Devices and methods for concurrent transmission via conditional signal combining

Abstract

The embodiments relate to systems, methods, and component devices for concurrent Tx-Tx transmissions by combining signals before power amplification. One example embodiment includes: a validity check circuit configured to check the transmission power of a Bluetooth signal relative to a first threshold transmission power; a Bluetooth power amplifier; and a WLAN power amplifier. Network switching is controlled by the validity check circuit and configured to couple the Bluetooth input to the Bluetooth power amplifier input when the Bluetooth signal transmission power is above the first threshold transmission power, and to couple the Bluetooth signal and the WLAN signal to a shared WLAN power amplifier when the Bluetooth signal transmission power is less than the first threshold transmission power.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The original application has the application number 201680030332.1 and the invention title is "Apparatus and method for concurrent transmission by conditional signal merging". Technical Field

[0002] Some embodiments relate to systems, methods, and devices associated with wireless communication, and in particular, to Tx-Tx concurrent transmission (TTC), wherein two signals to be transmitted (such as Bluetooth signals) TM Signals and wireless local area network (WLAN) signals can be combined before the combined signals are input to the power amplifier (PA). Background Technology

[0003] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data. Some devices can use multiple different types of transmission systems operating under different standards and protocols simultaneously. In certain environments, this simultaneous operation can cause confusion in device operation. Attached Figure Description

[0004] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a network that can be used for concurrent transmission through conditional signal combining, according to certain example embodiments.

[0005] Figure 2 The illustration shows an implementation of a signal combining circuit according to some example embodiments.

[0006] Figure 3 The illustrations depict various aspects of a method for concurrent transmission via conditional signal merging, according to certain example embodiments.

[0007] Figure 4 The illustrations depict various aspects of the operation of an apparatus for concurrent transmission in a wireless device via conditional signal combining, according to certain example embodiments.

[0008] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating various aspects of the operation of an apparatus for concurrent transmission in a wireless device through conditional signal combining, according to certain example embodiments.

[0009] Figure 6 The illustrations depict various aspects of a wireless device, according to certain example embodiments, capable of using means for conditional signal combining.

[0010] Figure 7 This is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system that can be used with various aspects of the example embodiments described herein. Detailed Implementation

[0011] The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may be incorporated with structural, logical, electrical, and other variations. A portion of and features of certain embodiments may be included in, or may replace, those of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims comprise all available equivalents of those claims.

[0012] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a block diagram of a network 100, according to certain example embodiments, that can be used for concurrent transmission via digital signal combining. Network 100 includes a first wireless communication device 102 and a second wireless communication device 110. Wireless communication devices 102 and 110 can be, for example, laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, printers, wearable devices, machine-type devices (such as smart meters or networked appliances), or any other wireless device with or without a user interface.

[0013] The first wireless communication device 102 has radio frequency (RF) wireless connections 122 and 124, wherein RF wireless connection 122 is connected to the second wireless communication device 110 and RF wireless connection 124 is connected to the wireless communication device 130.

[0014] Additionally, as illustrated, example embodiments of network 100 show a first wireless communication device 102 connected to a wider network 132, such as the Internet, via an RF wireless connection 124 to wireless communication device 130. In some embodiments, wireless communication device 130 may be a WLAN router providing network communication according to the IEEE 802.11 network standard. In some embodiments, example WLAN signals as part of such RF wireless connections may use point-to-point or access point-based connections employing collision avoidance. Example WLAN signals may further utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) employing various modulation schemes, such as binary phase shift keying, quadrature phase shift keying, or quadrature amplitude modulation.

[0015] In other embodiments, wireless communication device 130 may provide network communication according to other communication standards. Similarly, in some embodiments, RF wireless connection 122 may be a connection communicating using the Bluetooth standard. In some embodiments, the Bluetooth signal as part of such RF wireless connection may be an asynchronous connectionless link (ACL) using a polling time division multiple access scheme. Another example of a Bluetooth signal is a synchronous connection-oriented link that includes a set of reserved time slots on an existing ACL. In other embodiments, other communication standards may be used for both the first RF wireless connection 122 and the second RF wireless connection 124.

[0016] In various connectivity schemes for wireless communication devices such as wireless communication device 102, circuitry for multiple communication types can be implemented on a single device, which can be a single component or a single integrated circuit. In some embodiments, for example, WLAN and Bluetooth devices are co-located on the same silicon wafer. The embodiments described herein use a system framework to support concurrent operation of different RF signals (such as WLAN and Bluetooth signals) sharing a single transmit (Tx) path on the same (shared) antenna. In various embodiments, this can improve the overall performance of both WLAN and Bluetooth. For example, by sharing antenna resources and enabling Tx-Tx concurrency for WLAN and Bluetooth signals, the system framework can avoid transmission delays and the situation where one type of transmission (e.g., WLAN) waits for another type of transmission (e.g., Bluetooth) to complete.

