Electronic device capable of reducing communication energy consumption and its Bluetooth chip
By judging the access code and signal power of the received signal in the Bluetooth communication system, deciding whether to turn off the radio frequency receiver and modem early, the problem of the radio frequency receiver being continuously turned on in the reception time slot in the prior art is solved, and the reduction is achieved Energy-consuming effect.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202210097725.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2021-05-20
- Filing Date
- 2022-01-27
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-01-27
AI Technical Summary
The existing Bluetooth communication system does not have a judgment reference in the reception time slot, which causes the RF receiver to be turned on continuously even if it does not receive the complete packet, wasting electricity.
A Bluetooth module or chip is provided to determine whether the access code of the received signal and the signal power continue to be greater than the energy threshold within the set time, and to decide whether to turn off the radio frequency receiver and modem early.
It effectively reduces unnecessary energy consumption during packet exchange, avoids the long-term turn-on of the RF receiver when the packet is not received, and improves the power efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure CN115379430B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a Bluetooth communication, and more particularly to an electronic device and a Bluetooth chip thereof, which can confirm whether a packet is continuously received in a receiving time slot after a radio frequency receiver is turned on relative to the receiving time slot to reduce energy consumption. Background Art
[0002] Please refer to Figure 1 , which is a schematic diagram of packet exchange between a master device and a slave device of a Bluetooth communication system. The slave device uses a time interval ts in each receiving time slot RX to receive packets from the master device, and the master device uses a time interval tm in each receiving time slot RX to receive packets from the slave device. Since the Bluetooth protocol does not specify any rules for determining whether to continue receiving packets based on the received signal strength indicator (RSSI), the master device and the slave device, without a judgment basis, even if a complete packet is not received in a certain receiving time slot RX (for example, noise or interference is received), the RF receiver is still turned on until the set value ends, thereby wasting power. The set value is usually greater than 100 microseconds. Summary of the invention
[0003] In view of this, the present invention provides a Bluetooth module or chip with a configuration judgment benchmark, which can determine whether there is actually a packet incoming in each receiving time slot RX, so as to immediately shut down the RF receiver and / or modem when no packet is received, thereby reducing unnecessary energy consumption during packet exchange.
[0004] The present invention provides an electronic device and a Bluetooth chip thereof, which determines whether an access code of a packet received from a transmitting end is received in each receiving time slot, so as to determine whether to continue to open a radio frequency receiver in each receiving time slot to receive the packet.
[0005] The present invention provides an electronic device including an antenna and an automatic gain controller, the electronic device is used to receive packets in a Bluetooth connection state. The antenna is used to receive the packets and generate a received signal accordingly. The automatic gain controller is used to compare the signal power related to the received signal with an energy threshold in a receiving time slot to determine whether the signal power is continuously greater than the energy threshold during a period of 72 microseconds.
[0006] The present invention also provides a Bluetooth chip comprising an antenna, a radio frequency receiver and a modem, wherein the Bluetooth chip is used to receive packets in a Bluetooth connection state. The antenna is used to receive the packets and generate a receiving signal accordingly. The radio frequency receiver is used to convert the receiving signal into a digital signal during a receiving time slot. The modem is used to compare the signal power of the digital signal with an energy threshold during the reception of the access code of the packet, and to determine whether to send a stop signal during the receiving time slot accordingly.
[0007] The present invention also provides a Bluetooth chip comprising an antenna, a radio frequency receiver and an automatic gain controller. The antenna is used to receive packets and generate a received signal accordingly. The radio frequency receiver is used to convert the received signal into a digital signal after the receiving time slot is turned on. The automatic gain controller is used to continuously compare the signal power of the digital signal with the energy threshold during a period of 72 microseconds after the radio frequency receiver is turned on and the signal power of the digital signal is greater than the energy threshold, so as to determine whether to turn off the radio frequency receiver early in the receiving time slot.
