Electronic device

Abstract

An electronic device includes a first communication module that operates in compliance with a first wireless communication protocol and a second communication module that operates in compliance with a second wireless communication protocol. The first communication module transmits a protection frame and suspends performance of at least one wireless activity after transmitting the protection frame. A duration field of the protection frame is set to a predetermined duration that is based on a time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the second communication module. The second communication module performs at least one transmission activity for the predetermined duration after the first communication module transmits the protection frame.

Description

[0001] Cross-referencing

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 727,621, filed December 3, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This invention relates to electronic devices, and more specifically, to electronic devices having interference protection mechanisms. Background Technology

[0004] Radar technology, especially millimeter-wave radar technology, is being used more and more widely in smart home appliances. This technology uses millimeter-wave signals for detection and imaging, and features high precision, high resolution, and high reliability.

[0005] In smart home appliances, millimeter-wave radar technology can achieve various functions, such as human presence sensing, gesture sensing, and non-contact health monitoring. These applications not only enhance the intelligence level of home appliances but also improve users' quality of life and convenience.

[0006] Therefore, improving the performance of radar technology is a topic worth exploring. Summary of the Invention

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes a first communication module operating according to a first wireless communication protocol and a second communication module operating according to a second wireless communication protocol. The first communication module transmits a guard frame and suspends at least one wireless activity after transmitting the guard frame. The duration field of the guard frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to execute one or more wireless activities of the second communication module. After the first communication module transmits the guard frame, the second communication module performs at least one transmission activity within the predetermined duration.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes a first communication module operating in accordance with a first wireless communication protocol and a second communication module operating in accordance with a second wireless communication protocol. The first communication module transmits a guard frame on a predetermined channel and suspends at least one wireless activity after transmitting the guard frame. The duration field of the guard frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the second communication module. After the first communication module transmits the guard frame, the second communication module performs at least one transmission activity on the predetermined channel within the predetermined duration.

[0009] According to another embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes a Wi-Fi module operating in accordance with a Wi-Fi protocol and a radar module operating in accordance with a radar protocol. The Wi-Fi module transmits a guard frame on a predetermined channel and suspends at least one wireless activity after transmitting the guard frame. The duration field of the guard frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the radar module. After the Wi-Fi module transmits the guard frame, the radar module performs at least one transmission activity on the predetermined channel within the predetermined duration.

[0010] These, and other objectives of the invention, will undoubtedly become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the preferred embodiments described below in detail. Attached Figure Description

[0011] Figure 1 This is an exemplary block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 2 It is a table that displays a list of Wi-Fi channels with a bandwidth of 20MHz on the 5GHz operating frequency band.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention of periodically transmitting Wi-Fi control frames to protect periodic radar transmission.

[0014] Figure 4 This is an exemplary hardware structure in which a Wi-Fi module and a radar module share an antenna and front-end circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device includes a first communication module operating according to a first wireless communication protocol and a second communication module operating according to a second wireless communication protocol. The electronic device implements an interference protection mechanism by transmitting guard frames.

[0016] More specifically, the first communication module can transmit a protection frame to the second communication module and suspend at least one wireless activity after transmitting the protection frame.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless activity performed by the communication module may be a transmission activity that transmits radio frequency (RF) signals to an air interface or a reception activity that receives RF signals from an air interface.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent the wireless activity of the second communication module from being interfered with by other signals simultaneously transmitted in the air, the duration field of the guard frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the second communication module. The second communication module can perform at least one transmission activity within the predetermined duration after the first communication module transmits the guard frame.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first wireless communication protocol is the Wi-Fi protocol, and the second wireless communication protocol is the radar protocol.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted at the operating frequency of the second communication module.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted on one or more channels, and the frequency range of the one or more channels covers the operating frequency band of the second communication module.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted on one or more channels, and the operating frequency band of the second communication module covers the frequency range of one or more channels.

[0023] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted simultaneously on multiple channels.

[0024] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a first communication module performs one or more wireless activities on a first frequency band, a second communication module performs one or more wireless activities on a second frequency band, and the first and second frequency bands overlap.

[0025] Figure 1 This is an exemplary block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 includes an antenna module 110, a Wi-Fi module 120, a radar module 130, and a processor 140. The antenna module 110 is shared by the Wi-Fi module 120 and the radar module 130, and includes one or more antennas and one or more front-end circuits for performing front-end signal processing. The Wi-Fi module 120 operates in accordance with the Wi-Fi protocol. The radar module 130 operates in accordance with the radar protocol. The processor 140 controls the overall operation of the electronic device 100, including control of the Wi-Fi module 120 and the radar module 130.

