CONFIGURABLE HOST INTERFACE USING MULTI-RADIO DEVICE AND ARCHITECTURE FOR WLAN OFFLOAD

• US 20140010221A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Panian, James Lionel, Wietfeldt, Richard Dominic, Harris, Steven F., Giaretta, Gerardo, Babbar, Uppinder Singh, Veerepalli, Sivaramakrishna, Payyappilly, Ajith Tom, Meylan, Arnaud, Lioy, Marcello Vincenzo, Davidson, Andrew M., Venkateshwaran, Ramaswamy
• Granted Patent: US 9,420,613 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/12 Setup of transport tunnels
• 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 method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. A multi-radio device controls wireless communications by identifying one or more connection points between radio(s) of the multi-radio device and an operating system executing on a host device, analyzing a policy relating to the multi-radio device, and exposing, to the operating system, a subset of the connection points based on the policy. A modem manages a connection to an applications processor (AP) by virtualizing physical communication interfaces at the modem, providing a single Internet protocol (IP) interface representing the virtualized physical communication interfaces to a high level operating system (HLOS) at the AP, detecting a physical communication interface connected to the modem, and determining whether to expose the detected physical communication interface to the HLOS as a standalone virtualized physical communication interface, or hide the detected physical communication interface as part of an existing virtualized physical communication interface.

Claims

1. A method for controlling wireless communications using a multi-radio device, comprising:

identifying one or more connection points between one or more radios of the multi-radio device and an operating system executing on a host device;

analyzing a policy relating to the multi-radio device; and

exposing, to the operating system, a subset of the connection points based on the policy.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system is identified through a controller of the radios.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing conditions of the host device; and

exposing, to the operating system, an application programming interface (API) relating to a radio of the multi-radio device based on the conditions of the host device.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

enabling a subset of services provided by the exposed API based on the conditions of the host device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

substantiating, with the operating system, a driver interface relating to one or more radios of the multi-radio device based on the policy.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is less than the number of identified connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the multi-radio device comprises a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a device class for the multi-radio device based on the policy; and

presenting the device class to the operating system.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving transmission data from the operating system or an application; and

determining which radio or radios of the multi-radio device to use to transmit the data based on the policy.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining which radio to use further comprises:

determining a quality metric of the radios of the multi-radio device; and

selecting the radio from the multi-radio device based on the quality metric of the radio.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is an empty set.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a plurality of operating systems executing on the host device; and

exposing a subset of the connection points based on the identified operating systems.

13. A mobile device configured to control wireless communications using a multi-radio device, comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to;

identify one or more connection points between one or more radios of the multi-radio device and an operating system executing on a host device;

analyze a policy relating to the multi-radio device; and

expose, to the operating system, a subset of the connection points based on the policy.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify the one or more connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system through a controller of the radios.

15. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further to:

analyze conditions of the host device; and

expose, to the operating system, an application programming interface (API) relating to a radio of the multi-radio device based on the conditions of the host device.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

enable a subset of services provided by the exposed API based on the conditions of the host device.

17. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

substantiate, with the operating system, a driver interface relating to one or more radios of the multi-radio device based on the policy.

18. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is less than the number of identified connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system.

19. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the multi-radio device comprises a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio.

20. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate a device class for the multi-radio device based on the policy; and

present the device class to the operating system.

21. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive transmission data from the operating system or an application; and

determine which radio or radios of the multi-radio device to use to transmit the data based on the policy.

22. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a quality metric of the radios of the multi-radio device; and

select the radio from the multi-radio device based on the quality metric of the radio.

23. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is an empty set.

24. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

identify a plurality of operating systems executing on the host device; and

expose a subset of the connection points based on the identified operating systems.

25. An apparatus configured for controlling wireless communications using a multi-radio device, comprising:

means for identifying one or more connection points between one or more radios of the multi-radio device and an operating system executing on a host device;

means for analyzing a policy relating to the multi-radio device; and

means for exposing, to the operating system, a subset of the connection points based on the policy.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more connection points between one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system is identified through a controller of the radios.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for analyzing conditions of the host device; and

means for exposing, to the operating system, an application programming interface (API) relating to a radio of the multi-radio device based on the conditions of the host device.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

means for enabling a subset of services provided by the exposed API based on the conditions of the host device.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for substantiating, with the operating system, a driver interface relating to one or more radios of the multi-radio device based on the policy.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is less than the number of identified connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system.

31. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the multi-radio device comprises a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio.

32. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for generating a device class for the multi-radio device based on the policy; and

means for presenting the device class to the operating system.

33. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for receiving transmission data from the operating system or an application; and

means for determining which radio or radios of the multi-radio device to use to transmit the data based on the policy.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the means for determining which radio to use further comprises:

means for determining a quality metric of the radios of the multi-radio device; and

means for selecting the radio from the multi-radio device based on the quality metric of the radio.

35. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is an empty set.

36. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the means for determining which radio to use further comprises:

means for identifying a plurality of operating systems executing on the host device; and

means for exposing a subset of the connection points based on the identified operating systems.

