Bluetooth Low Energy Module Systems and Methods

• US 20130165044A1
• Filed: 12/22/2011
• Published: 06/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Xie, Guoxin, Zhuang, Yuan, Polo, Angel, Kwan, Chikan, Tian, Cindy (Xin), Jin, Arthur, Wang, Long
• Granted Patent: US 9,185,652 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) modules and methods implemented therein. An embodiment of the disclosure can obtain in a BLE module an advertiser packet transmitted by a BLE advertiser. An advertiser cache can be checked to determine whether the advertiser cache in the BLE module contains an entry associated with an advertiser address from the advertiser packet. The BLE module can determine whether a payload value of the advertiser packet has changed relative to a previous advertiser packet associated with the advertiser address. The BLE module can then suppress forwarding of the packet to a host processor and/or on-board processor executing firmware. The BLE module can also suppress sending a scan request packet back to the BLE advertiser.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

obtaining an advertiser packet transmitted by a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertiser in a BLE module in a host device;

determining, in the BLE module, whether an advertiser cache in the BLE module contains an entry associated with an advertiser address from the advertiser packet;

determining, in the BLE module, whether a payload value of the advertiser packet has changed relative to a previous advertiser packet associated with the advertiser address; and

suppressing, in the BLE module, sending of a scan request packet in response to the advertiser packet when the payload value of the advertiser packet is unchanged.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of caching a pairing of the advertiser address and an error checking field from the advertiser packet in the advertiser cache.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining whether the payload value of the advertiser packet has changed further comprises the steps of:

extracting the error checking field from the advertiser packet; and

comparing the error checking field to an entry in the advertiser cache corresponding to the advertiser address.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of issuing a scan request packet when the payload value changes relative to a previous advertiser packet.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forwarding the payload value to the host device when the payload value changes relative to a previous advertiser packet.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of suppressing forwarding of the payload value to the host device when the payload value is unchanged relative to the previous advertiser packet.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining whether a scan response packet associated with the BLE advertiser comprises data relevant to an application executed in the host device; and

issuing the scan request packet when the scan request packet comprises data relevant to the application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the payload value of the advertiser packet has changed relative to a previous advertiser packet is implemented in a transceiver associated with the BLE module.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of determining whether an advertiser cache in the BLE module contains an entry associated with an advertiser address from the advertiser packet and determining whether a payload value of the advertiser packet has changed relative to a previous advertiser packet associated with the advertiser address are executed in one of a transceiver and firmware executed by a BLE module central processing unit (CPU).

10. A Bluetooth low energy module, comprising:

a transceiver configured to;

obtain an advertiser packet transmitted by a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertiser;

determine whether an advertiser cache in the BLE module contains an entry associated with an advertiser address from the advertiser packet;

determine whether a payload value of the advertiser packet has changed relative to a previous advertiser packet associated with the advertiser address; and

suppress sending of a scan request packet in response to the advertiser packet when the payload value of the advertiser packet is unchanged.

11. The BLE module of claim 10, wherein the transceiver is further configured to suppress forwarding of the advertiser packet to at least one processor executing firmware when the payload value of the advertiser packet is unchanged.

12. The BLE module of claim 10, wherein the transceiver is further configured to cache a pairing of the advertiser address and an error checking field from the advertiser packet in the advertiser cache.

13. The BLE module of claim 10, wherein the transceiver is further configured to determine whether the payload value of the advertiser packet has changed by:

extracting the error checking field from the advertiser packet; and

comparing the error checking field to an entry in the advertiser cache corresponding to the advertiser address.

14. The BLE module of claim 11, wherein the transceiver is configured to increment a match counter when the payload value is unchanged, the match counter corresponding to a number of consecutive advertiser packets received that are associated with the advertiser address with an unchanged payload value. .

15. The BLE module of claim 14, wherein the transceiver is configured to forward the advertiser packet to the at least one processor executing the firmware when the payload value is unchanged when match counter exceeds a threshold.

16. The BLE module of claim 10, wherein the transceiver is configured to:

determine whether a scan response packet associated with the BLE advertiser comprises data relevant to an application executed in the host device; and

issue the scan request packet when the scan request packet comprises data relevant to the application.

17. A system, comprising:

a receiving means configured to;

obtain an advertiser packet transmitted by a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertiser;

determine whether an advertiser cache in the BLE module contains an entry associated with an advertiser address from the advertiser packet;

determine whether a payload value of the advertiser packet has changed relative to a previous advertiser packet associated with the advertiser address; and

suppress sending of a scan request packet in response to the advertiser packet when the payload value of the advertiser packet is unchanged.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the receiving means is further configured to suppress forwarding of the advertiser packet to a processing means executing firmware when the payload value of the advertiser packet is unchanged.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the receiving means is further configured to cache a pairing of the advertiser address and an error checking field from the advertiser packet in the advertiser cache.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the receiving means is further configured to determine whether the payload value of the advertiser packet has changed by:

extracting the error checking field from the advertiser packet; and

comparing the error checking field to an entry in the advertiser cache corresponding to the advertiser address.