[0008] In order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in the description of the present invention, the same components are represented by the same symbols, which are hereby described together. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of message exchange of Bluetooth communication system;
[0010] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a Bluetooth chip of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] Figure 3 is an information timing diagram of a link management protocol of a Bluetooth communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0012] Figure 4 It is an operation flow chart of the Bluetooth chip of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0013] Description of Reference Numerals
[0014] 200 Bluetooth chip
[0015] 21 Antenna
[0016] 23 RF Receiver
[0017] 231 Analog-to-digital converter
[0018] 25 Modem
[0019] 251 Automatic Gain Controller
[0020] 27 Bluetooth Controller
[0021] 31 Main device
[0022] 33 Slave Device DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] One object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of transmitting a received signal in each receiving time slot (e.g. Figure 1 An electronic device and a Bluetooth chip thereof that determines whether to shut down the analog front end and part of the digital back end in advance according to the received signal power in the RX) displayed to reduce the energy consumption during packet exchange.
[0024] In the present invention, the electronic device can be selected from, for example, portable electronic devices, wearable electronic devices, car electronic devices, computer peripherals, Bluetooth headsets, Bluetooth speakers, or other electronic devices that send and receive data via Bluetooth communication, without specific limitation.
[0025] The electronic device of the present invention can be a master device or a slave device in Bluetooth communication, and is used to receive a time slot (e.g. Figure 1 The RX (shown) receives traffic packets and determines whether the signal power in the receiving time slot is stable. This can avoid continuously turning on the RF receiver and modem when no packets are received or only noise is received in the receiving time slot.
[0026] Please refer to Figure 2 , which is a block diagram of a Bluetooth chip 200 of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The Bluetooth chip 200 includes an antenna 21, a radio frequency receiver 23, a modem 25, and a Bluetooth controller 27, wherein the radio frequency receiver 23 is also referred to as an analog front end, and the modem 25 and the Bluetooth controller 27 are also referred to as a digital back end.
[0027] Figure 3 1 is a message sequence diagram of the link management protocol (LMP) of the Bluetooth communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, in the calling process (e.g., above the dotted line), the master device 31 first sends a page message to the slave device 33, and then the slave device 33 replies a page response message to the master device 31. After the master device 31 successfully receives the page response message, it transmits an FHS packet to the slave device 33. After the slave device 33 successfully receives the FHS packet, it replies another page response message to the master device 31 to inform that the FHS packet has been received, so as to complete the establishment of the link. In this way, the master device 31 and the slave device 33 enter the online state.
[0028] The calling procedure is known and is not the main purpose of the present invention, so it will not be described in detail here.
[0029] In the online state, the master device 31 sends a POLL packet to the slave device 33, and then the slave device 33 replies a NULL packet to the master device 31 as the first traffic. The definitions and functions of the FHS packet, POLL packet, and NULL packet are known, so they are not described here in detail.
[0030] The antenna 21 is used to receive packets and generate a receiving signal accordingly. When the electronic device is a slave device 33 , the packets are from the master device 31 ; conversely, when the electronic device is the master device 31 , the packets are from the slave device 33 .
[0031] The RF receiver 231 is coupled to the antenna 21 to receive the received signal. The RF receiver 23 includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 231 for converting the received signal to a predetermined value in the RF receiver 23 relative to the receiving time slot (eg Figure 1 After the RX (shown) is turned on, the received signal is converted into a digital signal Sd. The method of analog-to-digital conversion is well known, so it will not be described in detail here.
[0032] It is understood that the RF receiver 23 also includes other components for processing the received signal, such as a low noise amplifier, a mixer, and an amplifier, etc. The other components are known and are not the main purpose of the present invention, so they are not described here. It is understood that the functions of each component in the RF receiver 23 can be considered to be performed by the RF receiver 23.
[0033] The modem 25 is used to compare the signal power of the digital signal Sd with an energy threshold (preset and stored) during the 72 microsecond period (i.e., the period of receiving the access code of the packet), and decide whether to issue a stop signal ( Figure 2 In more detail, the modem 25 includes an automatic gain controller (AGC) 251, which is used to compare the signal power associated with the received signal with an energy threshold in the receiving time slot RX to determine whether the signal power is continuously greater than the energy threshold during the 72 microseconds in the receiving time slot RX. Here, the signal power associated with the received signal refers to, for example, the signal power of the digital signal Sd. The digital signal Sd is formed by amplifying, mixing, filtering, frequency conversion, etc. the received signal, so the digital signal Sd and the received signal have a corresponding relationship according to these processes.
