Beacon collision detection and wireless communication device performance improvement

Abstract

Systems, apparatus, processes, and computer-readable media for wireless communication are disclosed. For example, a computing device may detect a beacon signal at an initial time. The beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol. The computing device may determine, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmission of one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol. The computing device may configure at least one of transmission or reception of the one or more signals based on the one or more subsequent times to avoid interference of the one or more signals with the one or more subsequent beacon signals. The one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates in its entirety to wireless communication. For example, aspects of this disclosure relate to providing wireless communication devices (e.g., peripheral devices, such as Bluetooth). ® (BT) Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) provide systems and technologies for beacon (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon) collision detection and performance improvement. Background Technology

[0002] Short-range wireless communication enables wireless communication over relatively short distances (e.g., within thirty meters). For example, Bluetooth. ® It is a wireless technology standard used to exchange data over short distances using short-wavelength ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio waves ranging from 2.4 GHz to 2.485 GHz.

[0003] Bluetooth ® Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a type of Bluetooth... ® Communication methods that allow communication with devices operating at low power. Such devices may include beacons, which are wireless communication devices that can use low-power communication technologies for location, proximity marketing, or other purposes. In some cases, such devices may be used as nodes (e.g., relay nodes) in a wireless mesh network that transmits and / or relays information to a management platform or hub associated with the wireless mesh network. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following is a simplified summary of the invention relating to one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, this summary should not be considered an exhaustive overview relating to all conceived aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or decisive elements relating to all conceived aspects or to depict the scope associated with any particular aspect. Thus, the sole purpose of this summary is to present, in a simplified form, certain concepts relating to one or more aspects involving the mechanisms disclosed herein, prior to the detailed description presented below.

[0005] Systems and techniques for wireless communication are described. According to at least one exemplary example, a network device for wireless communication is provided. The network device includes at least one memory and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to: detect a beacon signal at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; determine, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; and configure, based on the one or more subsequent times, at least one of transmitting or receiving one or more signals to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

[0006] In another exemplary example, a method for wireless communication performed at a network device is provided. The method includes: detecting a beacon signal at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; determining, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; and configuring, based on the one or more subsequent times, at least one of transmitting or receiving one or more signals to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

[0007] In another exemplary example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: detect a beacon signal at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; determine, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; and configure, based on the one or more subsequent times, at least one of transmitting or receiving one or more signals to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

[0008] In another exemplary example, an apparatus for wireless communication is provided. The apparatus includes: means for detecting a beacon signal at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; means for determining, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; and means for configuring at least one of the transmission or reception of one or more signals based on the one or more subsequent times to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

[0009] The aspects generally include, as described substantially with reference to the accompanying drawings and description and illustrated as shown in the drawings and description, methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, user gear, wireless communication equipment, and / or processing systems.

[0010] Some aspects include a device having a processor configured to perform one or more operations of any of the methods outlined above. Further aspects include a processing device for use in the device, configured using processor-executable instructions to perform operations of any of the methods outlined above. Further aspects include a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions thereon configured to cause the device's processor to perform operations of any of the methods outlined above. Further aspects include a device having components for performing functions of any of the methods outlined above.

[0011] The features and technical advantages of the examples according to this disclosure have been summarized quite extensively above in order to better understand the detailed description below. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples can be readily utilized as the basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purpose of this disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein (both their organization and operation) and their associated advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each figure in the drawings is provided for illustrative and descriptive purposes and not as a definition of limitation of the claims. The foregoing, as well as other features and aspects, will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.

[0012] This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to define the scope of the claimed subject matter. This subject matter should be understood with reference to the appropriate portions of the entire specification, any or all drawings, and each claim. Attached Figure Description

[0013] The accompanying drawings are provided to aid in describing various aspects of this disclosure, and are provided for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting the scope of the aspects. For a more detailed understanding of the foregoing features of this disclosure, a more specific description of the invention, briefly summarized above, can be obtained by referring to the aspects, some of which are illustrated in the drawings. However, it should be noted that the drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting its scope, as other equally valid aspects are permissible in this description. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0014] Figure 1 These are illustrations of example environments in which the systems and / or methods described herein may be implemented according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2This is a diagram illustrating example components of a device according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a signaling diagram illustrating example communications transmitted according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of communication transmission between a network device and two sets of wireless communication devices according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating examples of time slot configurations, including BT time slots and Wi-Fi time slots, according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of communication transmission between a network device and two sets of wireless communication devices over a duration of two time slots, according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of communication exchange between components within a network device according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for wireless communication according to some aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing system according to some aspects of this disclosure, which may be adopted by the disclosed systems and techniques for providing beacon collision detection and performance improvements of wireless communication devices. Detailed Implementation

[0023] Certain aspects of this disclosure are provided below for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of this disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of this disclosure. Some aspects described herein can be applied independently, and some of them can be combined, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the following description, specific details are set forth for illustrative purposes to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of this application. However, it will be apparent that various aspects can be practiced without these specific details. The accompanying drawings and descriptions are not intended to be limiting.

[0024] The following description provides only exemplary aspects and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of this disclosure. Rather, the following description of the exemplary aspects will provide those skilled in the art with a description that can be used to implement the exemplary aspects. It should be understood that various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements without departing from the scope of this application as set forth in the appended claims.

[0025] A system may include one or more wireless communication devices controlled by a network entity. For example, a system including multiple peripheral devices (e.g., an electronic shelf label (ESL) system) may include one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., peripheral devices such as ESLs) controlled by a network entity (such as a management entity (ME)) via at least one additional network entity (such as an access point (AP)). As used herein, the terms "network entity" and "network device" may be used interchangeably. For example, an AP may be referred to as an example of a "network entity" and / or an example of a "network device". A "network entity" may include an AP, an ME, and / or a combination of both. A "network device" may include an AP, an ME, and / or a combination of both. In some examples, a single device may implement the functionality of both an ME and an AP (e.g., an ME and an AP may be combined in a single device).

[0026] In one or more examples, each peripheral device (e.g., ESL) may have a wireless connection (e.g., Bluetooth) to the AP for easy control by the ME. ® The AP communicates with the ME via a low-power (BLE) connection or other connection (e.g., via the Internet, wirelessly, via Ethernet, etc.). In some cases, commands from the ME can be wirelessly transmitted by the AP to peripheral devices (e.g., ESL). Responses or information from peripheral devices can also be received by the AP and provided to the ME by the AP.

[0027] Each AP may have an associated channel mapping. A channel mapping is a list of frequency channels that the AP may use or conversely may not use (e.g., in the context of modifying frequency hopping sequences) for purposes such as communicating with ESLs or other peripheral devices. While this document uses ESLs as an illustrative example of a wireless communication device, management entities as an example of network entities, and access points as an example of network entities to describe the examples, the systems and techniques described herein are applicable to any type of system or network.

[0028] In an ESL system, periodic announcements (PAs) can be used to provide regular and predictable payload transmissions from a central device (e.g., which may take the form of a network device, such as an AP) to one or more peripheral devices (e.g., each may take the form of a wireless communication device, such as an ESL or other peripheral device). For example, a PA can be used to send information from a central device to multiple peripheral devices, which may be within one or more groups of peripheral devices. PAs are typically unidirectional (e.g., one-way transmission), such that the PA is sent only unidirectionally from the central device to one or more peripheral devices.

[0029] Periodic announcements with responsiveness (PAwR) can be used in ESL systems to provide bidirectionality (e.g., bidirectional transmission between a central device and one or more peripheral devices). Whenever the central device decides to send (e.g., transmit) a request to a peripheral device, the peripheral devices synchronized within a set of peripheral devices can be addressed by the central device on a synchronization channel (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) channel between the central device and the peripheral devices). In some cases, as used herein, a synchronization channel refers to a channel on which transmissions are synchronized (in time). For example, the channel may utilize or be based on the frequency on which one or more communications are transmitted. Frequency hopping sequences (HFS) may be associated with the channel. In some cases, HFS may be performed at fixed and / or predetermined intervals. In some cases, the channel mapping may change, such as if interference on one or more channels changes, in which case the HFS may be updated (there may not be a fixed interval). In such cases, a minimum time between HFS updates can be applied, which avoids updating the HFS too frequently. The central device and one or more peripheral devices can concurrently track a predefined frequency hopping pattern or sequence (e.g., so the central device knows when to send a request, and the peripheral devices know when to listen for and / or receive a request).

[0030] A request sent by a central device to peripheral devices in a specific group can be a PA containing a synchronization message sent by the central device to the peripheral devices in the specific group on a synchronization channel. For example, wireless communication devices within a specific group can be woken up at the same PA transmission (e.g., from low power (LP) mode) regarding a specific PAwR queue for that group. A PA consists of a periodic set of transmissions, where the collection of transmissions is collectively referred to as a PA queue or PAwR queue when applied to PAwR. Each transmission of a PA queue (or PAwR queue) occurs at a precise time point, with fixed intervals between these transmissions. A communication channel is selected for each of these transmissions (e.g., one of thirty-seven available communication channels), where the communication channel follows a frequency hopping sequence. Synchronization between the central device and peripheral devices in the group is based on the periodicity of the PA. The periodically transmitted message (e.g., a synchronization message) includes zero or more commands (e.g., a corresponding opcode and parameters associated with each command). If the central device expects a response from a peripheral device (e.g., a synchronization message from the central device requests a response from a specific peripheral device), the specific peripheral device will respond in a specific response time slot based on its position within the sequence contained in the synchronization message sent by the central device.

