Bluetooth query / paging method and communication device

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for Bluetooth query / paging, comprising: sending multiple query / paging messages in a sending time slot to query / paging a peer device, wherein the number of the multiple query / paging messages is greater than 2; and opening multiple receiving windows in a receiving time slot to receive response messages from the peer device. The present invention also provides a corresponding communication device. The present invention reduces the time required for querying / paging to the peer device, thereby reducing the time for establishing a Bluetooth connection between the two devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The disclosed embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a Bluetooth query / paging method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] For end users, the duration of Bluetooth inquiry / paging is an important customer experience, so users generally require "the success rate of a certain scene page", "the average time of inquiry / page to a specific device cannot be higher than a certain amount", etc., and the current common practice is to increase the proportion of time occupied by inquiry / paging to meet user requirements. However, in multi-task scenarios, if the proportion of time occupied by inquiry / paging is increased, the time allocated to other tasks (such as ACLlink, etc.) will be reduced, and other tasks will be affected. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a Bluetooth query / paging method and a communication device to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an exemplary Bluetooth query / paging method is disclosed, comprising: sending multiple query / paging messages in a sending time slot to query / paging a peer device, wherein the number of the multiple query / paging messages is greater than 2; and opening multiple receiving windows in a receiving time slot to receive response messages from the peer device.

[0005] In one embodiment, a channel corresponding to one of two adjacent query / paging messages in the plurality of query / paging messages belongs to a first channel set, and a channel corresponding to the other one belongs to a second channel set.

[0006] In one embodiment, channels corresponding to two adjacent query / paging messages in the multiple query / paging messages both belong to the first channel set or the second channel set.

[0007] In one embodiment, the number of the plurality of query / paging messages is four.

[0008] In one embodiment, the multiple receiving windows include 4 receiving windows.

[0009] In one embodiment, the first channel set and the second channel set each include 16 channels of different frequencies.

[0010] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: sending the query / paging message on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set for a predetermined number of consecutive times to query / paging the opposite device.

[0011] In one embodiment, the predetermined number is 128 or 256.

[0012] In one embodiment, the scanning time length for the peer device to perform scanning is determined according to the duration of sending the query / paging message on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, an exemplary communication device is disclosed, including a processor and a communication circuit, wherein the communication circuit is connected to the processor, the processor is capable of sending multiple query / paging messages through the communication circuit in one sending time slot to query / page a peer device, wherein the number of the multiple query / paging messages is greater than 2; and in one receiving time slot, opening multiple receiving windows to receive response messages from the peer device through the communication circuit.

[0014] The present invention reduces the time required for querying / paging to the opposite device by sending multiple query / paging messages in one sending time slot, wherein the number of the multiple query / paging messages is greater than 2, and opening multiple receiving windows in one receiving time slot to receive response messages, thereby reducing the time required for querying / paging to the opposite device, thereby reducing the time for establishing a Bluetooth connection between the two devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and implementation modes, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a timing diagram of the master device performing inquiry / paging in the current Bluetooth technology.

[0017] Figure 2 The present invention is a flowchart of a Bluetooth query / paging method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 It is a timing diagram of the master device sending the query / paging message according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 It is a timing diagram of the master device sending the query / paging message according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0022] First, the query / paging and its process related to the present invention in the current Bluetooth standard are described.

[0023] During the Bluetooth connection process, query / paging occupies 32 channels. These 32 channels are divided into 2 channel sets (trains), called A-train and B-train, where each train includes 16 channels of different frequencies, that is, A-train includes 16 channels (A0, A1, ...A15), and B-train includes 16 channels (B0, B1, ...B15). The master device first broadcasts the query / paging message on the channel of A-train. If there is no response from any slave device, it will broadcast on the channel of B-train. Figure 1 As shown, the query / paging message broadcast on the channel of A-train is represented by a blank square, and the query / paging message broadcast on the channel of B-train is represented by a filled square.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, in the query / paging process, first, the master device sends two query / paging messages in the transmission time slot T11, wherein each query / paging message is sent through a corresponding channel. For example, the query / paging message is sent on channel A0 and channel A1 respectively. The slave device then starts to perform a scanning process, listening to the query / paging message broadcast by the master device on A-train or B-train. If the query / paging message is detected, the slave device sends a response message.