[0017] Because of the difference in transmit power or voltage levels at the output of the power amplifier that can cause damage to the "weaker" power amplifier, the power level of the Tx signal is managed. For example, in some embodiments, the Bluetooth power amplifier is weaker than the WLAN power amplifier, and the system can be constructed to avoid damaging the Bluetooth power amplifier and, when possible, share the WLAN power amplifier without damaging it. This provides an advantage over previous systems where the two RF communication systems needed to operate in a mutually exclusive manner (e.g., the Bluetooth transmitter was not allowed to be turned on when the WLAN link needed to operate the transmitter section of the radio device).

[0018] In systems using WLAN and Bluetooth signals, to provide Tx-Tx concurrency (TTC), a method is needed to combine the transmitted signals from both systems into a single Tx path. To avoid damaging the power amplifier, such a method conditionally enables the merging of the two RF systems' signals, employing meticulous coordination to ensure that the following system constraints are met: WLAN signal quality (e.g., EVM and SNR); Bluetooth signal quality (e.g., DEVM and SNR for EDR); and overall spurious emissions and noise.

[0019] The embodiments for WLAN and Bluetooth described herein enable wireless communication devices, such as wireless communication device 102, to operate at the input of a WLAN power amplifier to combine WLAN and Bluetooth transmission signals. The wireless communication device can then transmit the combined signal via the WLAN power amplifier, RF front end, and a shared antenna, while proactively preventing any potential violations of the aforementioned management or authentication requirements using validity checking circuitry and other circuitry for performing pre-power amplification and combining (TTC).

[0020] This includes benefits relative to post-combining TTC, as post-combining requires very fine RF design and tuning to ensure the power amplifier (PA) output impedance is matched across all transmit power levels. Post-combining TTC also includes the risk of reliability degradation, as the WLAN PA voltage output can be very high and damage the Bluetooth PA output transistor. These problems are overcome by using pre-power amplifier combining TTC as described in the various embodiments described herein.

[0021] Figure 2 An implementation of a signal combining circuit according to certain example embodiments is illustrated as part of a device 200 that can be used by a wireless communication device such as wireless communication device 102. Device 200 includes a Bluetooth power amplifier 210, a WLAN power amplifier 220, and switching network 230 circuitry. Additionally, device 200 includes matching circuits 202, 204, 206, and 208, a Bluetooth RF source input 240, a WLAN RF source input 250, and an output connected to an antenna, shown as a silicon output 260. Device 200 enables TTC coupling and uses the switching network 230 to route Bluetooth RF signals (e.g., RF signals to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)) from a Bluetooth RF source to the WLAN power amplifier 220 (instead of to the Bluetooth power amplifier 210). The appropriate impedance at the inputs of both the Bluetooth power amplifier 210 and the WLAN power amplifier 220 is maintained by an impedance design shown as Za to Zg, using standard impedance matching with a switching network 230 that is coupled at one end to the Bluetooth RF source input 240 and the Bluetooth power amplifier 210, and at the other end to the WLAN RF source input 250 and the WLAN power amplifier 220.

[0022] The switching network 230 is illustrated as an impedance network 232. Two sets of switches in a straight line are shown, with the first set of switches 234 at the source and the second set of switches 236 at the superposition point. Switches 234 and 236 are controlled by a TTC enable signal 216 or by switch control. In some embodiments, the impedance is optimized such that the WLAN signal power in both individual operations when switches 234 and 236 are open, and in TTC operation when switches 234 and 236 are closed, is not affected by the operation of the switching network 230. The impedance is also chosen such that the Bluetooth signal power is not significantly affected by parasitic effects of the switching network 230 in independent operations when switches 234 and 236 are in the open position. In various embodiments, the signal power is not considered significantly affected unless the signal is distorted or modified in a way that increases the error rate in a manner unacceptable to system performance. In some embodiments, this may mean that an increase in the error rate is not allowed. In other embodiments, this may mean that the error increases within the error tolerance. While the switching network 230 is one possible way to implement a TTC coupler, it will be apparent that other switching networks and implementations of the TTC coupler are possible.

[0023] Figure 3 The illustration depicts an example method 300 for performing a TTC according to certain example embodiments. In various embodiments, Figure 3 Method 300 is performed by the operation of circuitry or one or more processors that are part of a wireless communication device (such as wireless communication device 102). This may include implementations in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof, thereby implementing method 300 on the device.

[0024] In operation 302, the wireless communication device verifies that the transmission contention between the first radio frequency (RF) signal and the second RF signal satisfies a set of Tx-Tx Transmission Concurrency (TTC) criteria. The TTC criteria at a basic level can be simply verified by analyzing resource usage to ensure that conflicts between the transmissions using the first and second RF signals occur frequently enough to make any trade-offs regarding the value of TTC operation. As discussed above, benefits include the ability to replace the requirement for one RF signal to wait while simultaneously transmitting another RF signal. Combining two RF signals into the same non-ideal power amplifier introduces several potential hazards, primarily due to potential intermodulation and crossmodulation, which can then lead to performance degradation. This degradation can include generating out-of-band or band-edge radiation exceeding the administrative limits associated with device RF radiation. In embodiments where the first RF signal is a Bluetooth signal and the second RF signal is a WLAN signal, the WLAN transmitter may employ predistortion to improve power amplifier efficiency. Adding a Bluetooth signal may cause a mismatch between the WLAN transmitter's desired transmit power (index) and the actual input transmit power. Consequently, predistortion calibration, which is standard for WLAN operation, may no longer be applicable and consistent with the WLAN input signal. This mismatch causes phase and amplitude errors, which translate into a degradation in error vector amplitude (EVM for WLAN; dEVM for Bluetooth), a reduction in Tx efficiency, and therefore a degradation in Tx throughput. During the initial determination of TTC criteria, certain aspects of these issues can be considered, as well as whether these issues are appropriately tolerated during TTC operation for a given current signal.