[0031] Within an ESL system, network devices (e.g., access points) can employ both a first communication protocol (e.g., utilizing Wi-Fi frequencies, such as for communication within a wide area network (WLAN)) and a second communication protocol (e.g., utilizing BT frequencies, such as for communication with BT wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL)). The airtime used for transmissions using both of these protocols can be divided into two different types of time slots (e.g., Figure 6 Time slot 605a illustrates an example of a time slot, which may include a BT time slot (e.g., for transmission using BT frequencies) and a Wi-Fi time slot (e.g., for transmission using Wi-Fi frequencies). For the coexistence of BT and Wi-Fi time slots, the BT and Wi-Fi time slots can be time-multiplexed (e.g., using time division multiplexing (TDM)) and synchronized with each other, such that there is no time overlap between the Wi-Fi and BT time slots.

[0032] During the BT time slot, Wi-Fi signals (e.g., Wi-Fi data packets) may have a lower reception priority than BT signals (e.g., BT data packets). However, during the BT time slot, Wi-Fi beacon signals may have a higher reception priority than BT signals. Regardless of the time slot type, Wi-Fi beacon signals generally have the highest priority among all different types of signals (e.g., data packets) to avoid any possible missed reception of Wi-Fi beacon signals.

[0033] Wi-Fi beacon signals are transmitted periodically at time intervals (e.g., beacon intervals), such as 100 milliseconds (ms). Wi-Fi beacon signals can be transmitted during Wi-Fi time slots and / or BT time slots. A Wi-Fi beacon signal transmitted within a BT time slot may conflict with BT signals (e.g., BT packets) transmitted concurrently with the Wi-Fi beacon signal within that BT time slot. Since the Wi-Fi beacon signal has the highest priority for reception within a BT time slot, it will be received before BT signals (e.g., BT packets) within the BT time slot. When BT signals are not received due to conflicts with Wi-Fi beacon signals within a BT time slot, BT performance (e.g., wireless communication device performance, such as BT ESL performance) can be significantly affected. Therefore, it may be beneficial to allow for processes that avoid conflicts between Wi-Fi beacon signals and BT signals within BT time slots.

[0034] In one or more aspects of this disclosure, this document describes systems, apparatuses, methods (also referred to as processes), and computer-readable media (collectively, “Systems and Technologies”) for providing solutions for beacon collision detection and performance improvements of wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL). These systems and technologies allow for the avoidance of collisions between beacon signals of a first communication protocol (e.g., a Wi-Fi communication protocol) and signals associated with a second communication protocol (e.g., a BT communication protocol). For example, the systems and technologies allow for the avoidance of collisions between Wi-Fi beacon signals and BT signals within a BT time slot. In one or more aspects, the systems and technologies allow for the detection of beacon intervals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon intervals) by a subsystem (e.g., a BT subsystem) within a network device (e.g., an access point). In some aspects, the systems and technologies utilize beacon intervals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon intervals) to schedule signal transmissions associated with the second communication protocol (e.g., BT signal transmissions) to avoid any potential collisions with beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals) within time slots associated with the second communication protocol (e.g., BT time slots).

[0035] In one or more aspects, a network device (e.g., an access point) may detect a beacon signal (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon signal) at an initial time (e.g., at time 0). In one or more examples, the beacon signal may be associated with a first communication protocol (e.g., using a Wi-Fi frequency). The network device may determine one or more subsequent times (e.g., at 100 milliseconds) for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol based on the initial time. The network device may configure the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) based on one or more subsequent times to avoid interference (e.g., collisions) between one or more signals and one or more subsequent beacon signals. One or more signals may be associated with a second communication protocol (e.g., using a BT frequency).

[0036] In one or more aspects, the system and technology provide advantages including, but not limited to, the following: reducing the amount of required signal retransmissions (e.g., BT signal retransmissions), saving power due to the reduction in required signal retransmissions (e.g., BT signal retransmissions), improving the performance of wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL), achieving better key performance indicator (KPI) results, and providing differentiated solutions for the coexistence of communication devices using different communication protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi and BT wireless communication devices, such as BT ESL).

[0037] Although this article uses Wi-Fi and BT as examples of communication protocols to describe the example, this system and technology can be used to avoid communication conflicts between other communication protocols.

[0038] Additional aspects of this disclosure are described in more detail below.

[0039] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example environment 100 in which the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented. For example... Figure 1 As shown, environment 100 may include at least one access point (AP) 110, at least one wireless communication device 120, management entity (ME) 130, and network 140. The devices in environment 100 may be interconnected via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0040] Access point 110 may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, providing, and / or routing information associated with synchronization and / or handover of the access point, as described elsewhere herein. Access point 110 may include communication devices and / or computing devices. Access point 110 may be configured to transmit beacons (e.g., BLE beacons) and scan for and locate other devices (e.g., other devices communicating using the BLE protocol).

[0041] Wireless communication device 120 may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and / or providing information associated with synchronization and / or handover with an access point, as described elsewhere herein. Wireless communication device 120 may include communication devices and / or computing devices. In some aspects, wireless communication device 120 may be an electronic shelf label (ESL), may include an electronic shelf label (ESL), or may be included in an electronic shelf label (ESL).

[0042] Management entity 130 includes one or more devices, as described elsewhere herein, capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, providing, and / or routing information associated with synchronization and / or handover to the access point. Management entity 130 may include communication devices and / or computing devices. For example, management entity 130 may include servers such as application servers, client servers, web servers, database servers, host servers, proxy servers, virtual servers (e.g., executing on computing hardware), or servers in a cloud computing system. In some aspects, management entity 130 includes computing hardware used in a cloud computing environment. Management entity 130 can provide control over a system (e.g., an ESL system) including access point 110, wireless communication device 120, and / or other devices. Access point 110 may be communicatively connected to management entity 130 via a network such as the Internet (not shown).

[0043] Network 140 may include one or more wireless networks. For example, network 140 may include a personal area network (e.g., a Bluetooth network). Network 140 enables communication between devices in environment 100.

[0044] Figure 1 The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown are provided as examples. In implementation, variations may exist. Figure 1 The devices and / or networks shown are compared to additional devices and / or networks, fewer devices and / or networks, different devices and / or networks, or devices and / or networks arranged differently. Furthermore, Figure 1 The two or more devices shown can be implemented within a single device, or Figure 1 The single device shown can be implemented as multiple distributed devices. Additionally or alternatively, a collection of devices in environment 100 (e.g., one or more devices) can perform one or more functions described as being performed by another collection of devices in environment 100.

[0045] Figure 2This is a diagram illustrating example components of device 200 according to the present disclosure. Device 200 may correspond to access point 110, wireless communication device 120, and / or management entity 130. In some aspects, access point 110, wireless communication device 120, and / or management entity 130 may include one or more devices 200 and / or one or more components of device 200. Figure 2 As shown, device 200 may include bus 205, processor 210, memory 215, storage component 220, input component 225, output component 230 and / or communication component 235.

[0046] Bus 205 may include components that enable communication between components of device 200. Processor 210 may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. Processor 210 may be a central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), accelerated processing unit (APU), microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some aspects, processor 210 may include one or more processors that can be programmed to perform functions. Memory 215 may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., flash memory, magnetic storage, and / or optical storage) storing information and / or instructions for use by processor 210.

[0047] Storage component 220 may store information and / or software related to the operation and use of device 200. For example, storage component 220 may include hard disk (e.g., magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, and / or solid-state disk), compact disc (CD), digital multi-purpose disc (DVD), floppy disk, cassette, magnetic tape, and / or another type of non-transitory computer-readable medium, together with corresponding drives.

[0048] Input component 225 may include components that allow device 200 to receive information (such as via user input) (e.g., touchscreen display, keyboard, keypad, mouse, buttons, switches, and / or microphone). Additionally or alternatively, input component 225 may include components for determining the location or position of device 200 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) component, or a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) component), and / or sensors for sensing information (e.g., an accelerometer, gyroscope, actuator, or another type of positioning or environmental sensor). Output component 230 may include components that provide output information from device 200 (e.g., a display, speaker, haptic feedback component, and / or audio or visual indicators).

[0049] Communication component 235 may include one or more transceiver components (e.g., transceivers and / or separate receivers and transmitters) that enable device 200 to communicate with other devices (such as via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections). Communication component 235 may permit device 200 to receive information from and / or provide information to another device. For example, communication component 235 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a wireless local area interface (e.g., a Wi-Fi interface or a BLE interface), and / or a cellular network interface.

[0050] Communication component 235 may include one or more antennas for receiving wireless radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted from one or more other devices, cloud networks, etc. The antennas may be a single antenna or an antenna array (e.g., an antenna phased array), facilitating simultaneous transmit and receive functionality. The antennas may be omnidirectional antennas, enabling signal reception from and transmission in all directions. The wireless signals may be transmitted via a wireless network. The wireless network may be any wireless network, such as cellular or telecommunications networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.), wireless local area networks (e.g., WiFi networks), Bluetooth, etc. ™ Networks and / or other networks.

[0051] One or more transceiver components (e.g., wireless transceivers) of communication component 235 may include an RF front end, which includes one or more components such as amplifiers, mixers (also known as signal multipliers) for down-converting signals, frequency synthesizers (also known as oscillators) that provide signals to the mixer, baseband filters, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), one or more power amplifiers, and other components. The RF front end generally handles the selection of wireless signals and the conversion of wireless signals to baseband frequencies or intermediate frequencies, and can convert RF signals to the digital domain.

[0052] In some cases, a CODEC may be implemented (e.g., by processor 210) to encode and / or decode data transmitted and / or received using one or more wireless transceivers. In some cases, encryption-decryption may be implemented (e.g., by processor 210) to encrypt and / or decrypt data transmitted and / or received by one or more wireless transceivers (e.g., according to Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and / or Data Encryption Standard (DES) standards).

[0053] In some aspects, device 200 may represent an ESL. In addition to the aforementioned components, the ESL may also include a battery. In some aspects, the output component 230 of the ESL may be an e-paper display or a liquid crystal display (LCD).

[0054] Device 200 can perform one or more processes described herein. Device 200 can perform these processes based on software instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (such as memory 215 and / or storage component 220) executed by processor 210. Computer-readable medium is defined herein as a non-transitory memory device. Memory devices include storage space within a single physical storage device or storage space distributed across multiple physical storage devices.

[0055] Software instructions can be read from another computer-readable medium or another device into memory 215 and / or storage component 220 via communication component 235. The software instructions stored in memory 215 and / or storage component 220, when executed, cause processor 210 to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally or alternatively, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Therefore, the aspects described herein are not limited to any particular combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0056] Figure 2 The number and arrangement of components shown are provided as an example. In implementation, device 200 may include... Figure 2 The components shown are compared to additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently. Additionally or alternatively, a set of components of device 200 (e.g., one or more components) may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components of device 200.

[0057] As previously mentioned, in an ESL system, a PA (Packet Access Point) is typically used to provide regular and predictable payload transmission from a central device (e.g., which may be in the form of a network device, such as an access point) to one or more peripheral devices (e.g., each may be in the form of a wireless communication device, such as an ESL). A PA can be used to send information from a central device to multiple peripheral devices, which may be within one or more groups of peripheral devices. A PA is typically unidirectional (e.g., one-way transmission), meaning that the PA only transmits unidirectionally from the central device to one or more peripheral devices.

[0058] Periodic announcements with responses (PAwR) are introduced into ESL systems to provide bidirectionality (e.g., bidirectional transmission between a central device and one or more peripheral devices). Whenever the central device determines to transmit (e.g., send) a request (e.g., a PA containing a synchronization message transmitted on a synchronization channel) to a peripheral device, peripheral devices synchronized within a set of peripheral devices can be addressed by the central device on the synchronization channel (e.g., a synchronization frequency channel between the central device and the peripheral devices). If the central device expects a response from a peripheral device (e.g., a synchronization message from the central device requesting a response from a specific peripheral device), the specific peripheral device will respond in a specific response time slot based on its position within the sequence contained in the synchronization message transmitted by the central device.

[0059] Figure 3 and Figure 4 A signaling diagram illustrating an example of PAWR in an ESL system is shown. Specifically, Figure 3 The signaling diagram illustrates an example PAWR for a group of wireless network devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e), and Figure 4 The signaling diagram illustrates an example PAWR for two groups of wireless network devices 420a and 420b (e.g., a first group including ESL1 to ESL 11 and a second group including ESL 12 to ESL 22). Specifically, Figure 3 This is a timing diagram illustrating a portion of the communication between an access point (e.g., access point 110) and a wireless communication device 120 (e.g., ESL). Reference Figure 1 , Figure 3 The signal sequence illustrated can be represented by Figure 1 This is achieved through one or more of the following: a communication connection, an access point 110, and / or a wireless communication device 120.

[0060] Figure 3 The devices (e.g., Device 1 305a, Device 2 305b, Device 3 305c, Device 4 305d, and Device 5 305e) are selectable from Figure 1 The wireless communication device 120 can each receive periodic announcements (PAs) during a scanning period 310. The scanning period 310 can occur at regularly scheduled intervals and can be repeated periodically, allowing devices (e.g., devices 1305a, 2305b, 3305c, 4305d, and 5305e) to wake up during the repeated scanning period 310 to scan for messages. Access points (e.g., Figure 1Access point 110 may provide periodic announcements (PAs) to devices (e.g., devices 1 305a, 2 305b, 3 305c, 4 305d, and 5 305e) via broadcast or multicast during scanning period 310. For access points (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110), scan period 310 can be its main transmission period. In some cases, scan period 310 may not be a fixed time because the access point (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110 may transmit data of different lengths from the beginning of scan period 310.

[0061] The transmission may include multiple announcements in a queue. One or more portions of the announcement may be directed to one or more devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e). Devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e) may decode or filter messages intended for each specific device and transmitted during a period when all devices are receiving data. In this way, devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e) may be reprogrammed, updated, and / or have messages transmitted to them from an access point (e.g., Figure 1 The request from access point 110, or through access point (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110) from another device (e.g., Figure 1 The management entity 130) relay. From the access point (e.g., Figure 1 The periodic announcement (PA) of access point 110 can set response periods for one or more of the devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e).

[0062] As illustrated, devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e) are each assigned response periods 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328 respectively, within the time following scan period 310. In some cases, the assignment of response periods to a particular device may not be permanent. In some aspects, this assignment may be inferred from the payload of the synchronization message. The first response period 320 may begin after an idle time 315 following scan period 310, wherein the idle time is long enough to provide the transmitter device with an opportunity to perform other Bluetooth-related activities. The assigned period may also be limited to or specified to a specific frequency of the channel on which a response is made. For example, in Figure 3In this context, device 1 305a is assigned a response time period of 320, device 2 305b is assigned a response time period of 322, device 3 305c is assigned a response time period of 324, device 4 305d is assigned a response time period of 326, and device 5 305e is assigned a response time period of 328. Access points (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110 may store attributes of devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e), including whether the device is capable of sending or responding. PA signaling following a response may be referred to as a periodic announcement with multiple responses (PAwMR).

[0063] For example, device 3 305c (e.g., Figure 1 The wireless communication device 120 may be ESL, and may be accessed from the access point (e.g., during the scanning period 310) during the scanning period 310. Figure 1 Access point 110 receives price updates from the PA. The PA received at device 3 305c may include a specified start time for response period 324, or may include a schedule of response start times for the devices (including device 3 305c). Device 3 305c communicates with the access point (e.g., Figure 1 The response from access point 110 may include acknowledgments, status codes, and / or other information such as battery life, received signal strength, and / or error notifications. The response from device 3 305c may include information to be provided by the access point (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110 relays information to another device. This response may include packets with headers and may conform to any Bluetooth protocol. Information can be relayed to the access point (e.g., via the Bluetooth protocol's data channel). Figure 1 The PA and responses from all devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e) can both use the Bluetooth protocol channel.

[0064] A device that has been assigned a response time (e.g., device 5 305e) may not respond and can determine that it has nothing to signal. In other words, devices (e.g., device 1 305a, device 2 305b, device 3 305c, device 4 305d, and device 5 305e) can determine what response is needed (if any) and may or may not respond from the access point (e.g., Figure 1 The access point 110 responds to requests transmitted from it. Response periods 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328 can be assigned based on requests for such periods within the open transmission time, which are transmitted to the access point (e.g., access point 110). Figure 1Access point 110). Response periods 320, 322, 324, 326, and 328 can be based on the access point (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110 has requested which devices will transmit data or acknowledgements to assign them. PA messages and responses can be frequency hopping, time synchronization channels, and / or extended channels in Bluetooth's announcement channel.

[0065] As mentioned earlier, Figure 4 An example PAWR is shown for two groups of wireless network devices 420a and 420b (e.g., a first group including ESL1 to ESL 11, and a second group including ESL 12 to ESL 22). Specifically, Figure 4 This is a signaling diagram illustrating an example of communication transmission 400 between network device 410 (e.g., a central device, which may be an access point) and two sets of wireless communication devices 420a, 420b (e.g., peripheral devices, which may be ESLs). Reference Figure 1 , Figure 4 The signal sequence illustrated can be represented by Figure 1 This is achieved through one or more of the following: a communication connection, an access point 110, and / or a wireless communication device 120.

[0066] exist Figure 4 In the diagram, the signaling diagram is presented in graphical form, where the x-axis represents time in milliseconds (ms), and the y-axis represents specific wireless communication devices 420a, 420b (e.g., ESL1, ESL2, ESL3, ESL4, ESL5, ESL6, ESL7, ESL8, ESL9, ESL10, ESL11, ESL12, ESL13, ESL14, ESL15, ESL16, ESL17, ESL18, ESL19, ESL20, ESL21, and ESL22). Specifically, Figure 4 The x-axis of the graph represents time from 0ms to 25ms. Time can be divided into two subframes, each 12.5ms long. Therefore, these two subframes can include a first subframe from 0ms to 12.5ms and a second subframe from 12.5ms to 25ms. In one or more examples, there may be more or fewer than two subframes, such as... Figure 4 As shown, and / or each subframe may be longer or shorter than 12.5ms, such as Figure 4 As shown.

[0067] In one or more examples, wireless communication devices 420a and 420b (e.g., peripheral devices) may be assigned (e.g., by network device 410 and / or by network entities, such as management entities) to different groups (e.g., two groups) of wireless communication devices 420a and 420b. For example, wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL1, ESL2, ESL3, ESL4, ESL5, ESL6, ESL7, ESL8, ESL9, ESL10, and ESL11) may be assigned to a first group (e.g., group 1), and wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL12, ESL13, ESL14, ESL15, ESL16, ESL17, ESL18, ESL19, ESL20, ESL21, and ESL22) may be assigned to a second group (e.g., group 2).

[0068] exist Figure 4 During the operation of PAwR, at time 0ms of the first time subframe, network device 410 (e.g., a central device, such as an AP) can send a PA containing a synchronization message (e.g., an AP synchronization message) to the first group (e.g., group 1) of wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and ESL 11) via the synchronization channel between network device 410 and wireless communication devices 420a and 420b. As previously mentioned, the synchronization message may include one or more commands. For example, a command may include an opcode and parameters associated with the command. At time 0ms, the first group of wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10 and ESL 11) can receive the PA containing the synchronization message from 435a via the synchronization channel.

[0069] In one or more examples, network device 410 may be configured to operate at specified time intervals (e.g., time subframes) (such as... Figure 4 The PA is sent every 12.5ms as shown. In one or more examples, the specified time interval (e.g., subframe) may be shorter or longer than... Figure 4 The 12.5ms shown. Wireless communication devices 420a and 420b can respond to the PA by using their specific corresponding response time slots in time.

[0070] In one or more examples, a synchronization message sent to 430a to a first group (e.g., group 1) of wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and ESL 11) may indicate a corresponding response time slot for one or more of the wireless communication devices 420a in the first group (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and / or ESL 11) to send a response of 440a to network device 410. If wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and ESL 11) is addressed within the synchronization message, then wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and ESL 11) may respond in its respective response time slot (e.g., transmit 440a), as indicated within the synchronization message.

