Apparatus for Power Line and Wireless Communications

• US 20110205918A1
• Filed: 12/17/2010
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hurwitz, Jonathan E. D.
• Application Number:
  US12/972,302
• Publication Number:
  US 20110205918A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5437 Wired telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5454 Adapter and plugs
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/062 using different frequency bands for speech and other data

Abstract

A communications apparatus comprises a first medium interface circuit for communicating data over a power line, a first medium access controller, having a first MAC address, for controlling the first medium interface circuit, an 802.11 compliant second medium interface circuit for wireless data communications, a second medium access controller, having a second MAC address, for controlling the second medium interface circuit, and a communications medium access controller configured to apportion data for simultaneous communication over the wireless and power line media. The first medium interface circuit and the second medium interface circuit are linked at the layer II level of the OSI model. A network of said devices is also disclosed, the network possibly including device connected via only one of the media.

Claims

1. A communications apparatus comprising:

a first wired medium interface circuit configured to communicate data over a first wired medium;

a first medium access controller having a first MAC address and configured to control the first wired medium interface circuit;

a wireless medium interface circuit that is 802.11 compliant and configured to communicate data wirelessly;

a second medium access controller having a second MAC address and configured to control the wireless medium interface circuit; and

a communications controller configured receive data packets and to apportion the data packets between the first and second medium access controllers to provide simultaneous data transmission over the first wired medium and wirelessly by way of the first wired medium interface circuit and the wireless medium interface circuit, wherein the first wired medium interface circuit and the wireless medium interface circuit are linked at the layer II level of the OSI model.

2. The communications apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a routing controller.

3. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first wired medium comprises a power line.

4. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first wired medium comprises a coaxial cable.

5. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first wired medium interface circuit and the wireless medium interface circuit are configured to communicate with one another using the Ethernet 802.3 standard.

6. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first and second medium access controllers and the wired and wireless medium interface circuits form part of a single System on a Chip.

7. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first medium access controller and the first wired medium interface circuit are formed as part of a first System on a Chip and the second medium access controller and the wireless medium interface circuit are formed as part of a second System on a Chip.

8. The communications apparatus of claim 7 wherein the communications controller forms part of the first System on a Chip.

9. The communications apparatus of claim 7 wherein the communications controller forms part of the second System on a Chip.

10. The communications apparatus of claim 9 wherein the first System on a Chip comprises

a second wired medium interface circuit that is configured to communicate data over a second wired medium different than the first wired medium,

a third medium access controller having a third MAC address and configured to control the second wired medium interface circuit, and

a convergence layer controller configured to control the first and third medium access controllers.

11. The communications apparatus of claim 7 wherein the first and second Systems on a Chip are configured to communicate with one another using a frame based standard.

12. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the communications controller is configured to apportion the data packets based on a quality of service measure.

13. The communications apparatus of claim 12 wherein the quality of service measure comprises at least one of a bandwidth, a medium latency, an extent of packet loss, a type of data to be communicated, and a condition of the data to be communicated.

14. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first medium access controller is configured to measure a quality of the first wired medium, or the second medium access controller is configured to measure a quality of the wireless medium.

15. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein a first unit includes the communications controller and the first wired medium interface circuit, a second unit comprises the wireless medium interface circuit, and wherein quality of service measurements of the wireless medium are transmitted from the second unit to the first unit according to a frame based standard.

16. The communications apparatus of claim 1 further comprising

a second wired medium interface circuit configured to communicate data over a second wired medium different than the first wired medium, and

a third medium access controller having a third MAC address and configured to control the second wired medium interface circuit.

17. The communications apparatus of claim 16 wherein the first and second wired medium interface circuits both form part of a first System on a Chip and the wireless medium interface circuit forms part of a second System on a Chip.

18. The communications apparatus of claim 16 wherein the first and second wired medium interface circuits form part of the same System on a Chip with an on chip communication means between each subsystem providing for communication according to a frame based standard.

19. The communications apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first wired medium interface circuit or the wireless medium interface circuit is configured to operate as a transceiver.

20. A network comprising:

at least two nodes in communication with each another over a first wired medium and over a wireless medium, each node including

a first medium access controller having a first MAC address,

a second medium access controller having a second MAC address, and

a communications controller configured receive data packets and to apportion the data packets between the first and second medium access controllers based on a quality of service measure of the first wired or wireless medium in order to provide simultaneous data transmission over the first wired medium and the wireless medium.

21. A method comprising:

a first node, comprising a wireless access point, publishing a list of MAC addresses, the list including MAC addresses for other nodes in communication with the first node over either or both of a wired medium and a wireless medium, the list being published to those other nodes that are in communication with the first node over the wired medium;

receiving over the wireless medium, by the first node, a data packet stream, each data packet of the stream addressed to a MAC address for one of the other nodes in communication with the first node over the wired medium; and

transmitting some data packets of the data packet stream from the first node to the MAC address over the wired medium.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising communicating the data packet stream from a first medium access controller of the first node to a second medium access controller of the first node using a frame based standard.

23. The method of claim 21 further comprising also transmitting other data packets of the data packet stream from the first node over the wireless medium to a node associated with the MAC address.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the data packets of the data packet stream received by the first node are apportioned to be transmitted to the node associated with the MAC address over either the wireless medium or over the wired medium.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the data packets are apportioned based on a quality of service measure.