[0025] In the receiving time slot T12, the master device opens two receiving windows respectively to receive the response message from the slave device. Among them, the time slot T11 and the time slot T12 constitute the query / paging frame F1. If the response message from the slave device is received in the receiving window, the subsequent connection process is performed between the master device and the slave device. If no response message is received from the slave device, the query / paging message and scanning process between the master device and the slave device continues.

[0026] Subsequently, the master device sends two query / paging messages in the sending time slot T21, for example, sending the query / paging messages on channel A2 and channel A3 respectively. In the receiving time slot T22, two receiving windows are opened respectively to receive the response messages from the slave device. Among them, the time slot T21 and the time slot T22 constitute the query / paging frame F2.

[0027] By analogy, in the sending time slot T81, the master device sends the query / paging message on the channel A14 and the channel A15 respectively. In the receiving time slot T82, two receiving windows are opened respectively to receive the response message from the slave device. Among them, the time slot T81 and the time slot T82 constitute the query / paging frame F8.

[0028] Each query / paging message may be in the format of an ID packet. The duration of each time slot in time slots T11, T12, T21, T22, T81, and T82 is 625us. Each query / paging message takes 68us and corresponds to one channel of the A-train. In other words, each query / paging message is sent through one channel of the A-train.

[0029] Thus, the time required for the master device to send the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in A-train is 625us*2*(16 / 2)=10ms.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, during the query / paging process, the master device sends the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in A-train N times in succession, that is, the master device sends the query / paging message of A-train N times in succession. Wherein, N is a positive integer, which can be set to 128 or 256. At this time, if the master device does not receive any response message, then after sending the query / paging message of A-train N times in succession, the master device sends the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in B-train, that is, sends the query / paging message of B-train N times in succession.

[0031] Among them, Figure 1 As shown, the process of the master device completing the sending of the query / paging message of the B-train is the same as the process of the master device sending the query / paging message of the A-train, which is not described here. The difference is that the frequencies of the 16 channels in the B-train are different from those of the 16 channels in the A-train.

[0032] At this time, if the master device still does not receive any response message, the master device will repeat the above operation until it receives the corresponding response message, or the master device gives up the query / paging.

[0033] From the above, it can be seen that the time required for the master device to continuously send N query / paging messages of A-train or B-train is N*10ms. Assuming that during the query / paging process, the master device sends the query / paging message on A-train, and the slave device performs the scanning process on B-train, the time required to query / paging to the opposite device (slave device) may be as long as N*10ms. Therefore, it takes a long time for the master device to query / paging to the opposite device, and then the time for searching and establishing a connection between the master device and the opposite device is long, which will bring a bad user experience.

[0034] To this end, the present invention provides a Bluetooth query / paging method. Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for Bluetooth query / paging according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method is executed by a master device connected via Bluetooth. The master device may be a Bluetooth chip or a combination chip (including a Bluetooth module and a WiFi module), or a device including a Bluetooth chip, or a device including a combination chip, such as a smart phone. The method includes:

[0035] Step 210: Send multiple query / paging messages in one sending time slot to query / paging the peer device.

[0036] The number n of the multiple query / paging messages is greater than 2.

[0037] As described above, each query / paging message is sent via a channel, in other words, one query / paging message is sent on one channel. In one embodiment, the number of multiple query / paging messages may be 4, in which case 4 query / paging messages are sent in one transmission time slot.

[0038] Step 220: In one receiving time slot, multiple receiving windows are opened to receive response messages from the opposite end device.

[0039] In one embodiment, the multiple receiving windows may include 4 receiving windows. In this case, the master device opens 4 receiving windows to receive the response message.

[0040] As described above, the sending time slot and the receiving time slot constitute a query / paging frame. In some embodiments, the time lengths of the sending time slot and the receiving time slot are equal, for example, 625 us.

