DYNAMIC MEDIUM SWITCH IN CO-LOCATED PLC AND RF NETWORKS

• US 20130188673A1
• Filed: 07/19/2012
• Published: 07/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: SUN, Yanjun, Xu, Gang, Choi, Soon-Hyeok, Sandeep, Bhadra, Lu, Xiaolin, Xhafa, Ariton E., Fu, Minghua, Yim, Susan, Liang, Robert W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,184,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/123 using adaptive balancing or compensation means adaptive filter circuits and algorithms H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/401 for selecting or indicating operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5441 Wireless systems or telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5495 having measurements and testing channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/30 Reducing interference caused by unbalanced currents in a normally balanced line
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/36 Repeater circuits H04B3/58 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines

Abstract

An electronic communication device comprises a first transceiver capable of a bi-directional communication session on a first communication medium; a second transceiver capable of a bi-directional communication session on a second communication medium; and a control logic coupled to the first transceiver and the second transceiver and capable of implementing a convergence layer, wherein the control logic is configured to receive, from the first transceiver, a first signal; and cause, in response to the first signal, data received and transmitted by the first transceiver on the first communication medium as part of a communication session to be received and transmitted instead by the second transceiver on the second communication medium.

Claims

1. An electronic communication device comprising:

a first transceiver capable of a bi-directional communication session on a first communication medium;

a second transceiver capable of a bi-directional communication session on a second communication medium; and

a control logic coupled to the first transceiver and the second transceiver and capable of implementing a convergence layer, wherein the control logic is configured to

receive, from the first transceiver, a first signal; and

cause, in response to the first signal, data received and transmitted by the first transceiver on the first communication medium as part of a communication session to be received and transmitted instead by the second transceiver on the second communication medium.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the control logic is further configured to

receive, from the first transceiver or the second transceiver, a second signal;

and

cause, in response to the second signal, data received and transmitted by the second transceiver on the second communication medium to be received and transmitted instead by the first transceiver on the first communication medium.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the control logic is configured to cause, through the convergence layer, the data received and transmitted by the second transceiver on the second communication medium to be received and transmitted instead by the first transceiver on the first communication medium.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the control logic is configured to cause, through the convergence layer, the data received and transmitted by the first transceiver on the first communication medium as part of a communication session to be received and transmitted instead by the second transceiver on the second communication medium.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the convergence layer is configured to conceal from a routing layer at least one of

information related to the first signal, and

information related to the data being received and transmitted on the second communication medium.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein

the first communication medium and the second communication medium are one of a radio frequency link and a power line communication link, and

the first communication medium and the second communication medium are not the same.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the first communication medium and the second communication medium are the same.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the control logic is configured to monitor at least one quality of the first communication medium and at least one quality of the second communication medium.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one quality of the first communication medium and the at least one quality of the second communication medium are each related to at least one of

received signal strength indication,

noise level,

medium occupation ratio,

statistics on packet error rates with different modulation schemes, and

which packets have a valid preamble but an invalid payload cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the control logic is configured to broadcast the at least one quality of the first communication medium and the at least one quality of the second communication medium.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the first signal is related to a plurality of transmission attempts in the first communication medium.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the convergence layer operates between a media access control layer and the routing layer.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal is related to a plurality of transmission attempts in the first communication medium.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the convergence layer is configured to operate between a media access control layer and the routing layer.

13. A method for electronic communication comprising:

providing a first transceiver capable of a bi-directional communication session on a first communication medium, a second transceiver capable of a bi-directional communication session on a second communication medium, and a control logic coupled to the first transceiver and the second transceiver and capable of implementing a convergence layer;

receiving, by the control logic from the first transceiver, a first signal; and

causing, by the control logic in response to the first signal, data received and transmitted by the first transceiver on the first communication medium as part of a communication session to be received and transmitted instead by the second transceiver on the second communication medium.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, by the control logic from the first transceiver or the second transceiver, a second signal; and

causing, by the control logic in response to the second signal, data received and transmitted by the second transceiver on the second communication medium to be received and transmitted instead by the first transceiver on the first communication medium.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the control logic is configured to cause, through the convergence layer, the data received and transmitted by the second transceiver on the second communication medium to be received and transmitted instead by the first transceiver on the first communication medium.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the control logic is configured to cause, through the convergence layer, the data received and transmitted by the first transceiver on the first communication medium as part of a communication session to be received and transmitted instead by the second transceiver on the second communication medium.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the convergence layer is configured to conceal from a routing layer at least one of

information related to the first signal, and

information related to the data being received and transmitted on the second communication medium.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein

the first communication medium and the second communication medium are one of a radio frequency link and a power line communication link, and

the first communication medium and the second communication medium are not the same.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the first communication medium and the second communication medium are the same.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the first communication medium and the second communication medium are accessed in a single device.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the control logic is configured to monitor at least one quality of the first communication medium and at least one quality of the second communication medium.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one quality of the first communication medium and the at least one quality of the second communication medium are each related to at least one of

received signal strength indication,

noise level,

medium occupation ratio,

statistics on packet error rates with different modulation schemes, and

which packets have a valid preamble but an invalid payload cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the control logic is configured to broadcast the at least one quality of the first communication medium and the at least one quality of the second communication medium.