Apparatus and methods for coexistence of collocated wireless local area network and bluetooth® based on dynamic fragmentation of WLAN packets

• US 7,734,253 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2004
• Issued: 06/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Chinn, Gordon, Chen, Camille C., Ginzburg, Boris, Fleming, Kristoffer D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Nay A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Paul P
• Application Number:
  US10/811,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20050215197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,262 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/151.2, 455/426.2, 455/554.2, 455/41.1, 455/63.3, 455/420, 455/454, 455/277.2, 455/414.4, 455/456.1, 455/522.1, 455/63.1, 455/67.1, 455/67.13, 455/114.2, 455/278.1, 455/296, 455/522, 370/338, 370/349, 370/350, 370/395.53, 370/280, 370/328, 370/329, 370/344, 370/352, 370/389, 370/428, 370/252, 370/253, 370/465, 370/487, 370/230, 370/230.1, 370/235, 370/237, 370/239, 370/278, 370/282, 370/445
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

In some embodiments of the invention, an 802.11-enabled device may fragment an 802.11 packet into smaller packets and transmit the smaller packets instead of the 802.11 to lessen interference with Bluetooth synchronized connection-oriented communication of a collocated Bluetooth-enabled device.

Claims

1. A method for reducing interference between Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication and 802.11 packet transmission, the method comprising:

identifying that a Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication;

identifying that said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating critical Bluetooth packets if an assertion time percentage of a priority signal asserted by said Bluetooth-enabled device exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

fragmenting an 802.11 packet into smaller packets to be transmitted concurrently with at least a portion of said Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication and transmitting said smaller packets instead of said 802.11 packet if said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating critical Bluetooth packets.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying that said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication includes:

monitoring a hard-wired priority signal asserted by said Bluetooth-enabled device to indicate critical Bluetooth packets.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said predetermined threshold is 4.4%.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ensuring that a payload length of each of said smaller packets is no smaller than a predetermined payload length.

5. A method for reducing interference between Bluetooth communication and 802.11 packet transmission, the method comprising:

distinguishing different types of Bluetooth communication performed by a Bluetooth-enabled device from an assertion time percentage of a hard-wired priority signal that is asserted by said Bluetooth-enabled device to indicate critical Bluetooth packets, said hard-wired priority signal being received by an 802.11-enabled device; and

transmitting an air time threshold that is related at least in part to attributes of the Bluetooth-enabled device to the 802.11-enabled device if the assertion time percentage is above a predetermined assertion time percentage threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

identifying that said assertion time percentage exceeds a predetermined threshold, thus recognizing that said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating a Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication type using high quality voice type 3 packets.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said predetermined threshold is 4.4%.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining whether a particular 802.11 packet to be transmitted will have an air time that exceeds the air time threshold; and

if said air time exceeds said air time threshold, fragmenting said particular 802.11 packet into smaller packets so that each of said smaller packets will have an air time that does not exceed said air time threshold, and transmitting said smaller packets instead of said 802.11 packet.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein if said particular 802.11 packet will have an air time that does not exceed said air time threshold,

transmitting said particular 802.11 packet.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said particular 802.11 packet is a medium access control service data unit packet and said smaller packets are medium access control protocol data unit packets.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

sending an 802.11-enabled device that is to transmit said particular 802.11 packet a wireless message from another 802.11-enabled device, said message indicating that said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating a Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication type using high quality voice type 3 packets.

12. A method for reducing interference between Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication and 802.11 packet transmission, the method comprising:

monitoring a hard-wired priority signal asserted by Bluetooth-enabled device to indicate critical Bluetooth packets, said Bluetooth-enabled device communicating said Bluetooth synchronous connection oriented communication,

wherein said indication is created by identifying that an assertion time percentage of said priority signal exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

in view of said indication, determining whether an 802.11 packet will have an air time of sufficient duration to interfere with said communication and if so, fragmenting said 802.11 packet into smaller packets and transmitting said smaller packets instead of said 802.11 packet.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving said indication via 802.11 communication.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said predetermined threshold is 4.4%.