37. A computer program product for controlling wireless communications using a multi-radio device, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor to:

identify one or more connection points between one or more radios of the multi-radio device and an operating system executing on a host device;

analyze a policy relating to the multi-radio device; and

expose, to the operating system, a subset of the connection points based on the policy.

38. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the one or more connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system is identified through a controller of the radios.

39. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

analyze conditions of the host device; and

expose, to the operating system, an application programming interface (API) relating to a radio of the multi-radio device based on the conditions of the host device.

40. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

enable a subset of services provided by the exposed API based on the conditions of the host device.

41. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:

substantiate, with the operating system, a driver interface relating to one or more radios of the multi-radio device based on the policy.

42. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the subset of the connection points exposed to the operating system is less than the number of identified connection points between the one or more radios of the multi-radio device and the operating system.

43. The computer program product of claim 37, wherein the multi-radio device comprises a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio and a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio.

44. A method of managing a connection between a modem and an applications processor (AP), comprising:

virtualizing a plurality of physical communication interfaces at the modem;

providing a single Internet protocol (IP) interface representing the virtualized plurality of physical communication interfaces to a high level operating system (HLOS) at the AP;

detecting a physical communication interface connected to the modem; and

determining, based on a condition, whether to expose the detected physical communication interface to the HLOS as a standalone virtualized physical communication interface, or hide the detected physical communication interface from the HLOS as part of an existing virtualized physical communication interface.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the detected physical communication interface is determined to be hidden from the HLOS when the communication interface is a carrier interface, an operator wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, includes a service set identifier (SSID) of a pre-configured list, or supports automatic discovery and selection mechanisms specified by Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Hotspot 2.0.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the detected physical communication interface is determined to be exposed to the HLOS when the communication interface is at least one of:

a non-carrier interface;

an interface unknown to the modem;

a private wireless local area network (WLAN) interface;

a non-operator WLAN interface;

or

a corporate WLAN interface.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the condition is set by operator policy.

48. The method of claim 44, wherein the modem manages communication over the detected communication interface hidden from the HLOS.

49. The method of claim 44, wherein the HLOS manages communication over the detected communication interface exposed to the HLOS.

50. An apparatus for managing a connection between a modem and an applications processor (AP), comprising:

means for virtualizing a plurality of physical communication interfaces at the modem;

means for providing a single Internet protocol (IP) interface representing the virtualized plurality of physical communication interfaces to a high level operating system (HLOS) at the AP;

means for detecting a physical communication interface connected to the modem; and

means for determining, based on a condition, whether to expose the detected physical communication interface to the HLOS as a standalone virtualized physical communication interface, or hide the detected physical communication interface from the HLOS as part of an existing virtualized physical communication interface.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the detected physical communication interface is determined to be hidden from the HLOS when the communication interface is a carrier interface, an operator wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, includes a service set identifier (SSID) of a pre-configured list, or supports automatic discovery and selection mechanisms specified by Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Hotspot 2.0.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the detected physical communication interface is determined to be exposed to the HLOS when the communication interface is at least one of:

a non-carrier interface;

an interface unknown to the modem;

a private wireless local area network (WLAN) interface;

a non-operator WLAN interface;

or

a corporate WLAN interface.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the condition is set by operator policy.

54. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the modem manages communication over the detected communication interface hidden from the HLOS.

55. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the HLOS manages communication over the detected communication interface exposed to the HLOS.

56. An apparatus for managing a connection between a modem and an applications processor (AP), comprising:

a processing system configured to;

virtualize a plurality of physical communication interfaces at the modem;

provide a single Internet protocol (IP) interface representing the virtualized plurality of physical communication interfaces to a high level operating system (HLOS) at the AP;

detect a physical communication interface connected to the modem; and

determine, based on a condition, whether to expose the detected physical communication interface to the HLOS as a standalone virtualized physical communication interface, or hide the detected physical communication interface from the HLOS as part of an existing virtualized physical communication interface.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the detected physical communication interface is determined to be hidden from the HLOS when the communication interface is a carrier interface, an operator wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, includes a service set identifier (SSID) of a pre-configured list, or supports automatic discovery and selection mechanisms specified by Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) Hotspot 2.0.

58. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the detected physical communication interface is determined to be exposed to the HLOS when the communication interface is at least one of:

a non-carrier interface;

an interface unknown to the modem;

a private wireless local area network (WLAN) interface;

a non-operator WLAN interface;

or

a corporate WLAN interface.

59. A computer program product for managing a connection between a modem and an applications processor (AP), comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising code for;

virtualizing a plurality of physical communication interfaces at the modem;

providing a single Internet protocol (IP) interface representing the virtualized plurality of physical communication interfaces to a high level operating system (HLOS) at the AP;

detecting a physical communication interface connected to the modem; and

determining, based on a condition, whether to expose the detected physical communication interface to the HLOS as a standalone virtualized physical communication interface, or hide the detected physical communication interface from the HLOS as part of an existing virtualized physical communication interface.

