Methods and apparatus for enhanced coexistence algorithms in wireless systems
First Claim
1. A hardware module configured to reduce interference between communication protocols of a first air interface and a second air interface, the hardware module comprising:
- a first data interface coupled to the first air interface;
a management interface coupled to at least another hardware module, the at least another hardware module being configured to control the second air interface, at least one of the first air interface or the second air interface being configured to operate according to a multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) protocol;
a processor apparatus; and
a non-transitory computer-readable storage apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus and comprising a medium with at least one computer program stored thereon, the at least one computer program being configured to, when executed on the processor apparatus, cause the hardware module to;
determine that the first air interface is exposed to a noise environment wherein a first threshold for a system noise floor is exceeded;
adjust a transmit power for at least the first or the second air interface based at least on the determination;
determine that the first air interface is exposed to a noise environment wherein a second threshold for the system noise floor is exceeded; and
turn off at least one channel associated with the at least one of the first air interface or the second air interface configured to operate according to the MIMO protocol.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for mitigating the effects of interference between multiple air interfaces located on an electronic device. In one embodiment, the air interfaces include a WLAN interface and PAN (e.g., Bluetooth) interface, and information such as Receiver Signal Strength Index (RSSI) as well as system noise level information are used in order to intelligently execute interference mitigation methodologies, including the selective application of modified frequency selection, variation of transmitter power, and/or change of operating mode (e.g., from multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) to single-in, single-out (SISO)) so as to reduce isolation requirements between the interfaces. These methods and apparatus are particularly well suited to use cases where the WLAN interface is operating with high data transmission rates. Business methods associated with the foregoing technology are also described.
179 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A hardware module configured to reduce interference between communication protocols of a first air interface and a second air interface, the hardware module comprising:
-
a first data interface coupled to the first air interface; a management interface coupled to at least another hardware module, the at least another hardware module being configured to control the second air interface, at least one of the first air interface or the second air interface being configured to operate according to a multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) protocol; a processor apparatus; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus and comprising a medium with at least one computer program stored thereon, the at least one computer program being configured to, when executed on the processor apparatus, cause the hardware module to; determine that the first air interface is exposed to a noise environment wherein a first threshold for a system noise floor is exceeded; adjust a transmit power for at least the first or the second air interface based at least on the determination; determine that the first air interface is exposed to a noise environment wherein a second threshold for the system noise floor is exceeded; and turn off at least one channel associated with the at least one of the first air interface or the second air interface configured to operate according to the MIMO protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A hardware module configured to reduce interference between communication protocols of a first air interface and a second air interface, the hardware module comprising:
-
a first interface coupled to the first air interface; a management interface coupled to at least another hardware module, the at least another hardware module configured to control the second air interface; a processor apparatus; and a non-transitory computer-readable apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus and having a storage medium with at least one computer program stored thereon, the at least one computer program configured to, when executed on the processor apparatus, cause the hardware module to; determine a signal strength parameter of the first air interface; determine a system noise floor parameter of the first interface; and transmit data relating to the signal strength parameter and the system noise floor parameter via the management interface to the at least another hardware module; wherein the at least another hardware module is configured to, based at least on the transmitted data, adjust the second air interface operation according to a coexistence algorithm that accounts for the signal strength parameter and the system noise floor parameter; wherein the adjustment of the second air interface comprises an adjustment of a channel map associated with an adaptive frequency hopping function of the second air interface; and wherein the adjustment of the channel map comprises an adjustment of selected frequencies of the channel map to maintain an increased frequency difference from a frequency associated with the first air interface relative to the adaptive frequency hopping function without such adjustment. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of reducing interference between communication protocols of a first air interface and a second air interface using a hardware module, the method comprising:
-
coupling a first data interface to the first air interface; coupling a management interface to another hardware module, the other hardware module being configured to control the second air interface, at least one of the first and the second air interfaces being configured to operate according to a multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) protocol; determining that the first air interface is exposed to a noise environment wherein a first threshold for a system noise floor is exceeded; adjusting a transmit power for at least the first or the second air interface based at least in part on the determining; determining that the first air interface is exposed to a noise environment wherein a second threshold for the system noise floor is exceeded; and turning off at least one channel associated with the at least one of the first air interface or the second interface configured to operate according to the MIMO protocol. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification