Methods for mitigating effects of radio-frequency interference

• US 8,862,060 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2012
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Mayor, Robert W., Hakim, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TUAN HOANG
• Application Number:
  US13/397,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20130210364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 455/63.1, 455/67.13, 455/78, 455/226.2, 455/226.3, 455/296, 455/310, 455/501, 375/344, 375/346
• US Class Current: 455/63.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3805 with built-in auxiliary receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/525 with means for reducing leakage of transmitter signal into the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/04 the interference being caused by substantially sinusoidal oscillations, e.g. in a receiver or in a tape-recorder

Abstract

An electronic device may include sensitive circuitry such as radio-frequency receiver circuitry. A noise source may produce radio-frequency interference that can disrupt operation of the sensitive circuitry. The noise source may include a first transmitter such as a cellular telephone transmitter and as second transmitter such as a wireless local area network transmitter. Interference may be produced by simultaneous operation of the first and second transmitters. The radio-frequency receiver circuitry may be satellite navigation system receiver circuitry that includes one or more satellite navigation receivers. The impact of interference may be reduced by blanking the satellite navigation system receiver, by imposing a duty cycle limitation on the second transmitter, by switching between alternative receivers in the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry, by using an interference-dependent cross-correlation protection scheme, or by using a combination of these schemes.

Claims

1. A method for mitigating the impact of radio-frequency interference on sensitive circuitry in an electronic device, wherein the radio-frequency interference interferes with the sensitive circuitry and is produced by a noise source in the electronic device, the method comprising:

with control circuitry in the electronic device, determining whether the radio-frequency interference is present; and

in response to detection of the radio-frequency interference by the control circuitry, imposing duty cycle limitations on the noise source.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the noise source includes at least a first radio-frequency transmitter and a second radio-frequency transmitter, wherein the radio-frequency interference is produced due to simultaneous operation of the first and second radio-frequency transmitters, and wherein imposing the duty cycle limitations on the noise source comprises imposing a duty cycle requirement on the second radio-frequency transmitter.

3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the sensitive circuitry comprises satellite navigation system receiver circuitry and wherein imposing the duty cycle requirement on the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises cycling the second radio-frequency transmitter on and off while operating the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry.

4. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the first radio-frequency transmitter comprises a cellular telephone transmitter, wherein the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises a wireless local area network transmitter, and wherein imposing the duty cycle requirements comprises cycling the wireless local area network transmitter on and off while the cellular telephone transmitter is operating.

5. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the sensitive circuitry comprises satellite navigation system receiver circuitry and wherein imposing the duty cycle requirement on the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises cycling the second radio-frequency transmitter on and off while selectively blanking the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry in synchronization by temporarily deactivating the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry whenever the second radio-frequency transmitter is cycled off.

6. The method defined in claim 5 wherein the first radio-frequency transmitter comprises a cellular telephone transmitter, wherein the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises a wireless local area network transmitter, and wherein imposing the duty cycle requirement comprises cycling the wireless local area network transmitter on and off while the cellular telephone transmitter is operating.

7. A method for mitigating the impact of radio-frequency interference on satellite navigation system receiver circuitry in an electronic device, wherein the radio-frequency interference is produced by a noise source in the electronic device and wherein the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry comprises a first satellite navigation system receiver and a second satellite navigation system receiver, the method comprising:

receiving location data from the first satellite navigation system receiver with control circuitry in the electronic device while using the control circuitry to determine whether radio-frequency interference from the noise source that interferes with operation of the first satellite navigation system receiver is present; and

in response to determining that the radio-frequency interference that interferes with the operation of the first satellite navigation system receiver is present, using the control circuitry to switch the second satellite navigation system receiver into use in place of the first satellite navigation system receiver so that the control circuitry receives location data from the second satellite navigation system receiver.

8. The method defined in claim 7 wherein the noise source includes at least a first radio-frequency transmitter and a second radio-frequency transmitter and wherein the radio-frequency interference is produced from simultaneous operation of the first and second radio-frequency transmitters, the method further comprising:

using the control circuitry to determine whether radio-frequency interference from the noise source that interferes with operation of the second satellite navigation system receiver is present.

9. The method defined in claim 8 wherein the first satellite navigation system receiver comprises a Global Positioning System receiver and wherein the second satellite navigation system receiver comprises a Global Navigation Satellite System receiver, the method further comprising:

in response to determining that the radio-frequency interference that interferes with the operation of the Global Navigation Satellite System receiver is present, using the control circuitry to switch the Global Positioning System receiver into use in place of the Global Navigation Satellite System receiver so that the control circuitry receives location data from the Global Positioning System receiver.