[0026] Note that, in order to clarify the concept of this invention, Figure 1 A simplified block diagram of an electronic device is shown, illustrating only the components relevant to this invention. As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the electronic device may also include... Figure 1 Other components not shown in the diagram are used to implement wireless communication and related signal processing functions.

[0027] It should be noted further that in some embodiments of the present invention, the processor 140 may be integrated into the Wi-Fi module 120 or the radar module 130. That is, the processor 140 may be included therein as a processor for the Wi-Fi module 120 or the radar module 130. The present invention is not limited to any particular implementation.

[0028] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the Wi-Fi module 120 can transmit a guard frame on a predetermined channel and suspend at least one wireless activity after transmitting the guard frame. The duration field of the guard frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the radar module 130.

[0029] After the Wi-Fi module 120 transmits the protection frame, the radar module 130 can perform at least one transmission activity on a predetermined channel for a predetermined duration.

[0030] For any device or workstation that is listening to wireless communication media in a wireless communication environment, upon receiving a protection frame transmitted by Wi-Fi module 120, the device or workstation will postpone access to the media for the duration indicated by the protection frame, thereby protecting the wireless activities performed by radar module 130 during that duration.

[0031] More specifically, a device or workstation can configure a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) based on duration information obtained from the duration field of a received frame (such as the guard frame mentioned above). NAV is a virtual carrier snooping mechanism used with wireless network protocols such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi). The Media Access Control (MAC) layer frame header contains a duration field specifying the required transmission time of the frame. Devices or workstations listening to the wireless communication medium in a wireless communication environment read the duration field to obtain duration information and set their NAV accordingly. This duration information serves as an indicator that the device or workstation is delaying access to the medium.

[0032] In this way, interference from other devices transmitting signals simultaneously in the air can be prevented, and the wireless activity performance of radar module 130 can be protected.

[0033] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted on the operating frequency of the radar module 130.

[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted on one or more channels, and the frequency range of the one or more channels covers the operating frequency band of the radar module 130.

[0035] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted on one or more channels, and the operating frequency band of the radar module 130 covers the frequency range of one or more channels.

[0036] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame is transmitted simultaneously by the Wi-Fi module 120 on multiple Wi-Fi channels.

[0037] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the Wi-Fi module 120 performs one or more wireless activities on a first frequency band, and the radar module 130 performs one or more wireless activities on a second frequency band, wherein the first and second frequency bands overlap. Note that in embodiments of the present invention, the Wi-Fi operating frequency band and the radar operating frequency band can be determined according to regional channel rules. Therefore, the frequency or channel for transmitting guard frames can also be determined according to regional channel rules.

[0038] Figure 2 This is a table showing a list of Wi-Fi channels with a bandwidth of 20MHz on the 5GHz operating frequency band. Figure 2 The image shows the frequency range and center frequency of the Wi-Fi channels, indexed from 149 to 177. The operating frequency band of the radar module with a 150MHz bandwidth (labeled BW150) is also shown. Figure 2 On the left side.

[0039] In this embodiment, radar module 130 can perform wireless activities in a frequency band of 5725MHz to 5875MHz, while Wi-Fi module 120 can perform wireless activities in a frequency band of at least 5735MHz to 5895MHz. Therefore, the operating frequency band of radar module 130 covers the frequency range of Wi-Fi channels 149-173, or the frequency range of Wi-Fi channels 149-177 covers the operating frequency band of radar module 130.

[0040] According to one embodiment of the invention, the protection frame is transmitted at the operating frequency of the radar module 130, which may be in the range of 5725MHz to 5875MHz.

[0041] According to one embodiment of the invention, the protection frame is transmitted on one or more Wi-Fi channels 149-173, which overlap with the operating frequency of the radar module 130.

[0042] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame transmitted by the Wi-Fi module 120 to the radar module 130 is a self-transmitted acknowledgment (CTS2Self) frame. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the protection frame transmitted by the Wi-Fi module 120 to the radar module 130 can be other frames, such as Wi-Fi control frames or Wi-Fi management frames.

[0043] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the Wi-Fi module 120 can periodically transmit guard frames. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the Wi-Fi module 120 can non-periodically transmit guard frames.

