Facilitating in-device coexistence between wireless communication technologies

• US 9,838,054 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2015
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Zhao, Wen, Flynn, Paul V., Burchill, William S., Majjigi, Vinay R., Wang, Xiaowen, Mujtaba, Syed A., Song, Kee-Bong
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuan A
• Application Number:
  US14/727,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20160028425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1081 Reduction of multipath noise by equalising H04B7/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/29 Performance testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/25 with rate being modified by the source upon detecting a change of network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/41 by acting on aggregated flows or links
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0236 radio quality, e.g. interference, losses or delay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/265 taking into account the quality of service QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/267 taking into account the information rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/36 with a discrete range or set of values, e.g. step size, ramping or offsets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• 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

A method for facilitating in-device coexistence between wireless communication technologies on a wireless communication device is provided. The method can include transmitting data traffic from the wireless communication device via an aggressor wireless communication technology; determining occurrence of an in-device interference condition resulting from transmission of the data traffic via the aggressor wireless communication technology interfering with concurrent data reception by the wireless communication device via a victim wireless communication technology; and reducing a bit rate of the data traffic transmitted via the aggressor wireless communication technology in response to the in-device interference condition.

Claims

1. A mobile wireless device comprising:

a first wireless interface configurable to communicate in accordance with a first radio access technology (RAT);

a second wireless interface configurable to communicate in accordance with a second RAT; and

processing circuitry in data communication with the first wireless interface and the second wireless interface, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause the mobile wireless device to;

transmit data traffic via the first wireless interface;

determine occurrence of an in-device interference condition resulting from transmission of the data traffic via the first wireless interface interfering with data reception via the second wireless interface; and

adjust a property of at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface in response to the in-device interference condition,

wherein;

the data traffic is grouped into a plurality of traffic classifications having respective priorities, and

the at least a portion of the data traffic comprises data traffic corresponding to a traffic classification having a lowest priority among the plurality of traffic classifications.

2. The mobile wireless device of claim 1, wherein the mobile wireless device adjusts the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface at least in part by reducing a bit rate of the at least a portion of the data traffic.

3. The mobile wireless device of claim 2, wherein reducing the bit rate of the at least a portion of the data traffic results in a reduction in transmission power of transmissions transmitted via the first wireless interface.

4. The mobile wireless device of claim 2, wherein reducing the bit rate of the at least a portion of the data traffic results in additional time gaps in data traffic transmissions transmitted via the first wireless interface.

5. The mobile wireless device of claim 2, wherein the mobile wireless device reduces the bit rate of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface incrementally until the in-device interference condition does not persist or until reaching a minimum bit rate level for a data traffic type of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface.

6. The mobile wireless device of claim 5, wherein the minimum bit rate level for the data traffic type satisfies a quality of service (QoS) for the data traffic type.

7. The mobile wireless device of claim 1, wherein the mobile wireless device adjusts the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface at least in part by switching from using a first codec to using a second codec to encode the at least a portion of the data traffic, the second codec having a lower bit rate than the first codec.

8. The mobile wireless device of claim 1, wherein the mobile wireless device adjusts the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface at least in part by progressively downgrading to lower bit rate codecs that generate the at least a portion of the data traffic until the in-device interference condition does not persist or until a codec having a lower bit rate cannot be substituted for an existing codec.

9. The mobile wireless device of claim 1, wherein the mobile wireless device adjusts the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface at least in part by causing an access network element that receives data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface to reduce a size of grants and/or a number of resource blocks allocated for uplink data transmission provided to the mobile wireless device.

10. The mobile wireless device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to further cause the mobile wireless device to:

determine whether the in-device interference condition persists following adjustment of the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface; and

further adjust the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface in response to determining that the in-device interference condition persists.

11. The mobile wireless device of claim 1, wherein the mobile wireless device determines occurrence of the in-device interference condition based at least in part on measurements performed by the second wireless interface and/or feedback communicated by the second wireless interface.

12. The mobile wireless device of claim 11, wherein the measurements comprise an observed received data error rate and/or an observed noise floor.

13. The mobile wireless device of claim 12, wherein the mobile wireless device discriminates between in-device interference and interference caused by factors external to the mobile wireless device based at least in part on correlating when data traffic is transmitted via the first wireless interface and the observed received data error rate and/or the observed noise floor for the second wireless interface.

14. The mobile wireless device of claim 12, wherein the mobile wireless device discriminates between in-device interference and interference caused by factors external to the mobile wireless device based at least in part on comparing measurements performed by the second wireless interface when no data traffic is transmitted via the first wireless interface and when data traffic is transmitted via the first wireless interface concurrent with data reception via the second wireless interface.

15. The mobile wireless device of claim 12, wherein the mobile wireless device determines occurrence of the in-device interference condition at least in part by comparing to a noise floor threshold a difference between (i) a noise floor measured during concurrent data transmission via the first wireless interface and data reception via the second wireless interface and (ii) a baseline noise floor measured when no data traffic is transmitted via the first wireless interface during data reception via the second wireless interface.

16. The mobile wireless device of claim 12, wherein the mobile wireless device determines occurrence of the in-device interference condition at least in part by comparing to a data error rate threshold a difference between (i) a data error rate measured during concurrent data transmission via the first wireless interface and data reception via the second wireless interface and (ii) a baseline data error rate measured when no data traffic is transmitted via the first wireless interface during data reception via the second wireless interface.

17. A method for facilitating in-device coexistence between wireless communication technologies on a mobile wireless device, the method comprising:

by the mobile wireless device;

transmitting data traffic via a first wireless interface in accordance with a first radio access technology (RAT);

determining occurrence of an in-device interference condition resulting from transmission of the data traffic via the first wireless interface interfering with concurrent data reception by the wireless communication device via a second wireless interface in accordance with a second RAT; and

adjusting a property of at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface in response to the in-device interference condition,

wherein;

the data traffic is grouped into a plurality of traffic classifications having respective priorities, and

the at least a portion of the data traffic comprises data traffic corresponding to a traffic classification having a lowest priority among the plurality of traffic classifications.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the mobile wireless device adjusts the property of the at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface at least in part by reducing a bit rate of the at least a portion of the data traffic.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a mobile wireless device, cause the mobile wireless device to:

transmit data traffic via a first wireless interface of the mobile wireless device;

determine occurrence of an in-device interference condition resulting from transmission of the data traffic via the first wireless interface interfering with data reception via a second wireless interface of the mobile wireless device; and

adjust a property of at least a portion of the data traffic transmitted via the first wireless interface in response to the in-device interference condition,

wherein;

the data traffic is grouped into a plurality of traffic classifications having respective priorities, and

the at least a portion of the data traffic comprises data traffic corresponding to a traffic classification having a lowest priority among the plurality of traffic classifications.