[0071] For example, a synchronization message may instruct one or more wireless communication devices among wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10 and / or ESL 11) to respond in time (e.g., transmit 440a) (e.g., respond 5ms after the start of a subframe at a response slot located every 0.625ms). For example, this sequence could instruct wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL1) to respond in a response time slot at 5 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL2) to respond in a response time slot at 5.625 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL3) to respond in a response time slot at 6.25 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL4) to respond in a response time slot at 6.875 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL5) to respond in a response time slot at 7.5 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL6) to respond in a response time slot at 8.125 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL7) to respond in a response time slot at 8.75 ms, and wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL4) to respond in a response time slot at 5.625 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL5) to respond in a response time slot at 7.5 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL6) to respond in a response time slot at 8.125 ms, wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL7) to respond in a response time slot at 8.75 ms, and wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL4) to respond in a response time slot at 8.75 ms. 8) The response should be made in the response time slot at 9.375ms, the wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL9) should respond in the response time slot at 10ms, the wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL 10) should respond in the response time slot at 10.625ms, and the wireless communication device 420a (e.g., ESL 11) should respond in the response time slot at 11.25ms.

[0072] After wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and ESL 11) have received PA containing a synchronization message 435a from network device 410, one or more wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10, and / or ESL 11) may transmit their responses 440a in their respective response time slots, according to the sequence specified in the synchronization message. After one or more wireless communication devices 420a (e.g., ESL 1, ESL 2, ESL 3, ESL 4, ESL 5, ESL 6, ESL 7, ESL 8, ESL 9, ESL 10 and / or ESL 11) have transmitted their responses 440a in their respective response time slots, network device 410 may receive 445a the responses transmitted by the one or more wireless communication devices during those specific response time slot times.

[0073] During the operation of PAwR, at time 12.5ms of the second time subframe, network device 410 can transmit PA 430b containing a synchronization message to the second group (e.g., group 2) of wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21, and ESL 22) via the synchronization channel between network device 410 and wireless communication devices 420a and 420b. Furthermore, at time 12.5ms, the second group of wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21, and ESL 22) can receive PA 435b containing a synchronization message via the synchronization channel.

[0074] The synchronization message sent to the second group (e.g., group 2) of wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21 and ESL 22) can instruct one or more wireless communication devices in the second group (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21 and / or ESL 22) to use a corresponding response time slot for sending a 440b response to the network device 410. If wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21, and ESL 22) is addressed within the synchronization message, then wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21, and ESL 22) may respond in its respective response time slot (e.g., transmit 440b), as indicated within the synchronization message.

[0075] For example, a synchronization message may instruct one or more wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21 and / or ESL 22) to respond in time (e.g., transmit 440b) (e.g., respond 5ms after the start of a subframe at a response slot located every 0.625ms). For example, this sequence could instruct wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 12) to respond in a response time slot at 17.5ms, wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 13) to respond in a response time slot at 18.125ms, wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 14) to respond in a response time slot at 18.75ms, wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 15) to respond in a response time slot at 19.375ms, wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 16) to respond in a response time slot at 20ms, wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 17) to respond in a response time slot at 20.625ms, wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 18) to respond in a response time slot at 21.25ms, and wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 18) to respond in a response time slot at 21.25ms. 19) The response should be made in the response time slot at 21.875 ms, the wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 20) should be made in the response time slot at 22.5 ms, the wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 21) should be made in the response time slot at 23.125 ms, and the wireless communication device 420b (e.g., ESL 22) should be made in the response time slot at 23.75 ms.

[0076] After wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21, and ESL 22) have received a PA containing a synchronization message 435b from network device 410, one or more wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21, and / or ESL 22) may transmit their responses 440b in their respective response time slots, according to the sequence specified in the synchronization message. After one or more wireless communication devices 420b (e.g., ESL 12, ESL 13, ESL 14, ESL 15, ESL 16, ESL 17, ESL 18, ESL 19, ESL 20, ESL 21 and / or ESL 22) have transmitted their responses 440b in their respective response slots, network device 410 may receive the responses transmitted by the one or more wireless communication devices 445b during those specific response slot times. PAwR may similarly continue for subsequent time subframes.

[0077] As previously mentioned, within an ESL system, network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 Access point 110 can utilize both a first communication protocol (e.g., using Wi-Fi frequencies, such as for communication within a WLAN) and a second communication protocol (e.g., using BT frequencies, such as for communication with BT wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL)). The airtime used for transmission using these two protocols can be divided into two different types of time slots (e.g., ...). Figure 6 Time slot 605a illustrates an example of time slots, including BT time slots (e.g., for transmissions utilizing BT frequencies) and Wi-Fi time slots (e.g., for transmissions utilizing Wi-Fi frequencies). For the coexistence of BT and Wi-Fi time slots, the BT and Wi-Fi time slots can be time-division multiplexed (e.g., using TDM) and synchronized with each other, so that there is no time overlap between the Wi-Fi and BT time slots.

[0078] During the BT time slot, Wi-Fi signals (e.g., Wi-Fi data packets) may have a lower reception priority than BT signals (e.g., BT data packets). During the BT time slot, Wi-Fi beacon signals may have a higher reception priority than BT signals. Regardless of the time slot type, Wi-Fi beacon signals typically have the highest priority among all different signal types (e.g., data packets) to ensure reception of Wi-Fi beacon signals.

[0079] Wi-Fi beacon signals are typically transmitted periodically at time intervals (e.g., beacon intervals), such as 100 milliseconds. Wi-Fi beacon signals can be transmitted during Wi-Fi time slots and / or BT time slots. Wi-Fi beacon signals transmitted within a BT time slot may collide (e.g., interfere) with BT signals (e.g., BT packets) transmitted concurrently with the Wi-Fi beacon signal within that BT time slot. Since Wi-Fi beacon signals have the highest priority for reception within a BT time slot, they will be received before BT signals (e.g., BT packets) within the BT time slot. When no BT signal is received, a negative acknowledgment (NACK) can be observed to indicate an error in the reception of the BT signal. When a BT signal is not received due to collisions (e.g., interference) with Wi-Fi beacon signals within a BT time slot, BT performance (e.g., wireless communication device performance, such as BT ESL performance) can be significantly affected. Therefore, a process that allows for the avoidance of collisions between Wi-Fi beacon signals and BT signals within BT time slots may be useful.

[0080] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a timeslot configuration 500 including BT timeslots 525a, 525b, 525c, 525d and Wi-Fi timeslots 535a, 535b, 535c. Figure 5 In this context, time slot configuration 500 is shown as including BT scheduling 520 for transmitting and / or receiving BT signals, and Wi-Fi scheduling 530 for transmitting and / or receiving Wi-Fi signals. Figure 5 In the scheduling, the x-axis (e.g., the horizontal line) represents time.

[0081] like Figure 5 As shown, BT time slots 525a, 525b, 525c, and 525d within BT scheduling 520 are time-division multiplexed and synchronized with Wi-Fi time slots 535a, 535b, and 535c of Wi-Fi scheduling 530, so that there is no time overlap between Wi-Fi time slots 535a, 535b, and 535c and BT time slots 525a, 525b, 525c, and 525d. Figure 5 The time slot configuration 500 is also shown to include air time 510, which includes a combination of BT time slots 525a, 525b, 525c, 525d and Wi-Fi time slots 535a, 535b, 535c over time.

[0082] Figure 5The time slot configuration 500 also illustrates the scheduling of Wi-Fi beacon signals 540a, 540b, 540c, and 540d. One of the Wi-Fi beacon signals 540a, 540b, 540c, and 540d is scheduled during Wi-Fi time slot 535b. However, the other Wi-Fi beacon signals 540a, 540c, and 540d are scheduled during BT time slots 525a, 525c, and 525d. Because these Wi-Fi beacon signals 540a, 540c, and 540d are scheduled during BT time slots 525a, 525c, and 525d, they may interfere (e.g., collide) with any BT signals transmitted concurrently with them within these BT time slots 525a, 525c, and 525d. Since Wi-Fi beacon signals have the highest priority for reception within BT time slots, they will be received preferentially over BT signals (e.g., BT packets) within these BT time slots 525a, 525c, and 525d. BT performance may be negatively affected when BT signals (e.g., BT packets) are not received due to collisions (e.g., interference) with Wi-Fi beacon signals 540a, 540c, 540d within these BT time slots 525a, 525c, 525d. As previously mentioned, it may be beneficial to allow for processes that avoid collisions between Wi-Fi beacon signals and BT signals within BT time slots.

[0083] In one or more aspects, this system and technology provide solutions for providing beacon collision detection and performance improvements (e.g., BT performance improvements) for wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL). This system and technology can allow for the avoidance of collisions between Wi-Fi beacon signals (e.g., such as Wi-Fi beacon signals 540a, 540c, 540d) and BT timeslots (e.g., such as BT timeslots 525a, 525c, 525d). In one or more aspects, this system and technology can allow for the avoidance of collisions between network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 The BT subsystem within access point 110 (e.g., Figure 7 The BT firmware 730 detects Wi-Fi beacon intervals. In some respects, this system and technology can utilize Wi-Fi beacon intervals to schedule BT signal transmissions to avoid any potential conflicts with Wi-Fi beacon signals within BT time slots.

[0084] In one or more aspects, a network device (e.g., an access point) may detect a beacon signal (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon signal) at an initial time (e.g., at time 0). In one or more examples, the beacon signal may be associated with a first communication protocol (e.g., using a Wi-Fi frequency). The network device may determine one or more subsequent times (e.g., at 100 milliseconds) for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol based on the initial time. The network device may configure the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) based on one or more subsequent times to avoid interference (e.g., collisions) between one or more signals and one or more subsequent beacon signals. One or more signals may be associated with a second communication protocol (e.g., using a BT frequency).

