US007257426B1
`
`(12) United States Patent
`US 7,257,426 B1
`(10) Patent No.:
`Witkowski et al.
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Aug. 14, 2007
`
`(54)
`
`(75)
`
`WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
`AND METHOD
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`Inventors: Todd R. Witkowski, Zeeland, MI (US);
`Kurt A. Dykema, Holland, MI (US);
`Steven L. Geerlings, Holland, MI
`(US); Mark L. Zeinstra, Holland, MI
`(US)
`
`4,731,811 A *
`
`3/1988 Dubus ........................ 455/563
`
`(Continued)
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`3417956
`11/1985
`
`DE
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology
`Company, Plymouth, MI (US)
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`09/979,199
`
`(22)
`
`PCT Filed:
`
`May 26, 2000
`
`(86)
`
`(87)
`
`(60)
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`(58)
`
`PCT No.:
`
`PCT/US00/14692
`
`§ 371 (C)(1),
`(2), (4) Date: Apr. 29, 2002
`
`PCT Pub. No.: W000/72463
`
`PCT Pub. Date: Nov. 30, 2000
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`Provisional application No. 60/135,979, filed on May
`26, 1999.
`
`Int. Cl.
`
`(2006.01)
`H04M 1/00
`U.S. Cl.
`...............................
`455/569.2; 455/569.1;
`455/41.2; 455/41.3; 455/563
`Field of Classification Search ............. 455/569.2,
`455/569.1, 563, 41.1, 41.2, 41.3, 413, 412.1,
`455/412.2, 566
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(Continued)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Briody et a1., “Intel to launch wireless initiative”, Infoworld, May
`18, 1998, 2 pgs.
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary ExamineriLewis West
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or FirmiFoley & Lardner LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A wireless communications system and method adapted for
`use in automotive applications for enabling automatic, high-
`speed, wireless voice and/or data communications link to be
`established between a wide variety of external devices and
`various electronic subsystems of a vehicle. The apparatus
`includes first and second RF transceivers which are operated
`in accordance with a communications specification to enable
`a seamless, automatic communications link to be created
`when the two RF transceivers come within a pre-determined
`proximity of one another, for example, within up to 100
`meters of one another. Information from one device is then
`automatically transmitted over the wireless communications
`link to the other device. In various implementations the
`apparatus is used to obtain information from a home PC, a
`work PC, a notebook PC and various other electronic
`devices, as well as information from the Internet, which is
`displayed and/or played back for the user by various sub-
`systems of the vehicle while traveling in the vehicle. Other
`applications involving retail and manufacturing applications
`are disclosed by which the apparatus is used to facilitate
`and/or expedite manufacturing processes or retail transac-
`tions via one or more high-speed, secure, wireless commu-
`nications links which are created automatically and seam-
`lessly between the RF transceivers of the apparatus of the
`invention.
`
`26 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets
`
`Wireless Servite
`Organizulion
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Overhead or
`Dash-Moulded
`
`Display
`
`
`
`APPL-1014 / Page 1 of 27
`Apple v. Uniloc
`
`APPL-1014 / Page 1 of 27
`Apple v. Uniloc
`
`

`

`US 7,257,426 B1
`
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`2002/0197955 A1
`
`12/2002 Witkowski et a1.