10. A method for mitigating the impact of radio-frequency interference on satellite navigation system receiver circuitry in an electronic device, wherein the radio-frequency interference for the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry is produced by a noise source in the electronic device, the method comprising:

with control circuitry in the electronic device, measuring a satellite signal received from a first satellite to produce a first satellite signal value;

with the control circuitry, measuring an additional satellite signal associated with a second satellite to produce a second satellite signal value;

with the control circuitry, applying a cross-correlation validation test to the second satellite signal value and the first satellite signal value to determine whether the second satellite signal is valid;

with the control circuitry, determining whether the radio-frequency interference for the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry is present; and

in response to determining that the radio-frequency interference is present, changing the cross-correlation validation test.

11. The method defined in claim 10 wherein the noise source comprises a first radio-frequency transmitter and a second radio-frequency transmitter, wherein the radio-frequency interference is produced due to simultaneous operation of the first and second radio-frequency transmitters, and wherein changing the cross-correlation validation test comprises switching a no-interference-present threshold value for the cross-correlation validation test to an interference-present threshold value for the cross-correlation validation test.

12. The method defined in claim 11 wherein the electronic device comprises at least one correlator implemented on the control circuitry that processes received satellite signals using an integration interval, the method further comprising:

increasing the integration interval in response to determining that the radio-frequency interference is present.

13. The method defined in claim 12 wherein the first radio-frequency transmitter comprises a cellular telephone transmitter, wherein the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises a wireless local area network transmitter, and wherein the radio-frequency interference is produced due to simultaneous operation of the cellular telephone transmitter and the wireless local area network transmitter.

14. The method defined in claim 11 wherein the first radio-frequency transmitter comprises a cellular telephone transmitter, wherein the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises a wireless local area network transmitter, and wherein the radio-frequency interference is produced due to simultaneous operation of the cellular telephone transmitter and the wireless local area network transmitter.

15. The method defined in claim 11 wherein the first radio-frequency transmitter comprises a cellular telephone transmitter, wherein the second radio-frequency transmitter comprises a wireless local area network transmitter, and wherein switching the no-interference-present threshold value for the cross-correlation validation test to the interference-present threshold value for the cross-correlation validation test comprises reducing the non-interference-present threshold value to a lower value.

16. A method for mitigating the impact of radio-frequency interference on sensitive circuitry in an electronic device, wherein the radio-frequency interference interferes with the sensitive circuitry and is produced by a noise source in the electronic device, the method comprising:

with control circuitry in the electronic device, determining whether persistent radio-frequency interference is present; and

in response to determining that persistent radio-frequency interference is not present, operating the electronic device in a first radio-frequency interference mitigation mode using the control circuitry; and

in response to determining that persistent radio-frequency interference is present, operating the electronic device in a second radio-frequency interference mitigation mode using the control circuitry, wherein the sensitive circuitry comprises radio-frequency receiver circuitry, wherein the noise source includes at least a first radio-frequency transmitter and a second radio-frequency transmitter, and wherein operating the electronic device in the first radio-frequency interference mitigation mode comprises operating the electronic device in a receiver blanking mode in which the radio-frequency receiver circuitry is temporarily deactivated.

17. The method defined in claim 16 wherein the radio-frequency receiver circuitry comprises satellite navigation system receiver circuitry and wherein operating the electronic device in the second radio-frequency interference mitigation mode comprises performing interference-dependent cross-correlation protection operations using the control circuitry.

18. The method defined in claim 17 wherein performing the interference-dependent cross-correlation protection operations comprises:

with the control circuitry, measuring a satellite signal received from a first satellite to produce a first satellite signal value;

with the control circuitry, measuring an additional satellite signal associated with a second satellite to produce a second satellite signal value; and

with the control circuitry, applying a cross-correlation validation test to the second satellite signal value and the first satellite signal value to determine whether the second satellite signal is valid.

19. The method defined in claim 18 wherein performing the interference-dependent cross-correlation protection operations further comprises:

with the control circuitry, determining whether the radio-frequency interference for the satellite navigation system receiver circuitry is present; and

in response to determining that the radio-frequency interference is present, adjusting a threshold value for the cross-correlation validation test.