APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADAPTIVE MULTIMEDIA RECEPTION AND TRANSMISSION IN COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20100159910A1
• Filed: 03/08/2010
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Altera Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Original Assignee: QST Holdings LLC
• Inventors: Uvacek, Bohumir, Master, Paul L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,504,661 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for configuration of adaptive integrated circuitry, to provide one or more operating modes or other functionality in a communication device, such as a cellular telephone, a GSM telephone, another type of mobile telephone or mobile station, or any other type of media communication device, including video, voice or radio, or other forms of multimedia. The adaptive integrated circuitry is configured and reconfigured for multiple tasks, such as channel acquisition, voice transmission, or multimedia and other data processing. In the preferred embodiment, the configuration and reconfiguration occurs to adaptively optimize the performance of the particular activity over time, such as to increase the speed of channel acquisition, increase throughput rates, increase perceived voice and media quality, and decrease the rate of dropped communication sessions.

Claims

1-3. -3. (canceled)

4. An apparatus for performing adaptive multimedia functions, the apparatus comprising:

a first plurality of hardware resources for performing basic functions;

a second plurality of hardware resources for performing complex functions; and

an interconnection network configurably coupling the first and second plurality of hardware resources together, the interconnection network being operative to configure interconnections between at least some of the respective first and second plurality of hardware resources in response to a first configuration information to perform a first communications function and a first media functional mode for the first communications function at one point in time; and

wherein the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a second configuration information to provide a second communications function and a second media functional mode for the second communications function at a second, different point in time.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first and second plurality of hardware resources each comprise a plurality of configurable heterogeneous computational elements.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first communications function is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) communications function, and the second communications function is a different communications function.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the different communications function is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications function.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first communications function is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications function, and the second communications function is a different communications function.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the different communications function is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) communications function.

10. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first media functional mode is an acquisition mode, and the second media functional mode is one of a traffic mode and the acquisition mode.

11. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first media functional mode is a traffic mode, and the second media functional mode is one of an acquisition mode and the traffic mode.

12. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the interconnection network is further adapted to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a third configuration information to provide the second communications function and a third, different media functional mode for the second communications function at another point in time depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the second media functional mode for the second communications function.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second media functional mode is the acquisition mode and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a third configuration information to provide the second communications function and the traffic mode for the second communications function at a third point in time depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the acquisition mode for the second communications function.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second media functional mode is the traffic mode and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a third configuration information to provide the second communications function and the acquisition mode at a third point in time depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the traffic mode for the second communications function.

15. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first media functional mode and the second media functional mode are the same mode and are one of a traffic mode and an acquisition mode.

16. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first media functional mode is a legacy mode and the second media functional mode is a new mode.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the traffic mode includes a voice reception mode and a voice transmission mode.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the traffic mode further includes a data reception mode, a data transmission mode, and a data processing mode, and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to the third configuration information to provide the second communications function and the data reception mode, the data transmission mode, and the data processing mode for the second communications function depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the acquisition mode, the voice reception mode, and the voice transmission mode for the second communications function.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the traffic mode further includes a media processing mode, and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to the third configuration information to provide the second communications function and the media processing mode for the second communications function depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the acquisition mode, the voice reception mode, and the voice transmission mode for the second communications function.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the traffic mode further includes a media processing mode, and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to the third configuration information to provide the second communications function and the media processing mode for the second communications function depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the acquisition mode, the voice reception mode, the voice transmission mode, the data reception mode, the data transmission mode, and the data processing mode for the second communications function.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the traffic mode further includes at least one control processing mode, and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to the third configuration information to provide the second communications function and the at least one control processing mode for the second communications function depending upon the availability of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources from providing the second communications function and the acquisition mode, the voice reception mode, the voice transmission mode, and the media processing mode for the second communications function.

22. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the second and third media functional modes for the second communications function are configured and reconfigured simultaneously and in varying proportions depending on exigencies of a communication session.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the exigencies include at least one of channel acquisition, media reception, media transmission, data or media processing, synchronization, and control processing.

24. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first and second plurality of hardware resources are reconfigured based on optimization of performance of the second communications function and a multi-media function for the second communications function including the second and third media functional modes.

25. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the interconnection network is further adapted to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a fourth configuration information to provide the second communications function and a fourth, different media functional mode for the second communications function at a fourth point in time.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the media functional modes for the second communications function are configured and reconfigured simultaneously and in varying proportions depending on exigencies of a communication session.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the exigencies include at least one of channel acquisition, media reception, media transmission, data or media processing, synchronization, and control processing.

28. An apparatus for performing adaptive multimedia functions, the apparatus comprising:

a configurable basic computational unit having a configurable basic architecture including a first plurality of hardware resources for performing basic functions;

a configurable complex computational unit having a configurable complex processing architecture including a second plurality of hardware resources for performing complex functions;

an interconnection network configurably coupling the first and second plurality of hardware resources together, the interconnection network being operative to configure interconnections between at least some of the respective first and second plurality of hardware resources in response to a first configuration information to perform a first communications function and a first media functional mode for the first communications function at one point in time, and

wherein the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a second configuration information to provide a second communications function and a second media functional mode for the second communications function at a second, different point in time.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the configurable complex computational unit is a digital signal processing unit.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first and second plurality of hardware resources each comprise a plurality of reconfigurable heterogeneous computational elements.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the second media functional mode is the traffic mode and the interconnection network is further operative to reconfigure the interconnections between at least some of the respective first or second plurality of hardware resources in response to a third configuration information to provide the second communications function and an acquisition mode for the second communications function depending upon how many of the at least some of the first or second plurality of hardware resources are needed to provide the second communications function and the traffic mode for the second communications function.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first communications function is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) communications function, and the second communications function is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications function.

33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the first communications function is a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications function, and the second communications function is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) communications function.

34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the media functional modes for the second communications function are configured and reconfigured simultaneously and in varying proportions depending on exigencies of a communication session.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the exigencies include at least one of channel acquisition, media reception, media transmission, data or media processing, synchronization, and control processing.