[0025] Next, in operation 304, a threshold transmission power for the first RF signal is selected based on the power of the second RF signal used for the associated transmission segment. In WLAN and Bluetooth embodiments, the system identifies the desired WLAN transmission power during a certain transmission time and then selects the threshold transmission power for the Bluetooth signal. This allows the system to determine when the combined power of the WLAN and Bluetooth signals would be excessive and could potentially damage the WLAN power amplifier if the signals were combined. The threshold transmission power can be selected based on circuit parameters or can be an adjustable setting managed via the user interface of the wireless communication device. Using this information from operation 304, in operation 306, the power of the first RF signal is identified and compared with the threshold transmission power used for the associated transmission segment.

[0026] In operation 308, the TTC state is set based on operations 304 and 306. The TTC state can be, for example, a signal communicated via a TTC enable 216 connection that controls the switching network, such as those described above. Figure 2The device 200 discussed relates to a switching network 230. A TTC state is used to set up the switching network, which is configured to couple the first RF signal to an independent power amplifier when the transmission power of the first RF signal is above a threshold transmission power, and to a shared power amplifier, such as WLAN power amplifier 220, when the transmission power is below the threshold transmission power. In various embodiments, the TTC state is set according to various TTC criteria, enabling or disabling TTC operation to ensure that constraints are always met during TTC operation, which are constraints based on both management and authentication metrics (e.g., restrictions based on management or authentication standards). In various embodiments, this is ensured by selecting the WLAN Tx power (in dBm) according to WLAN requirements. In such embodiments, the maximum permissible Bluetooth Tx power is set as a function of the WLAN Tx power - X dB (where X is a parameter determined by a degradation margin). The Bluetooth Tx power (in dBm) and rate are passed to the WLAN TTC monitoring circuit, which checks whether the current Bluetooth Tx power is below or above the allowed TTC threshold. If it is above, TTC is temporarily disabled, and a packet transmission arbitrator manages conflicts between Bluetooth and WLAN signal transmissions. After packet transmission is complete, TTC resumes and processes duplicates for another transmission segment (e.g., a separate time period with new data and associated Tx power for both WLAN and Bluetooth transmissions).

[0027] In some embodiments, the degradation margin discussed above is set based on the characteristics of the RF signal. For example, in some embodiments, the WLAN RF signal includes a much larger variation in power or peak-to-average power ratio than the corresponding value in the Bluetooth signal. To improve the effective use of the WLAN power amplifier, the WLAN power amplifier can be implemented using pre-distortion circuitry. The WLAN power amplifier can thus use feedback to identify distortion in the signal output from the WLAN power amplifier and use circuitry to compensate for this distortion. Distortions in the phase and amplitude of the WLAN signal are thus compensated for using pre-distortion circuitry in the WLAN power amplifier. This pre-distortion circuitry is configured to compensate solely based on the WLAN transmission power. To avoid adjusting for this pre-distortion, in some embodiments, the second RF signal (in this case, the Bluetooth RF signal) can be small enough that the contribution of the Bluetooth RF signal to the total power of the WLAN RF signal and the Bluetooth RF signal is small when combined. This means that the effect of the pre-distortion calibration is within a threshold amount. In some embodiments, this condition can be satisfied based on a 10 dB difference between the two RF signals. In other embodiments, other differences can be used.

[0028] Furthermore, as described above, wireless communication systems include management limits on electromagnetic radiation based not only on output power but also on radiated frequency to avoid interference with adjacent frequency bands used by other RF systems. In some embodiments, using a switching network to merge RF signals may generate frequency radiation outside the permissible frequency range with unacceptable power levels. Some embodiments may include elements for monitoring such unacceptable RF radiation and may disable TTC or set TTC criteria to disable TTC operation when such violations of TTC operating conditions are known to occur.

[0029] Figure 4 The illustrations depict various aspects of an apparatus for concurrent transmission in a wireless device via conditional signal combining, according to certain example embodiments. In particular, Figure 4 The diagram illustrates timeline 401. During the time period shown by timeline 401, Bluetooth transmission 480 and WLAN transmission 482 occur as part of the operation of a single wireless communication device. As discussed above, the circuitry for both WLAN transmission 482 and Bluetooth transmission 480 can be integrated into a single integrated circuit, device, or component as part of the wireless communication device, and the transmissions can be combined for output to a single antenna using a TTC circuit, such as that for device 200.

