Method and system for coexistence of multiple collocated radios

• US 9,510,306 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2011
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Yang, Xue, Guo, Yongfang, Guo, Xingang, Karacaoglu, Ulun
• Primary Examiner(s): Javaid, Jamal
• Application Number:
  US13/976,996
• Publication Number:
  US 20140185494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,799 Days
• Field of Search: 370/280, 370/336, 370/329, 370/252, 370/311, 370/278
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0005 synchronizing of arrival of multiple uplinks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• 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

An apparatus may include a set of transceivers comprising three or more transceivers each operable to communicate via a wireless communications standard different from each other transceiver and a driver to output an enable signal when a first transceiver of the set of transceivers is active. The apparatus may also include a processor circuit and a real-time frame synchronization module operable on the processor circuit to receive a first frame synchronization input signal to delineate first receive and first transmit periods of a radio frame of a first transceiver of the set of transceivers, and to generate a frame synchronization signal to align receive and transmit periods of each of a multiplicity of additional transceivers of the set of transceivers to the respective first receive and first transmit periods of the first transceiver. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a set of co-located transceivers comprising three or more transceivers each operable to communicate via a wireless communications standard different from each other transceiver;

a driver to output an enable signal when a first transceiver of the set of co-located transceivers is active, the enable signal to cause the first transceiver to output a first frame synchronization input signal; and

a real-time frame synchronization module operable on a processor circuit to receive the first frame synchronization input signal to delineate first receive and first transmit periods of a radio frame of the first transceiver, and generate a frame synchronization signal to align receive and transmit periods of each of a multiplicity of additional transceivers of the set of co-located transceivers to the respective first receive and first transmit periods of the first transceiver such that the respective receive periods of the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprise durations matching a duration of the first receive period and the respective transmit periods of the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprise durations matching a duration of the first transmit period, the alignment to reduce interference between communications of the first transceiver and communications of the multiplicity of additional transceivers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the first transceiver comprising a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver, and the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprising a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) transceiver.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the first transceiver comprising a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) transceiver or a 3GPP LTE-A (LTE 4G) transceiver, and the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprising an IEEE 802.11 transceiver and a Bluetooth (BT) transceiver.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising a non-real-time message exchange module operable on the processor circuit to exchange radio frame information among at least two of the three or more transceivers.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the processor circuit operable to schedule the first transceiver for data reception and transmission over a first time division duplex frame comprising a 5 millisecond (ms) or a 10 ms frame duration.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the frame synchronization signal comprising a rising edge that is coincident with a start of a radio frame of the first transceiver and operable to align operations of an additional transceiver with a time reference of the first transceiver.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, the frame synchronization signal comprising a first trailing edge that that is coincident with an end of the receive period or an end of the transmit period of the first transceiver.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, the frame synchronization signal comprising:

a reference timing coincident with a start of a radio frame of the first transceiver;

a receive (Rx) portion comprising a first signal level and spanning a first interval corresponding to a receive period of the radio frame of the first transceiver; and

a transmit (Tx) portion comprising a second signal level and spanning a second interval corresponding to a transmit period of the radio frame of the first transceiver.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising a housing that contains the three or more transceivers.

10. A method, comprising:

activating a first transceiver comprising a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver when data is to be transmitted or received by the first transceiver;

generating a first enable signal while the first transceiver is active;

generating a first frame synchronization input signal that delineates first receive and first transmit periods of the first transceiver; and

outputting a frame synchronization output signal based upon the first frame synchronization input signal to align receive and transmit periods of each of a multiplicity of additional transceivers to the respective first receive and first transmit periods of the first transceiver such that the respective receive periods of the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprise durations matching a duration of the first receive period and the respective transmit periods of the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprise durations matching a duration of the first transmit period, each of the multiplicity of additional transceivers arranged to communicate via a communications standard different from each other transceiver, the alignment to allow substantially simultaneous transmission or substantially simultaneous reception between the first transceiver and the multiplicity of additional transceivers.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising generating the frame synchronization output signal as a rising edge that is coincident with a start of a radio frame of the first transceiver and a start of a radio slot of an additional transceiver.

12. The method of claim 10, comprising generating the frame synchronization output signal as a first trailing edge that that is coincident with an end of the receive period or an end of the transmit period of the first transceiver.

13. The method of claim 10, comprising providing the frame synchronization output signal as a periodic signal comprising a transmit portion having a transmit duration that is longer than a minimum transmit interval for transmission of one aggregate frame.

14. The method of claim 10, comprising providing the frame synchronization output signal as a periodic signal comprising a receive portion having a receive duration that is longer than a minimum receive interval for reception of one aggregate frame.

15. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed, cause a system to receive a first frame synchronization input signal to delineate first receive and first transmit periods of a radio frame of a first transceiver, and generate a frame synchronization signal to align receive and transmit periods of each of a multiplicity of additional transceivers of a set of co-located transceivers to the respective first receive and first transmit periods of the first transceiver such that the respective receive periods of the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprise durations matching a duration of the first receive period and the respective transmit periods of the multiplicity of additional transceivers comprise durations matching a duration of the first transmit period, the alignment to reduce interference between communications of the first transceiver and communications of the multiplicity of additional transceivers.

16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to exchange radio frame information among at least two of three or more transceivers.

17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to schedule the first transceiver for data reception and transmission over a first time division duplex frame comprising a 5 millisecond (ms) or a 10 ms frame duration.

18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to generate the frame synchronization signal as a rising edge that is coincident with a start of a radio frame of the first transceiver and a start of a radio slot of an additional transceiver.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to generate the frame synchronization signal as a first trailing edge that that is coincident with an end of the receive period or an end of the transmit period of the first transceiver.

20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a system to provide the frame synchronization output signal as a periodic signal comprising a transmit portion having a transmit duration that is longer than a minimum transmit interval for transmission of one aggregate frame.