[0041] By sending multiple query / paging messages in one sending time slot, where the number of the multiple query / paging messages is greater than 2, and opening multiple receiving windows in one receiving time slot to receive response messages, the time required for querying / paging to the other device can be reduced, thereby reducing the time to establish a Bluetooth connection between the two devices.

[0042] In one embodiment, two adjacent query / paging messages among multiple query / paging messages in a transmission time slot belong to different channel sets, for example, the channel corresponding to one belongs to the first channel set A-train and the channel corresponding to the other belongs to the second channel set B-train.

[0043] The following is a detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking the example of the master device sending four query / paging messages in one sending time slot, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0044] like Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of the query / paging process of the master device and the slave device of the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the channel corresponding to one of two adjacent query / paging messages in the four query / paging messages belongs to A-train, and the channel corresponding to the other one belongs to B-train.

[0045] In this embodiment, during the query / paging process, the master device sends four query / paging messages in the sending time slot T11, wherein each query / paging message is sent through a corresponding channel, for example, in the order of channel A0, channel B0, channel A1 and channel B1, query / paging messages are sent in sequence. In the receiving time slot T12, four receiving windows are opened to receive response messages from the slave device. Among them, the time slot T11 and the time slot T12 constitute the query / paging frame F1.

[0046] Similarly, in frames F2 ... F8, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, in the sending time slot, four query / paging messages are sent alternately on the channels of A-train and B-train, and correspondingly, in the receiving time slot, four receiving windows are opened to receive response messages from the slave devices.

[0047] exist Figure 3 In the query / paging timing of the current Bluetooth standard in the upper part, in the sending time slot T11, the master device sends two query / paging messages on the two channels A0 and A1 of A-train. Different from the query / paging process in the current Bluetooth standard, in this embodiment, in the sending time slot T11, the master device sends four query / paging messages alternately on the channels of A-train and B-train, that is, sends query / paging messages on channels A0, B0, A1 and B1 respectively. In other words, on the basis of the original two query / paging messages in the sending time slot, two additional query / paging messages are inserted, and the inserted two query / paging messages belong to different channel sets (train) from the original two query / paging messages, so that four query / paging messages will be sent in the 625us sending time slot T11.

[0048] As described above, in the query / paging process of the current Bluetooth standard, the time required for the master device to complete the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in A-train is 625us*2*(16 / 2)=10ms. In this embodiment, since two new query / paging messages belonging to different trains from the original query / paging message are inserted in one transmission time slot, the master device can not only complete the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in A-train, but also complete the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in B-train within 10ms.

[0049] In this way, when the slave device performs scanning, no matter it is scanning on the A-train or the B-train, it can detect the query / paging message sent by the master device in one scanning cycle.

[0050] Compared with the inquiry / paging process of the current Bluetooth standard, if the train for the master device to send the inquiry / paging message is different from the train for the slave device to perform the scan, the time required for inquiry / paging to the other device is as long as N*10ms (N can be 128 or 256), in this embodiment, the other device can be queried / paged within 10ms, which significantly reduces the time length for the master device and the slave device to establish a connection in Bluetooth, thereby greatly improving the user experience.

[0051] Moreover, in this embodiment, only the query / paging process of the master device is modified, and no change is required on the peer device (slave device). The slave device still operates according to the Bluetooth standard, listens for query / paging messages during the scanning period, and sends a response message to the master device after listening to the query / paging message. In this way, the query / paging method proposed in the embodiment of the present invention can be greatly expanded in application scope, and the improved master device can be paired with any existing Bluetooth device.

[0052] In another embodiment, channels corresponding to two adjacent query / paging messages among multiple query / paging messages in a transmission time slot belong to the same channel set (train), for example, both belong to the first channel set A-train or the second channel set B-train.

[0053] The following is a detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking the example of the master device sending four query / paging messages in one sending time slot, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0054] like Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of the query / paging process of the master device and the slave device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the channels corresponding to the four query / paging messages all belong to the A-train or the B-train.