[0030] Timeline 401 additionally illustrates the different transmission cycles 402-440. Each transmission cycle 402-440 is associated with different transmission conditions occurring at the beginning of each new transmission segment. As illustrated, transmission cycles 402-414 begin when a new WLAN transmission segment 482 begins, and transmission cycles 420-440 begin when a new Bluetooth transmission segment 480 begins.

[0031] At the beginning of each transmission cycle 402-440, the TTC circuit evaluates the WLAN transmission power 490 and Bluetooth transmission power 492 as part of determining whether to enable TTC operation. At the beginning of each WLAN transmission segment 482, the WLAN transmission power 490 can be adjusted for the associated transmission cycle 402-414. Based on the WLAN transmission power 490, a threshold transmission power 494 offset is made between the upper threshold transmission power 494A and the lower threshold transmission power 494B. In various embodiments, such as Figure 4As shown, the threshold transmission power 494 may include an upper threshold, a lower threshold, or both. Therefore, the threshold transmission power 494 can be used to implement the degradation margin discussed above, causing Bluetooth transmission 480 to use a separate Bluetooth power amplifier when the power difference between WLAN transmission power 490 and Bluetooth transmission power 492 is not within the appropriate range for merging (both are at the high and low power difference thresholds). For example, at the beginning of transmission cycle 404, WLAN transmission power 490 decreases, and thus the window for threshold transmission power 494 shifts downward. Similarly, at the beginning of transmission cycle 412, WLAN transmission power 490 increases, and thus the threshold transmission power 494 window increases. In each transmission cycle, if Bluetooth transmission power 492 is outside the threshold transmission power 494, TTC operation is disabled.

[0032] Additionally, for each transmission cycle, the Bluetooth transmission power 492 is compared to a Bluetooth power threshold 496. This Bluetooth power threshold 496 remains constant during operation and can be set based on the characteristics of the Bluetooth power amplifier or through system design settings. If the Bluetooth transmission power 492 is above the Bluetooth power threshold 496, TTC operation is disabled, and a separate Bluetooth power amplifier is used to transmit Bluetooth transmissions 480 segments for this time cycle.

[0033] Therefore, TTC operation can be enabled when Bluetooth transmission power 492 is within the threshold transmission power 494 and below the Bluetooth power threshold 496. While these two conditions are used to enable TTC operation, additional criteria may be used in other embodiments. For example, data that WLAN transmission 482 and Bluetooth transmission 480 attempt to transmit simultaneously with respect to a threshold time percentage (illustrated in a segment in timeline 401 where WLAN transmission 482 overlaps with Bluetooth transmission 480) or historical data where such conflict occurs at a threshold rate can be used as a condition to enable or disable TTC operation.

[0034] As illustrated, during transmission cycles 402-410, 412, 420-428, 436, 438, and 440, the Bluetooth transmission power 492 is within the threshold transmission power 494. During transmission cycles 414, 430, 432, and 434, the Bluetooth transmission power 492 falls outside the threshold transmission power 494. During transmission cycles 402-406, 410, 420-424, 430, 436, and 440, the Bluetooth transmission power 492 is below the Bluetooth power threshold 496. During transmission cycles 408, 412, 414, 426, 428, 432, 434, and 438, the Bluetooth transmission power 492 is above the Bluetooth power threshold 496.

[0035] As described above, in the embodiment shown by timeline 401, TTC operation is enabled only when the Bluetooth transmission power 492 is within the threshold transmission power 494 and above the Bluetooth power threshold 496. Assuming... Figure 4 If the wireless mobile device does not use other criteria in the operation illustrated, then TTC operation of such a device will be enabled during transmission cycles 402-406, 410, 420-424, 436, and 440.

[0036] Figure 5 The illustration shows flowcharts illustrating various aspects of a method 500 for concurrent transmission via conditional signal combining in a wireless device, according to certain example embodiments. At operation 502, the device initiates the TTC operation process. This can be initiated based on powering on the wireless communication device, selecting an option to enable TTC functionality using a user interface or device trigger, or any other such initiation option.

[0037] Next, in operation 504, the device checks whether historical conflicts between the two different RF signal systems (illustrated here as WLAN and Bluetooth systems) occur frequently to demonstrate that enabling TTC operation is appropriate. If not, the device can continue to collect transmission cycle information when conflicts occur between the two RF systems, and can periodically check again whether these competing frequencies have risen above the threshold frequency or priority level.

[0038] If the contention meets the criteria for enabling TTC, the device checks whether the RF system is currently transmitting in operation 506. The device delays any adjustments to the system until the antenna is free, thereby avoiding introducing errors into any current data transmission segment. Once a pause with no transmission occurring occurs, the TTC function is enabled in operation 508. This TTC function can be used in some embodiments to activate control logic, which can be used to set switching signals, such as... Figure 2 The TTC enable 216 of device 200 in the middle. Tx-Tx concurrent transmission does not actually start until the switching network has set the transmission conditions for the following evaluation, and until the actual contention period begins when two RF systems attempt to transmit simultaneously.