[0085] In one or more aspects, a wireless communication device protocol (e.g., an ESL protocol) may utilize active and passive packet models to load wireless communication devices (e.g., ESLs) within a wireless communication device group. In one or more examples, the wireless communication device protocol may allow active wireless communication device groups (e.g., active ESL groups) that include active wireless communication devices (e.g., active ESLs) and passive wireless communication device groups (e.g., passive ESL groups) that include passive wireless communication devices (e.g., passive ESLs). In one or more examples, a total of 128 wireless communication device (ESL) groups may exist. In some examples, each wireless communication device group (whether the group is active or passive) may include a total of 255 wireless communication devices (ESLs).

[0086] In one or more examples, the wireless communication device protocol may provide active time slots and passive time slots. Active wireless communication devices (e.g., active ESLs) within an active group may transmit and / or receive signals during active time slots, and passive wireless communication devices (e.g., passive ESLs) within a passive group may transmit and / or receive signals during passive time slots. In one or more examples, passive wireless communication devices (e.g., passive ESLs) may utilize a first communication protocol (e.g., utilizing Wi-Fi frequencies) to transmit and / or receive signals during passive time slots. Active wireless communication devices (e.g., active ESLs) may utilize a second communication protocol (e.g., utilizing BT frequencies) to transmit and / or receive signals during active time slots.

[0087] In one or more aspects, within a specific group of active wireless communication devices (e.g., an active group), BT traffic (e.g., signals utilizing BT frequencies), other than beacon signals utilizing Wi-Fi frequencies (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals), can be assigned a higher reception priority than Wi-Fi traffic (e.g., signals utilizing Wi-Fi frequencies). Therefore, within a specific group of active wireless communication devices, Wi-Fi beacon signals can have a higher reception priority than BT signals (e.g., packets transmitted using BT frequencies), and BT signals can have a higher reception priority than Wi-Fi signals (e.g., packets transmitted using Wi-Fi frequencies). Thus, the priority rules within a specific wireless communication device can be:

[0088] Wi-Fi Beacons > BT Packets > Wi-Fi Packets

[0089] When following this rule, any non-reception of BT signals (e.g., BT packets) within a BT time slot can be presumed to be due to an interference between Wi-Fi beacon signals and BT traffic (e.g., signals utilizing BT frequencies). In network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 During the operation of access point 110), the BT firmware (e.g., Figure 7 The BT firmware 730 can detect the time of non-reception for one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) (e.g., the time when a Packet Traffic Arbiter (PTA) rejection and / or NACK is detected on the BT side). In one or more examples, the BT firmware of the network device can detect timestamps recorded for the time of non-reception for one or more BT signals (e.g., PTA rejection times), which are stored within the BT software of the PTA-based coex implementation of the network device.

[0090] The time during which one or more BT signals are not received can be inferred as the time when a beacon signal (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon signal) collides with one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) within a BT time slot. Therefore, this time occurs within the BT time slot during which one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) are transmitted. The BT firmware can then estimate (e.g., determine) one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more upcoming subsequent beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals) by using (e.g., based on) the beacon interval and the beacon signal time. For example, if the beacon signal time is 0 ms and the beacon interval is 100 ms, the BT firmware can estimate the subsequent time for the transmission of upcoming subsequent beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals) as 200 ms, 300 ms, 400 ms, etc.

[0091] In one or more aspects, the WLAN network and / or BT network of a system (e.g., an ESL system) can synchronize itself to the time of the beacon signal (e.g., whenever beacon drift occurs). In one or more examples, network devices (e.g., access points) can synchronize themselves (e.g., synchronize their internal clocks) to the time of the beacon signal.

[0092] In one or more aspects, when the time slots (e.g., BT time slots) of a group of wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL) overlap with the beacon interval of a beacon signal (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signal), network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 Access point 110 may schedule one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) to prevent one or more signals from being transmitted during one or more subsequent time periods (e.g., for subsequent beacon signal transmission) or in one or more time slots including one or more subsequent time periods (e.g., Figure 6 During time slots 0 605a and 1 605b, the signal is transmitted and / or received at the same frequency (e.g., Wi-Fi frequency, such as the 20 MHz Wi-Fi master frequency) as one or more subsequent beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals).

[0093] In one or more examples, in network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 During the operation of access point 110), the BT firmware of the network device (e.g., Figure 7 The BT firmware 730 can detect the time of non-reception for one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) (e.g., the time when PTA rejection and / or NACK is detected on the BT side). The BT firmware can detect the timestamps (e.g., beacon timestamps) recorded for the time of non-reception (e.g., PTA rejection time) for one or more BT signals.

[0094] The time during which one or more BT signals are not received can be inferred as the time during which a beacon signal (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon signal) collides with one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) within a BT time slot. In one or more examples, a network device can transmit a beacon signal at a time (e.g., a beacon timestamp) to one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESLs). One or more wireless communication devices can predict (e.g., determine) one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more upcoming subsequent beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals) by using (e.g., based on) the beacon interval and the beacon signal time (e.g., beacon timestamp). One or more wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESLs) can avoid using (e.g., hopping to) the same frequency (e.g., Wi-Fi frequency) as the beacon signal (e.g., Wi-Fi frequency) for the transmission and / or reception of signals (e.g., BT signals) during one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more upcoming subsequent beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals). By avoiding using the same frequency as the beacon signal during those subsequent times, conflicts with the BT signal transmission of the Wi-Fi beacon signal within the BT time slot can be avoided.

[0095] In one or more aspects, when the time slots (e.g., BT time slots) of a group of wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL) overlap with the beacon interval of a beacon signal (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signal), network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 Access point 110 may schedule one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) during at least one subsequent time period other than one or more subsequent times for the transmission of subsequent beacon signals.

[0096] In one or more examples, in network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 During the operation of access point 110), the BT firmware of the network device (e.g., Figure 7 The BT firmware 730 can detect the time of non-reception of one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets). The time of non-reception of one or more BT signals can be inferred as the time when a beacon signal (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon signal) collides with one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) within a BT time slot.

[0097] In one or more examples, the network device's BT firmware may have a beacon interval-based timer that times out (e.g., expires) at each iteration of the beacon interval of the beacon signal. In one or more examples, the network device may avoid scheduling the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) for a period of time (e.g., a period for transmitting the beacon signal, such as two or three milliseconds) after the timer expires (e.g., a timeout callback). In one or more examples, the network device and the wireless communication device (e.g., BT ESL) have both beacon signal time and beacon interval information to maintain synchronization.

[0098] Figure 6 An example of a beacon collision occurring at 0 ms is shown, where the next anticipated collision occurs at 2.4 ms within the same group of wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL). At the time of each anticipated beacon collision, network devices can avoid scheduling the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) during a two-millisecond to three-millisecond period (e.g., for beacon signal transmission) to avoid any potential BT signal collisions with the beacon signal.

[0099] Specifically, Figure 6 This is exemplified in two time slots (e.g., time slot 0 605a and time slot 1 605b) by the time-in-time network device 610 (e.g., access point, such as...). Figure 1 The signaling diagram for example of communication transmission 600 between access point 110 and two sets of wireless communication devices (e.g., including ESL620, 625) is shown. Figure 5 In this diagram, communication transmission 600 is shown as comprising two time slots (e.g., time slot 0 605a and time slot 1 605b). Each time slot is in the form of a graph, where the x-axis represents time in milliseconds (ms) and the y-axis represents network device 610 and a specific wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12) associated with (e.g., synchronized with) network device 610.

[0100] Each time slot in a time slot corresponds to a certain time duration (e.g., 12.5 ms), where time begins at 0 ms and ends at 12.5 ms, which can represent a time frame. Each of these time slots can be a BT time slot and can be associated with a set of wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL, such as BT ESL). For example, time slot 0 605a can be directed to a first set of wireless communication devices including ESL 1-12620 (e.g., BT ESL), and time slot 1 605b can be directed to a second set of wireless communication devices including ESL 1-12625 (e.g., BT ESL).

[0101] exist Figure 6During the operation of PAwR in the first time slot (e.g., time slot 0 605a), at time 0ms, the network device 610 may send PA 630 containing a synchronization message (e.g., AP synchronization message) to the wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) on the synchronization channel between the network device 610 and the wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620). Also at time 0ms, the wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) may receive PA 635 containing a synchronization message on the synchronization channel.

[0102] In one or more examples, network device 610 may be configured to operate at specified time intervals (e.g., time subframes) (such as... Figure 6 The PA is sent every 12.5ms as shown. In one or more examples, the specified time interval (e.g., subframe) may be shorter or longer than... Figure 6 The 12.5ms shown. Wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) can respond to the PA by using their specific corresponding response time slots in time.

[0103] In one or more examples, a synchronization message sent to a wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) may indicate a corresponding response slot for one or more of the wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) to send a response of 650 to network device 610. If a wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) is addressed within the synchronization message, then the wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) may respond (e.g., send 650) in its corresponding response slot, as indicated within the synchronization message. For example, the synchronization message may address only ESL1 620, and therefore only ESL1 620 will send a response of 650 to network device 610.

[0104] After a wireless communication device (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) has received a PA containing a synchronization message (via transmission 630) from network device 610, one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) may transmit their responses 650 within their respective response time slots, according to the sequence specified within the synchronization message. After one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL 1-12 620) have transmitted their responses 650 within their respective response time slots, network device 610 may receive their transmitted responses 655 within those specific response time slots.

[0105] Between the transmission 630 of the synchronization message by network device 610 and the transmission 650 of the response from one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., ESL1-12 620), network device 510 may use the ACL1 link (in... Figure 6 The data 640 is sent to ESL 12 620 in the time slot (shown as ACL #1Tx). After ESL 12 620 receives data 645 in the time slot of the ACL1 link, ESL 12 620 can send data 660 with an acknowledgment response (e.g., in the datagram header of the packet including the data) to network device 610. Network device 610 can then receive data 665 including the acknowledgment response from ESL 12 620. The operation of PAWR in the second time slot (e.g., time slot 1 605b) is similar to the operation of PAWR in the first time slot (e.g., time slot 0605a) described.

