U.S. patent application number 10/381420 was filed with the patent office on 2004-01-22 for portable wireless gateway.
Invention is credited to Soderberg, Ulf, Tjalldin, Birger.
Application Number | 20040014497 10/381420 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 20281145 |
Filed Date | 2004-01-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040014497 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tjalldin, Birger ; et
al. |
January 22, 2004 |
Portable wireless gateway
Abstract
A portable gateway is provided for constituting a wireless
bridge between two wireless networks. The portable gateway (1) has
at least one slot (2, 3), preferably two slots, for receiving an
expansion card (4, 5) for providing wireless connectivity towards a
selected wireless network. The gateway may be designed to be
carried in a pocket or a briefcase, and can easily be adapted for
communication towards any selected wireless network.
Inventors: |
Tjalldin, Birger; (Taby,
SE) ; Soderberg, Ulf; (Taby, SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG & THOMPSON
745 SOUTH 23RD STREET 2ND FLOOR
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
|
Family ID: |
20281145 |
Appl. No.: |
10/381420 |
Filed: |
August 8, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
September 25, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/SE01/02058 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
455/558 ;
455/556.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 92/02 20130101;
H04W 84/12 20130101; H04W 84/18 20130101; H04W 88/16 20130101; H04L
12/66 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/558 ;
455/556.1 |
International
Class: |
H04M 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 25, 2000 |
SE |
00003417-3 |
Claims
1. A gateway for providing a bridge between a first network and a
second network, characterised in that the gateway is portable and
provides a wireless bridge between the first and second networks,
which are wireless networks, and that the gateway further comprises
at least one expansion card slot for receiving an expansion card
constituting a wireless interface towards one of the wireless
networks.
2. A gateway according to claim 1, characterised by a first
wireless communication unit for communicating towards the first
wireless network, and a second wireless communication unit for
communicating towards the second wireless network, wherein at least
one of the first and second communication units comprises an
expansion card.
3. A gateway according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the
gateway comprises two expansion card slots for receiving two
expansion cards, each constituting a wireless communication unit as
an interface towards one of the wireless networks.
4. A gateway according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the
gateway comprises one integrated communication unit as an interface
towards a predetermined wireless network, and that the gateway
further comprises one expansion card slot for receiving an
expansion card constituting a wireless communication unit as an
interface towards a selected wireless network.
5. A gateway according to any of claims 2-4, characterised in that
each of the wireless communication units includes an antenna, and
that the two antennas are positioned on opposite sides of the
gateway, thereby spacing the antennas apart maximally.
6. A gateway according to claim 5, wherein two expansion card slots
are used for receiving two expansion cards, characterised in that
the antennas of the expansion cards are spaced apart by placing the
two expansion card slot entries on different sides of the
gateway.
7. A gateway according to any of claims 1-6, characterised in that
one of the wireless networks is a Bluetooth network, and the other
is a Wireless Local Area Network.
8. A gateway according to any of claims 1-6, characterised in that
one of the wireless networks is a cellular wireless network.
9. A gateway according to claim 8, characterised in that the
cellular network is a GSM (Global System for Mobile communication),
or a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), or a UMTS (Universal
Mobile Telecommunications System) network.
10. A gateway according to any of claims 1-9, characterised in that
the expansion card(s) is any of: a PC Card, a CompactFlash card and
an SD (Secure Digital) card.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a gateway, and in
particular to a gateway designed to constitute a wireless bridge
between two wireless networks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
[0002] Today, many types of different wireless networks exist. The
different networks typically use different radio frequency
transmission methods and specific communication protocols. Thus,
when information is to be transmitted over two different networks
from a transmitter to a receiver, the information must in most
cases be translated or transcoded from a first format into a second
format when the information is passed from the first network to the
second network. Such a translation is usually performed by a
so-called gateway. Hence, the gateway constitutes a communication
bridge between the two different networks.
SUMMARY
[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide a new
type of gateway enabling many new mobile applications, and for
enhancing existing applications, by providing a bridge between
different wireless communications environments.
[0004] This object and others are obtained by a portable gateway
providing a wireless bridge between two wireless networks, in
particular between a Bluetooth network and a Wireless Local Area
Network (WLAN). The portable gateway may comprise a first wireless
communication unit for communicating towards a first wireless
network, a second wireless communication unit for communicating
towards a second wireless network, and a format conversion unit for
converting the format of communicated signals between the formats
used by the first and second wireless network, respectively.
[0005] According to the invention, the portable gateway has at
least one slot, preferably two slots, for receiving an expansion
card, sometimes referred to as a plug-in card, for providing
wireless connectivity towards a selected wireless network. By way
of example, the expansion card may be any of: a PC Card, a
CompactFlash card and an SD (Secure Digital) card. By selecting one
or two suitable expansion cards, the portable gateway may
constitute a wireless bridge between any selected wireless
networks.
[0006] The new applications, and the existing applications, may, in
particular, include devices such as mobile phones, Personal Digital
Assistants (PDA's), or other mobile devices, equipped with Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) and means for Bluetooth
connectivity.
[0007] For these and other devices, the gateway as described herein
will enable new mobile Internet applications, in particular such
applications requiring transmission speeds in the range of
approximately 100 kbit/s to 1 Mbit/s. Also, future applications
will involve even higher transmission speeds.
