SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SYNCHRONIZING DATA TRANSMISSION OVER A VOICE CHANNEL OF A TELEPHONE NETWORK

• US 20110081900A1
• Filed: 10/07/2009
• Published: 04/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Dish Network Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echostar Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Beals, William, Manne, Gopi
• Granted Patent: US 8,340,656 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/422.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/007 with remote control systems remote control in general G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/242 Synchronization processes, e.g. processing of PCR [Program Clock References] arrangements for synchronising broadcast or distribution via plural systems in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004

Abstract

Various embodiments facilitate data communication between a client device and a remote device over a voice channel of a telephone system. In one embodiment, the data communication over the voice channel is synchronized to align with voice frames utilized by the telephone system to transmit communicated data between the devices. In some embodiments, the synchronization is performed by determining an offset between a received synchronization audio signal and the voice frames used by the telephone system to process the synchronization audio signal, such as based on an amount of energy present in the received synchronization audio signal.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data via a voice channel of a telephone system, the method comprising:

transmitting a first frame of audio to a remote device via the voice channel of the telephone system;

receiving from the remote device via the telephone system an indication of an alignment offset between the first frame of audio and a first voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit at least a portion of the first frame of audio to the remote device;

determining based on the indication of the alignment offset a transmission timing for transmitting a second frame of data in audio form to the remote device via the voice channel of the telephone system to cause the second frame of data in audio form to align with a second voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the second frame of data in audio form; and

transmitting the second frame of data in audio form to the remote device via the voice channel in accordance with the transmission timing.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising modulating the second frame of data in audio form based on digital data to be transmitted to the remote device

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the telephone system is a wireless telephone system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmission timing is an amount of time to delay the transmitting of the second frame of data in audio form.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the first frame of audio further comprises transmitting a frame of NULL audio prior to and subsequent to transmitting the first frame of audio.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first frame of audio has a length corresponding to a length of the first voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the at least a portion of the first frame of audio to the remote device, and the frame of NULL audio has a length corresponding to at least the length of the first voice frame.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the alignment offset is an audio tone, the method further comprising determining the alignment offset based on the audio tone.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving audio from the remote device via the voice channel, the received audio including a third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device via the voice channel;

analyzing the received audio to determine an alignment offset between the third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device and a third voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit at least a portion of the third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device;

sending an indication of the determined alignment offset to the remote device via the voice channel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the analyzing the received audio further includes determining an amount of energy present in a first portion of the received audio, and wherein the alignment offset between the third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device and the third voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the at least a portion of the third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device is determined based at least in part on the amount of energy.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining further includes:

determining a relative amount of energy present in the first portion of the received audio with respect to a second portion of the received audio, the first and second portions having a length that corresponds to a length of the third voice frame utilized by the telephone system; and

determining the alignment offset between the third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device and the third voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the at least a portion of the third frame of audio transmitted from the remote device based on the relative amount of energy present in the first portion of the received audio.

11. A method for facilitating transmission of data via a voice channel of a telephone system, the method comprising:

receiving first audio including a first frame of audio transmitted from a client device via the voice channel of the telephone system;

analyzing the first audio to determine an alignment offset between the first frame of audio and a first voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit at least a portion of the first frame of audio from the client device;

sending an indication of the alignment offset to the client device via the voice channel; and

receiving second audio including a second frame of data in audio form transmitted from the client device via the voice channel of the telephone system, the second frame of data in audio form being aligned with a second voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the second frame of data in audio form from the client device using the indication of the alignment offset.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the analyzing the first audio further comprises determining an amount of energy present in at least a first portion of the first audio, and wherein the alignment offset is determined based at least in part on the determined amount of energy.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining further comprises:

determining a relative amount of energy present in the first portion of the first audio with respect to a second portion of the first audio, the first and second portions having a length that corresponds to a length of the first voice frame utilized by the telephone system; and

determining the alignment offset based on the relative amount of energy present in the first portion.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication is an audio tone, the method further comprising:

selecting an audio tone that corresponds to the alignment offset; and

transmitting the audio tone to the client device via the voice channel.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

analyzing the second audio to identify the second frame of data in audio form; and

determining a digital data value corresponding to the second frame of data in audio form.

16. A device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a data communication manager that is configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, facilitate transmission of data via a voice channel of a telephone system by;

receiving first audio including a first frame of audio transmitted from a client via the voice channel of the telephone system;

analyzing the first audio to determine an alignment offset between the first frame of audio and a first voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit at least a portion of the first frame of audio from the client; and

sending an indication of the alignment offset to the client via the voice channel.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the data communication manager is further configured to receive second audio including a second frame of data in audio form transmitted from the client via the voice channel of the telephone system, the second frame of data in audio form being aligned with a second voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the second frame of data in audio form from the client using the indication of the alignment offset

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the data communication manager is further configured to determine an amount of energy present in at least a portion of the first audio, and determine the alignment offset based at least in part on the determined amount of energy.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein the alignment offset is an amount of delay between the first frame of audio and the first voice frame.

21. The device of claim 16, wherein the data communication manager is further configured to:

transmit a second frame of audio to the client via the voice channel; and

determine a transmission timing to align a transmission of a third frame of data in audio form to the client via the voice channel with a second voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit the third frame of data in audio form, the transmission timing based on an offset between the second frame of audio and a third voice frame utilized by the telephone system to transmit at least a portion of the second frame of audio to the client.

22. The device of claim 21 wherein the second frame of audio has a duration that that corresponds to a length of the third voice frame.

23. The device of claim 22 wherein the data communication manager is further configured to transmit a frame of NULL audio of at least the duration prior to and subsequent to transmitting the second frame of audio.

24. The device of claim 16, wherein the client is a television receiving device.

25. The device of claim 16, wherein the telephone system is a wireless telephone system including a wireless telephone.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the client is communicatively coupled to the wireless telephone.

19. The device of 16, wherein the data communication manager is further configured to determine a relative amount of energy present in a first portion of the first audio with respect to a distinct second portion of the first audio, the first portion and the distinct second portion having a length equivalent to a length of the first voice frame utilized by the telephone system.