SYSTEM FOR TESTING WIRELESS INTERACTION BETWEEN A SYSTEM FOR REPRODUCING AUDIO SIGNALS AND A MOBILE PHONE, AND CORRESPONDING METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20150156299A1
• Filed: 11/26/2014
• Published: 06/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Magneti Marelli S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Magneti Marelli S.p.A.
• Inventors: Abramo, Felice
• Granted Patent: US 9,813,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/24 Arrangements for testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

Described herein is a system for testing wireless interaction of a system for reproduction of audio signals, in particular a user-interface device of a motor vehicle configured for reproducing audio signals, with a mobile phone, said reproduction system and said mobile phone being configured for communicating over a wireless communication channel for short-range communications.

According to the invention, the above system comprises a module for simulation of a mobile phone, comprising processing means configured for simulating operation of a mobile phone, said module for simulation of a mobile phone being associated in a signal-exchange relationship to a short-range wireless transceiver module configured for communicating via said wireless communication channel with the system for reproduction of audio signals.

Claims

1. A system for testing wireless interaction between a system for reproduction of audio signals, in particular a user-interface device of a motor vehicle configured for reproducing audio signals, and a mobile phone, said reproduction system and said mobile phone being configured for communicating over a wireless communication channel for short-range communications,

said system being characterized in that:

it comprises a module for simulation of a mobile phone, comprising processing means configured for simulating operation of a mobile phone, said module for simulation of a mobile phone being associated in a signal-exchange relationship to a short-range wireless transceiver module configured for communicating via said wireless communication channel with the system for reproduction of audio signals.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said simulation module comprises an audio signal output and/or an audio signal input.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein it comprises a system for audio analysis set connected to said audio signal output and/or audio signal input.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said processing means configured for simulating a mobile phone are configured for simulating the protocol stack of the wireless communication channel.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said wireless communication channel uses the Bluetooth™

protocol.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said protocol stack of the wireless communication channel is the BlueZ stack.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said simulation module is configured for generating internally audio signals to be supplied to said transceiver module.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system for reproduction of audio signals is a user-interface device of a motor vehicle configured for reproducing audio signals, which comprises a wireless communication channel that employs the Bluetooth™

protocol.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the module for simulation of a mobile phone is configured for carrying out simulation of an Audio Gateway according to the Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile, in particular the Audio Gateway represented by a mobile phone.

10. A method for testing interaction between a system for reproduction of audio signals, in particular a user-interface device of a motor vehicle configured for reproducing audio signals, and a mobile phone, said method being characterized in that it comprises the operations carried out by the system for testing wireless interaction between a system for reproduction of audio signals and a mobile phone according to claim 1.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said operation of simulating operation of a mobile phone performed by the processing means comprises simulating operation of a mobile phone with respect to incoming and outgoing telephone communications to and from said mobile phone and supplying the results of the simulation to the transceiver module configured for communicating via said wireless communication channel with the system for reproduction of audio signals.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein said operation of simulating operation of a mobile phone comprises simulating functions of data-transfer capacity.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized by carrying out one or more of the following operations:

seeking a system for reproduction of audio signals to which to connect;

carrying out pairing with said system;

simulating the functions of hands-free telephone call;

managing a phonebook and transferring it onto the system; and

performing audio streaming of high-fidelity music files.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said operation of simulating the functions of hands-free telephone call comprises carrying out simulation of an Audio Gateway according to the Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile, in particular the Audio Gateway represented by a mobile phone.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized by moreover carrying out operations of measurement of the performance of the device, in particular through analysis of the audio signal.

16. A computer program product that can be loaded directly into the memory of at least one computer and comprises portions of software code for implementing the method according to claim 10 when the product is run on a computer.