[0039] In operation 512, the device determines whether the Bluetooth system is configured to use a separate power amplifier (such as Bluetooth power amplifier 210) based on Bluetooth system conditions. This can be solely based on Bluetooth transmission power and, as in... Figure 4The comparison between the Bluetooth power thresholds illustrated in the diagram is shown. In other embodiments, other criteria may be used. If the Bluetooth system determines that the Bluetooth signal will use a separate power amplifier, the device proceeds to operation 518 and temporarily disables TTC operation. This can be done by setting a switch to keep the RF signal at a separate power amplifier while continuing to analyze the device state to determine whether to adjust the switching network to maintain TTC functionality. If a conflict occurs during this period, the device will decide in operation 520 which RF signal will be allowed to use the shared antenna for a specified time period, and in operations 522 and 524, turn the antenna access on and off for each system. Next, in operation 526, the device increments the TTC violation counter value and checks the TTC violation rate in operation 550. If the TTC violation rate is too high, the TTC function is disabled in operation 552 and the method ends. Disabling the TTC function means disabling the logic used to determine whether to merge RF signals and setting the switching network to keep the RF signals separate. Power can be reserved in the following environments: the criteria for TTC operation are infrequent enough that the resource usage in the possibility of maintaining TTC outweighs the benefits of avoiding the alternating disabling of TTC in operations 522 and 524. If the TTC violation rate is not above the threshold or the trigger ends in operation 550, the device proceeds to continue monitoring for new transmissions in operations 510 and 512.

[0040] Returning to operation 512, if the device determines, based on Bluetooth guidelines, that the Bluetooth system can be used with a shared power amplifier (such as WLAN power amplifier 220), then in operation 514, the Bluetooth transmission power is transmitted to the TTC violation or validity check circuitry for each Bluetooth transmission segment. The Bluetooth transmission power is combined in the validity check circuitry using information about the WLAN transmission power used to set the threshold transmission power in operation 510. In operation 516, the device's validity check circuitry compares the Bluetooth transmission power from operation 514 with the threshold transmission power from operation 510 to determine whether the Bluetooth transmission power is within or outside the threshold. If the Bluetooth transmission power is outside the threshold, operation 516 proceeds to operation 518, and then continues from operation 518 as described above. If the Bluetooth transmission power is within the threshold transmission power, then in operation 528, an enable signal is transmitted to set the switching network to route RF signals from both RF systems to the shared power amplifier, and simultaneously enable both RF systems for transmission. This can be implemented as logic enabling the simultaneous encoding and output of analog signals from the digital-to-analog elements of both separate RF systems to the RF source inputs (such as Bluetooth RF source input 240 and WLAN RF source input 250) as described above. Then, in operations 510 and 512, the device returns to monitoring the new transmission segment to determine, based on the operating conditions described above, whether TTC operation should continue or be temporarily disabled, or whether the TTC function should be terminated.

[0041] Figure 6 An example of a wireless device 600 is illustrated. The wireless device 600 may include one or more antennas 608 within a housing 602 configured to communicate with a hotspot, base station (BS), evolved Node B, or other type of WLAN or Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) access point. The wireless device 600 may be configured to communicate using multiple wireless communication standards, including standards selected from 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi standard definitions. The wireless device 600 may communicate using a separate antenna for each wireless communication standard or a shared standard for multiple wireless communication standards. The wireless device 600 may communicate in a WLAN, a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), and / or a WWAN. The wireless device 600 may include means (such as,) enabling a separate RF system to transmit using a single antenna of antenna 608 as described above. Figure 2 (Appendix 200). For example, wireless device 600 may include separate processing circuitry to generate and output both Bluetooth and WLAN analog signals, wherein means such as apparatus 200, controlled by TTC logic, are used to combine signals when TTC criteria are met, and circuitry is used to manage alternating transmission sharing when TTC criteria are met.

[0042] Additional examples of the methods, systems, and apparatus embodiments described herein include the following non-limiting configurations. Each of the following non-limiting examples can stand alone or can be combined in any arrangement or combination with any one or more other examples provided below or throughout this disclosure.

[0043] An example embodiment is an apparatus for a wireless communication device configured for Tx-Tx transmission concurrency (TTC). One implementation of such an apparatus includes: a first input configured to receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal; a second input, different from the first input and configured to receive a second RF signal; a validity check circuit configured to check the transmission power of the first RF signal relative to a first threshold transmission power; a separate power amplifier having a separate power amplifier input, predistortion circuitry, and a separate power amplifier output coupled to an antenna output; a shared power amplifier including a shared power amplifier input coupled to the second input and a shared power amplifier output coupled to the antenna output; and a switching network controlled by the validity check circuit and configured to couple the first input to the separate power amplifier input when the transmission power of the first RF signal is above the first threshold transmission power, and to couple the first input to the shared power amplifier input when the transmission power of the first RF signal is less than the first threshold transmission power.

[0044] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the device further includes a contention identification circuit configured to identify transmission conflicts of the antenna coupled to the antenna output.

[0045] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the first RF signal is a Bluetooth signal, and the second RF signal is a wireless local area network (WLAN) signal; and the output transmission power from the antenna is associated with out-of-band transmission limits.

[0046] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the contention identification circuit is further configured to identify the collision rate of the first RF signal and the second RF signal using the antenna.