60. A method of managing a connection to at least one wireless local area network (WLAN) at a user equipment (UE), comprising:

connecting to the at least one WLAN via a high level operating system (HLOS) at an applications processor (AP); and

connecting to the at least one WLAN via a connectivity framework (CF) at a modem according to the HLOS.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the HLOS connects to the at least one WLAN via a first supplicant at the AP, and the CF connects to the at least one WLAN via a second supplicant at the modem.

62. The method of claim 60, wherein the HLOS indicates to the CF to which WLANs the CF can connect.

63. The method of claim 60, wherein the CF is allowed to connect to WLANs based on a policy from the HLOS.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the WLANs the CF is allowed to connect to include at least one of:

WLANs having a service set identifier (SSID) in a preconfigured list;

a carrier WLAN automatically discovered by the CF;

or

WLANs having characteristics described by the policy.

65. The method of claim 60, wherein the CF automatically discovers a carrier WLAN.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein the CF automatically discovers the carrier WLAN via at least one of:

Extensible Authentication Protocol Method for Authentication and Key Agreement (EAP-AKA) support discovered via Hotspot 2.0;

support of specific values in HS2.0 ANQP fields;

or

a service set identifier (SSID) is present in ANDSF policy.

67. The method of claim 60, wherein the UE is connected to a single packet data network, the method further comprising:

the CF connecting with an evolved packet core (EPC)-WLAN; and

the CF routing a PDN connection over the EPC-WLAN,

wherein the CF connecting with the EPC-WLAN and routing the PDN connection is hidden from the HLOS.

68. The method of claim 60, wherein the UE is connected to a plurality of packet data networks (PDNs), the method further comprising:

the CF connecting with an evolved packet core (EPC)-WLAN; and

the CF routing at least one of a plurality of PDN connections over the EPC-WLAN,

wherein the CF connecting with the EPC-WLAN and routing the at least one PDN connection is hidden from the HLOS.

69. The method of claim 60, wherein the UE is connected to an Internet packet data network (PDN), the method further comprising:

the CF connecting with a carrier WLAN (C-WLAN); and

the CF routing the Internet traffic over the C-WLAN,

wherein the CF connecting with the C-WLAN and routing the Internet traffic is hidden from the HLOS.

70. The method of claim 60, wherein the UE is connected to a plurality of packet data networks (PDNs), the method further comprising:

the CF connecting with a carrier WLAN (C-WLAN); and

the CF routing Internet traffic and optionally an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) access point name (APN) over the C-WLAN,

wherein the CF connecting with the C-WLAN and routing the Internet traffic and optionally the IMS APN is hidden from the HLOS.

71. The method of claim 60, wherein the UE is connected to an Internet access point name (APN), the method further comprising:

the HLOS connecting with a private WLAN (P-WLAN); and

the HLOS routing Internet traffic over the P-WLAN,

wherein the CF makes no decision regarding the HLOS connecting with the P-WLAN and routing the Internet traffic.

72. The method of claim 60, wherein the UE is connected to a plurality of packet data networks (PDNs), the method further comprising:

the HLOS connecting with a private WLAN (P-WLAN);

the HLOS routing Internet traffic over the P-WLAN,

wherein the CF makes no decision regarding the HLOS connecting with the P-WLAN and routing the Internet traffic; and

the CF routing an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) access point name (APN) via the P-WLAN using I-WLAN procedures by duplicating an Internet protocol (IP) context for the P-WLAN in the CF.

73. The method of claim 60, wherein unknown to the HLOS, the CF is connected to an evolved packet core (EPC)-WLAN or a carrier WLAN (C-WLAN), the method further comprising:

the HLOS connecting with a private WLAN (P-WLAN);

the HLOS routing Internet traffic over the P-WLAN; and

the CF enforcing the HLOS connecting and routing by disconnecting from the EPC-WLAN or C-WLAN.

74. The method of claim 60, wherein unknown to the HLOS, the CF is connected to a carrier WLAN (C-WLAN), the method further comprising:

the HLOS discovering the C-WLAN;

the HLOS connecting to the C-WLAN and routing Internet traffic over the C-WLAN; and

the CF, previously connected to the C-WLAN, delegating control back to the HLOS.

75. A user equipment (UE) for managing a connection to at least one wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

means for connecting to the at least one WLAN via a high level operating system (HLOS) at an applications processor (AP); and

means for connecting to the at least one WLAN via a connectivity framework (CF) at a modem according to the HLOS.

76. A user equipment (UE) for managing a connection to at least one wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a processing system configured to;

connect to the at least one WLAN via a high level operating system (HLOS) at an applications processor (AP); and

connect to the at least one WLAN via a connectivity framework (CF) at a modem according to the HLOS.

77. A computer program product of a user equipment (UE) for managing a connection to at least one wireless local area network (WLAN), comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising code for;

connecting to the at least one WLAN via a high level operating system (HLOS) at an applications processor (AP); and

connecting to the at least one WLAN via a connectivity framework (CF) at a modem according to the HLOS.