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`5,651,056
`5,661,651
`5,732,074
`5,758,300
`5,797,088
`5,810,420
`5,832,390
`5,844,473
`5,859,628
`5,889,472
`5,889,474
`5,898,392
`5,974,333
`5,974,334
`5,995,898
`6,023,241
`6,038,441
`6,052,603
`6,055,468
`6,058,298
`6,058,319
`6,069,588
`6,081,237
`6,085,078
`6,134,456
`6,144,114
`6,154,663
`6,173,195
`6,198,947
`6,215,449
`6,218,958
`6,236,333
`6,285,757
`6,304,764
`6,308,083
`6,340,928
`6,349,222
`6,377,825
`6,389,337
`6,397,086
`6,408,232
`6,484,040
`6,532,374
`6,542,758
`6,549,793
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`2001/0045774
`2001/0055165
`2002/0004702
`2002/0013730
`2002/0025832
`2002/0032510
`2002/0049535
`2002/0085043
`2002/0087238
`2002/0138180
`2002/0152027
`2002/0152264
`
`*
`
`>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> *
`
`*
`
`A *
`B1
`B1*
`B1
`B1
`B1
`B1 *
`B1
`B2
`B1
`B1
`B1 *
`B1
`B1
`B1
`B1
`B1
`B1 *
`B1*
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1*
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`A1
`
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`2/1990 Ono ...........
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`7/1997 Eting et al.
`.............. 379/88.01
`8/1997 Geschke et al.
`3/1998 Spaur et al.
`5/1998 Abe
`8/1998 Stamegna ................... 455/345
`296/97.5
`9/1998 Welling ......
`
`11/1998 Irvin ....... .. 455/569.2
`
`12/1998 Kaman
`1/1999 Ross et al.
`3/1999 Nagel et al.
`3/1999 LaDue .................. 340/825.49
`4/1999 Bambini et al.
`..
`....... 340/996
`
`10/1999 Chen .......................... 455/569
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`2/2000 Clapper
`............... 455/413
`3/2000 Slaven et al.
`4/2000 Kinzalow et al.
`........... 455/557
`4/2000 Kaman et al.
`5/2000 Stamegna ................... 455/345
`5/2000 Sadler ........
`
`455/569
`5/2000 O’Neill, Jr.
`................. 343/713
`6/2000 Sato et al.
`7/2000 Stamegna ................... 455/345
`10/2000 Chen .......................... 455/569
`1 1/2000 Chutorash
`455/569.2
`11/2000 Itamochi ..................
`455/569
`1/2001 Chen
`
`455/563
`3/2001 Barber
`4/2001 O’Neill, Jr.
`................. 343/713
`4/2001 Eichstaedt et al.
`5/2001 King
`.............. 345/619
`9/2001 Carroll et a1.
`10/2001 Pan ............................ 455/569
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`455/569
`2/2002 Hafiz ...............
`. 455/569.2
`4/2002 Kennedy et al.
`..
`..... 701/29
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`...............
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`
`.................. 381/86
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`
`.................. 455/79
`
`.............. 701/49
`
`DE
`DE
`DE
`EP
`EP
`EP
`EP
`GB
`WO
`WO
`W0
`W0
`W0
`W0
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4323144 A1
`196 29 408 A1
`19728083
`0 821 429 A2
`1 024 626 A1
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`
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`
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`
`* cited by examiner
`
`APPL-1014 / Page 2 of 27
`
`APPL-1014 / Page 2 of 27
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 14
`
`, 2007
`
`Sheet 1 of 13
`
`US 7,257,426 B1
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`APPL-1014 / Page 3 of 27
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`APPL-1014 / Page 3 of 27
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`‘Aug.14
`
`,2007
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`Sheet2 of13
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 14, 2007
`
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`APPL-1014 / Page 5 of 27
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 14, 2007
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`US 7,257,426 B1
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Sheet 6 of 13
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`APPL-1014 / Page 8 of 27
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 14, 2007
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`Sheet13 0f13
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`US 7,257,426 B1
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`APPL—1014/ Page 15 of 27
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`US 7,257,426 B1
`
`1
`WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
`AND METHOD
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`
`This application claims the benefit of US. Provisional
`Application No. 60/135,979, filed May 26, 1999.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`5
`
`10
`
`This
`
`invention relates
`
`to wireless
`
`communications
`
`devices, and more particularly to a wireless communications
`system and method which facilitates an automatic wireless
`connection and wireless communication of voice and/or data 15
`information between various electronic components such as
`notebook computers, cellular telephones, hand held com-
`puting devices, pagers, audio devices, display terminals and
`other electronic systems.