[0047] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the contention identification circuit is further configured to set individual transmission states at least in part based on a determined conflict rate below a conflict threshold.

[0048] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the contention identification circuit is further configured to set the transmission concurrency state based at least in part on determining that the conflict rate is above a conflict threshold.

[0049] Additional embodiments may be constructed in which the apparatus further includes: a TTC control circuit configured to temporarily disable the concurrent transmission state in response to a validity check circuit determining that the current transmission power of the first RF signal is above a first threshold transmission power.

[0050] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the TTC control circuit is further configured to increase the TTC violation counter value in response to the validity check circuit determining that the current transmission power of the first RF signal is above a first threshold transmission power; compare the TTC violation counter value with a threshold TTC violation rate; and enable a separate transmission state when the TTC violation counter value exceeds the threshold TTC violation rate.

[0051] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the first threshold transmission power is set based on the maximum WLAN transmission power minus a degradation margin.

[0052] Additional embodiments can be constructed in which the shared power amplifier is configured for higher linear operation, with the associated power consumption increasing.

[0053] Another example embodiment is a method for Tx-Tx transmission concurrency (TTC), comprising: verifying that a first radio frequency (RF) signal and a second RF signal for a first transmission cycle satisfy a set of TTC criteria; verifying that a shared antenna for the first RF signal and the second RF signal is not in use at the beginning of the first transmission cycle; selecting a first threshold transmission power for the first RF signal such that a first maximum transmission power for the first transmission cycle, including the first transmission power of the first RF signal and the second transmission power of the second RF signal, is below the TTC threshold transmission power; and, in response to determining that the first transmission power for the first RF signal is below the first threshold transmission power during the first transmission cycle: configuring a switching network to combine the first RF signal and the second RF signal during the first transmission cycle, and using a shared power amplifier to amplify the first RF signal and the second RF signal during the first transmission cycle.

[0054] Additional implementations of such embodiments may work, wherein the first RF signal is a Bluetooth signal and the second RF signal is a wireless local area network (WLAN) signal conforming to one or more Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards; and wherein the set of TTC criteria includes TTC threshold transmission power and contention rate, wherein the contention rate includes the frequency at which the first RF signal and the second RF signal attempt to share an antenna during a first transmission cycle.

[0055] Additional implementations of such embodiments may work, wherein the method further includes: selecting a second threshold transmission power for the first RF signal such that a second maximum transmission power for the second transmission period, comprising a third transmission power for the first RF signal and a fourth transmission power for the second RF signal, is below the TTC threshold transmission power; and in response to determining that the third transmission power is above the second threshold transmission power: switching the network configuration to a non-TTC configuration during the second transmission period; using a separate power amplifier, separate from the shared power amplifier, to amplify the first RF signal during the second transmission period; and using a shared power amplifier to amplify the second RF signal during the second transmission period.

[0056] Another example embodiment is a non-transient computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a wireless communication device, configure the wireless communication device to: verify that transmission contention for a first radio frequency (RF) signal and a second RF signal satisfies a set of Tx-Tx Transmission Concurrency (TTC) criteria. The instructions in such an embodiment further configure the device to: for each transmission segment associated with the second RF signal: select a threshold transmission power for the first RF signal based on the transmission power of the second RF signal for the associated transmission segment; compare the transmission power of the first RF signal with the threshold transmission power for the associated transmission segment; and set a TTC state for the associated transmission segment based on the comparison of the transmission power for the first RF signal with the threshold transmission power for the associated segment.

[0057] Additional embodiments of such a computer-readable medium include instructions for setting the TTC state, comprising instructions for: in response to determining that a first transmission power for a first segment of a first RF signal is below a threshold transmission power; configuring a switching network to merge the first RF signal and the second RF signal; and using a shared power amplifier to amplify the first segment of the first RF signal and the first segment of the second RF signal.

[0058] Further examples of computer-readable media that can be constructed include instructions that further instruct a wireless communication device to: for each transmission segment, increment a TTC violation counter value when a first transmission power of a first RF signal is above a threshold transmission power; determine a TTC violation rate; and disable TTC operation if the TTC violation rate is above a TTC violation threshold.

[0059] Another embodiment is a device for Tx-Tx Transport Concurrency (TTC), comprising: a Bluetooth (BT) power amplifier; a first matching network coupling the BT power amplifier to a silicon output; a wireless local area network (WLAN) power amplifier; a second matching network coupling the WLAN power amplifier to the silicon output; a third matching network coupling the input of the BT power amplifier to a BT radio frequency (RF) input and a first end of a TTC coupler; and a fourth matching network coupling the WLAN power amplifier to a second end of the TTC coupler and the WLAN RF input; wherein the TTC coupler includes a TTC control input for setting the state of the TTC coupler based on a set of TTC selection criteria.

[0060] Additional embodiments of such a device may be constructed, further including: an antenna coupled to a silicon output; wherein the first criterion in the set of TTC selection criteria includes an antenna usage conflict rate based on the signal usage of the antenna from the BT power amplifier and the WLAN power amplifier.