[0008] These and other mobile applications are enabled by using one
wireless network, such as Bluetooth, as the carrier for the
Internet access of the device by communicating to the gateway,
which is, in turn accessing the Internet, by another wireless
network, e.g. by means of a W LAN.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The present invention will now be described in more detail
and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a view from above of a gateway.
[0011] FIG. 2 is the view in FIG. 1 of the gateway having its cover
removed.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a cross section of the gateway in FIGS. 1 and
2.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a portable
gateway.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] In FIG. 1, a view from above of a portable gateway 1 is
shown. The gateway 1 comprises two slots 2 and 3 for receiving an
expansion card, also referred to as a plug-in card, for providing
wireless connectivity. Each expansion card then constitutes a
wireless communication unit for communicating towards a selectable
wireless network. The expansion card is in this example a PC Card
(PCMCIA), but may alternatively be a CompactFlash card or an SD
(Secure Digital) card. The invention is thus not limited to any
particular expansion card. In this example, each of the two slots 2
and 3 receives a PC Card 4 and 5, respectively. The PC Card slots
are located on two different sides facing each other, and
preferably, the gateway has an elongated shape. The size of the
gateway 1 is preferably large enough for encompassing the PC Cards,
but small enough to fit inside a pocket or a small briefcase. In a
preferred embodiment, the gateway is designed as a thin,
essentially rectangular, unit having the measures of only
142.times.78.times.28 mm.
[0015] In FIG. 2, the gateway 1 is shown with its cover being
removed. Further, the gateway comprises a battery 6 and a control
unit 7, as shown in FIG. 3.
[0016] The first PC Card 4 provides an interface towards a first
wireless network, for example a Bluetooth network, and the second
PC Card 5 provides an interface towards a second wireless network,
for example a W LAN network or a GSM/GPRS network or a UMTS
network.
[0017] In another preferred embodiment, one of the interfaces
towards the wireless networks is a wireless communication unit
integrated in the portable gateway 1. Thus, the gateway may have
only one slot for receiving an expansion card. For example, if the
gateway is designed to always be connected to a Bluetooth network
and to be connected to another wireless network, which may be
selected, or if the gateway has some specific requirements, i.e. a
smart card with a subscription identification module, SIM, or any
specific security application, the gateway may have an integrated
permanent communication unit providing an interface to the
Bluetooth network, and only one expansion card slot for providing
an interface to the other selectable wireless network.
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a portable gateway in
accordance with the invention. The portable gateway 400 comprises a
first wireless communication unit 402, including an antenna 404,
for communicating towards a first wireless network, not shown, and
a second wireless communication unit 406, including an antenna 408,
for communicating towards a second wireless network, likewise not
shown. In one embodiment, each of the wireless communication units
402 and 406 may comprise a selectable expansion card, not shown in
FIG. 4, inserted into a card slot as described above, for providing
communication towards a corresponding selected wireless network. In
another embodiment, one of the wireless communication units 402,
406 may be an integrated wireless communication unit for
communication towards a predetermined wireless network. The
antennas 404, 408 may be integrated with the communication units
402, 406 or may be separate antennas connected thereto.
[0019] The gateway 400 further comprises a format conversion unit
410 for converting the format of communicated signals between the
formats used by the first and second wireless network,
respectively. The format conversion typically involves transcoding
of the signals. The battery 6 and the control unit 7 shown in FIG.
3 are not shown in FIG. 4.
[0020] For portable gateways between two wireless systems,
undesired signal interference may in some circumstances occur
between the signals from the two antennas 404, 408, being used for
access to the two wireless networks. This may be the case if the
two antennas are mounted in close proximity, e.g. if the gateway is
using two expansion cards having integrated or extending antennas,
in particular if one card is placed on top of the other. Thus, in
the case when two expansion cards are used, such signal
interference may be avoided, or at least reduced, by locating the
expansion cards, with the antennas located on opposite sides of the
portable gateway a maximum distance apart.
[0021] In the preferred embodiment of a gateway shown in FIG. 1,
using two expansion cards, this is achieved by designing the slots
in one plane, but with their entry slots maximally separated,
resulting in a maximum distance between the antennas used for
communication towards the two wireless networks.
[0022] This may also be the case, when using one expansion card for
access to a selected wireless network, and an integrated or
extending antenna for access to a predetermined wireless network,
if the respective antennas are not located on opposite sides of the
portable gateway.
[0023] Likewise, in the case when one expansion card is used, it is
advantageous to arrange the antennas on opposite sides of the
portable gateway, with a maximum distance apart.
[0024] The invention as described herein may be used for providing
a wireless access method towards: the Internet for mobile phones
(or PDA's), which is fast, and can be charged at flat rate.
[0025] By providing this alternative method of Internet access, the
device as described herein will enhance many new applications, such
as WAP (over Bluetooth, including voice/audio), enable Music
(MPEG-3), streaming Video and Image telephony (MPEG-4), in mobile
phones (or PDA's), and many other Internet applications requiring
0.5-1 Mbit/s.
[0026] While the invention has been described with reference to
specific exemplary embodiments, the description is only intended to
illustrate the inventive concept and should not be taken as
limiting the scope of the invention. Various alternatives,
modifications and equivalents may be used without departing from
the spirit of the invention, which is defined by the appended
claims.
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