`With the dramatically increasing popularity of various 20
`personal electronic information and computing devices,
`there has been an increasing need to conveniently integrate
`the operation, and more specifically the transfer of informa-
`tion, between one or more of such devices. These electronic
`devices may include notebook computers, desktop comput- 25
`ers, hand-held computing/organizer devices often termed
`“personal digital assistants” (“PDAs”), cellular phones, pag-
`ers, audio systems, display devices, cordless headsets, digi-
`tal cameras and virtually any other electronic or electrome-
`chanical device that use electronic information for its 30
`operation.
`In many environments, such as within an automobile, it
`would be highly desirable to be able to communicate voice
`and/or data in wireless fashion between various subsystems
`of the vehicle, such as an overhead display subsystem of the 35
`vehicle, and a cellular phone, notebook computer, PDA,
`pager or other personal electronic device which is carried on
`the person of an individual. The ability to transfer informa-
`tion between various subsystems of the vehicle and the
`user’s personal electronic devices,
`in wireless fashion, 40
`would greatly increase the ease and convenience of use of
`such personal devices when travelling in the vehicle.
`Until the present, transferring information between one or
`more of these devices has most often required that specific
`cabling be connected between the devices. Usually the 45
`cabling is “application specific”, meaning that the cabling
`used to connect, for example, a notebook computer and a
`hand-held PDA, is specifically designed for only these two
`components. Thus,
`the same communications cabling
`needed for connecting two specific electronic components 50
`often can only be used to connect those two components,
`and not to connect different combinations of other electronic
`
`components. Thus, interconnecting different combinations
`of electronic devices for intercommunication is often pos-
`sible only with specific and often expensive cabling.
`Communication between more than two electronic
`
`55
`
`devices at one time via cabling presents even greater diffi-
`culty. Usually some form of hub or “T” connector, together
`with a mechanical switch and a suitable plurality of external
`cables is needed. Thus,
`the user often has very limited 60
`flexibility in linking more than two electronic devices
`together for communication.
`In certain environments, such as within an automobile, it
`is often impractical for the user to manually connect and
`disconnect cabling between two or more electronic devices,
`especially when the electronic devices are portable devices
`which the user desires to carry with her when leaving the
`
`65
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`2
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`vehicle. Additionally, it would be extremely impractical to
`attempt
`to connect such personal electronic devices to
`existing subsystems of a vehicle, such as an overhead
`display console, with physical cables that would be loose
`within the vehicle. Such cabling could easily interfere with
`the driver’s convenient operation of the various controls of
`the vehicle or with the comfort and convenience of other
`
`passengers in the vehicle.
`In some instances wireless communications, such as by
`infrared or radio frequency (ARF @) signals, have been used
`to permit communications and information sharing between
`two electronic devices. However, previously developed
`implementations of these methods of information transfer
`have suffered from significant drawbacks. For example,
`infrared data transmission requires a “line of sight” between
`the communicating sensors of the two devices. Such a line
`of sight is often not practical and/or difficult to maintain in
`certain operating environments, such as while travelling in
`an automobile. This also constrains the use of portable
`electronic devices to positions where the sensor on the
`portable device is in the line of sight of the other device with
`which the portable device is communicating.
`Radio frequency data communication has traditionally
`been hampered by the lack of a standard communications
`protocol for data transfer which permits data to be trans-
`mitted between two or more independent electronic devices.
`A further limitation with RF data transfer systems has been
`the lack of a low cost, low power RF transceiver able to be
`inexpensively integrated with compact, portable electronic
`devices such as notebook computers, cellular telephones,
`hand-held PDAs, pagers, etc.,
`to enable convenient RF
`information transfer between two or more of such devices
`
`over short distances of up to, for example, about ten meters.