[0061] Additional embodiments of such a device may be constructed, further comprising: a BT digital-to-analog converter (DAC) coupled via a BTRF input to a first end of a third matching network and a TTC coupler; wherein the second criterion of the set of TTC selection criteria is based at least in part on the output power of the BT DAC.

[0062] Additional embodiments of such a device may be constructed, further including: a WLAN RF source coupled to a WLAN RF input; wherein the third criterion in the set of TTC selection criteria is at least partially based on the output power of the WLAN RF source.

[0063] Figure 6A microphone 620 and one or more speakers 612 capable of providing audio input and output for the wireless device 600 are also shown. The display screen 604 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or another type of display screen such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. The display screen 604 can be configured as a touchscreen. The touchscreen can use capacitive, resistive, or other types of touchscreen technology. The application processor 614 and graphics processor 618 can be coupled to internal memory 616 to provide processing and display capabilities. The non-volatile memory port 610 can also be used to provide data input / output options to the user. The non-volatile memory port 610 can also be used to expand the storage capacity of the wireless device 600. The keyboard 606 can be integrated with or wirelessly connected to the wireless device 600 to provide additional user input. A virtual keyboard can also be provided using a touchscreen. A camera 622 located on the front (display) side or rear side of the wireless device 600 can also be integrated into the housing 602 of the wireless device 600. Any such element can be used to generate information that can be communicated via aggregated links as described in the various embodiments herein.

[0064] Figure 7 The illustration shows a block diagram of an apparatus, device, and method according to certain embodiments, which can be used to implement various aspects of a system, apparatus, and method for achieving signal concurrency through conditional signal merging. Figure 7 An example computer system machine 700 is illustrated, on which any one or more of the methods discussed herein can be run, including wireless communication devices 102, 110, and 130, any wireless device described herein, any network element or server described herein, or any other such device described herein. In various alternative embodiments, the computer system machine 700 operates as a standalone device or is capable of being connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the computer system machine 700 can operate as a server or client machine in a server-client network environment, or it can act as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system machine 700 can be a personal computer (PC), which may or may not be: portable (e.g., a laptop or netbook), tablet computer, set-top box (STB), game console, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone or smartphone, web-based device, network router, switch, or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequentially or otherwise) specifying actions to be performed by the machine. Furthermore, although only a single machine is described, the term "machine" can also be interpreted as any set of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or more) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

[0065] Example computer system machine 700 includes one or more processors 702 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both), main memory 704, and static memory 706, which communicate with each other via interconnection 708 (e.g., a link, a bus, etc.). Computer system machine 700 may further include a device display unit 710, an alphanumeric input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 714 (e.g., a mouse). In one embodiment, the video display unit 710, the input device 712, and the UI navigation device 714 are touchscreen displays. The computer system 700 may additionally include a mass storage device 716 (e.g., a drive unit), a signal generating device 718 (e.g., a speaker), an output controller 732, a power management controller 734, a network interface device 720 (which may include one or more antennas 730, transceivers, or other wireless communication hardware, or be operable to communicate with), and one or more sensors 728 (such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, compass, position sensor, accelerometer, or other sensor).

[0066] Storage device 716 includes a machine-readable medium 722 on which one or more sets of data structures and instructions 724 (e.g., software) are stored, said data structures and instructions 724 embodying or being utilized by any one or more methods and functions described herein. The instructions 724 may also reside wholly or at least partially within main memory 704, static memory 706, and / or processor 702 during execution by computer system machine 700, wherein main memory 704, static memory 706, and processor 702 also constitute machine-readable media.

[0067] Although the machine-readable medium 722 is described as a single medium in the example embodiment, the term "machine-readable medium" can include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) storing the one or more instructions 724. The term "machine-readable medium" should also be understood to include any one or more methods capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by a machine and causing the machine to perform the contents of this disclosure, or any tangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures utilized by such instructions or data structures associated with such instructions.

[0068] Instruction 724 can further utilize any of a number of well-known transport protocols (e.g., HTTP) to send or receive over the communication network 726 via the transport medium through the network interface device 720. The term "transport medium" should be understood as any intangible medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for machine execution, and including digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media to facilitate communication of such software.

[0069] Various technologies, or aspects or parts thereof, may take the form of program code (e.g., instructions) embodied in a tangible medium, such as a floppy disk, CD-ROM, hard drive, non-transient computer-readable storage mechanism, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein when the program code is loaded into a machine (such as a computer) and executed by the machine, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various technologies. Where the program code executes on a programmable computer, the programmable computer may include a processor, a processor-readable storage medium (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements may be RAM, EPROM, flash drive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, or other media for storing electronic data. The programmable computer may also include a transceiver module, a counting module, a processing module, and / or a clock module or timer module. One or more programs that can implement or utilize the various technologies described herein may use application programming interfaces (APIs), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in high-level procedural or object-oriented programming languages ​​to communicate with the computer system. However, if desired, one or more programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language. In either case, the language can be compiled or interpreted and can be combined with hardware implementation.