[0106] In one or more examples, although Figure 6 Two time slots are shown (e.g., time slot 0 605a and time slot 1 605b), but communication transmission 600 can include a total of eight (8) time slots. Since each time slot can have a total duration of 12.5ms, the total time of all eight time slots will be 100ms (e.g., 8 * 12.5ms = 100ms). Figure 6 The expected times of upcoming beacon collisions are shown (e.g., as indicated by arrows 670a, 670b, 670c, 670d, 670e, 670f, 670g, 670h, 670i). For example, as... Figure 6 As shown, if a beacon collision occurs at 0 ms and 100 ms has elapsed (e.g., after the duration of all eight time slots in the system), the next anticipated beacon collision could occur at 2.4 ms within the first time slot (e.g., time slot 0 605a), as indicated by arrow 670a. In one or more examples, at each anticipated beacon collision (e.g., indicated by arrows 670a, 670b, 670c, 670d, 670e, 670f, 670g, 670h, 670i), the network device can avoid scheduling the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) during a two-millisecond to three-millisecond time period (e.g., for beacon signal transmission) to avoid any possible BT signal collision with the beacon signal.

[0107] In one or more aspects, when the time slots (e.g., BT time slots) of a group of wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL) overlap with the beacon interval of a beacon signal (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signal), network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 Access point 110) and / or network entities (e.g., management entities, such as Figure 1 The management entity 130) may, in addition to one or more subsequent times including one or more subsequent times for the transmission of subsequent beacon signals, (e.g., Figure 6 One or more signals (e.g., BT signals) may be scheduled during at least one time slot other than time slots 0 605a and 1 605b.

[0108] In one or more examples, in network devices (e.g., access points, such as...) Figure 1 During the operation of access point 110), the BT firmware of the network device (e.g., Figure 7 The BT firmware 730 can detect the time of non-reception of one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets). The time of non-reception of one or more BT signals can be inferred as the time when a beacon signal (e.g., a Wi-Fi beacon signal) collides with one or more BT signals (e.g., one or more BT packets) within a BT time slot.

[0109] In one or more examples, the BT firmware of a network device can transmit data to network entities (e.g., management entities, such as...). Figure 1 The management entity 130 reports (e.g., sends) the time of the beacon signal and the beacon interval of the beacon signal. The network entity can estimate (e.g., determine) one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more upcoming subsequent beacon signals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signals) by using (e.g., based on) the beacon interval and the time of the beacon signal. To avoid any beacon signal collisions, the network entity can avoid one or more time slots that include one or more subsequent times for the transmission of subsequent beacon signals (e.g., ...). Figure 6 The transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., BT signals) are scheduled during time slots 0 605a and 1 605b.

[0110] Figure 7 This refers to network devices (e.g., access points, such as...). Figure 1 A diagram illustrating an example configuration 700 for communication exchange between components within access point 110. Figure 7 In the diagram, the network device is shown to include a WLAN portion 720, a BT firmware 730, and an upper application layer 710. The WLAN portion 720 and the BT firmware 730 are shown to be communicatively connected to each other via a hardware PTA 740.

[0111] In one or more examples, it runs on a network device to reuse Wi-Fi time slots (e.g., Figure 5The TDM algorithms for Wi-Fi time slots 535a, 535b, 535c and BT time slots (e.g., BT time slots 525a, 525b, 525c, 525d) may require configuring beacon intervals (e.g., duty cycles) within the WLAN section 720 and BT firmware 730. The wireless communication device packet model should be shared between the WLAN section 720 and BT firmware 730 for scheduling the transmission and / or reception of signals (e.g., BT signals). The WLAN section 720 should notify the BT firmware 730 of predefined beacon intervals (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon intervals), such as 102.4 ms, via the PTA 740 connection. Wi-Fi master frequency information (e.g., a 20 MHz frequency) should be shared with the BT firmware 730 to exclude the use of Wi-Fi master frequency bandwidth during periods of anticipated beacon collisions. The upper application layer 710 can track beacon timing and schedule the transmission and / or reception of signals (e.g., BT signals) accordingly.

[0112] Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process 800 for wireless communication that utilizes methods for providing beacon collision detection and improving the performance of wireless communication devices. Process 800 can be performed by a network device (e.g., Figure 1 Access point 110 Figure 2 Equipment 200 Figure 4 Network device 410 or other devices Figure 6 The operation of process 800 can be performed by network device 610 and / or other network devices, or by components or systems of the network device (e.g., chipset). In some respects, the network device is an access point (AP). The operation of process 800 can be implemented in one or more processors (e.g., Figure 2 Processor 210, Figure 9 Software components executed and running on the processor 910 and / or other processors. Furthermore, the transmission and reception of signals by the wireless communication device in process 800 may be, for example, by one or more antennas and / or one or more transceivers (such as one or more wireless transceivers) (e.g., Figure 2 Communication component 235 Figure 9 This is achieved through the communication interface 940 and / or other antennas and / or transceivers.

[0113] At box 810, the network device (or a component thereof) may detect a beacon signal at an initial time. The beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol. In some aspects, the initial time is within a time slot for transmitting packets of a specific protocol (e.g., within a Bluetooth time slot for transmitting at least one Bluetooth packet). In some cases, the network device (or a component thereof) may synchronize its clock to the initial time. In some examples, the network device (or a component thereof) may send an indication of the initial time and / or one or more subsequent times to a network entity. In some aspects, the network entity is a management entity (ME) (e.g., Figure 1 ME 130).

[0114] At box 820, the network device (or a component thereof) may determine one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol based on the initial time.

[0115] At box 830, a network device (or a component thereof) may configure the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals (e.g., at least one of transmission or reception) based on one or more subsequent times to avoid interference between the one or more signals and one or more subsequent beacon signals. The one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from a first communication protocol. In an exemplary example, the first communication protocol is a Wi-Fi communication protocol, and the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth communication protocol. In some aspects, the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during one or more subsequent times. In some cases, the frequency is the Wi-Fi master frequency. In some aspects, the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during one or more time slots including one or more subsequent times. Reference Figure 7 As an illustrative example, when the time slots (e.g., BT time slots) of a group of wireless communication devices (e.g., BT ESL) overlap with the beacon interval of a beacon signal (e.g., Wi-Fi beacon signal), the network device may, in addition to one or more subsequent time slots including one or more subsequent times for the transmission of subsequent beacon signals (e.g., ... Figure 6 One or more signals (e.g., BT signals) may be scheduled during at least one time slot other than time slots 0 605a and 1 605b (or instructions for scheduling may be received from network entities such as ME).

[0116] In some respects, a network device (or a component thereof) may send (or output for transmission) an indication of an initial time to one or more wireless communication devices. In some cases, each of the one or more wireless communication devices is a corresponding Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) (e.g., Figure 6 (One or more of ESL 620 and 625).

[0117] In some examples, in order to configure the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals, a network device (or a component thereof) may schedule the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals during at least one subsequent time slot in addition to one or more subsequent times. Additionally or alternatively, in some cases, in order to configure the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals, a network device (or a component thereof) may schedule the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals during at least one time slot in addition to one or more time slots that include one or more subsequent times.

[0118] In some aspects, network devices (or components thereof) may further determine one or more subsequent times based on beacon intervals. For example, a corresponding beacon signal from one or more subsequent beacon signals may be transmitted at each iteration of the beacon interval. In some cases, network devices (or components thereof) may set timers based on beacon intervals, where the timers expire at each iteration of the beacon interval. In some examples, network devices (or components thereof) may avoid scheduling the transmission and / or reception of one or more signals during a time period after the timer has expired.

[0119] Figure 9 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing system 900, which can be adopted by the disclosed systems and technologies for providing beacon collision detection and performance improvements of wireless communication devices. Specifically, Figure 9 An example of a computing system 900 is illustrated. This computing system can be any computing device, such as an internal computing system, a remote computing system, a camera, or any component thereof, wherein the components of the system communicate with each other using a connection 905. The connection 905 can be a physical connection using a bus, or a direct connection to a processor 910, such as in a chipset architecture. The connection 905 can also be a virtual connection, a networking connection, or a logical connection.

[0120] In some aspects, the computing system 900 is a distributed system in which the functions described herein can be distributed across a data center, multiple data centers, a peer-to-peer network, etc. In some aspects, one or more of the described system components represent a plurality of such components, each of which performs some or all of the functions described for that component. In some aspects, the components can be physical or virtual devices.

[0121] Example system 900 includes at least one processing unit (CPU or processor) 910 and a connection 905 that communicatively couples various system components, including system memories 915 such as read-only memory (ROM) 920 and random access memory (RAM) 925, to processor 910. Computing system 900 may include a cache 912 of high-speed memory that is directly connected to, closely proximate to, or integrated into processor 910.

[0122] Processor 910 may include any general-purpose processor and hardware or software services (such as services 932, 934, and 936 stored in storage device 930 and configured to control processor 910), as well as dedicated processors in which software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. Processor 910 may be a substantially completely independent computing system containing multiple cores or processors, buses, memory controllers, caches, etc. Multi-core processors may be symmetric or asymmetric.

[0123] To enable user interaction, the computing system 900 includes an input device 945 that can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for voice, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphic input, a keyboard, a mouse, motion input, voice input, etc. The computing system 900 may also include an output device 935 that can be one or more of multiple output mechanisms. In some instances, a multi-mode system allows the user to provide multiple types of input / output to communicate with the computing system 900.

