Wireless communication device and method for operating a wireless communication device

Abstract

Wireless communication device (3400), comprising: • a first communication circuit (1022, 3401) configured to transmit and receive (3501) at least one signal according to a cellular wireless long-range communication technology; • a second communication circuit (1024, 3402) configured to transmit and receive (3502) at least one signal according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology; • wherein the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) and the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) are set up to activate a coexistence state in which real-time communication is exchanged via a real-time interface (1026, 1030) between the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) and the second communication circuit (1024, 3402), or a non-coexistence state; • a first controller (3403) configured to control (3503) the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) to transmit signals during a first transmission period, and to transmit an indicator signal to a second controller (3404) indicating whether an uplink transmission from the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) causes interference when receiving a signal by means of the second communication circuit (1024, 3402), when a predetermined condition is met and the coexistence state is activated, wherein the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) is configured to transmit the indicator signal in real time to the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) via the real-time interface; • wherein the first controller (3403) is configured to determine (3504) whether the predetermined condition is met by determining whether the uplink transmission from the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) would result in a reception quality below (2203-Yes) a predetermined threshold when a signal is simultaneously received by the second communication circuit (1024, 3402), taking into account at least one of the following: a transmission power used for the uplink transmission; and / or channel information specifying the physical channel used for the uplink transmission, then the first controller (3403) is configured to control the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) to switch off (2205) the real-time communication; and • the second controller (3404), configured to control (3505) the second communication circuit (1024, 3402), to receive signals.

Description

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication equipment and methods for controlling wireless communication equipment.

[0002] Mobile communication devices can support a variety of wireless access technologies, such as cellular radio communication technology (e.g., LTE, long-term evolution), short-range radio communication technology (e.g., Bluetooth or WLAN), or metropolitan area system radio communication technology (e.g., WiMAX). Although different frequency bands are typically assigned to these different wireless access technologies, interference can still occur between them, for example, if a mobile communication device attempts to operate two different wireless technologies simultaneously. Avoiding such interference and improving coexistence between different wireless access technologies is desirable.

[0003] WO 2012 / 0021879 A2 describes methods and devices for mitigating internal device interference. The methods may involve a device interference event (e.g., an interference situation), and the processing of events may depend on the priority of the technologies. Handover to another frequency or radio access technology (RAT) may occur if a coexisting technology can be activated.

[0004] US 2012 / 0071185 A1 describes a wireless communication method that modifies an actual buffer status report value to create a modified buffer status report that is sent to a base station. The modified buffer status report value causes the base station to send fewer uplink grants to a user device. The reduced grants result in transmission gaps in the user device's first radio access technology. The user device can then use these transmission gaps in the first radio access technology to communicate using a second radio access technology.

[0005] US 2012 / 0069766 A1 describes a hybrid FDM / TDM solution for coexistence interference avoidance in devices. A user device (UE) comprises a first radio transceiver and a second radio transceiver arranged together. The UE detects coexistence interference between the two radios based on a radio signal measurement. The UE sends an interference detection code (IDC) to its servicing base station (eNB). The UE reports IDC information, including recommendations for FDM and TDM configurations, to the eNB.

[0006] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a wireless communication device is provided comprising a first transceiver configured for transmitting and receiving at least one signal according to a cellular wireless long-range communication technology; a second transceiver configured for transmitting and receiving at least one signal according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, the second transceiver having a filter having a filter characteristic; a first processor configured for controlling the first transceiver to transmit signals during a first transmission period to determine whether a planned uplink transmission meets a predefined criterion, taking into account at least one of the following: at least a part of the filter characteristic of the filter of the second transceiver;a transmission power used for uplink transmission; and channel information specifying the physical channel used for uplink transmission; and a second processor configured to control the second transceiver to receive signals taking into account the transmission period of the first transceiver; wherein the first processor is further configured to provide an indication signal indicating whether the second processor should control the second transceiver to receive a signal or not to receive a signal, depending on whether the planned uplink transmission by the first transceiver meets the predetermined criterion.

[0007] According to one aspect of this revelation, the second processor may be further configured to control the second transceiver to receive a signal or not receive a signal according to the cue signal provided by the first processor.

[0008] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the first processor may be further configured to determine whether the planned uplink transmission meets the predetermined criterion, taking into account one or more uplink transmission frames or one or more uplink transmission subframes.

[0009] According to one aspect of this revelation, the transmission period may be determined by the transmission of a framework structure.

[0010] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver may be set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless third generation partnership project communication technology.

[0011] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver may be set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless 4G communication technology.

[0012] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver may be set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless Long Term Evolution communication technology.

[0013] According to one aspect of this revelation, the second transceiver may be configured to send and receive signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology selected from a group consisting of: Bluetooth wireless communication technology; Ultra Wide Band wireless communication technology; Wireless Local Area Network wireless communication technology; Infrared Data Association wireless communication technology; Z-Wave wireless communication technology; ZigBee wireless communication technology; High Performance LAN wireless communication technology; IEEE 802.11 wireless communication technology; and Digital Enhanced Cordless wireless communication technology.

[0014] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the second transceiver may be configured to transmit and receive signals according to a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology selected from a group consisting of: wireless Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access communication technology; wireless WiPro communication technology; wireless High Performance Radio metropolitan area system communication technology; and wireless 802.16m Advanced Air Interface communication technology.

