DECENTRALIZED COEXISTENCE MANAGER FOR CONTROLLING OPERATION OF MULTIPLE RADIOS

• US 20100331029A1
• Filed: 11/25/2009
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Kadous, Tamer A., Linsky, Joel B., Mantravadi, Ashok
• Granted Patent: US 9,161,232 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different 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

Systems and methodologies are described herein that facilitate a decentralized structure for managing multi-radio coexistence for a mobile device and/or other suitable device(s). As described herein, a coexistence manager (CxM) and/or other suitable means can be implemented in connection with a set of radios (or other transceivers) in order to manage conflicts between events corresponding to the radios. Functionality can be divided such that the CxM operates on the control plane and handles configuration and long-term operations such as registration, sleep mode management, interaction with upper layers, etc., while the respective radios operate on the data plane and handle short-term radio event management operations based on incoming notifications or event requests. For instance, radios can identify conflicts between requested external events and internally associated events and accordingly provide responses that allow or disallow the external events on an absolute basis or a conditional basis (e.g., based on proposed event modifications).

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying one or more associated transceivers;

determining respective properties of the associated transceivers; and

generating one or more configuration parameters to be utilized by respective associated transceivers in connection with management of events associated with the respective associated transceivers based on notifications provided between associated transceivers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining comprises identifying a transceiver entering an enabled state from a disabled state; and

the method further comprises registering the transceiver entering an enabled state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining comprises determining respective operating states of the one or more associated transceivers; and

the method further comprises configuring an associated sleep mode based at least in part on the respective operating states of the one or more associated transceivers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating comprises maintaining a set of potential collision events between respective associated transceivers and a set of resolutions corresponding to respective potential collision events.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising conveying information relating to a database of potential collision events and corresponding resolutions generated for a designated associated transceiver to the designated associated transceiver.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating comprises generating parameters relating to absolute priorities of events executable by the one or more associated transceivers, and wherein the absolute priorities are generated in a consistent manner across substantially all associated transceivers.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating comprises:

receiving event conflict information from the one or more associated transceivers; and

generating one or more configuration parameters based at least in part on the event conflict information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the generating further comprises:

identifying a conflict between a set of events corresponding to the one or more associated transceivers based on the event conflict information; and

instructing modification of at least one of a frequency channel or a radio technology utilized for at least one event associated with the conflict.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating comprises:

receiving configuration information from one or more upper layer entities; and

generating one or more configuration parameters based at least in part on the configuration information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more associated transceivers comprise at least one radio.

11. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data relating to one or more associated radios; and

a processor configured to determine respective properties of the associated radios, to generate one or more configuration parameters based at least in part on the respective properties of the associated radios, and to provide the configuration parameters to the associated radios in connection with management of events corresponding to the associated radios based on notifications provided between the associated radios.

12. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a radio entering an enabled state from a disabled state and to register the radio entering an enabled state.

13. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to determine operating states of the one or more associated radios and to configure a sleep mode of the wireless communications apparatus based at least in part on the operating states of the one or more associated radios.

14. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to maintain a set of potential collision events between respective associated radios and a set of resolutions corresponding to respective potential collision events.

15. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to convey information relating to a database of potential collision events and corresponding resolutions generated for a designated associated radio to the designated associated radio.

16. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 15, wherein the database of potential collision events comprises information relating to absolute priorities of radio events associated with the potential collision events and the processor is further configured to generate absolute priorities for the radio events in a consistent manner across substantially all associated radios.

17. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to receive event conflict information from the one or more associated radios and to generate one or more configuration parameters based at least in part on the event conflict information.

18. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a conflict between a set of events corresponding to the one or more associated radios based on the event conflict information and to instruct modification of at least one of a frequency channel or a radio technology utilized for at least one event associated with the conflict.

19. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to one or more upper layer entities; and

the processor is further configured to receive configuration information from the one or more upper layer entities and to generate one or more configuration parameters based at least in part on the configuration information.

20. An apparatus, comprising:

means for obtaining information relating to properties of one or more associated transceivers; and

means for generating configuration parameters to be utilized by the one or more associated transceivers for event management based at least in part on the properties of the one or more associated transceivers.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein:

the means for obtaining information comprises means for identifying an associated transceiver entering an enabled state from a disabled state; and

the apparatus further comprises means for registering the associated transceiver entering an enabled state.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein:

the means for obtaining information comprises means for determining operating states of the one or more associated transceivers; and

the apparatus further comprises means for configuring a sleep mode of the apparatus based at least in part on the operating states of the one or more associated transceivers.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for generating comprises means for maintaining a database of potential collision events between respective associated transceivers and respective resolutions corresponding to the potential collision events.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising means for providing a portion of the database that relates to a given associated transceiver to the given associated transceiver.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein:

the database comprises information relating to absolute priorities of events associated with the potential collision events; and

the means for generating further comprises means for applying absolute priorities to respective events in a consistent manner across substantially all associated transceivers.

