DETECTING A WLAN SIGNAL USING A BLUETOOTH RECEIVER DURING BLUETOOTH SCAN ACTIVITY

• US 20110274021A1
• Filed: 05/05/2011
• Published: 11/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: He, Jianqiang, Fong, Gene, Bai, Kai
• Granted Patent: US 8,934,387 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3805 with built-in auxiliary receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0238 where the received signal is an unwanted signal, e.g. interference or idle signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/028 switching on or off only a part of the equipment circuit blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• 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: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A BT receiver RF front end receives RF energy in a sequence of BT scan windows. Throughout a scan window, the front end is tuned to one hop frequency. Before and after the window the front end is in a disabled state. A WLAN energy detector processes an output of the front end during the window and determines whether more than a predetermined amount of RF energy was received onto the front end during the window. A BT baseband processor attempts to demodulate the output of the front end. If the WLAN energy detector determines that the predetermined amount of RF energy was received and if a BT signal could not be demodulated, then a WLAN wake-up signal is asserted, thereby causing a WLAN transceiver to be powered up to receive WLAN signals. BT scan intervals are varied in duration to facilitate a BT scan window overlapping a WLAN beacon.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

(a) using a Bluetooth (BT) receiver Radio Frequency (RF) front end in a page scan mode to receive in a sequence of BT scan windows;

(b) receiving Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) energy onto the Bluetooth (BT) receiver RF front end during one of the BT scan windows;

(c) using an energy detector to process an output signal of the BT receiver RF front end when the BT receiver RF front end is receiving the WLAN energy during the one of the BT scan windows; and

(d) based at least in part on a result of the processing of (c) asserting a wake-up signal, wherein the asserting of the wake-up signal is indicative of the BT receiver RF front end having received the WLAN energy during the one of the BT scan windows.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each BT scan window of the sequence of BT scan windows in (a) is a part of a corresponding BT scan interval of a sequence of BT scan intervals, wherein each of the BT scan intervals has a duration, and wherein the durations of the BT scan intervals of the sequence of BT scan intervals are not identical.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each BT scan window of the sequence of BT scan windows in (a) is a part of a corresponding BT scan interval of a sequence of BT scan intervals, wherein each of the BT scan intervals has a duration, and wherein the durations of the BT scan intervals of the sequence of BT scan intervals vary.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein substantially all of the WLAN energy received in (b) is received during the one of the BT scan windows, and wherein the output signal processed in (c) is due to the WLAN energy received in (b) and is not due to other WLAN energy received outside the one of the BT scan windows.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) in response to the asserting of the wake-up signal powering up at least a portion of a WLAN receiver, wherein the WLAN receiver includes a WLAN receiver RF front end and a WLAN baseband processor; and

(f) using the WLAN receiver RF front end and the WLAN baseband processor to receive and to demodulate a WLAN signal.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

(g) disabling the energy detector after said at least a portion of the WLAN receiver has been powered up in (e).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the BT receiver RF front end is in a low power state immediately preceding the BT scan window such that immediately preceding the BT scan window the BT receiver RF front end is incapable of receiving a Bluetooth signal.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) using a BT baseband processor to process the output signal of the Bluetooth receiver RF front end and as a result of the processing outputting a BT detected signal, wherein the BT detected signal is indicative of whether the BT baseband processor has successfully demodulated the output signal; and

(f) using the BT detected signal to prevent the wake-up signal from being asserted if the BT baseband processor has successfully demodulated the output signal.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the BT receiver RF front end has a receive signal bandwidth that is substantially less than twenty megahertz.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) using the BT receiver RF front end to perform a BT page scan during the one of the BT scan windows.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using the BT receiver RF front end during a BT scan window both to detect WLAN energy and to receive a BT page scan signal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the using of the BT receiver RF front end in the page scan mode in (a) involves tuning the BT receiver RF front end to have a receive frequency that changes from BT scan window to BT scan window in accordance with a pseudo-random frequency hopping sequence.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy detector has a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion outputs a value indicative of an amount of RF energy received by the BT receiver RF front end during the one of the BT scan windows, and wherein the second portion compares the value output by the first portion to a threshold value.

14. A method, comprising:

using a Bluetooth (BT) receiver in a page scan mode to scan in a plurality of BT scan windows, wherein each BT scan window is within a corresponding BT scan interval, wherein the BT scan intervals together are a sequence of BT scan intervals, and wherein the BT scan intervals of the sequence of BT scan intervals vary in duration.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the BT receiver comprises a BT receiver RF front end and a BT baseband processor, the method further comprising:

using an energy detector to process an output signal of the BT receiver RF front end, wherein the energy detector detects energy in a bandwidth, and wherein the bandwidth is substantially greater than one megahertz and substantially less than twenty megahertz; and

using the BT baseband processor to process the output signal.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

outputting a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal is indicative of the energy detector detecting an amount of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) energy during one of the BT scan windows.