[0124] The computing system 900 may include a communication interface 940, which typically controls and manages user input and system output. The communication interface may perform or facilitate the receiving and / or transmitting of wired or wireless communications using wired and / or wireless transceivers, including utilizing audio jacks / plugs, microphone jacks / plugs, Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports / plugs, Apple... ™ Lightning ™ Ports / plugs, Ethernet ports / plugs, fiber optic ports / plugs, dedicated wired ports / plugs, 3G, 4G, 5G and / or other cellular data network wireless signal transmission, Bluetooth ™ Wireless signal transmission, Bluetooth ™ Low-power (BLE) wireless signal transmission, IBEACON ™Wireless signal transmission, radio frequency identification (RFID) wireless signal transmission, near field communication (NFC) wireless signal transmission, dedicated short range communication (DSRC) wireless signal transmission, 802.11 Wi-Fi wireless signal transmission, wireless local area network (WLAN) signal transmission, visible light communication (VLC), microwave access global interoperability (WiMAX), infrared (IR) wireless signal transmission, public switched telephone network (PSTN) signal transmission, integrated services digital network (ISDN) signal transmission, self-organizing network signal transmission, radio wave signal transmission, microwave signal transmission, infrared signal transmission, visible light signal transmission, ultraviolet light signal transmission, wireless signal transmission along the electromagnetic spectrum, or those communications in some combination thereof.

[0125] The communication interface 940 may also include one or more ranging sensors (e.g., LIDAR sensors, laser rangefinders, RF radars, ultrasonic sensors, and infrared (IR) sensors) configured to collect data and provide measurements to the processor 910, thereby configuring the processor 910 to perform the determinations and calculations required to obtain various measurements from the one or more ranging sensors. In some examples, measurements may include time of flight, wavelength, azimuth, elevation, distance, linear velocity, and / or angular velocity, or any combination thereof. The communication interface 940 may also include one or more Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers or transceivers used to determine the position of the computing system 900 based on one or more signals received from one or more satellites associated with one or more GNSS systems. GNSS systems include, but are not limited to, the U.S. GPS, the Russian GLONASS, the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and the European Galileo GNSS. There are no limitations on operation on any particular hardware arrangement, and therefore the basic features herein can be readily replaced to obtain improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

[0126] Storage device 930 may be a non-volatile and / or non-transitory and / or computer-readable storage device, and may be a hard disk or other type of computer-readable medium capable of storing data accessible by a computer, such as magnetic tape, flash memory cards, solid-state storage devices, digital versatile discs, cartridges, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magnetic stripes, any other magnetic storage media, flash memory, memristor memory, any other solid-state storage, CD-ROM, rewritable CD, digital video disc (DVD), Blu-ray Disc (BDD), holographic disc, another optical medium, secure digital card (SD card), micro secure digital card (microSD card), Memory Stick. ®Cards, smart card chips, EMV chips, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, mini / micro / nano / micro SIM cards, another integrated circuit (IC) chip / card, random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash EPROM, cache memory (e.g., layer 1 (L1) cache, layer 2 (L2) cache, layer 3 (L3) cache, layer 4 (L4) cache, layer 5 (L5) cache, or other (L#) cache), resistive random access memory (RRAM / ReRAM), phase change memory (PCM), spin-transfer torque RAM (STT-RAM), another memory chip or cassette and / or combinations thereof.

[0127] Storage device 930 may include software services, servers, services, etc., which enable the system to perform functions when the code defining such software is executed by processor 910. In some aspects, hardware services performing specific functions may include software components for performing functions stored in a computer-readable medium connected to necessary hardware components such as processor 910, connection 905, output device 935, etc. The term "computer-readable medium" includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portable storage devices, optical storage devices, and various other media capable of storing, containing, or carrying instructions and / or data. Computer-readable media may include non-transitory media in which data can be stored and which does not include carrier waves and / or transient electronic signals propagating wirelessly or over a wired connection. Examples of non-transitory media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic disks or magnetic tapes, optical storage media such as compact discs (CDs) or digital versatile discs (DVDs), flash memory, memory, or memory devices. Computer-readable media may store code and / or machine-executable instructions thereon, which may represent procedures, functions, subroutines, programs, routines, subroutines, modules, software packages, classes, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or hardware circuitry by passing and / or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc., may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means, including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

[0128] Specific details have been provided in the foregoing description to offer a thorough understanding of the aspects and examples presented herein, but those skilled in the art will recognize that this application is not limited thereto. Therefore, although illustrative aspects of this application have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the various inventive concepts may be embodied and employed in various other ways, and the appended claims are not intended to be construed as including these variations unless limited by prior art. The various features and aspects of the applications described above may be used individually or in combination. Furthermore, without departing from the broader scope of this specification, aspects may be used in any number of environments and applications beyond those described herein. Therefore, the specification and drawings should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. For illustrative purposes, the methods are described in a particular order. It should be understood that, in alternative aspects, the methods may be performed in a different order than described.

[0129] For clarity, in some instances, this technology may be presented as comprising various functional blocks, which include devices, device components, steps, or routines embodied in a method, either in software or a combination of hardware and software. Additional components may be used in addition to those shown in the figures and / or described herein. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components in block diagram form to avoid obscuring these aspects in unnecessary detail. In other cases, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the aspects.

[0130] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various exemplary components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above in general terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such specific implementation decisions should not be construed as departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0131] Various aspects described above can be presented as processes or methods, depicted as flowcharts, diagrams, data flow graphs, structure diagrams, or block diagrams. Although flowcharts can describe operations as sequential processes, many operations within an operation can be executed in parallel or concurrently. Furthermore, the order of operations can be rearranged. A process terminates when its operations are completed, but a process may have additional steps not included in the accompanying diagrams. A process can correspond to a method, function, procedure, subroutine, subroutine, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to the function returning to the calling function or the main function.

[0132] The processes and methods described in the examples above can be implemented using stored computer-executable instructions or computer-executable instructions otherwise obtainable from a computer-readable medium. Such instructions may include, for example, instructions and data that configure, or otherwise configure, a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or processing device to perform a function or group of functions. The portion of the computer resource used may be accessible via a network. The computer-executable instructions may be, for example, binary files, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code. Examples of computer-readable media that can be used to store the instructions, the information used, and / or information created during the methods according to the described examples include disks or optical discs, flash memory, USB devices with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, etc.

[0133] In some respects, computer-readable storage devices, media, and memories may include cables or wireless signals containing bit streams, etc. However, when referred to, non-transitory computer-readable storage media explicitly exclude media such as power consumption, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and the signals themselves.

[0134] Those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout the above description may, in some cases, be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.

[0135] The various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof, and may take any form factor of various form factors. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, program code or code segments (e.g., computer program products) for performing necessary tasks may be stored in a computer-readable or machine-readable medium. A processor may perform the necessary tasks. Examples of form factors include: laptop computers, smartphones, mobile phones, tablet devices, or other small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, rack-mount devices, self-contained devices, etc. The functionality described herein may also be embodied in peripheral devices or interlocking cards. By further example, such functionality may also be implemented on circuit boards of different chips or different processes executed on a single device.

[0136] Instructions, media for transmitting such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are example components for providing the functionality described in this disclosure.

[0137] The techniques described herein can also be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Such techniques can be implemented in any of a variety of devices, such as general-purpose computers, wireless communication devices (mobile phones), or integrated circuit devices with multiple uses, including applications in wireless communication devices (mobile phones) and other devices. Any feature described as a module or component can be implemented together in an integrated logic device or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. If implemented in software, the techniques can be implemented at least in part by a computer-readable data storage medium comprising program code including instructions that, when executed, perform one or more of the methods, algorithms, and / or operations described above. The computer-readable data storage medium can form part of a computer program product, which may include packaging material. The computer-readable medium may include memory or data storage media, such as random access memory (RAM) (such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM)), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic or optical data storage media, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the technology may be implemented at least in part by a computer-readable communication medium that carries or conveys program code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed, read and / or executed by a computer, such as propagated signals or waves.

[0138] The program code can be executed by a processor, which may include one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general-purpose microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuits. Such processors can be configured to perform any of the techniques described in this disclosure. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor; however, in alternatives, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Therefore, as used herein, the term "processor" may refer to any of the foregoing structures, any combination of the foregoing structures, or any other structure or means suitable for implementing the techniques described herein.

[0139] Those skilled in the art will understand that, without departing from the scope of this description, the less than (“<”) and greater than (“>”) symbols or terms used herein may be replaced with less than or equal to (“>”) respectively. ") and greater than or equal to (" The symbol ) is used instead.

[0140] When a component is described as being “configured” to perform certain operations, such configuration can be achieved, for example, by designing electronic circuits or other hardware to perform the operations, by programming programmable electronic circuits (e.g., microprocessors or other suitable electronic circuits) to perform the operations, or any combination thereof.

[0141] The phrase “coupled to” or “communicatively coupled to” means that any component is physically connected directly or indirectly to another component, and / or that any component is in communication with another component directly or indirectly (e.g., connected to that other component via a wired or wireless connection and / or other suitable communication interface).

[0142] Claim language or other languages ​​that state "at least one of" and / or "one or more of" in a set indicate that one member of the set or multiple members of the set (in any combination) satisfy the claim. For example, claim language stating "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" means A, B, or A and B. In another example, claim language stating "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of A, B, or C" means A, B, C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, A and B and C, or any repetition is information or data (e.g., A and A, B and B, C and C, A and A and B, etc.), or any other ordering, repetition, or combination of A, B, and C. The language "at least one of the set" and / or "one or more of the set" does not limit the set to the items listed in the set. For example, the language of a claim stating "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" may refer to A, B, or A and B, and may additionally include items not listed in the set of A and B. The phrases "at least one" and "one or more" are used interchangeably herein.

[0143] Claim language or other languages ​​that state "at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to," "at least one processor being configured to," "one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to," etc., indicate that one or more processors (in any combination) are capable of performing associated operations. For example, claim language that states "at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to: X, Y, and Z" means that a single processor can be used to perform operations X, Y, and Z; or that multiple processors are each assigned a specific subset of tasks of operations X, Y, and Z, such that the multiple processors together perform X, Y, and Z; or that a group of multiple processors work together to perform operations X, Y, and Z. In another example, claim language that states "at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to: X, Y, and Z" may mean that any single processor can perform only a subset of operations X, Y, and Z.