26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for generating comprises:

means for receiving configuration information from one or more upper layer entities; and

means for generating configuration parameters to be utilized by the one or more associated transceivers based at least in part on configuration information received from the one or more upper layer entities.

27. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more associated transceivers comprise at least one radio.

28. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising;

code for causing a computer to obtain information relating to properties of one or more associated radios; and

code for causing a computer to generate configuration parameters to be utilized by the one or more associated radios for multi-radio event management based at least in part on the properties of the one or more associated radios.

29. A method, comprising:

identifying a set of internal events and one or more configuration parameters;

receiving notifications of respective external events from one or more associated transceivers;

determining whether the respective external events conflict with one or more identified internal events based at least in part on the one or more configuration parameters; and

transmitting respective responses to the one or more associated transceivers according to a result of the determining.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein:

the identifying comprises identifying a collision database that relates respective identified internal events to respective external events that potentially conflict with the identified internal events; and

the determining comprises determining whether an external event conflicts with one or more identified internal events at least in part by identifying whether the external event is listed in the collision database as potentially conflicting with one or more internal events.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the collision database comprises information relating to resolutions for respective conflicts between internal events and external events.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the determining comprises attempting to identify a resolution from the collision database for which a combination of the external event and an identified internal event can be conducted concurrently upon determining that a conflict exists between the external event and the identified internal event.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising modifying one or more parameters relating to the identified internal event according to an identified resolution upon determining that the identified resolution is an independent resolution.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting a conditional acknowledgement to an associated transceiver from which a notification of the external event was received, thereby enabling modification of one or more parameters relating to the external event at the transceiver from which the notification of the external event was received, upon identifying a dependent resolution in the collision database for the external event and the identified internal event.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the identifying comprises obtaining the collision database from a coexistence manager (CxM).

36. The method of claim 29, wherein:

the identifying comprises identifying a scheduled internal event and a priority level for the internal event; and

the determining comprises identifying a priority level of an external event and comparing the priority level of the scheduled internal event to the priority level of the external event upon determining that the external event is a potential conflict with the identified internal event.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting at least one of a conditional acknowledgment comprising a proposed event modification or an absolute acknowledgment to a transceiver from which a notification of the external event was received upon determining that the priority level of the external event exceeds the priority level of the scheduled internal event.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting at least one of a conditional negative acknowledgment comprising a proposed event modification or an absolute negative acknowledgment to a transceiver from which a notification of the external event was received upon determining that the priority level of the external event does not exceed the priority level of the scheduled internal event.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the transmitting further comprises transmitting a conditional negative acknowledgement comprising a proposed event modification to the transceiver from which the notification of the external event was received such that the transceiver from which the notification of the external event was received is required to either accept the proposed event modification or to consider the external event negatively acknowledged.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein the identifying further comprises obtaining at least one of the priority level of the scheduled internal event or the priority level of the external event from a CxM.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein priority levels obtained from the CxM are absolute priority levels applied in a consistent manner across substantially all transceivers.

42. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

recording information relating to conflicts between respective internal events and respective external events corresponding to one or more associated transceivers; and

relaying the information to a CxM.

43. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

receiving a notification of a modified external event from an associated transceiver to which one or more resolution parameters have been applied;

determining whether the modified external event conflicts with one or more identified internal events; and

requesting iterative resolution of the modified external event upon identifying a potential conflict between the modified external event and at least one identified internal event.

44. The method of claim 29, wherein the one or more associated transceivers from which notifications are received comprise at least one radio.

45. A wireless communications apparatus, comprising:

a memory that stores data relating to one or more associated radios, a set of internal events, and one or more configuration parameters; and

a processor configured to receive notifications of respective external events from respective associated radios, to conduct a determination relating to whether the respective external events conflict with one or more identified internal events based at least in part on the one or more configuration parameters, and to transmit respective responses to the respective associated radios according to the determination.

46. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to a collision database that relates respective identified internal events to respective external events that potentially conflict with the identified internal events; and

the processor is further configured to determine whether an external event conflicts with one or more identified internal events at least in part by identifying whether the external event is listed in the collision database as potentially conflicting with one or more internal events.

47. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 46, wherein the collision database comprises information relating to resolutions for respective conflicts between internal events and external events.

48. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 47, wherein the processor is further configured to attempt identification of a resolution from the collision database for which a combination of the external event and an identified internal event can be conducted concurrently upon determining that a conflict exists between the external event and the identified internal event.

49. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 48, wherein the processor is further configured to modify one or more parameters relating to the identified internal event according to an identified resolution upon determining that the identified resolution is an independent resolution.

50. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 48, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a conditional acknowledgement to an associated radio from which a notification of the external event was received, thereby enabling modification of one or more parameters relating to the external event at the radio from which the notification of the external event was received, upon identifying a dependent resolution in the collision database for the external event and the identified internal event.

51. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 46, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain at least a portion of the collision database from a coexistence manager (CxM).

52. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein:

the memory further stores data relating to a scheduled internal event and a priority level for the internal event; and

the processor is further configured to identify a priority level of an external event and to compare the priority level of the scheduled internal event to the priority level of the external event upon determining that the external event is a potential conflict with the identified internal event.

53. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit at least one of a conditional acknowledgment comprising a proposed event modification or an absolute acknowledgment to a radio from which a notification of the external event was received upon determining that the priority level of the external event exceeds the priority level of the scheduled internal event.

54. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit at least one of a conditional negative acknowledgment comprising a proposed event modification or an absolute negative acknowledgment to a radio from which a notification of the external event was received upon determining that the priority level of the external event does not exceed the priority level of the scheduled internal event.

55. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 54, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a conditional negative acknowledgement comprising a proposed event modification to the radio from which the notification of the external event was received such that the radio from which the notification of the external event was received is required to either accept the proposed event modification or to consider the external event negatively acknowledged.

56. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 52, wherein the processor is further configured to obtain at least one of the priority level of the scheduled internal event or the priority level of the external event from a CxM.

57. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 56, wherein priority levels obtained from the CxM are absolute priority levels applied in a consistent manner across substantially all radios.

58. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 45, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a notification of a modified external event from an associated radio to which one or more resolution parameters have been applied, to determine whether the modified external event conflicts with one or more identified internal events, and to request iterative resolution of the modified external event upon identifying a potential conflict between the modified external event and at least one identified internal event.

59. An apparatus, comprising:

means for identifying respective internal events and a requested external event;

means for conducting a determination relating to whether the requested external event conflicts with at least one identified internal event; and

means for providing a response that selectively allows or disallows the requested external event based at least in part on the determination.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the means for conducting a determination comprises:

means for identifying a collision database that relates respective identified internal events to respective external events that potentially conflict with the identified internal events; and

means for determining whether the requested external event conflicts with at least one identified internal event at least in part by identifying whether the requested external event is listed in the collision database as potentially conflicting with at least one identified internal event.

61. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein:

the collision database comprises information relating to resolutions for which potentially conflicting internal events and external events can be conducted concurrently; and

the means for conducting a determination further comprises means for attempting identification of a resolution for the requested external event and an identified internal event deemed to be potentially conflicting with the requested external event.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, further comprising means for modifying one or more parameters relating to an identified internal event based on an identified resolution for the requested external event and the identified internal event upon determining that the identified resolution is an independent resolution.

63. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein the means for providing comprises means for providing a response to a radio associated with the requested external event, thereby enabling modification of one or more parameters relating to the requested external event at the radio associated with the requested external event, upon identifying a dependent resolution in the collision database for the requested external event and the identified internal event.

64. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein the means for identifying a collision database comprises means for obtaining the collision database from a coexistence manager (CxM).

65. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein:

the means for identifying comprises means for identifying a scheduled internal event and a priority level for the scheduled internal event; and

the means for conducting a determination comprises means for identifying a priority level of the requested external event and means for comparing the priority level of the scheduled internal event to the priority level of the requested external event upon determining that the external event potentially conflicts with the identified internal event.

66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the means for providing comprises means for providing at least one of a conditional acknowledgment comprising a proposed event modification or an absolute acknowledgment to a radio associated with the requested external event upon determining that the priority level of the requested external event exceeds the priority level of the scheduled internal event.

67. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the means for providing comprises means for providing at least one of a conditional negative acknowledgment comprising a proposed event modification or an absolute negative acknowledgment to a radio associated with the requested external event upon determining that the priority level of the requested external event does not exceed the priority level of the scheduled internal event.

68. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein the means for providing further comprises means for providing a conditional negative acknowledgement comprising a proposed event modification to the radio associated with the requested external event such that the radio associated with the requested external event is required to either accept the proposed event modification or to consider the external event negatively acknowledged.

69. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein the means for identifying further comprises means for obtaining at least one of the priority level of the scheduled internal event or the priority level of the external event from a CxM.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein priority levels obtained from the CxM are absolute priority levels applied in a consistent manner across substantially all radios.

71. The apparatus of claim 59, further comprising:

means for receiving a request for a modified external event to which one or more resolution parameters have been applied;

means for determining whether the modified external event conflicts with one or more identified internal events; and

means for requesting iterative resolution of the modified external event upon identifying a potential conflict between the modified external event and at least one identified internal event.

72. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium, comprising;

code for causing a computer to identify respective internal events and a requested external event;

code for conduct a determination relating to whether the requested external event conflicts with at least one identified internal event; and

code for causing a computer to provide a response that selectively allows or disallows the requested external event based at least in part on the determination.

73. A system, comprising:

a set of transceivers; and

a coexistence manager (CxM) control module that performs an analysis for the set of transceivers and generates a set of coexistence configuration parameters according to the analysis;

wherein the set of transceivers identifies event request messages for respective external events, conducts determinations relating to whether the respective external events can be executed concurrently with respective associated internal events based at least in part on the set of coexistence configuration parameters, and provides responses that selectively allow or disallow the respective external events according to the determinations.

74. The system of claim 73, wherein the set of transceivers comprises at least one radio.