METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMIC WIRELESS DEVICE COEXISTENCE

• US 20110090982A1
• Filed: 06/23/2010
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Berkowitz, Frederick, Chen, Camille, Lashkari, Hassan, Tambe, Sonal
• Granted Patent: US 8,693,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/285
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/406 with more than one transmission mode, e.g. analog and digital modes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/525 with means for reducing leakage of transmitter signal into the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/00 Suppression or limitation of noise or interference by means associated with receiver H04B1/10

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for dynamically compensating for the effects of interference between multiple wireless communications apparatus. In one embodiment, the method comprises providing a first wireless communication apparatus operating in a first band and a second wireless communication apparatus operating in the same first band (or proximate to the first band and with a comparatively high transmitter power), where the second wireless communication apparatus operates according to a different communication protocol than the first wireless communication apparatus and further change in physical configuration with respect to one another. Based on the physical configuration, interference is compensated for between the first wireless communication apparatus and the second wireless communication apparatus “on the fly” by selecting and operating according to one of a plurality of operational protocols.

Claims

1. A method of mitigating the interference between multiple wireless communication apparatus disposed substantially within a device, the method comprising:

determining a physical configuration of two or more components of the device; and

operating the device according to a co-existence scheme based at least in part on the determined physical configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising determining if multiple air interfaces are operating simultaneously.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the multiple air interfaces include at least a Bluetooth interface, and a Wireless LAN interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical configuration comprises one of (i) an open-lid mode, and (ii) a clamshell mode.

5. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising storing a parameter value representing the determined physical configuration to an application programming interface (API) registry.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical configuration is a granular scale.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the granular scale comprises a range of degrees.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the granular scale comprises a range of percentages.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining the physical configuration comprises sensing the physical configuration of the device via one or more sensing apparatus.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining the physical configuration comprises monitoring the status of an extant state indicator.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining the physical configuration comprises sensing one or more radio interference parameters.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more radio interference parameters is selected from the group consisting of:

(i) transmitter power, (ii) receiver sensitivity, (iii) dynamic range, (iv) duty cycle, (v) the use of adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), and (vi) RSSI.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said co-existence scheme is turned on or off, based at least in part on the determined physical configuration.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said co-existence scheme comprises adjusting one or more priorities corresponding to a plurality of air interfaces.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said co-existence scheme comprises adjusting one or more duty cycles corresponding to a plurality of air interfaces.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said co-existence scheme comprises adjusting one or more data rates corresponding to one or more air interfaces.

17. An apparatus capable of wireless operation in a plurality of physical configurations, wherein the apparatus comprises:

one or more wireless interfaces;

a digital processor; and

a storage apparatus having a storage medium with at least one computer program stored thereon, the at least one computer program comprising a plurality of computer executable instructions that when executed by the digital processor;

determine a current configuration from the plurality of physical configurations of the apparatus; and

configure the one or more wireless interfaces based at least in part on the determined current configuration.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the one or more wireless interfaces comprises at least a first and a second wireless interface, the first and second wireless interfaces capable of simultaneous operation.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first interface comprises a Bluetooth interface, and the second interface comprises a Wireless LAN interface.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

at least a first housing portion and a second housing portion, the first and second portions joined with a hinge element.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the hinge element comprises at least an open-lid mode, and a clamshell mode.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the hinge element has a granular scale spanning a range of degrees.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

at least a first housing portion and a second housing portion, the first and second portions joined via a sliding arrangement.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sliding arrangement comprises at least an open mode, and a closed mode.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the sliding arrangement comprises a granular scale spanning a range of percentages.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus further comprises a sensor, the sensor configured to detect the position of at least one of the at least one or more wireless interfaces relative to some reference.

27. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a sensing apparatus configured to detect one or more radio interference parameters.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the one or more radio interference parameters is selected from the group consisting of:

(i) transmitter power, (ii) receiver sensitivity, and (iii) dynamic range.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the one or more radio interference parameters is selected from the group consisting of:

(i) duty cycle, (ii) the use of adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), and (iii) RSSI.

30. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein at least one of the one or more wireless interfaces turns on or off a co-existence scheme, based at least in part on the determined current configuration.

31. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein at least one of the one or more wireless interfaces prioritizes one or more operations, based at least in part on the determined current configuration.

32. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein at least one of the one or more wireless interfaces adjusts one or more duty cycles, based at least in part on the determined current configuration.

33. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein at least one of the one or more wireless interfaces adjusts one or more data rates, based at least in part on the determined current configuration.

34. An apparatus capable of wireless operation in a plurality of component configurations, the apparatus comprising:

one or more card interfaces that are adapted to couple to one or more removable cards, wherein said one or more cards affect wireless operation;

a digital processor; and

a storage apparatus having a storage medium with at least one computer program stored thereon, the at least one computer program which, when executed by the digital processor;

determines a current configuration from the plurality of component configurations; and

adjusts operation based at least in part on the determined current configuration.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein at least one of the one or more cards comprises a Wireless LAN interface.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the apparatus further comprises a sensor configured to detect the insertion of a first of said cards.

37. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising a sensing apparatus configured to detect one or more radio interference parameters.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the one or more radio interference parameters is selected from the group consisting of:

(i) transmitter power, (ii) receiver sensitivity, and (iii) dynamic range.

39. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the one or more radio interference parameters is selected from the group consisting of:

(i) duty cycle, (ii) the use of adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), and (iii) RSSI.

40. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein wireless operation enables or disables a co-existence scheme, based at least in part on the determined component configuration.

41. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein wireless operation prioritizes one or more operations, based at least in part on the determined current configuration.