[0034] It is understood that the modem 25 also includes other components for processing the digital signal Sd, such as a down LPF, a DC remover, a rotator, and a low-pass filter (LPF). The down filter is, for example, a sinc filter, which is used to down-convert the digital signal Sd and reduce the effective bits. The DC remover is used to filter out the DC interference of 0MHZ and is coupled to the downstream of the down filter. The rotator is used to perform frequency shifting, converting the data from 1MHZ back to 0MHZ, and is coupled to the downstream of the DC remover. The low-pass filter is used to filter out interference and is coupled to the downstream of the rotator. AGC251 is coupled to the downstream of the low-pass filter. It is understood that the functions of each component in the modem 25 can be considered to be performed by the modem 25.
[0035] When the automatic gain controller 251 determines that the signal power is not continuously greater than the energy threshold during the 72 microseconds in the receiving time slot, it sends a stop signal flag to the Bluetooth controller 27. The Bluetooth controller 27 is used to shut down at least one of the RF receiver 23 and the modem 25 according to the stop signal flag, for example, by sending a control signal rtx_off to the RF receiver 23 and / or the modem 25.
[0036] In one embodiment, when the automatic gain controller 251 of the modem 25 determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds in the receiving time slot, a stop signal flag is immediately sent to the Bluetooth controller 27 .
[0037] In another embodiment, when the automatic gain controller 251 of the modem 25 determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microsecond period in the receiving time slot, the stop signal flag is sent to the Bluetooth controller 27 at the end of the 72 microsecond period. That is, the modem 25 is configured to send the stop signal flag during the 72 microsecond period or at the 72 microsecond time point after the signal power starts to be greater than the energy threshold (i.e., the access code of the packet starts) in the receiving time slot RX.
[0038] Since the packet may not be received in the receiving time slot (i.e. Figure 1 Therefore, the receiving time slot usually includes an uncertainty window to compensate for this time offset. Therefore, the start of the access code of the packet is not necessarily the start of the receiving time slot RX.
[0039] Therefore, in the present invention, the automatic gain controller 251 of the modem 25 continuously compares the signal power of the digital signal Sd with the energy threshold during the 72 microseconds after (1) the RF receiver 23 is turned on for each receiving time slot and (2) the signal power of the digital signal Sd is greater than the energy threshold, so as to determine whether to turn off the RF receiver 23 and / or the modem 25 earlier (earlier than the setting value of the known user-defined protocol) in each receiving time slot.
[0040] When the RF receiver 23 and / or the modem 25 are turned off in a certain receiving time slot, the Bluetooth controller 27 does not recognize the access code of the packet in the receiving time slot to further reduce the energy consumption.
[0041] The Bluetooth controller 27 is also used to restart the RF receiver 23 and the modem 25 in the next receiving time slot to perform the next round of judgment. The Bluetooth controller 27 is implemented by hardware, for example. The Bluetooth controller 27 includes a processor for executing its functions.
[0042] The electronic device of the present invention preferably starts to compare the signal power with the predetermined energy threshold after entering the online state (ie completing the calling procedure).
[0043] For example, refer to Figure 3 As shown, when the electronic device is a slave device 33, the automatic gain controller 251 of the modem 25 starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the Bluetooth chip 200 of the electronic device receives a POLL packet as the first traffic in the Bluetooth connection state.
[0044] For example, refer to Figure 3 As shown, when the electronic device is the master device 31, the automatic gain controller 251 of the modem 25 starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the Bluetooth chip 200 of the electronic device receives a NULL packet as the first traffic.