[0055] In the query / paging process, the master device sends 4 query / paging messages in the sending time slot T11, wherein each query / paging message is sent through the corresponding channel, for example, in the order of channel A0, channel A1, channel A2 and channel A3, query / paging messages are sent in sequence, that is, query / paging messages are sent on the 4 channels in A-train respectively. In the receiving time slot T12, 4 receiving windows are opened accordingly to receive the response message from the slave device. Among them, time slots T11 and time slots T12 constitute query / paging frame F1.

[0056] Similarly, in frames F2 ... F4, as Figure 4 As shown, in the sending time slot, 4 query / paging messages are sent on the A-train channel, and accordingly, in the receiving time slot, 4 receiving windows are opened to receive response messages from the slave devices.

[0057] In the query / paging timing diagram of the current Bluetooth standard, in the transmission time slot T11, the master device sends two query / paging messages on the two channels A0 and A1 of A-train. In this embodiment, in the transmission time slot T11, the master device sends four query / paging messages on the channels A0, A1, A2 and A3 of A-train. In other words, it is equivalent to inserting two additional query / paging messages on the basis of the original two query / paging messages in the transmission time slot, and the inserted two query / paging messages belong to the same channel set (train) as the original two query / paging messages, so that four query / paging messages will be sent in the transmission time slot T11 of 625us.

[0058] It should be noted that in this embodiment, since the query / paging message is sent on four different channels of the same train in each transmission time slot, the query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in A-train can be completed in only four transmission time slots, that is, the query / paging message of A-train is completed in the query / paging frame F4. Therefore, the time required for the master device to complete the query / paging message corresponding to the 16 channels in A-train is 625us*2*(16 / 4)=5ms.

[0059] In the current Bluetooth standard, since only two query / paging messages are sent in each transmission time slot, the query / paging messages of 16 channels in A-train are completed in the query / paging frame F8, which takes 10ms. Therefore, compared with the query / paging process of the current Bluetooth standard, the time required for the master device to complete a query / paging message corresponding to all 16 channels in A-train in this embodiment is shortened by half.

[0060] In the query / paging process, the master device repeats the above operation N times in succession, and sends the query / paging message corresponding to the 16 channels in A-train N times in succession, that is, the master device sends the query / paging message of A-train N times in succession. Wherein, N is a positive integer, which can be set to 128 or 256. At this time, if the master device does not receive any response message, after sending the query / paging message of A-train N times in succession, the master device sends the query / paging message corresponding to the 16 channels in B-train N times in succession, that is, sends the query / paging message of B-train N times in succession.

[0061] like Figure 4 As shown, the process of the master device completing the sending of the query / paging message of the B-train is the same as the process of the master device completing the sending of the query / paging message of the A-train, which is not described here. The difference is that the frequencies of the 16 channels in the B-train are different from those of the 16 channels in the A-train.

[0062] At this time, if the master device still does not receive any response message, the master device will repeat the above operation until it receives the corresponding response message, or the master device gives up the query / paging.

[0063] From the above, it can be seen that the time required for the master device to complete an inquiry / paging message corresponding to the 16 channels in A-train is shortened by half compared to the existing standard. Therefore, the time required for the master device to inquire / paging to the slave device will also be shortened by about half, reducing the time length for the master and slave devices to establish a connection in Bluetooth and improving the user experience.

[0064] In addition, the scanning time length of the peer device (slave device) is determined according to the duration of sending the query / paging message on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set. Therefore, since the time required for the master device to complete a query / paging message corresponding to the 16 channels in A-train is shortened by half, the scanning time length for the peer device will also be shortened by half, which can reduce the power consumption of the peer device during the scanning process. Usually, slave devices in Bluetooth are mostly small and power-sensitive devices such as Bluetooth headsets, Bluetooth mice, and wearable devices. Therefore, reducing the power consumption of slave devices is of great significance in practical applications.

