Bluetooth Master Address Allocation for Multi-Slave Piconets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Bluetooth systems are limited to communicating with only seven slaves in a piconet, leading to service interruptions, increased delays, and reduced throughput when more than seven devices need to be connected, as existing methods either force active slaves into a parking mode or require complex Scatternet configurations that lack standard protocols.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that allocate Active Member Addresses efficiently, calculate service delay times, and implement a sniff mode to manage communication with multiple slaves, allowing slaves to sleep during Sniff Interval Times and wake up to use Active Member Addresses for data transmission, thereby optimizing communication sequences and reducing delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the conventional 3-bit Active Member Address scheme is used, then the addressing system is simple and easy to implement, but the piconet is limited to one master and seven slaves in active mode
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic address allocation where Active Member Addresses are not permanently assigned but temporarily allocated to slaves based on service requirements. The master controller dynamically assigns AM_ADDR to slaves that need active communication and reclaims them when services are completed, allowing the system to adapt to varying numbers of active slaves beyond the conventional limit of seven.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the state parameter of slave addresses by introducing two distinct address types: Park Member Address (PM_ADDR) for inactive slaves and Active Member Address (AM_ADDR) for active slaves. This parameter change allows the system to distinguish between sleeping and active slaves, enabling more than seven slaves to be managed in a single piconet by cycling addresses based on service needs.
2Quantity of substance
If slaves are placed in parking mode to reduce active slave count, then the number of active slaves is reduced, but service delays are lengthened and throughput efficiency is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing service delay times for different slave configurations. The master controller maintains a service delay time table that contains pre-computed values, allowing it to quickly determine optimal address allocation without performing complex real-time calculations, thus reducing service delays while managing slave quantities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service through automatic address allocation and service sequence determination. The master controller automatically assigns AM_ADDR to appropriate slaves based on service requirements and delay time calculations, and automatically manages the transition between PM_ADDR and AM_ADDR states, eliminating manual intervention and reducing overall service delays.
3Adaptability or versatility
If more than seven slaves are supported using conventional methods, then the number of connectable devices is increased, but the system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the slave population into two distinct groups: slaves in parking mode (using PM_ADDR) and slaves in active mode (using AM_ADDR). This segmentation allows the system to manage more than seven slaves by clearly separating inactive and active devices, simplifying the overall system configuration and address management compared to attempting to support all slaves simultaneously in active mode.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for communicating with seven or more terminals in a Bluetooth system of a Wireless Personal Area Network (W-PAN). In the method and apparatus, a sniff mode allowing slaves to be in a sleep state for a Sniff Interval Time (SIT) is converted into an active mode for a service such that a master can efficiently communicate with seven or more slaves using conventional seven Active Member Addresses (AM_ADDR).