LTE/1X DUAL-STANDBY WITH SINGLE-CHIP RADIO

• US 20120264473A1
• Filed: 08/01/2011
• Published: 10/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mujtaba, Syed A., Zhao, Wen, Mahe, Isabel G., Wang, Xiaowen, Majjigi, Vinay
• Granted Patent: US 8,811,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/515
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/26 for superheterodyne receivers multiple frequency-changing H03D7/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0602 using antenna switching H04B7/0686 takes precedence; antenna beam directivity switching H01Q3/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0802 using antenna selection H04B7/0868 takes precedence; antenna beam directivity switching H01Q3/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• 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

Electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communication circuitry. The wireless communication circuitry may include radio-frequency transceiver circuitry coupled to antennas by switching circuitry. Multiple radio access technologies may be supported. A device may include first and second antennas. Control circuitry can configure the transceiver circuitry and switching circuitry to support operation of the device in active and idle modes for each radio access technology. In some configurations, both antennas may be used to support operations associated with one of the radio access technologies. In other configurations, the first antenna may be used to support operations with a first of the radio access technologies while the second antenna is used to support operations with a second of the radio access technologies.

Claims

1. A method for communicating with a wireless network using an electronic device that supports communication using a first radio access technology and a second radio access technology, comprising:

during at least one page monitoring period, using a first of two antennas in the electronic device to monitor a paging channel associated with the first radio access technology while simultaneously using a second of the two antennas to convey wireless data traffic associated with the second radio access technology; and

in response to completion of the page monitoring period without detection of an incoming page on the paging channel by the electronic device, using both the first and second antennas to convey wireless data traffic associated with the second radio access technology.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the first radio access technology comprises a Code Division Multiple Access radio access technology and wherein the second radio access technology comprise a Long Term Evolution radio access technology.

3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the first and second antennas are located at opposing ends of the electronic device and wherein using both the first and second antennas to convey wireless data traffic associated with the second radio access technology comprises using the first and second antennas that are located at opposing ends of the electronic device to receive Long Term Evolution data traffic.

4. The method defined in claim 2 further comprising:

monitoring wireless signal quality with the electronic device; and

determining whether to use the first antenna alone in monitoring the paging channel or whether to use both the first and second antennas in monitoring the paging channel based at least partly on the monitored wireless signal quality.

5. The method defined in claim 4 wherein monitoring the wireless signal quality comprises obtaining a received signal strength indicator that is indicative of channel quality for the paging channel.

6. The method defined in claim 5 further comprising:

comparing the received signal strength indicator to a predetermined threshold;

in response to determining that the received signal strength indicator exceeds the predetermined threshold, using the first antenna alone to monitor the paging channel during the at least one page monitoring period; and

in response to determining that the received signal strength information does not exceed the predetermined threshold, using both the first and second antennas to monitor the paging channel.

7. The method defined in claim 6 wherein using both the first and second antennas to monitor the paging channel comprises temporarily interrupting reception of Long Term Evolution data with the first and second antennas and, while reception of the Long Term Evolution data with the first and second antennas is temporarily interrupted, using both the first and second antennas to monitor the paging channel for Code Division Multiple Access paging signals.

8. A method for communicating with a wireless network using an electronic device that supports wireless communication using a first radio access technology and a second radio access technology, comprising:

during operation of the electronic device, simultaneously using first and second antennas in the electronic device to monitor a paging channel associated with the first radio access technology; and

during at least a portion of the operation of the electronic device, at least partially interrupting the monitoring of the paging channel associated with the first radio access technology to monitor a paging channel associated with the second radio access technology using the first antenna and not the second antenna.

9. The method defined in claim 8 further comprising:

during at least another portion of the operation of the electronic device, interrupting the monitoring of the paging channel associated with the first radio access technology to monitor the paging channel associated with the second radio access technology using both the first and second antennas.

10. The method defined in claim 9 wherein the first radio access technology comprises a Long Term Evolution radio access technology and wherein the second radio access technology comprise a Code Division Multiple Access radio access technology.

11. The method defined in claim 10 further comprising:

measuring wireless channel quality using the electronic device;

comparing the measured wireless channel quality to a predetermined value, wherein at least partially interrupting the monitoring of the paging channel associated with the first radio access technology to monitor the paging channel associated with the second radio access technology using the first antenna and not the second antenna comprises at least partially interrupting the monitoring of the paging channel associated with the first radio access technology in response to determining that the wireless channel quality exceeds the predetermined value; and

in response to determining that the wireless channel quality does not exceed the predetermined value, using both the first and second antennas to monitor the paging channel associated with the second radio access technology.

12. The method defined in claim 11 wherein measuring the wireless channel quality comprises gathering received signal strength indicator information associated with a wireless channel in the wireless network.

13. The method defined in claim 8 wherein the electronic device comprises radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and control circuitry that controls the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry and wherein the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry includes first and second receivers with respective first and second local oscillators, the method further comprising:

adjusting the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry so that the first and second local oscillators produce outputs at a common frequency when simultaneously using first and second antennas in the electronic device to monitoring the paging channel associated with the first radio access technology; and

adjusting the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry so that the first and second local oscillators produce outputs at different frequencies when monitoring the paging channel associated with the second radio access technology using the first antenna and not the second antenna.

14. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising:

while the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry is adjusted so that the first and second local oscillators produce outputs at different frequencies, using the first receiver to monitor paging signals associated with the first radio access technology while simultaneously using the second receiver to monitor paging signals associated with the second radio access technology.

15. A method of supporting use of first and second radio access technologies in a wireless electronic device having first and second antennas and having radio-frequency transceiver circuitry that transmits and receives wireless signals using the first and second antennas, comprising:

in a first mode of operation, using the first antenna to monitor a paging channel associated with the first radio access technology while simultaneously using the second antenna to monitor a paging channel associated with the second radio access technology; and

in a second mode of operation, actively transmitting and receiving data traffic through the first antenna using the first radio access technology while simultaneously using the second antenna to monitor the paging channel associated with the second radio access technology.

16. The method defined in claim 15 wherein the first radio access technology comprises a Long Term Evolution radio access technology and wherein the second radio access technology comprise a Code Division Multiple Access radio access technology.

17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the wireless electronic device has a housing, wherein the first and second antennas are located at opposing ends of the housing, wherein the electronic device has switching circuitry coupled between the first and second antennas and the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry, and wherein the radio-frequency transceiver circuitry further comprises first and second receivers, the method further comprising:

operating the wireless electronic device in a first configuration in which the switching circuitry routes signals from the first antenna to the first receiver and routes signals from the second antenna to the second receiver; and

operating the wireless electronic device in a second configuration in which the switching circuitry routes signals form the first antenna to the second receiver and routes signals from the second antenna to the first receiver.

18. The method defined in claim 16 further comprising:

in a third mode of operation, actively transmitting and receiving data traffic through the second antenna using the second radio access technology while simultaneously using the first antenna to monitor the paging channel associated with the first radio access technology.

19. The method defined in claim 18 further comprising:

in a fourth mode of operation, simultaneously using the first and second antennas for receiving data traffic associated with the first radio access technology.

20. The method defined in claim 19 further comprising:

in preparation for temporarily switching from using both the first and second antennas for receiving data traffic associated with the first radio access technology during the fourth mode of operation to using the first antenna for receiving data traffic associated with the first radio access technology while using the second antenna to monitor a paging channel associated with the first radio access technology, transmitting a channel quality indicator to a wireless network from the wireless electronic device to direct the wireless network to reduce transmission of data to the wireless electronic device that is associated with the first radio access technology.