[0045] Please refer to Figure 4 , which is an operation flow chart of the Bluetooth chip 200 of the electronic device of an embodiment of the present invention, including the following steps: entering an online state (step S41); comparing the signal power with the energy threshold during reception of the access code (step S43); and when the signal power is less than the energy threshold, turning off at least one of the RF receiver and the modem (step S45).
[0046] Step S41: Figure 3 As shown, after the slave device 33 replies a call response message to the master device 31 to inform that the FHS packet has been received, the slave device 33 enters the online state. In the online state, relative to each receiving time slot (e.g. Figure 1RX), the RF receiver 23 and the modem 25 are turned on to wait for receiving packets.
[0047] Step S43: In the online state, the master device 31 sends a POLL packet and then the slave device 33 replies with a NULL packet as the first traffic. During the period of receiving the access code of the packet (any packet type), i.e., 72 microseconds, the automatic gain controller 251 compares the signal power associated with the received signal with the pre-stored energy threshold to determine whether to continue to turn on the RF receiver 23 and the modem 25 in the current receiving time slot. The comparison starts after the POLL packet and the NULL packet are sent.
[0048] Step S45: When the signal power is not continuously greater than the energy threshold during the 72 microseconds of the current receiving time slot, it indicates that the currently received packet is erroneous, so the automatic gain controller 251 sends a stop signal flag to the Bluetooth controller 27. After receiving the stop signal flag, the Bluetooth controller 27 sends a control signal rts_off to the RF receiver 23 and / or the modem 25 to turn off at least one of the RF receiver 23 and the modem 25. In another embodiment, the Bluetooth controller 27 may only turn off some components of the analog front end, such as turning off the analog-to-digital converter 231, but is not limited thereto. In another embodiment, the Bluetooth controller 27 may only turn off some components of the digital back end, such as turning off the automatic gain controller 251, but is not limited thereto.
[0049] When the signal power is continuously greater than the energy threshold during the 72 microseconds of the current receiving time slot, the RF receiver 23 and the modem 25 are continuously turned on in the current receiving time slot to receive the complete packet.
[0050] Since each packet in the online state includes an access code, the present invention identifies the signal energy during the access code reception to confirm whether the complete packet is continuously received, which is different from the conventional Bluetooth module that simply waits for the set time to arrive.
[0051] It must be pointed out that although Figure 2 The automatic gain controller 251 is shown to be located in the modem 25, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the automatic gain controller 251 is located outside the modem 25. In another embodiment, the automatic gain controller is located in the analog front end (i.e., before the ADC) to compare the signal power of the received analog signal with the energy threshold to determine whether to continue receiving the current packet.
[0052] It must be pointed out that although Figure 2The antenna 21 is shown as a component of the Bluetooth chip 200 , but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the antenna 21 is a component of the electronic device and is located outside the Bluetooth chip 200 , and the RF receiver 23 is electrically coupled to the antenna 21 .
[0053] In summary, since the Bluetooth module of the conventional electronic device does not have the function of determining whether to continue receiving packets according to RSSI, the RF receiver will be turned on for too long in the receiving time slot without packet exchange, thus wasting energy. Therefore, the present invention further provides an electronic device and a Bluetooth chip thereof (refer to Figure 2 ), which can be used in each receiving time slot (refer to Figure 1 The RX) shown in the figure determines whether the received signal power is continuously greater than a predetermined energy threshold to determine whether to shut down at least one of the RF receiver and the modem in advance to save energy.
[0054] Although the present invention has been disclosed through the above examples, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the scope defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. An electronic device for receiving packets in a Bluetooth connection state, the electronic device comprising: An antenna, the antenna being used to receive the packet and generate a received signal accordingly; an automatic gain controller for comparing a signal power associated with the received signal with an energy threshold in a receiving time slot to determine whether the signal power is continuously greater than the energy threshold during a period of 72 microseconds when the access code of the packet is received; RF receiver, modem and Bluetooth controller, including When the automatic gain controller determines that the signal power is not continuously greater than the energy threshold during the 72 microsecond period of receiving the access code of the packet, a stop signal is sent to the Bluetooth controller, and The Bluetooth controller is used to shut down at least one of the RF receiver and the modem according to the stop signal, and A control signal from the Bluetooth controller is sent to the modem and the RF receiver and is used to selectively shut down one or both of the modem and the RF receiver. 2 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is a master device or a slave device in Bluetooth communication.