[0044] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation of periodically transmitting Wi-Fi control frames to protect periodic radar transmissions according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the Wi-Fi module operates during "non-radar time." The Wi-Fi module can perform its wireless activities to communicate with other devices or sites during "non-radar time." At the end of the "non-radar time," the Wi-Fi module can send Wi-Fi control frames to protect the upcoming radar transmission, and then suspend its wireless activity during the radar transmission period.

[0045] The radar module can perform its wireless activities during radar transmission. For example, the radar module can transmit detection signals or detection frames and receive detection signals or detection frames transmitted by itself to achieve the above-mentioned functions, such as human presence sensing, gesture sensing, and non-contact health monitoring.

[0046] After the radar transmission time, the Wi-Fi module can resume its wireless activity during the next "non-radar time" and send another Wi-Fi control frame at the end of the "non-radar time" to protect the upcoming radar transmission. The wireless activity switching operation between the Wi-Fi module and the radar module can be repeated.

[0047] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the antenna module is shared by the Wi-Fi module and the radar module, for example, Figure 1 As shown, antenna module 110 is shared by Wi-Fi module 120 and radar module 130.

[0048] Figure 4 This is an exemplary hardware architecture illustrating, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a Wi-Fi module and a radar module sharing an antenna and front-end circuitry. In this embodiment, the antenna in the antenna module includes at least one transmitting antenna ANT_Tx and one receiving antenna ANT_Rx.

[0049] The front-end circuitry along the transmit signal processing path may include a transmit RF front-end circuit TX_RFFE 411, a mixer 412, an oscillator 413, a transmit analog baseband circuit TX_ABB 414, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 415, a transmit digital front-end circuit TX_DFE 416, and a multiplexer 417. The multiplexer 417 is connected to a Wi-Fi signal generator 430 and a radar pattern generator 440. The Wi-Fi signal generator 430 may be included in a Wi-Fi module (e.g., Figure 1The Wi-Fi module 120 shown). The radar pattern generator 440 can be included in the radar module (e.g., the Wi-Fi module 120 shown). Figure 1 The radar module 130 shown.

[0050] Wi-Fi signal generator 430 generates and encodes the Wi-Fi signal to be transmitted. Radar pattern generator 440 generates and encodes a radar waveform, which can be any waveform used in radar, for transmission. Multiplexer 417 selectively outputs the Wi-Fi signal and radar waveform according to control signals (not shown). TX_DFE 416 performs digital front-end signal processing on the received signal, such as spectrum shaping, distortion compensation, etc. DAC 415 converts the received signal from the digital domain to the analog domain. TX_ABB 414 performs analog baseband signal processing on the received signal, such as waveform shaping, amplitude adjustment, etc. Mixer 412 performs frequency up-conversion on the received signal based on the oscillation signal generated by oscillator 413. TX_RFFE 411 performs radio frequency front-end signal processing on the received signal, such as adjusting the power radiation of the analog waveform in the radio frequency band.

[0051] The front-end circuitry along the received signal processing path may include a received RF front-end circuit RX_RFFE 421, a mixer 422, an oscillator 413, a received analog baseband circuit RX_ABB 424, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 425, a received digital front-end circuit RX_DFE 426, and a demultiplexer 427. The demultiplexer 427 is connected to the Wi-Fi signal processing circuit 450 and the radar signal processing circuit 460. The Wi-Fi signal processing circuit 450 may be included in a Wi-Fi module (e.g., Figure 1 The Wi-Fi module 120 shown. The radar signal processing circuitry 460 can be included in the radar module (e.g., the Wi-Fi module 120 shown). Figure 1 The radar module 130 shown.

[0052] RX_RFFE 421 performs RF front-end signal processing on the received signal, such as adjusting the power or amplitude of the received signal. Mixer 422 performs frequency down-conversion on the received signal based on the oscillation signal generated by oscillator 413. RX_ABB 424 performs analog baseband signal processing on the received signal, such as waveform shaping and amplitude adjustment. ADC 425 converts the received signal from the analog domain to the digital domain. RX_DFE 426 performs digital front-end signal processing on the received signal, such as spectrum shaping and receiver impairment compensation. Demultiplexer 427 selectively outputs the received signal to Wi-Fi signal processing circuit 450 and radar signal processing circuit 460. Wi-Fi signal processing circuit 450 demodulates and decodes the received Wi-Fi signal and performs subsequent signal processing. Radar signal processing circuit 460 extracts the radar waveform from the received signal and performs subsequent signal processing, such as analyzing the radar waveform to detect surrounding objects, estimate object distances, and monitor object motion.

