Techniques for optimizing wireless wide area network-wireless local area network aggregation

• US 10,116,578 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2016
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Meylan, Arnaud, Mudireddy, Srinivas Reddy, Kumar, Vaibhav, Sukumar, Hariharan, Mitra, Alok, Patel, Umang Sureshbhai, Veerepalli, Sivaramakrishna, Maheshwari, Shailesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi, Eunsook
• Application Number:
  US15/277,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20170118133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 763 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/624 Altering the ordering of packets in an individual queue
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

Techniques are described for wireless communication at a wireless communication device. One method includes receiving wireless wide area network (WWAN) packets at a WWAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device; transferring wireless local area network (WLAN) packet information from a WLAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device to the WWAN processing subsystem, the WLAN packet information comprising a subset of data associated with WLAN packets; performing a reordering process in the WWAN processing subsystem, the reordering process based at least in part on the received WWAN packets and the WLAN packets that correspond to the transferred WLAN packet information; and providing an indication of the reordered WWAN packets and the WLAN packets to an application processing subsystem of the wireless communication device.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a wireless communication device, comprising:

receiving wireless wide area network (WWAN) packets at a WWAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device;

transferring wireless local area network (WLAN) packet information from a WLAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device to the WWAN processing subsystem, the WLAN packet information comprising a subset of data associated with WLAN packets;

performing a reordering process in the WWAN processing subsystem, the reordering process based at least in part on the received WWAN packets and the WLAN packets that correspond to the transferred WLAN packet information; and

providing an indication of the reordered WWAN packets and the WLAN packets to an application processing subsystem of the wireless communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the WLAN packet information is transferred from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem:

under control of the WWAN processing subsystem, under control of the application processing subsystem, or under a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the WLAN packet information transferred from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem comprises packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

deciphering the WLAN packets and the WWAN packets in the WWAN processing subsystem.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of data comprises WLAN packet metadata.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the WLAN packet metadata comprises WLAN packet headers.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the reordered WLAN packets and WWAN packets comprises ordered WLAN packet headers and WWAN packet headers and WWAN packets.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the WLAN packet information is transferred from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem in blocks of information corresponding to subsets of WLAN packets.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

signaling to the WLAN processing subsystem, after transferring a block of information to the WWAN processing subsystem, that memory of the WLAN processing subsystem used to store the block of information is available for reuse.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

deciphering a transferred block of information in the WWAN processing subsystem; and

signaling to the WLAN processing subsystem, after transferring the block of information to the WWAN processing subsystem, that memory of the WLAN processing subsystem used to store the block of information is available for reuse.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, from the application processing subsystem, a WLAN packet information block availability indicator.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a gap between a highest sequence number of a received WWAN packet and a lowest sequence number reference in the transferred WLAN packet information; and

regulating transfer of additional WLAN packet information from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem based at least in part on the identified gap.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the WLAN packets at the WLAN processing subsystem; and

associating the WLAN packets with time-stamps of receipt at the WLAN processing subsystem,

wherein the transferred WLAN packet information comprises the time-stamps of receipt at the WLAN processing subsystem.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

starting a reordering timer, at the WWAN processing subsystem, based at least in part on a gap in time-stamps included in the transferred WLAN packet information.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

storing the WLAN packet information in a main memory of the WWAN processing subsystem while performing the reordering;

caching the WLAN packet information in a cache memory of the WWAN processing subsystem while performing the reordering;

buffering the WLAN packet information in the WWAN processing subsystem while performing the reordering;

or a combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the reordered WLAN packets and WWAN packets comprises a block of in-order packet identifiers.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

signaling to the WLAN processing subsystem that memory of the WLAN processing subsystem used to store WLAN packet information corresponding to multiple WLAN packets is available for reuse, the signaling including at least one of;

indicating a block of multiple WLAN packet identifiers or indicating a block of multiple memory locations.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the WWAN processing subsystem comprises a WWAN modem.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the application processing subsystem provides at least a part of the WLAN processing subsystem.

20. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless communication device, comprising:

means for receiving wireless wide area network (WWAN) packets at a WWAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device;

means for transferring wireless local area network (WLAN) packet information from a WLAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device to the WWAN processing subsystem, the WLAN packet information comprising a subset of data associated with WLAN packets;

means for performing a reordering process in the WWAN processing subsystem, the reordering process based at least in part on the received WWAN packets and the WLAN packets that correspond to the transferred WLAN packet information; and

means for providing an indication of the reordered WWAN packets and the WLAN packets to an application processing subsystem of the wireless communication device.

21. An apparatus for wireless communication at a wireless communication device, comprising:

a processor; and

memory in electronic communication with the processor;

the processor and the memory configured to;

receive wireless wide area network (WWAN) packets at a WWAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device;

transfer wireless local area network (WLAN) packet information from a WLAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device to the WWAN processing subsystem, the WLAN packet information comprising a subset of data associated with WLAN packets;

perform a reordering process in the WWAN processing subsystem, the reordering process based at least in part on the received WWAN packets and the WLAN packets that correspond to the transferred WLAN packet information; and

provide an indication of the reordered WWAN packets and the WLAN packets to an application processing subsystem of the wireless communication device.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the WLAN packet information is transferred from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem:

under control of the WWAN processing subsystem, under control of the application processing subsystem, or under a combination thereof.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the WLAN packet information transferred from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem comprises packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) information.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, the processor and the memory further configured to:

decipher the WLAN packets and the WWAN packets in the WWAN processing subsystem.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the subset of data comprises WLAN packet metadata.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the WLAN packet metadata comprises WLAN packet headers.

27. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the indication of the reordered WLAN packets and WWAN packets comprises ordered WLAN packet headers and WWAN packet headers and WWAN packets.

28. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the WLAN packet information is transferred from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem in blocks of information corresponding to subsets of WLAN packets.

29. The apparatus of claim 21, the processor and the memory further configured to:

identify a gap between a highest sequence number of a received WWAN packet and a lowest sequence number reference in the transferred WLAN packet information; and

regulate transfer of additional WLAN packet information from the WLAN processing subsystem to the WWAN processing subsystem based at least in part on the identified gap.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for wireless communication at a wireless communication device, the code executable by a processor to:

receive wireless wide area network (WWAN) packets at a WWAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device;

transfer wireless local area network (WLAN) packet information from a WLAN processing subsystem of the wireless communication device to the WWAN processing subsystem, the WLAN packet information comprising a subset of data associated with WLAN packets;

perform a reordering process in the WWAN processing subsystem, the reordering process based at least in part on the received WWAN packets and the WLAN packets that correspond to the transferred WLAN packet information; and

provide an indication of the reordered WWAN packets and the WLAN packets to an application processing subsystem of the wireless communication device.