TECHNIQUES FOR SELECTING CONDUCTED RF LINKS FOR MITIGATING MULTI-RADIO COEXISTENCE

• US 20160353380A1
• Filed: 09/30/2015
• Published: 12/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Kota, Sathish Shanbhag, Chong, Chia Yiaw, Liu, Hsin-Yuo, Narang, Mohit, Agboh, Peter M.
• Granted Patent: US 11,496,983 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/02 Reducing interference from electric apparatus by means located at or near the interfering apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0238 where the received signal is an unwanted signal, e.g. interference or idle signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A technique for reducing interference on conducted RF links involves a determination of active wireless channels in an electronic device. For example, the device can determine whether there are any active cellular, WiFi, and/or Bluetooth channels. If so, any active channels can be removed from a list of possible channels that can be used for generating the RF signals for the conducted RF link. If any idle channels remain available, one or more may be selected for use for the conducted RF link. Those idle channels having a higher offset from any active channels may be given a greater weight in the selection since they should be less likely to be subject to interference. If not, one of the least crowded active channels may be selected for use for the conducted RF link.

Claims

1. A method for reducing interference in a conducted radio frequency (RF) link, the method comprising:

determining whether an electronic device having a conducted RF link has an inactive RF channel; and

if an inactive RF channel exists, using the inactive RF channel for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link.

2. The method, as set forth in claim 1, wherein determining whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel comprises:

determining if any RF channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing any active RF channels on a channel avoidance list.

3. The method, as set forth in claim 2, wherein determining whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel comprises:

updating an idle channel list using the channel avoidance list.

4. The method, as set forth in claim 3, wherein using the inactive RF channel for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link comprises:

selecting the inactive RF channel from the idle channel list.

5. The method, as set forth in claim 4, wherein selecting the inactive RF channel from the idle channel list comprises:

selecting from among a plurality of inactive RF channels from the idle channel list.

6. The method, as set forth in claim 5, wherein selecting from among a plurality of inactive RF channels from the idle channel list comprises:

giving a greater weight to inactive RF channels that have a higher offset from any active RF channels; and

selecting the inactive RF channel that has the greatest weight.

7. The method, as set forth in claim 2, wherein determining whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel comprises:

determining if any cellular channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing the active cellular channels on the channel avoidance list.

8. The method, as set forth in claim 2, wherein determining whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel comprises:

determining if any wifi channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing the active wifi channels on the channel avoidance list.

9. The method, as set forth in claim 2, wherein determining whether the electronic has an inactive RF channel comprises:

determining if any Bluetooth channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing the active Bluetooth channels on the channel avoidance list.

10. The method, as set forth in claim 1, comprising:

if an inactive RF channel does not exist, selecting one of the least used active channels for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link.

11. An electronic device comprising:

a wireless communications device having at least one antenna configured for wireless communications and having at least one conducted RF link;

data processing circuitry operably coupled to the wireless communications device, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to;

determine whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel; and

if an inactive RF channel exists, cause the wireless communications device to use the inactive RF channel for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link.

12. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 11, wherein the data processing circuitry determines whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel by determining if any RF channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing any active RF channels on a channel avoidance list.

13. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 12, wherein the data processing circuitry determines whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel by updating an idle channel list using the channel avoidance list.

14. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 13, wherein the data processing circuitry causes the wireless communications device to use the inactive RF channel for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link by selecting the inactive RF channel from the idle channel list.

15. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 14, wherein the data processing circuitry selects the inactive RF channel from the idle channel list by selecting from among a plurality of inactive RF channels from the idle channel list.

16. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 15, wherein the data processing circuitry selects from among a plurality of inactive RF channels from the idle channel list by giving a greater weight to inactive RF channels that have a higher offset from any active RF channels and selecting the inactive RF channel that has the greatest weight.

17. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 12, wherein the data processing circuitry determines whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel by determining if any cellular channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing the active cellular channels on the channel avoidance list.

18. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 12, wherein the data processing circuitry determines whether the electronic device has an inactive wifi channel by determining if any wifi channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing the active wifi channels on the channel avoidance list.

19. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 12, wherein the data processing circuitry determines whether the electronic device has an inactive RF channel by determining if any Bluetooth channels of the electronic device are active and, if so, placing the active Bluetooth channels on the channel avoidance list.

20. The electronic device, as set forth in claim 12, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to select one of the least used active channels for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link if an inactive RF channel does not exist.