17. A method comprising:

(a) operating a Bluetooth (BT) receiver Radio Frequency (RF) front end in a BT page scan mode, wherein the BT receiver RF front end has a receive signal bandwidth that is substantially less than twenty megahertz;

(b) using an energy detector to process an output signal of the BT receiver RF front end and as a result of the processing outputting a first signal indicative of whether the BT receiver RF front end has received an amount of RF energy;

(c) using a BT baseband processor in an attempt to demodulate the output of the BT receiver RF front end and as a result of the attempted demodulation outputting a second signal indicative of whether the BT baseband processor could not successfully demodulate a BT signal; and

(d) asserting a wake-up signal if both;

     1) the first signal indicates the amount of RF energy was received, and

     2) the second signal indicates that the BT baseband processor could not successfully demodulate a BT signal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the using of ten energy detector to process the output signal in (b) occurs substantially entirely within a single BT scan window, and wherein the using of the BT baseband processor in the attempt to demodulate the output signal in (c) occurs substantially entirely within the single BT scan window.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein a receive frequency of the BT receiver RF front end is tuned to hop in a pseudo-random frequency hopping sequence from BT scan window to BT scan window in a sequence of BT scan windows when the BT receiver RF front end is operated in the BT page scan mode in (a), and wherein the energy detector is used in (b) during one of the BT scan windows of the sequence of BT scan windows.

20. A circuit, comprising:

a Bluetooth (BT) receiver Radio Frequency (RF) front end that receives an amount of WLAN energy in one BT scan window;

a BT baseband processing circuit that receives an output signal from the BT receiver RF front end; and

an energy detector that processes the output signal when the BT receiver RF front end is receiving the WLAN energy during the one BT scan window and based at least in part on a result of the processing asserts a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal is indicative of the BT receiver RF front end having received the WLAN energy during the one BT scan window.

21. The circuit of claim 20, wherein substantially all of the amount of WLAN energy is received by the BT receiver RF front end during the one BT scan window.

22. The circuit of claim 20, wherein the output signal processed by the energy detector is due to the amount of WLAN energy being received by the BT receiver RF front end and is not due to other WLAN energy received by the BT receiver RF front end outside the one BT scan window.

23. The circuit of claim 20, wherein the BT baseband processing circuit supplies a BT detected signal to the energy detector, and wherein the BT detected signal is indicative of whether the BT baseband processing circuit has successfully demodulated a BT signal.

24. The circuit of claim 20, wherein the BT baseband processing circuit includes a timing mechanism that determines when BT scan intervals end, and wherein the durations of BT scan intervals are not all identical.

25. The circuit of claim 20, wherein the energy detector comprises:

a filter;

an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC); and

a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), wherein a signal path extends from a mixer of the Bluetooth receiver RF front end, through the filter, through the ADC, and to the DSP.

26. A circuit, comprising:

a Bluetooth (BT) receiver Radio Frequency (RF) front end that receives an amount of WLAN energy in a single BT scan window;

means for processing an output signal of the BT receiver RF front end when the BT receiver RF front end is receiving the WLAN energy during the single BT scan window and for asserting a wake-up signal as a result of the processing, wherein the wake-up signal is indicative of the BT receiver RF front end having received the amount of WLAN energy during the single BT scan window; and

a BT baseband processing circuit that receives the output signal, wherein the BT baseband processing circuit attempts to demodulate the output signal when the BT receiver RF front end is receiving amount of WLAN energy in the single BT scan window.

28. The circuit of claim 26, wherein the BT baseband processing circuit supplies a BT detected signal to the means for processing, and wherein the means for processing does not assert the wake-up signal if the BT detected signal is asserted.

29. The circuit of claim 26, wherein the BT receiver RF front end is substantially unpowered immediately preceding the single BT scan window, wherein the BT receiver RF front end has a receive frequency, wherein the receive frequency is substantially fixed throughout the BT scan window, and wherein the BT receiver RF front end is substantially unpowered immediately following the single BT scan window.

30. The circuit of claim 26, wherein the single BT scan window is a BT scan window in a sequence of BT scan windows, wherein each of the BT scan windows is part of a corresponding BT scan interval, wherein the BT scan intervals together are a sequence of BT scan intervals, wherein each BT scan interval has a duration, and wherein the durations of the BT scan intervals of the sequence of BT scan intervals are not all identical.

31. The circuit of claim 26, wherein the means comprises a filter, an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC), and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), wherein a signal path extends from the BT receiver RF front end, through the filter, through the ADC, and to the DSP.

32. A processor-readable medium storing a set of processor-executable instructions, wherein execution of the set of processor-executable instructions is for:

controlling a BT receiver RF front end to receive in a sequence of BT scan windows such that an output signal of the BT receiver RF front end is processed when the BT receiver RF front end is receiving an amount of WLAN energy and such that in response to the processing a wake-up signal is asserted, wherein the wake-up signal is indicative of the BT receiver RF front end having received the amount of WLAN energy during the one of the BT scan windows.

33. The processor-readable medium of claim 32, wherein each BT scan window of the sequence of BT scan windows is within a corresponding BT scan interval, wherein the BT scan intervals together are a sequence of BT scan intervals, and wherein the BT scan intervals of the sequence of BT scan intervals vary in duration.

34. The processor-readable medium of claim 33, wherein execution of the set of instructions by a processor causes times when the BT scan windows occur to be determined.

35. The processor-readable medium of claim 33, wherein execution of the set of processor-executable instructions is also for:

performing some of the processing on the output signal of the BT receiver RF front end, wherein said some processing is digital signal processing.