[0070] Various embodiments may use 3GPP LTE / LTE-A, IEEE 702.11, near-field communication, and Bluetooth communication standards. Various alternative embodiments may use a large number of other WWAN, WLAN, and WPAN protocols and standards associated with the technologies described herein. These standards include, but are not limited to, other standards from 3GPP (e.g., HSPA+, UMTS), IEEE 702.16 (e.g., 702.16p), or Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth 6.0, or similar standards defined by the Bluetooth SIG) standard family. Other applicable network configurations can be included within the scope of the communication network described herein. It will be understood that communication on such a communication network can be facilitated using any number of personal area networks, LANs, and WANs, and any combination of wired or wireless transmission media.

[0071] The embodiments described above can be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Various methods or techniques, or certain aspects or parts thereof, can take the form of program code (e.g., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as flash memory, hard drives, portable storage devices, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), semiconductor storage devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)), disk storage media, optical storage media, and any other machine-readable storage media or storage devices, wherein when the program code is loaded into a machine (such as a computer or networking device) and executed by the machine, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques.

[0072] Machine-readable storage media or other storage devices can include any non-transient mechanism for storing information in a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) form. Where the program code runs on a programmable computer, the programmable computer can include a processor, a processor-readable storage medium (including volatile and non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. One or more programs capable of implementing or utilizing the various techniques described herein can use application programming interfaces (APIs), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs can be implemented in high-level procedural or object-oriented programming languages ​​to communicate with the computer system. However, if desired, the program(s) can be implemented in assembly or machine language. In any case, the language can be assembly or interpreted and can be combined with hardware implementations.

[0073] It should be understood that the functional units or capabilities described in this specification may refer to or be labeled as components or modules, thereby emphasizing their implementation independence. For example, a component or module can be implemented as hardware circuitry, including custom-designed very large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI) or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors (such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components). Components or modules can also be implemented in programmable hardware devices, such as field-programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, or the like. Components or modules can also be implemented in software to be executed by various types of processors. The identified executable code of a component or module can, for example, comprise a physical or logical block of one or more computer instructions, which can be organized, for example, as objects, procedures, or functions. In any case, the executableness of the identified component or module does not require them to be physically located together, but can include separate instructions stored in different locations that, when logically together, comprise the component or module and achieve the purpose of the described component or module.

[0074] Indeed, executable code components or modules can be a single instruction or numerous instructions, and can even be distributed across several different code segments, different programs, and several storage devices. Similarly, operational data can be identified and described within components or modules, and can be embodied and organized in any suitable form within any suitable type of data structure. Operational data can be collected as a single dataset, or can be distributed across different locations including different storage devices, and can exist at least partially as electrical signals on a system or network. Components or modules can be passive or active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured for Tx-Tx Transport Concurrency (TTC) wireless communication devices, the apparatus comprising: The first input is configured to receive a first radio frequency (RF) signal; The second input is different from the first input and is configured to receive a second RF signal; The validity check circuit is configured to check the transmission power of the first RF signal relative to a first threshold transmission power, and control the connection of the first input based on the check result; An independent power amplifier with independent power amplifier input, predistortion circuitry, and independent power amplifier output coupled to the antenna output; The shared power amplifier includes a shared power amplifier input coupled to the second input and a shared power amplifier output coupled to the antenna output; The network switching is controlled by the validity check circuit and configured to: When the transmission power of the first RF signal is higher than the first threshold transmission power, the first input is coupled to the independent power amplifier input; and when the transmission power of the first RF signal is less than or equal to the first threshold transmission power, the first input is coupled to the shared power amplifier input. A first matching network couples the independent power amplifier to the antenna output; A second matching network couples the shared power amplifier to the antenna output; A third matching network couples the independent power amplifier to the first input and the first end of the switching network; and A fourth matching network couples the shared power amplifier to the second end of the switching network and the second input.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: A contention identification circuit is configured to identify transmission conflicts of the antenna coupled to the antenna output.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The first RF signal is a Bluetooth signal, and the second RF signal is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) signal; and, The output transmission power from the antenna is associated with out-of-band transmission limits.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, The contention identification circuit is further configured to: The collision rate of the first RF signal and the second RF signal is used to identify the antenna collision rate.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, The contention identification circuit is further configured to: At least in part, a separate transmission state is set up based on the determination that the collision rate is below the collision threshold.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, The contention identification circuit is further configured to: The transmission concurrency state is set at least in part based on the determination that the collision rate is higher than the collision threshold.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: The TTC control circuit is configured to temporarily disable concurrent transmission in response to the validity check circuit determining that the current transmission power of the first RF signal is higher than the first threshold transmission power.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, The TTC control circuit is further configured to: In response to the validity check circuit determining that the current transmission power of the first RF signal is higher than the first threshold transmission power, the TTC violation counter value is increased; The TTC violation counter value is compared with the threshold TTC violation rate; as well as When the TTC violation counter value exceeds the threshold TTC violation rate, the concurrent transmission state is disabled and the individual transmission state is enabled.

9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, The first threshold transmission power is set based on the difference between the maximum WLAN transmission power and the degradation margin.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The shared power amplifier is configured for high linear operation, which involves an associated increase in power consumption.

Images