15. An article comprising a memory having stored therein instructions that, when executed by a computing platform, result in:

distinguishing different types of Bluetooth communication performed by a Bluetooth-enabled device from an assertion time percentage of a hard-wired priority signal that is asserted by said Bluetooth-enabled device to indicate critical Bluetooth packets, said hard-wired priority signal being received by an 802.11-enabled device; and

transmitting an air time threshold that is related at least in part to attributes of the Bluetooth-enabled device to the 802.11-enabled device if the assertion time percentage is above a predetermined threshold.

16. The article of claim 15, wherein said instructions, when executed by said computing platform, further result in:

identifying that said assertion time percentage exceeds the predetermined threshold, thus recognizing that said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating a Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication type using high quality voice type 3 packets.

17. The article of claim 16, wherein said predetermined threshold is 4.4%.

18. The article of claim 16, wherein said instructions, when executed by said computing platform, further result in:

sending a second 802.11-enabled device a wireless message indicating that said Bluetooth-enabled device is communicating said Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication type using high quality voice type 3 packets.

19. An article comprising a memory having stored therein instructions that, when executed by a computing platform, result in:

monitoring a hard-wired priority signal asserted by Bluetooth-enabled device to indicate critical Bluetooth packets, said Bluetooth-enabled device communicating said Bluetooth synchronous connection oriented communication;

wherein said indication is created by identifying that an assertion time percentage of said priority signal exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

in view of said indication, determining whether an 802.11 packet will have an air time of sufficient duration to interfere with said communication and if so, fragmenting said 802.11 packet into smaller packets and transmitting said smaller packets instead of said 802.11 packet.

20. The article of claim 19, wherein said instructions, when executed by said computing platform, further result in:

ensuring that a payload length of each of said smaller packets is no smaller than a predetermined payload length.

21. The article of claim 19, wherein said instructions, when executed by said computing platform, further result in:

transmitting said 802.11 packet if said 802.11 packet will not have an air time of sufficient duration to interfere with said communication.

22. An apparatus comprising:

a monopole antenna;

an 802.11 transceiver coupled to said antenna;

a Bluetooth communication module to provide said processor with a hard-wired priority signal that is asserted by said Bluetooth communication module to indicate critical Bluetooth packets of a Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication; and

a processor to identify the existence of said critical packets based on an assertion time percentage of said priority signal;

to fragment an 802.11 packet having an air time of sufficient duration to interfere with said critical packets into smaller packets and to cause said transceiver to transmit said smaller packets instead of said 802.11 packet via said antenna.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said processor is to fragment said 802.11 packet in view of said transceiver having received an indication of said Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication.

24. A wireless communication system comprising:

an apparatus including at least;

a Bluetooth communication module to assert a hard-wired priority signal to indicate communication of critical Bluetooth packets;

a first 802.11 transceiver; and

a first processor to receive said hard-wired priority signal, to identify the existence of said critical packets of Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication based on an assertion time percentage of said priority signal, to fragment a first 802.11 packet that will have a first air time of sufficient duration to interfere with critical packets of Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication of said Bluetooth communication module into first smaller packets, and to cause said first transceiver to transmit said first smaller packets instead of said first 802.11 packet;

and

an 802.11-enabled device including at least;

a second 802.11 transceiver; and

a second processor.

25. The wireless communication system of claim 24, wherein said first processor is to cause said first transceiver to send an indication of the existence of said critical packets of Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication to said 802.11-enabled device.

26. The wireless communication system of claim 25, wherein in view of receipt of said indication, said second processor is to fragment a second 802.11 packet that will have a second air time of sufficient duration to interfere with said critical packets of Bluetooth synchronous connection-oriented communication into second smaller packets and to cause said second transceiver to transmit said second smaller packets instead of said second 802.11 packet.