an inbound RF bus signal; and

convert the inbound RF bus signal into the inbound information.

19. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the transmitter functions to determine whether the outbound information is to be transmitted via the RF bus by:

identifying a target of the outbound information;

determining that the target is accessible via the RF bus; and

when the target is accessible via the RF bus, indicating that the outbound information is to be transmitted.

20. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the transmitter functions to:

determine type of the outbound information to be transmitted;

when the type of the outbound information is of a first type, indicate that the outbound information is to be transmitted via the RF bus; and

when the type of the outbound information is of a second type, indicate that the outbound information is to be transmitted via a wireline link.

21. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the transmitter functions to determine whether the RF bus is available by at least one of:

utilizing a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

utilizing a request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange access protocol;

utilizing a poll-response access protocol;

interpreting a control time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

interpreting a control frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

interpreting a control code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

utilizing a request-grant access protocol.

22. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the transmitter functions to secure access to the RF bus by at least one of:

accessing the RF bus in accordance with a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

accessing the RF bus in response to a favorable request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange;

accessing the RF bus in accordance with a poll-response access protocol;

accessing the RF bus via an allocated time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

accessing the RF bus via an allocated frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

accessing the RF bus via an allocated code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

accessing the RF bus in accordance with a request-grant access protocol.

23. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the transmitter functions to determine whether the RF bus is available and to secure access to the RF bus by at least one of:

communicating with a RF bus controller via a wireline link; and

communicating with the RF bus controller via the RF bus.

24. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the transmitter comprises:

a baseband processing module coupled to convert the outbound information into a baseband or near baseband symbol stream;

an up-conversion module coupled to up-converting the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into an up-converted signal; and

an RF transmitter coupled to transmit the up-converted signal as the RF bus signal in accordance with an RF transmission setting.

25. The RF bus transceiver of claim 24, wherein the baseband processing module functions to converting the outbound information into a baseband or near baseband symbol stream by at least one of:

utilizing a standard single input single output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary single input single output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard single input single output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a standard multiple input multiple output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary multiple input multiple output data modulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard multiple input multiple output data modulation protocol; and

utilizing a baseband beamforming data modulation protocol.

26. The RF bus transceiver of claim 24, wherein the up-conversion module functions to up-convert the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into an up-converted signal by at least one of:

selecting a local oscillation based on an allocated RF bus resource;

converting Cartesian coordinates of the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the up-converted signal;

converting polar coordinates of the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the up-converted signal; and

converting hybrid coordinates of the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the up-converted signal.

27. The RF bus transceiver of claim 24, wherein the RF transmitter functions to transmit the up-converted signal as the RF bus signal in accordance with the RF transmission setting by at least one of:

transmitting multiple phase adjusted representations of the up-converted signal as the RF bus signal in accordance with an in-air beamforming RF transmission setting;

transmitting the RF bus signal via a waveguide in accordance with a waveguide RF transmission setting; and

transmitting the RF bus signal via free space in accordance with a free space RF transmission setting.

28. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the receiver functions to determine whether the inbound information is to be received via the RF bus by at least one of:

utilizing a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

utilizing a request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange access protocol;

utilizing a poll-response access protocol;

interpreting a control time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

interpreting a control frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

interpreting a control code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

utilizing a request-grant access protocol.

29. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the receiver functions to determine the access parameters to the RF bus by at least one of:

receiving the inbound RF bus signal in accordance with a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CD) access protocol;

receiving the inbound RF bus signal in accordance with a request to send frame and clear to send frame exchange;

receiving the inbound RF bus signal in accordance with a poll-response access protocol;

receiving the inbound RF bus signal via an allocated time slot of a time division multiple access (TDMA) frame;

receiving the inbound RF bus signal via an allocated frequency slot of a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) frame;

receiving the inbound RF bus signal via an allocated code slot of a code division multiple access (CDMA) frame; and

receiving the inbound RF bus signal in accordance with a request-grant access protocol.

30. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the receiver functions to determine the access parameters to the RF bus by at least one of:

communicating with a RF bus controller via a wireline link; and

communicating with the RF bus controller via the RF bus.

31. The RF bus transceiver of claim 18, wherein the receiver comprises:

an RF receiver coupled to convert the RF bus signal into an up-converted signal in accordance with an RF transmission setting;

a down-conversion module coupled to down-convert the up-converted signal into a baseband or near baseband symbol stream; and

a baseband processing module coupled to convert the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the information.

32. The RF bus transceiver of claim 31, wherein the baseband processing module functions to convert the baseband or near baseband symbol stream into the information by at least one of:

utilizing a standard single input single output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary single input single output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard single input single output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a standard multiple input multiple output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a proprietary multiple input multiple output data demodulation protocol;

utilizing a modified standard multiple input multiple output data demodulation protocol; and

utilizing a baseband beamforming data demodulation protocol.