[0144] When referring to one or more elements that perform functions (e.g., steps of a method), one element may perform all functions, or more than one element may jointly perform these functions. When more than one element jointly performs these functions, each function does not need to be performed by every single element (e.g., different functions may be performed by different elements), and / or each function does not need to be performed by only one element as a whole (e.g., different elements may perform different sub-functions of a function). Similarly, when referring to one or more elements configured to cause another element (e.g., a device) to perform functions, one element may be configured to cause another element to perform all functions, or more than one element may be jointly configured to cause another element to perform these functions.

[0145] When referring to an entity that performs or is configured to perform functions (e.g., steps of a method) (e.g., any entity or device described herein), the entity may be configured to cause one or more elements (individually or collectively) to perform those functions. One or more components of the entity may include at least one memory, at least one processor, at least one communication interface, another component configured to perform one or more of those functions, and / or any combination thereof. When referring to an entity that performs functions, the entity may be configured to cause one component to perform all functions, or to cause more than one component to perform those functions collectively. When the entity is configured to cause more than one component to perform those functions collectively, each function does not need to be performed by every single component (e.g., different functions may be performed by different components), and / or each function does not need to be performed by only one component as a whole (e.g., different components may perform different sub-functions of a function).

[0146] The exemplary aspects of this disclosure include:

[0147] Aspect 1. A network device for wireless communication, the network device comprising: at least one memory; and at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to: detect a beacon signal at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; determine, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; and configure, based on the one or more subsequent times, at least one of transmitting or receiving one or more signals to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

[0148] Aspect 2. The network device according to aspect 1, wherein the network device is an access point (AP).

[0149] Aspect 3. The network device according to any one of Aspect 1 or 2, wherein the first communication protocol is a Wi-Fi communication protocol and the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth communication protocol.

[0150] Aspect 4. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the initial time is within a Bluetooth time slot for transmitting at least one Bluetooth packet.

[0151] Aspect 5. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to output an indication of the initial time for transmission to one or more wireless communication devices.

[0152] Aspect 6. The network device according to aspect 5, wherein each of the one or more wireless communication devices is a corresponding electronic shelf label (ESL).

[0153] Aspect 7. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during the one or more subsequent time periods.

[0154] Aspect 8. The network device according to aspect 7, wherein the frequency is the Wi-Fi main frequency.

[0155] Aspect 9. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during one or more time slots including the one or more subsequent times.

[0156] Aspect 10. The network device according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein, in order to configure at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals, the at least one processor is further configured to schedule the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during at least one subsequent time period other than the one or more subsequent times.

[0157] Aspect 11. The network device according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, wherein, in order to configure at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals, the at least one processor is further configured to schedule the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during at least one time slot other than one or more time slots including the one or more subsequent times.

[0158] Aspect 12. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to further determine the one or more subsequent times based on a beacon interval, wherein a corresponding beacon signal in the one or more subsequent beacon signals is transmitted at each iteration of the beacon interval.

[0159] Aspect 13. The network device according to aspect 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to set a timer based on the beacon interval, wherein the timer expires at each iteration of the beacon interval.

[0160] Aspect 14. The network device according to aspect 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to avoid scheduling at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during a time period after the timer expires.

[0161] Aspect 15. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to synchronize the clock of the network device to the initial time.

[0162] Aspect 16. The network device according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send an indication to a network entity of at least one of the initial time or the one or more subsequent times.

[0163] Aspect 17. The network device according to aspect 16, wherein the network entity is a management entity (ME).

[0164] Aspect 18. A method of wireless communication performed at a network device, the method comprising: detecting a beacon signal at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; determining, based on the initial time, one or more subsequent times for transmitting one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; and configuring, based on the one or more subsequent times, at least one of transmitting or receiving one or more signals to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

[0165] Aspect 19. The method according to aspect 18, wherein the network device is an access point (AP).

[0166] Aspect 20. The method according to any one of Aspects 18 or 19, wherein the first communication protocol is a Wi-Fi communication protocol and the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth communication protocol.

[0167] Aspect 21. The method according to any one of Aspects 18 to 20, wherein the initial time is within a Bluetooth time slot for transmitting at least one Bluetooth packet.

[0168] Aspect 22. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 21, the method further comprising sending an indication of the initial time to one or more wireless communication devices.

[0169] Aspect 23. The method according to aspect 22, wherein each of the one or more wireless communication devices is a corresponding electronic shelf label (ESL).

[0170] Aspect 24. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 23, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during the one or more subsequent time periods.

[0171] Aspect 25. The method according to aspect 24, wherein the frequency is the Wi-Fi main frequency.

[0172] Aspect 26. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 23, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during one or more time slots including the one or more subsequent times.

[0173] Aspect 27. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 26, wherein configuring at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals includes scheduling the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during at least one subsequent time period other than the one or more subsequent times.

[0174] Aspect 28. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 26, wherein configuring at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals includes scheduling the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during at least one time slot other than one or more time slots including the one or more subsequent times.

[0175] Aspect 29. The method according to any one of Aspects 18 to 28, wherein the one or more subsequent times are further determined based on a beacon interval, wherein a corresponding beacon signal in the one or more subsequent beacon signals is transmitted at each iteration of the beacon interval.

[0176] Aspect 30. The method according to aspect 29, the method further comprising setting a timer based on the beacon interval, wherein the timer expires at each iteration of the beacon interval.

[0177] Aspect 31. The method according to aspect 30, the method further comprising avoiding scheduling at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during a time period after the timer expires.

[0178] Aspect 32. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 31, the method further comprising synchronizing the clock of the network device to the initial time.

[0179] Aspect 33. The method according to any one of aspects 18 to 32, the method further comprising sending an indication to a network entity of at least one of the initial time or the one or more subsequent times.

[0180] Aspect 34. The method according to aspect 33, wherein the network entity is a management entity (ME).

[0181] Aspect 35. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions causing the at least one processor, when executed by at least one processor, to perform any one of aspects 18 to 34.

[0182] Aspect 36. An apparatus for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising one or more components for performing operations according to any one of aspects 18 to 34.

[0183] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be consistent with the full scope of the language claims, wherein an element referred to in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one," but rather "one or more" unless specifically stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A network device for wireless communication, the network device comprising: At least one memory; and At least one processor, the at least one processor being coupled to the at least one memory and being configured to: A beacon signal is detected at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; Based on the initial time, determine one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; as well as Configure at least one of the transmission or reception of one or more signals based on the one or more subsequent times to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

2. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the network device is an access point (AP).

3. The network device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol is a Wi-Fi communication protocol, and the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth communication protocol.

4. The network device of claim 1, wherein the initial time is within a Bluetooth time slot for transmitting at least one Bluetooth packet.

5. The network device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to output an indication of the initial time for transmission to one or more wireless communication devices.

6. The network device of claim 5, wherein each of the one or more wireless communication devices is a corresponding electronic shelf label (ESL).

7. The network device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during the one or more subsequent time periods.

8. The network device according to claim 7, wherein the frequency is the Wi-Fi main frequency.

9. The network device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during one or more time slots including the one or more subsequent times.

10. The network device according to claim 1, wherein, In order to configure at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals, the at least one processor is further configured to schedule the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during at least one subsequent time period other than the one or more subsequent time periods.

11. The network device according to claim 1, wherein, In order to configure at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals, the at least one processor is further configured to schedule the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during at least one time slot other than one or more time slots that include the one or more subsequent times.

12. The network device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to further determine the one or more subsequent times based on a beacon interval, wherein a corresponding beacon signal in the one or more subsequent beacon signals is transmitted at each iteration of the beacon interval.

13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to set a timer based on the beacon interval, wherein the timer expires at each iteration of the beacon interval.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to avoid scheduling at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals during a time period after the timer expires.

15. The network device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to synchronize the clock of the network device to the initial time.

16. The network device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send an indication to a network entity of at least one of the initial time or the one or more subsequent times.

17. The network device of claim 16, wherein the network entity is a management entity (ME).

18. A method for wireless communication performed at a network device, the method comprising: A beacon signal is detected at an initial time, wherein the beacon signal is associated with a first communication protocol; Based on the initial time, determine one or more subsequent times for the transmission of one or more subsequent beacon signals associated with the first communication protocol; as well as Configure at least one of the transmission or reception of one or more signals based on the one or more subsequent times to avoid interference between the one or more signals and the one or more subsequent beacon signals, wherein the one or more signals are associated with a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the network device is an access point (AP).

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first communication protocol is a Wi-Fi communication protocol and the second communication protocol is a Bluetooth communication protocol.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the initial time is within a Bluetooth time slot for transmitting at least one Bluetooth packet.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising sending an indication of the initial time to one or more wireless communication devices.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein each of the one or more wireless communication devices is a corresponding electronic shelf label (ESL).

24. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during the one or more subsequent time periods.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the frequency is the Wi-Fi main frequency.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the transmission or reception of the one or more signals is configured to prevent the one or more signals from being transmitted or received at the same frequency as the one or more subsequent beacon signals during one or more time slots including the one or more subsequent times.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein configuring at least one of the transmissions or receptions of the one or more signals includes scheduling the transmissions or receptions of the one or more signals during at least one subsequent time period other than the one or more subsequent times.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein configuring at least one of the transmissions or receptions of the one or more signals includes scheduling the transmissions or receptions of the one or more signals during at least one time slot other than one or more time slots that include the one or more subsequent times.

29. The method of claim 18, wherein the one or more subsequent times are further determined based on a beacon interval, wherein a corresponding beacon signal in the one or more subsequent beacon signals is transmitted at each iteration of the beacon interval.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising setting a timer based on the beacon interval, wherein the timer expires at each iteration of the beacon interval.

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