`Still another limitation with traditional methods for trans-
`
`mitting data between electronic devices has been the lack of
`an “automatic” or “unconscious” connection when the
`
`devices are in proximity with one another. By “automatic”
`or “unconscious” it is meant an immediate communications
`link which is established between two or more electronic
`
`devices as soon as the devices are within a certain range, for
`example, ten meters, of each other without any command
`being input to any of the devices by the user. This limitation
`has up until the present required the user to provide one or
`more commands to at least one of the electronic devices to
`
`begin the process of transferring data between the two
`devices.
`
`In view of the foregoing, it would therefore be desirable
`to provide a wireless communications system adapted for
`use in automotive applications to permit
`the wireless
`exchange of voice and/or data between various portable
`electronic devices and various electronic subsystems of a
`motor vehicle. Such a system would preferably include a
`first electronic component which could be readily integrated
`with a wide variety of electronic devices such as notebook
`computers, pagers, PDAs, cellular phones, etc., and a second
`component which could easily be integrated with various
`electronic subsystems of a motor vehicle such as an audio
`system, microphone, in-dash or overhead display system,
`on-board navigation system, etc. The first and second com-
`ponents would also preferably be extremely compact, light-
`weight, have low power requirements, and would therefore
`be very easily integrated into the various portable electronic
`devices described above, as well as into the various elec-
`tronic subsystems of the vehicle. The components would
`preferably be able to automatically establish a wireless
`communications link as soon as the electronic device incor-
`
`porating the first component comes into proximity with the
`
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`US 7,257,426 B1
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`3
`vehicle, where the vehicle incorporates the second compo-
`nent. Such a system would completely obviate the need for
`any external cables to be attached between the electronic
`device(s) and the subsystem(s) of the vehicle.
`Another example of an application where such a system
`would be highly useful
`is in the manufacturing of an
`automobile. If pertinent information concerning one or more
`of the vehicle’s components or electronic subsystems could
`be quickly and automatically accessed and transmitted, via
`a high speed wireless communications link, to an electronic
`diagnostic/verification test system stationed along side an
`assembly line on which the vehicle is moving, then real time
`verification tests could be performed on the various elec-
`tronic subsystems of the vehicle as it being manufactured.
`Such automatically created wireless communications links
`would significantly enhance a wide range of other applica-
`tions.
`
`it would be highly desirable if such a
`Furthermore,
`wireless communications system could be provided which
`does not add appreciably to the overall costs of such portable
`electronic devices or to the costs of various electronic
`
`the system would
`subsystems of the vehicle. Preferably,
`provide a manner of transmission that also ensures very
`secure wireless transmissions to limit the possibility of the
`devices being susceptible to electronic “eavesdropping” or
`the data being intercepted by other RF devices operating in
`the same frequency spectrum.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is directed broadly to a wireless
`communications system and method for transmitting infor-
`mation between two or more electronic devices. In one
`
`preferred embodiment a miniature RF transceiver is inte-
`grated into each electronic device. The RF transceivers are
`low power, short range transceivers that enable the exchange
`of voice and/or data information between the two devices.
`The wireless communications link between the devices is
`
`established automatically when the devices come within a
`predetermined proximity to each other. Thus, information
`can be transmitted automatically from one device to the
`other without any action from an individual monitoring or
`possessing one of the devices and without the user having to
`connect one or more external cables between the devices.
`
`In one preferred embodiment the present invention makes
`use of the Bluetooth communications standard for establish-
`
`ing a wireless communications link between two devices,
`where each device is equipped with a RF transceiver oper-
`ating in accordance with the Bluetooth communications
`standard. This enables two or more devices to be connected
`
`via high speed, wireless communications links to permit
`voice and/or data information to be exchanged between the
`various devices. The devices communicate on the 2.4 GHZ
`
`ISM frequency band and employ encryption and authenti-
`cation schemes, in addition to frequency hopping, to provide
`a high measure of security to the transmission of data
`between the devices. Advantageously, the wireless commu-
`nications link is created automatically as soon as the two
`devices come into proximity with each other.