3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein when the electronic device is the slave device, the automatic gain controller starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the electronic device receives a POLL packet as the first traffic in the Bluetooth connection state.
4. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein when the electronic device is the master device, the automatic gain controller starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the electronic device receives a NULL packet as the first traffic in the Bluetooth connection state. 5 . The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein when the automatic gain controller determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds, the stop signal is immediately sent to the Bluetooth controller.
6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein when the automatic gain controller determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds, the stop signal is sent to the Bluetooth controller only at the end of the 72 microseconds. 7 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein when at least one of the RF receiver and the modem is turned off, the Bluetooth controller does not recognize the access code of the packet of the reception time slot.
8. A Bluetooth chip, the Bluetooth chip is used to receive packets in a Bluetooth connection state, the Bluetooth chip comprising: An antenna, the antenna being used to receive the packet and generate a received signal accordingly; A radio frequency receiver, the radio frequency receiver is used to convert the received signal into a digital signal in a receiving time slot; a modem for comparing the signal power of the digital signal with an energy threshold during the 72 microsecond period and determining whether to issue a stop signal during the receiving time slot accordingly, in, When it is determined that the signal power is not continuously greater than the energy threshold during the 72 microsecond period of receiving the access code of the packet, the automatic gain controller is used to send a stop signal to the Bluetooth controller, wherein the Bluetooth controller is used to shut down at least one of the RF receiver and the modem according to the stop signal, and A control signal from the Bluetooth controller is sent to the modem and the RF receiver and is used to selectively shut down one or both of the modem and the RF receiver. 9 . The Bluetooth chip of claim 8 , wherein when at least one of the RF receiver and the modem is turned off, the Bluetooth controller does not recognize an access code of the packet of the reception time slot.
10. The Bluetooth chip according to claim 8, wherein when the modem determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds, the stop signal is immediately issued.
11. The Bluetooth chip according to claim 8, wherein when the modem determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds, the stop signal is sent out at the end of the 72 microseconds. 12 . The Bluetooth chip of claim 8 , wherein the modem starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the Bluetooth chip receives a POLL packet as the first traffic in the Bluetooth connection state. 13 . The Bluetooth chip of claim 8 , wherein the modem starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the Bluetooth chip receives a NULL packet as the first traffic in the Bluetooth connection state.
14. A Bluetooth chip, comprising: An antenna, the antenna being used to receive the packet and generate a received signal accordingly; A radio frequency receiver, the radio frequency receiver is used to convert the received signal into a digital signal after the relative receiving time slot is opened; an automatic gain controller, the automatic gain controller being used to continuously compare the signal power of the digital signal with the energy threshold during a period of 72 microseconds after the RF receiver is turned on and the signal power of the digital signal is greater than an energy threshold, so as to determine whether to turn off the RF receiver early in the receiving time slot, modem and Bluetooth controller, including When the signal power is determined to be lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds, the automatic gain controller sends a stop signal to the Bluetooth controller, and The Bluetooth controller is used to shut down at least one of the RF receiver and the modem according to the stop signal, and A control signal from the Bluetooth controller is sent to the modem and the RF receiver and is used to selectively shut down one or both of the modem and the RF receiver. 15 . The Bluetooth chip according to claim 14 , wherein when the automatic gain controller determines that the signal power is lower than the energy threshold at any time during the 72 microseconds, the RF receiver is immediately turned off. 16 . The Bluetooth chip of claim 14 , wherein the automatic gain controller starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the Bluetooth chip receives a POLL packet as the first traffic in a Bluetooth connection state. 17 . The Bluetooth chip of claim 14 , wherein the automatic gain controller starts to compare the signal power with the energy threshold when the Bluetooth chip receives a NULL packet as the first traffic in a Bluetooth connection state.