[0065] It should be noted that, although for the convenience of description, the expressions of master device and slave device are used in the embodiments of the present invention, as known to those skilled in the art, the master device or slave device is not a limitation on the device itself. During the Bluetooth connection process, the device itself can become a master device or a slave device depending on whether it is the initiator or responder of the connection.

[0066] Figure 5 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 500 can be used as a master device in a Bluetooth connection, and includes a memory 510, a processor 520, and a communication circuit 530. The memory 510 and the communication circuit 530 are connected to the processor 520, respectively.

[0067] The memory 510 may include a read-only memory and / or a random access memory, etc., and provides instructions and data to the processor 520. A portion of the memory 510 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The memory 510 stores instructions, which, when executed, implement the query / paging method and query / paging process provided by any one of the above embodiments of the present invention and any non-conflicting combination.

[0068] The communication circuit 530 is used to send and receive data and is an interface for the communication device 500 to communicate with other devices.

[0069] The processor 520 is configured to execute the Bluetooth query / paging method and / or process of the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention through the communication circuit 530 .

[0070] The processor 520 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 520 or an instruction in the form of software. The above processor 520 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The disclosed methods, steps, and logic block diagrams in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or executed.

[0071] It is easy for a person skilled in the art to realize that many modifications and changes can be made to the apparatus and method while maintaining the teaching content of the present invention. Therefore, the above disclosure should be considered as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A Bluetooth query / paging method, characterized in that: include: Sending a plurality of query / paging messages in one transmission time slot to query / paging a peer device, wherein the number of the plurality of query / paging messages is greater than 2, and, in a plurality of transmission time slots corresponding to one scanning cycle, completing the sending of query / paging messages corresponding to all channels in a first channel set and completing the sending of query / paging messages corresponding to all channels in a second channel set, wherein the frequencies of the channels in the first channel set and the frequencies of the channels in the second channel set are different; as well as In one receiving time slot, a plurality of receiving windows are opened to receive a response message from the opposite end device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that A channel corresponding to one of two adjacent query / paging messages among the multiple query / paging messages belongs to the first channel set, and a channel corresponding to the other one belongs to the second channel set.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Channels corresponding to two adjacent query / paging messages among the multiple query / paging messages both belong to the first channel set or the second channel set.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The number of the multiple query / paging messages is 4.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple receiving windows include 4 receiving windows.

6. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The first channel set and the second channel set each include 16 channels of different frequencies.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: The query / paging message is sent on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set for a predetermined number of consecutive times to query / paging the opposite device.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that The scanning time length for the peer device to perform scanning is determined according to the duration of sending the query / paging message on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set.

9. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and a communication circuit, wherein the communication circuit is connected to the processor, and the processor is used to perform a Bluetooth query / paging process, including the following operations: Sending a plurality of query / paging messages in one transmission time slot through the communication circuit to query / paging a peer device, wherein the number of the plurality of query / paging messages is greater than 2, and, in a plurality of transmission time slots corresponding to one scanning cycle, completing the sending of query / paging messages corresponding to all channels in a first channel set and completing the sending of query / paging messages corresponding to all channels in a second channel set, wherein the frequencies of the channels in the first channel set and the frequencies of the channels in the second channel set are different; and In one receiving time slot, a plurality of receiving windows are opened to receive a response message from the opposite-end device through the communication circuit.

10. The communication device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that A channel corresponding to one of two adjacent query / paging messages among the multiple query / paging messages belongs to the first channel set, and a channel corresponding to the other one belongs to the second channel set.

11. The communication device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that Channels corresponding to two adjacent query / paging messages among the multiple query / paging messages both belong to the first channel set or the second channel set.

12. The communication device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that The number of the multiple query / paging messages is 4.

13. The communication device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that The multiple receiving windows include 4 receiving windows.

14. The communication device as claimed in claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The processor is also capable of: The query / paging message on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set is sent through the communication circuit for a predetermined number of consecutive times to query / paging the opposite device.

15. The communication device as claimed in claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The scanning time length for the peer device to perform scanning is determined according to the duration of sending the query / paging message on all 16 channels in the first channel set or the second channel set.

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