`In each embodiment of the present invention, the RF
`transceivers each comprise low power components provid-
`ing a limited range of up to about 100 meters. Each RF
`transceiver has a negligible power consumption, as com-
`pared with the device with which it is integrated. Each RF
`transceiver can automatically form ad hoc communications
`links with other RF transceivers passing within the prede-
`termined transmission range.
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`The various preferred embodiments of the present inven-
`tion enable voice and/or data information to be transmitted
`
`between a wide variety of devices without any command or
`intervention by the user. The preferred embodiments lend
`themselves especially well
`to applications involving the
`transfer of information between various portable electronic
`devices and the various electronic subsystems of a motor
`vehicle. The preferred embodiments further enable the trans-
`fer of information between a motor vehicle and other
`
`electronic systems outside of the vehicle, which makes the
`present invention ideally suited to applications involving
`assembly of the vehicle, assisting in transmitting diagnostic
`information to and from a vehicle, and a wide variety of
`other applications where it is desirable to transmit informa-
`tion to a user traveling in a motor vehicle.
`The various preferred embodiments are also ideally suited
`to establishing wireless communications links for a wide
`variety of other home, business, and commercial applica-
`tions. A wide variety of electronic devices can thus be
`networked together for information sharing.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`invention will
`The various advantages of the present
`become apparent to one skilled in the art by reading the
`following specification and by referencing the following
`drawings in which:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram drawing of a wireless commu-
`nications system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
`of the present invention being used to transfer information
`between an electronic device of the user and an audio system
`and a display system of a motor vehicle;
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the wireless com-
`munications system of the present invention being used to
`perform vehicle diagnostics on a motor vehicle by creating
`a wireless communications link between a notebook com-
`
`puter running diagnostics software and a vehicle interface
`circuit associated with a motor vehicle;
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the wireless communications
`system of the present invention being used in an assembly
`operation in which information is transmitted from RF
`transceivers located in each vehicle to an assembly line
`monitoring system such that information needed for the
`manufacture of each vehicle can be requested in advance
`and thereafter made ready as needed during assembly of the
`vehicle;
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the wireless communications
`system being used to create a high speed data link between
`a drive-through restaurant menu and the various electronic
`subsystems of the motor vehicle to enable information from
`the drive through menu to be broadcast and/or displayed by
`the vehicle’s electronic subsystems;
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the wireless communications
`system being used in connection with a key FOB to enable
`data to be transmitted from the key FOB to a vehicle bus
`interface of a motor vehicle to control various subsystems of
`the vehicle;
`FIG. 5A is a block diagram of the major components of
`the key FOB of FIG. 5;
`FIG. 6 is a block diagram drawing illustrating a wireless
`communications link created between a key FOB carried by
`the user and a work PC to enable data files to be transmitted
`
`in wireless fashion between the PC and the key FOB;
`FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the key FOB of FIGS. 5 and
`5A being used to transmit files in wireless fashion from the
`key FOB to a home PC;
`
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`US 7,257,426 B1
`
`5
`FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the present invention being
`used to create a wireless communications link between a
`
`cellular phone and a proprietary voice recording/playback
`system manufactured by the assignee of the present appli-
`cation and presently used on motor vehicles;
`FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the wireless communications
`system being used to create a wireless data link between a
`home PC linked to the Internet and various electronic
`
`subsystems of a motor vehicle to thereby enable information
`from the Internet to be transmitted to the subsystems of the
`vehicle automatically;
`FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the wireless communica-
`tions system of the present invention being used to establish
`a wireless communications link between a cellular phone
`and various electronic subsystems of a motor vehicle after
`the cellular phone has linked with a wireless service orga-
`nization;
`FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the wireless communica-
`tions system of the present invention being used to establish
