SELECTIVE PROTECTION BASED ON SEQUENCE NUMBERS IN COEXISTING NETWORKS

• US 20120184330A1
• Filed: 01/17/2012
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: SUN, Yanjun, XHAFA, Ariton E., VEDANTHAM, Ramanuja, PEERY, Josef, SELLA, Assaf, LU, Xiaolin
• Granted Patent: US 8,761,147 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/553.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1809 Selective-repeat protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/34 ensuring sequence integrity, e.g. using sequence numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A wireless device comprises a first wireless transceiver, a second wireless transceiver, and control logic. The control logic is coupled to the first wireless transceiver and the second wireless transceiver. The control logic is configured to determine whether to transmit protection frames (e.g., clear-to-send 2 self frames) based upon sequence numbers in frames received from another device.

Claims

1. A wireless device, comprising:

a first wireless transceiver;

a second wireless transceiver;

control logic coupled to said first and second wireless transceivers, wherein said control logic determines whether to transmit protection frames based upon sequence numbers in frames received from another device.

2. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein the protection frames are clear-to-send 2 self (C2S) frames.

3. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein said control logic determines to begin transmitting protection frames based upon determining that more than a threshold period of time has elapsed without detecting any missing sequence numbers in wireless frames received or upon determining that more than a threshold number of wireless frames have been received without a missing sequence number.

4. The wireless device of claim 3 wherein said control logic clears an enable flag upon determining that more than a threshold period of time has elapsed without detecting any missing sequence numbers in wireless frames or upon determining that more than a threshold number of wireless frames have been received without a missing sequence number.

5. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein, after disabling protection frame transmission, said control logic enables protection frame transmission upon detecting a predefined number of missing sequence numbers in a wireless frame.

6. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein said predefined number is 1.

7. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein said control logic sets an enable flag upon detecting a missing sequence number in a wireless frame.

8. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein, upon receiving a frame with a sequence number at a predefined sequence number threshold, said control logic automatically enables protection frame transmission.

9. The wireless device of claim 8 wherein the predefined sequence number threshold is the maximum permitted sequence number after which the sequence number resets to 0.

10. The wireless device of claim 8 wherein the control logic ceases automatically enabling protection frame transmission upon determining a maximum permitted sequence number value.

11. The wireless device of claim 1 wherein the first wireless transceiver is a BLUETOOTH transceiver and the second wireless transceiver is a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver.

12. A wireless device, comprising:

a first wireless transceiver;

a second wireless transceiver;

control logic coupled to said first and second wireless transceivers, wherein said control logic disables transmission of clear-to-send 2 self (C2S) frames upon determining that more than a threshold period of time has elapsed without detecting any missing sequence numbers in wireless frames or upon determining that more than a threshold number of wireless frames have been received without a missing sequence number.

13. The wireless device of claim 12 wherein said control logic also clears a C2S enable flag upon determining that more than a threshold period of time has elapsed without detecting any missing sequence numbers in wireless frames or upon determining that more than a threshold number of wireless frames have been received without a missing sequence number

14. The wireless device of claim 12 wherein, after disabling C2S frame transmission, said control logic enables C2S frame transmission upon detecting a missing sequence number in a wireless frame.

15. The wireless device of claim 14 wherein said control logic also sets a C2S enable flag upon detecting a missing sequence number in a wireless frame.

16. The wireless device of claim 12 wherein, upon receiving a frame with a sequence number at a predefined sequence number threshold, said control logic automatically enables C2S frame transmission.

17. The wireless device of claim 16 wherein the predefined sequence number threshold is the maximum permitted sequence number after which the sequence number resets to 0.

18. The wireless device of claim 16 wherein the control logic ceases automatically enabling C2S frame transmission upon determining a maximum permitted sequence number value.

19. A method, comprising:

receiving a wireless frame, said frame containing a sequence number; and

based on said sequence number, determining whether to enable or disable transmission of protection frames.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising enabling transmission of protection frames based on a determination that a sequence number has been missed.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising setting an enable flag based on the determination that a sequence number has been missed.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising disabling protection frame transmission based on an enable flag being set and no sequence numbers have been missed for more than a threshold period of time or for more than threshold number of frames.