Wireless LAN with fragmentation for bluetooth coexistence

• US 20050276241A1
• Filed: 07/20/2004
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agere Systems Incorporated (Broadcom, Inc.), Infineon Technologies AG, Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Durdodt, Christian, van der Horst, Ernestus, Hellfajer, Roland, Kamerman, Adriaan
• Application Number:
  US10/893,987
• Publication Number:
  US 20050276241A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• 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 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Mutual interference experienced between co-located WLAN and BT devices is minimized. An improved wireless local area network (WLAN) scheme using fragmentation, that itself mitigates BLUETOOTH™—related interference, without relying on a presumed cooperation from co-located BLUETOOTH devices. The use of fragmentation in a WLAN network allows a longer concatenated period of WLAN activity, with corrupted segments being retried. Therefore, the chances of getting a full frame transferred during the repetitive interference by BT voice is greatly improved. A coexistence scheme is provided that is active in the MAC layer of a Wireless LAN (WLAN) device, aiming to make optimal use of the non-occupied BT slots for both uplink and downlink WLAN communication. The co-existence scheme improves throughput performance for active co-located WLAN and BT devices. Because the coexistence scheme is link-based instead of global and is enabled only when required, frame loss and fragmentation are minimized, leading to less network overhead.

Claims

1. A method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a co-located piconet device, comprising:

fragmenting a single data frame corresponding to said second wireless device into a plurality of fragmented data frames; and

timing a transmission of at least one of said plurality of fragmented data frames by said remote first wireless device to occur during a non-occupied time slot for communications by said piconet device;

wherein frame loss due to interference between said second wireless device and said piconet device is minimized.

3. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a co-located piconet device according to claim 1, wherein:

said non-occupied time slot for communications by said piconet device relates to a transmission from said piconet device.

4. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a co-located piconet device according to claim 1, wherein:

said piconet device is a BLUETOOTH™

device.

5. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a co-located piconet device according to claim 1, wherein:

said fragmenting occurs only when required to avoid interference between said piconet device and said second wireless device.

2. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a co-located piconet device, further comprising:

performing a management frame exchange between said remote first wireless device and said piconet device.

6. A wireless communications device, comprising:

a first wireless local area network (WLAN) device;

a piconet device co-located with said first WLAN device; and

a co-existence mechanism operating on a downlink from a remote second WLAN device to said first WLAN device that is co-located with said piconet device, said co-existence mechanism operating to fragment a single data frame corresponding to said remote second WLAN device into a plurality of fragmented data frames, and to time a transmission of at least one of said plurality of fragmented data frames from said remote second WLAN device to occur during a non-occupied time slot for communications by said piconet device;

wherein frame loss due to interference between said first WLAN device and said piconet device is minimized.

7. The wireless communications device according to claim 6, wherein:

said non-occupied time slot for communications by said piconet device relates to a transmission from said piconet device.

8. The wireless communications device according to claim 6, wherein:

said piconet device is a BLUETOOTH™

device.

9. Apparatus for coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a piconet device, in the midst of a second wireless device that is co-located with said piconet device, comprising:

means for fragmenting a single data frame corresponding to said second wireless device into a plurality of fragmented data frames; and

means for timing a transmission of at least one of said plurality of fragmented data frames by said remote first wireless device to occur during a non-occupied time slot for communications by said piconet device;

wherein frame loss due to interference between said second wireless device and said piconet device is minimized.

10. The apparatus for coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a piconet device, in the midst of a second wireless device that is co-located with said piconet device according to claim 9, further comprising:

performing a management frame exchange between said remote first wireless device and said piconet device.

11. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a piconet device, in the midst of a second wireless device that is co-located with said piconet device according to claim 9, wherein:

said non-occupied time slot for communications by said piconet device relates to a transmission from said piconet device.

12. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a piconet device, in the midst of a second wireless device that is co-located with said piconet device according to claim 9, wherein:

said piconet device is a BLUETOOTH™

device.

13. The method of coordinating wireless communications between a remote first wireless device and a piconet device, in the midst of a second wireless device that is co-located with said piconet device according to claim 9, wherein:

said means for fragmenting performs said fragmenting only when required to avoid interference between said piconet device and said second wireless device.