`a wireless data link between a cellular phone of a user and
`one or more subsystems of a vehicle, where the cellular
`phone is linked with a wireless service organization so that
`“push” services from an Internet service provider can be
`used to provide personalized traffic, weather or other infor-
`mation automatically from the Internet to the user as the user
`travels in the vehicle;
`FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the wireless communica-
`tions system of the present invention being used to create a
`wireless data link between a gas pump kiosk of a service
`station and the subsystems of a vehicle, where the gas pump
`is linked to the Internet, such that information from the
`Internet can be transmitted in wireless fashion to one or
`
`more electronic subsystems of the vehicle while the vehicle
`is parked near the gas pump;
`FIG. 13 is a block diagram of the wireless communica-
`tions system of the present invention being used to create a
`wireless data link for downloading map directions down-
`loaded onto a home PC of of the Internet directly to one or
`more electronic subsystems of the vehicle while the vehicle
`is in close proximity to the home PC; and
`FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the wireless communica-
`tions system of the present invention being used to transmit
`corporate information or messages from a wireless service
`organization to a fleet vehicle, where the information is
`provided over the Internet from a corporate computer sys-
`tem, and such that the information can be provided via a
`wireless data link directly to the various subsystems of a
`fleet vehicle.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless communications system 10
`in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
`invention is illustrated. The present invention is broadly
`directed to a wireless communications system 10 in which at
`least one pair of RF transceivers 10a and 10b are used to
`create a wireless communications link between at least two
`
`independent electronic devices. Each RF transceiver 10a
`and 10b operates in accordance with a suitable wireless
`communications protocol or standard to enable wireless
`communications between the transceivers 10a and 10b. The
`
`specific protocol or standard used also preferably enables the
`wireless communications link to be established automati-
`
`cally when the two RF transceivers come into proximity
`with each other. The specific protocol or standard may be the
`Bluetooth communications standard or the Shared Wireless
`
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`6
`Access Protocol-Cordless Access (SWAP-CA) specification,
`or any other suitable wireless communications specification
`that enables voice and/or data information to be transmitted
`between the two RF transceivers 10a and 10b.
`The Bluetooth communications standard was established
`
`for creating small form factor, low-cost, short range RF links
`between mobile telephones, notebook computers, PDAs and
`other portable electronic devices. It is the result of a joint
`effort between several major commercial organizations to
`develop a RF communications standard for creating secure,
`wireless communications links between portable electronic
`devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, computers and other
`electronic devices. The Bluetooth communications standard
`
`is presently an “open” standard that enables short range,
`secure, RF transmission of voice and/or data information
`between such portable electronic devices to thus eliminate
`the need for physical cables for interconnecting the devices.
`Its implementation is based on a high performance, but low
`cost,
`integrated RF transceiver chip set. The Bluetooth
`standard further provides the potential for automatic and
`rapid “ad hoc” wireless connections when two or more
`devices equipped with RF transceivers operating in accor-
`dance with the Bluetooth standard come into proximity with
`each other.
`The Bluetooth standard makes use of the free, universal
`2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band and
`a frequency hopping scheme using 1600 hops/second.
`Encryption and authentication are built into the Bluetooth
`standard along with an automatic “output power adaption”
`feature that automatically reduces the output power of the
`RF transceiver to only (and exactly) that amount of power
`which is needed to accomplish the data transmission.
`The Bluetooth standard specifies a minimum RF receiver
`sensitivity of —70 dBm and the nominal output power is
`specified as 0 dBm (i.e., 1 mW), which eliminates the need
`for an off-chip power amplifier. With a 0 dBm transmit
`power, the typical range for the RF transceiver is up to about
`10 meters. The range can be extended to about 100 meters
`by augmenting the RF transceiver chip set with an external
`power amplifier to increase the transmit power to a maxi-
`mum of 20 dBm. The maximum data transfer rate between
`
`two Bluetooth transceivers is slightly under 1 Mbits/sec. The
`data rate for a voice channel
`is 64 kbits/sec (GSM-13
`kbits/sec). A suitable RF transceiver for use with the Blue-
`tooth standard can be formed relatively inexpensively as a
`single CMOS integrated chip.