[0053] According to one embodiment of the present invention, when switching the execution of wireless activities between a Wi-Fi module (e.g., Wi-Fi module 120) and a radar module (e.g., radar module 130) (e.g., switching the right to use an antenna module (e.g., antenna module 110) to execute the corresponding wireless activities), the processor (e.g., processor 140) or the Wi-Fi module can back up the relevant channel information.

[0054] For example, before sending a guard frame, the Wi-Fi module can back up the current channel information and stop processing any Wi-Fi Tx packets. Alternatively, the Wi-Fi module can configure the antenna module to use the channel for transmitting the guard frame (e.g., setting the channel for transmitting the guard frame based on the radar module's operating frequency), and then transmit the guard frame on the radar module's operating frequency.

[0055] After transmitting the guard frame, the Wi-Fi module can suspend at least one wireless activity; for example, the Wi-Fi module can lock its Tx and Rx operations.

[0056] Then, the processor can configure the antenna module according to the radar module's operating frequency or channel, and the radar module performs its wireless activities. After the radar operation is complete, the processor or Wi-Fi module can reset the antenna module based on the channel information backed up by the Wi-Fi module, and resume the Wi-Fi module's Tx and Rx operations. Furthermore, after the radar operation is complete, the radar module can perform subsequent signal processing, such as analyzing radar waveforms to detect surrounding objects, estimate object distances, and monitor object motion.

[0057] In an embodiment of the present invention, by transmitting a protection frame to the second communication module through the first communication module as described above, interference from other devices can be prevented and the wireless activity performance of the second communication module can be protected.

[0058] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations can be made to the apparatus and methods while retaining the teachings of the present invention. Therefore, the above disclosure should be interpreted only within the scope and limits of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An electronic device, comprising: The first communication module operates in accordance with the first wireless communication protocol. as well as The second communication module operates in accordance with the second wireless communication protocol. The first communication module transmits a protection frame and suspends at least one wireless activity after transmitting the protection frame. The duration field of the protection frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the second communication module, and The second communication module performs at least one transmission activity within the predetermined duration after the first communication module transmits the protection frame.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The protection frame is transmitted at the operating frequency of the second communication module.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The protection frame is transmitted on one or more channels, wherein the frequency range of the one or more channels covers the operating frequency band of the second communication module.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The protection frame is transmitted on one or more channels, and the operating frequency band of the second communication module covers the frequency range of the one or more channels.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The first communication module performs one or more wireless activities on a first frequency band, and the second communication module performs one or more wireless activities on a second frequency band, wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band overlap.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The first communication module periodically transmits the protection frame.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The first wireless communication protocol is the Wi-Fi protocol, and the second wireless communication protocol is the radar protocol.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, This protection frame is a self-sent acknowledgment CTS2Self frame.

9. An electronic device, comprising: The first communication module operates in accordance with the first wireless communication protocol. as well as The second communication module operates in accordance with the second wireless communication protocol. The first communication module transmits a protection frame on a predetermined channel and suspends at least one wireless activity after transmitting the protection frame. The duration field of the protection frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the second communication module, and The second communication module performs at least one transmission activity on the predetermined channel within the predetermined duration after the first communication module transmits the protection frame.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein, The first communication module performs one or more wireless activities on a first frequency band, and the second communication module performs one or more wireless activities on a second frequency band, wherein the first frequency band and the second frequency band overlap.

11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein, The first communication module periodically transmits the protection frame.

12. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein, The first wireless communication protocol is the Wi-Fi protocol, and the second wireless communication protocol is the radar protocol.

13. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein, This protection frame is a self-sent acknowledgment CTS2Self frame.

14. An electronic device comprising: The Wi-Fi module operates in accordance with the Wi-Fi protocol. as well as The radar module operates in accordance with radar protocols. The Wi-Fi module transmits a guard frame on a predetermined channel and suspends at least one wireless activity after transmitting the guard frame. The duration field of the protection frame is set based on a predetermined duration determined according to the time required to perform one or more wireless activities of the radar module, and Specifically, after the Wi-Fi module transmits the protection frame, the radar module performs at least one transmission activity on the predetermined channel within the predetermined duration.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein, This protection frame is a self-sent acknowledgment CTS2Self frame.

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