Method and apparatus to facilitate support for multi-radio coexistence

• US 8,848,607 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2011
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wang, Jibing, Linsky, Joel Benjamin, Kadous, Tamer A., Mantravadi, Ashok, Dayal, Pranav
• Primary Examiner(s): LY, ANH VU H
• Application Number:
  US13/070,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20120093009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• 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: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Interference between potentially conflicting radio access technologies (RATs) in a wireless device may be managed through a coexistence manager which allows communication using a first active RAT (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and communication with a second active RAT (e.g., wireless local area network (WLAN)) when the first RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot. Communications by a WLAN radio may be controlled using a power save mode. WLAN communications may be timed so that downlink signals (such as data or acknowledgement messages) to the WLAN radio are received during an inactive uplink subframe for an LTE radio. WLAN communications may also be timed so that downlink signals to the WLAN radio are received during downlink times scheduled for an LTE radio.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

actively communicating on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT);

actively communicating on a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT when the LTE RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot;

controlling communications of a WLAN radio through the use of Power Save Poll messages between the WLAN radio and a WLAN access point; and

transmitting a Power Save Poll message and an acknowledgement message during a time period coinciding with LTE uplink time slots.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the acknowledgement message comprises an aggregated acknowledgment message.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising blanking LTE uplink transmissions to receive a WLAN downlink acknowledgement message.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising scheduling transmission by the WLAN radio to cause an acknowledgement message from the WLAN access point to be received by the WLAN radio during a time period coinciding with an LTE inactive uplink subframe.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an activity level of a resource of the WLAN RAT by:

determining a level of interference caused by the LTE RAT when actively communicating;

measuring the activity level in the resource of the WLAN RAT; and

determining the resource of the WLAN RAT is inactive when the activity level is at or below a threshold, while accounting for the level of interference caused by the LTE RAT.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an activity level of a resource of the WLAN RAT by measuring the activity level in the resource of the WLAN RAT during a time period when the LTE RAT is instructed to stop communications.

7. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

actively communicating on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT);

actively communicating on a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT when the LTE RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot;

controlling communications of a WLAN radio through the use of Power Save Poll messages between the WLAN radio and a WLAN access point;

when scheduling a Power Save Poll message or acknowledgment message during a time period coinciding with an LTE uplink timeslot is not possible, transmitting the Power Save Poll message or the acknowledgement message during a time period coinciding with an LTE downlink timeslot; and

blanking LTE operation during the time period coinciding with the LTE downlink timeslot.

8. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

means for actively communicating on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT);

means for actively communicating on a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT when the LTE RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot;

means for controlling communications of a WLAN radio through the use of Power Save Poll messages between the WLAN radio and a WLAN access point; and

means for transmitting a Power Save Poll message and an acknowledgement message during a time period coinciding with LTE uplink time slots.

9. A computer program product configured for wireless communication, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising;

program code to actively communicate on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT);

program code to actively communicate on a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT when the LTE RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot;

program code to control communications of a WLAN radio through the use of Power Save Poll messages between the WLAN radio and a WLAN access point; and

program code to transmit a Power Save Poll message and an acknowledgement message during a time period coinciding with LTE uplink time slots.

10. An apparatus configured for operation in a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured;

to actively communicate on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT);

to actively communicate on a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT when the LTE RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot;

to control communications of a WLAN radio through the use of Power Save Poll messages between the WLAN radio and a WLAN access point; and

to transmit a Power Save Poll message and an acknowledgement message during a time period coinciding with LTE uplink time slots.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the acknowledgement message comprises an aggregated acknowledgment message.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the at least one processor is further configured to blank LTE uplink transmissions to receive a WLAN downlink acknowledgement message.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the at least one processor is further configured to schedule transmission by the WLAN radio to cause an acknowledgement message from a WLAN access point to be received by the WLAN radio during a time period coinciding with an LTE inactive uplink subframe.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the at least one processor is further configured to determine an activity level of a resource of the WLAN RAT by:

determining a level of interference caused by the LTE RAT when actively communicating;

measuring the activity level in the resource of the WLAN RAT; and

determining the resource of the WLAN RAT is inactive when the activity level is at or below a threshold, while accounting for the level of interference caused by the LTE RAT.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the at least one processor is further configured to determine an activity level of a resource of the WLAN RAT by measuring the activity level in the resource of the WLAN RAT during a time period when the LTE RAT is instructed to stop communications.

16. An apparatus configured for operation in a wireless communication network, the apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, the at least one processor being configured;

to actively communicate on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology (RAT);

to actively communicate on a wireless local area network (WLAN) RAT when the LTE RAT is not scheduled for communicating during an uplink timeslot;

to control communications of a WLAN radio through the use of Power Save Poll messages between the WLAN radio and a WLAN access point;

when scheduling a Power Save Poll message or acknowledgment message during a time period coinciding with an LTE uplink timeslot is not possible, to transmit the Power Save Poll message or the acknowledgement message during a time period coinciding with an LTE downlink timeslot; and

to blank LTE operation during the time period coinciding with the LTE downlink timeslot.