Short range radio communication device and a method of controlling a short range radio communication device

• US 9,948,351 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2016
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel IP Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Bi, Dongsheng, Eriksson, Hakan Magnus
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Brenda H
• Application Number:
  US15/200,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20180006681A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 370281, 370295, 370319, 370344
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7143 Arrangements for generation of hop patterns
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/715 Interference-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/7154 with means for preventing interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/0008 Synchronisation information channels, e.g. clock distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements

Abstract

A short range radio communication device and a method of controlling a short range radio communication device may include a processing circuit configured to: determine a time offset between an initial starting point of operation of a transceiver in accordance with a first frequency hopping sequence and a shifted starting point of operation of the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence so that a first segment of a frequency range is exclusive of a second segment of the frequency range; and control at least one of a controller and a clock circuit to operate the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence at the shifted starting point.

Claims

1. A short range radio communication device comprising:

a transceiver;

a clock circuit;

a controller configured to operate the transceiver in a frequency range in accordance with a first frequency hopping sequence consisting of frequencies in a first segment of the frequency range and a second frequency hopping sequence consisting of frequencies in a second segment of the frequency range, wherein the first frequency hopping sequence and the second frequency hopping sequence are synchronized with the clock circuit, and

a processing circuit configured to;

determine a time offset between an initial starting point of operation of the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence and a shifted starting point of the operation of the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence so that the first segment is exclusive of the second segment; and

control at least one of the controller and the clock circuit to operate the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence at the shifted starting point.

2. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the shifted starting point is different from the initial starting point.

3. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the processing circuit is further configured to exclude at least one interfered frequency within the frequency range from the first frequency hopping sequence that is subject to interference.

4. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the processing circuit is further configured to select a first subset of the frequency range to exclude at least one frequency from the first frequency hopping sequence, when the second frequency hopping sequence is based on a second subset of the frequency range, wherein the at least one frequency is in the second subset.

5. The short range radio communication device of claim 4,

wherein the first subset comprises at least one orthogonal frequency orthogonal to the at least one frequency in the second subset.

6. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the processing circuit is further configured to determine the time offset so that the shifted starting point is in a time slot synchronized with the clock circuit that the short range radio communication device is scheduled to transmit on the first frequency hopping sequence and is not scheduled to transmit or receive on the second frequency hopping sequence.

7. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the processing circuit is further configured to transmit on the second frequency hopping sequence a schedule identifying at least one time slot the short range radio communications device is scheduled to transmit or receive on the first frequency hopping sequence.

8. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the short range radio communication device is configured to use the first frequency hopping sequence in a first network comprising a slave short range radio communication device and the short range radio communication device;

and

wherein the short range radio communication device is configured to use the second frequency hopping sequence in a second network comprising a master short range radio communication device and the short range radio communication device.

9. The short range radio communication device of claim 8,

wherein the short range radio communication device is a master in the first network.

10. The short range radio communication device of claim 8,

wherein the short range radio communication device is a slave to the master short range radio communication device in the second network.

11. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the short range radio communication device is a Bluetooth device.

12. The short range radio communication device of claim 1,

wherein the time offset is a multiple of 625 μ

s.

13. A method for controlling a short range radio communication device, the method comprising:

operating a transceiver in a frequency range in accordance with a first frequency hopping sequence consisting of frequencies in a first segment of the frequency range and a second frequency hopping sequence consisting of frequencies in a second segment of the frequency range, wherein the first frequency hopping sequence and the second frequency hopping sequence are synchronized with a clock circuit, determining a time offset, by a processing circuit, between an initial starting point of operation of the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence and a shifted starting point of the operation of the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence so that the first segment is exclusive of the second segment; and

controlling, by the processing circuit, at least one of the controller and the clock circuit to operate the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence at the shifted starting point.

14. The method of claim 13,

wherein the shifted starting point is different from the initial starting point.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

excluding at least one interfered frequency within the frequency range from the first frequency hopping sequence that is subject to interference.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

selecting a first subset of the frequency range to exclude at least one frequency from the first frequency hopping sequence, when the second frequency hopping sequence is based on a second subset of the frequency range, wherein the at least one frequency is in the second subset.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining the time offset so that the shifted starting point is in a time slot synchronized with the clock circuit that the short range radio communication device is scheduled to transmit on the first frequency hopping sequence and is not scheduled to transmit or receive on the second frequency hopping sequence.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

transmitting on the second frequency hopping sequence a schedule identifying at least one time slot the short range radio communications device is scheduled to transmit or receive on the first frequency hopping sequence.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions that cause a processing circuit to perform a method, wherein the processing circuit is coupled with a controller configured to operate a transceiver in a frequency range in accordance with a first frequency hopping sequence consisting of frequencies in a first segment of the frequency range and a second frequency hopping sequence consisting of frequencies in a second segment of the frequency range, wherein the first frequency hopping sequence and the second frequency hopping sequence are synchronized with a clock circuit, the method comprising:

determining a time offset between an initial starting point of operation of a transceiver in accordance with a first frequency hopping sequence and a shifted starting point of the operation of the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence so that the first segment is exclusive of the second segment; and

controlling at least one of the controller and the clock circuit to operate the transceiver in accordance with the first frequency hopping sequence at the shifted starting point.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19,

wherein the shifted starting point is different from the initial starting point.