Wireless terminals and methods for communicating over cellular and enhanced mode bluetooth communication links
View Patent ↗A wireless terminal includes a Bluetooth module that communicates first information with a remote Bluetooth device, and a processor that selectively encodes the first information based on whether the remote Bluetooth device supports the enhanced communication mode. The wireless terminal can include a cellular transceiver that communicates second information with a cellular network according to a cellular communication protocol. In the enhanced communication mode, the processor may use one or more signal processing operations to encode the first information for transmission to the remote Bluetooth device that are also used to encode the second information for transmission to the cellular network.
1. A wireless terminal, comprising:
a Bluetooth module that is configured to communicate first information with a remote Bluetooth device;
a cellular transceiver that is configured to communicate second information with a cellular network according to a cellular communication protocol; and
a processor that is configured to convolutionally encode the second information for transmission by the cellular transceiver according to a signal processing operation, to convolutionally encode the first information according to the signal processing operation for communication by the Bluetooth module in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting an enhanced communication mode that allows it to receive convolutionally encoded information, and to communicate the first information through the Bluetooth module without convolutionally encoding according to the signal processing operation in response to the remote Bluetooth device not supporting the enhanced communication mode.
2. The wireless terminal of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to encode voice in the second information using at least one of an Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codec and an Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) codec for transmission by the cellular transceiver, and to encode voice in the first information using at least one of the EFR codec and the AMR codec for communication by the Bluetooth module in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting the enhanced communication mode, and to not encode voice in the first information using either of the EFR codec and the AMR codec for communication by the Bluetooth module in response to the remote Bluetooth device not supporting the enhanced communication mode.
3. The wireless terminal of claim 2 , wherein the first information comprises audio information, and wherein the processor is further configured to cancel echo in the audio information for communication by the Bluetooth communication module using a same signal processing operation that is used to cancel echo in audio information in the second information communicated by the cellular transceiver in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting the enhanced communication mode.
4. The wireless terminal of claim 2 , wherein the first information comprises audio information, and wherein the processor is further configured to reduce noise in the audio information for communication by the Bluetooth communication module using a same signal processing operation that is used to cancel noise in audio information in the second information communicated by the cellular transceiver in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting the enhanced communication mode.
5. The wireless terminal of claim 2 wherein the remote Bluetooth device comprises a cordless telephone base station that is configured to be connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and wherein the processor is configured to communicate through the Bluetooth module with the cordless telephone base station.
6. The wireless terminal of claim 5 , wherein the processor is configured to selectively embed control data in the first information based on whether the remote Bluetooth device supports an enhanced communication mode, and wherein the control data comprises a command to control operation of the cordless telephone base station.
7. The wireless terminal of claim 6 , wherein the control data instructs the cordless telephone base station to terminate a call on the PSTN.
8. A wireless terminal, comprising:
a Bluetooth module that is configured to communicate first information with a remote Bluetooth device;
a cellular transceiver that is configured to communicate second information with a cellular network according to a cellular communication protocol; and
a processor that is configured to interleave the second information over time for transmission by the cellular transceiver according to a signal processing operation, to interleave the first information over time according to the signal processing operation for communication by the Bluetooth module in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting an enhanced communication mode that allows it to receive interleaved information, and to communicate the first information through the Bluetooth module without interleaving the first information over time according to the signal processing operation in response to the remote Bluetooth device not supporting the enhanced communication mode.
9. A method of operating a wireless terminal, comprising:
determining whether a remote Bluetooth device supports an enhanced communication mode that allows it to receive convolutionally encoded information;
convolutionally coding first information and communicating the convolutionally coded first information to the remote Bluetooth device in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting the enhanced communication mode; and
communicating the first information through the Bluetooth module without convolutionally encoding in response to the remote Bluetooth device not supporting the enhanced communication mode.
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
encoding voice in the first information using at least one of an Enhanced Full Rate (EFR) codec and an Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) codec according to a signal processing operation for communication to the remote Bluetooth device only in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting the enhanced communication mode.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
encoding voice in second information using at least one of the EFR codec and the AMR codec according to the signal processing operation for transmission to a cellular network.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first information comprises audio information, and further comprising canceling echo in the audio information.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first information comprises audio information, and further comprising reducing noise in the audio information.
14. A method of operating a wireless terminal, comprising:
determining whether a remote Bluetooth device supports an enhanced communication mode that allows it to receive interleaved information;
interleaving first information over time and communicating the interleaved first information through a Bluetooth module to the remote Bluetooth device in response to the remote Bluetooth device supporting the enhanced communication mode; and
communicating the first information through the Bluetooth module without interleaving it over time in response to the remote Bluetooth device not supporting the enhanced communication mode.