[0015] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the predetermined criterion may be whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold compared to an estimated or measured interference power received by the second transceiver, whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power spectral density (PSD) threshold compared to an estimated (or measured) interference PSD received by the second transceiver, or whether the type of physical channel used for the planned uplink transmission is identical to a predetermined type of physical channel.

[0016] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a method for operating a wireless communication device according to the wireless communication device described above is provided.

[0017] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the method for operating a wireless communication device comprises: a first transceiver transmitting and receiving signals according to a cellular wireless long-range communication technology; a second transceiver transmitting and receiving signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, the second transceiver having a filter having a filter characteristic; a first processor controlling the first transceiver to transmit signals during a first transmission period, the first processor determining whether a planned uplink transmission meets a predefined criterion by considering at least one of the following: at least a part of the filter characteristic of the second transceiver's filter; a transmission power used for the uplink transmission;and channel information specifying the physical channel used for uplink transmission; and a second processor controlling the second transceiver to receive signals taking into account the transmission period of the first transceiver; wherein the first processor further provides an indication signal indicating whether the second processor should control the second transceiver to receive a signal or not to receive a signal, depending on whether the planned uplink transmission by the first transceiver meets the predetermined criterion.

[0018] According to one aspect of this revelation, the second processor can further control the second transceiver to receive a signal or not receive a signal, according to the cue signal available from the first processor.

[0019] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the first processor can further determine whether the planned uplink transmission meets the predetermined criterion, taking into account one or more uplink transmission frames or one or more uplink transmission subframes.

[0020] According to one aspect of this revelation, the transmission period may be determined by the transmission of a framework structure.

[0021] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver can send and receive signals according to a wireless third generation partnership project communication technology.

[0022] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver can send and receive signals using a wireless 4G communication technology.

[0023] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver can send and receive signals according to a wireless Long Term Evolution communication technology.

[0024] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the second transceiver can send and receive signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology selected from a group consisting of: Bluetooth wireless communication technology; Ultra Wide Band wireless communication technology; Wireless Local Area Network wireless communication technology; Infrared Data Association wireless communication technology; Z-Wave wireless communication technology; ZigBee wireless communication technology; High Performance LAN wireless communication technology; IEEE 802.11 wireless communication technology; and Digital Enhanced Cordless wireless communication technology.

[0025] According to one aspect of this revelation, the second transceiver can transmit and receive signals according to a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology selected from a group consisting of: wireless Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access communication technology; wireless WiPro communication technology; wireless High Performance Radio metropolitan area system communication technology; and wireless 802.16m Advanced Air Interface communication technology.

[0026] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the predetermined criterion may be whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold compared to an estimated or measured interference power received by the second transceiver, whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power spectral density (PSD) threshold compared to an estimated (or measured) interference PSD received by the second transceiver, or whether the type of physical channel used for the planned uplink transmission is identical to a predetermined type of physical channel.

[0027] In the drawings, identical reference numerals generally denote the same parts in the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale; instead, the emphasis is generally on illustrating the principles of the invention. The following description details various embodiments of the invention with reference to the following drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a communication system according to one aspect of this revelation; Fig. 2 shows a frequency band diagram; Fig. 3 shows a test system; Fig. 4 shows the measurement results of the first test case; Fig. 5 modified measurement results for the first test case, showing different broadband noise levels; Fig. 6 shows the measurement results of the second test case; Fig.7 modified measurement results for the second test case for different broadband noise are shown; Fig. 8 shows the measurement results of the second test case; Fig. 9 modified measurement results of the second test case for different broadband noise are shown; Fig. 10 shows a communication device according to various aspects of this revelation; Fig. 11 shows a framework structure; Fig. 12 shows a data transfer diagram; Fig. 13 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 14 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 15 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 16 and Fig. 17. Demonstrate the influence of WLAN and Bluetooth usage on LTE-FDD with full traffic connectivity support when relying solely on LTE Denial and LTE Kill; Fig.18 shows a communication circuit according to one aspect of this revelation; Fig. 19 shows a status and arbitration unit according to one aspect of this revelation; Fig. 20 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 21 shows a communication device; Fig. 22 shows a flowchart; Fig. 23 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 24 shows a message flow diagram; Fig. 25 shows a frequency allocation table; Fig. 26 shows a message flow diagram; Fig. 27 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 28 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 29 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 30 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 31 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 32 shows a transfer diagram; Fig.33 shows a transfer diagram; Fig. 34 shows a wireless communication device; Fig. 35 shows a flowchart; Fig. 36 shows an LTE uplink event filter; and Fig. 37 shows a flowchart.

[0028] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific details and aspects of this disclosure in which the invention can be implemented. These aspects of this disclosure are described in sufficient detail to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out the invention. It is understood that other embodiments may be used and structural, logical, or electrical modifications may be made without derailing the scope of protection of the present invention. The various features of this disclosure are not necessarily mutually exclusive, since some features of this disclosure may be combined with one or more other features of this disclosure to form new features.

[0029] 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) has introduced LTE (Long Term Evolution) in its version 8 of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) as a standard.

[0030] The air interface of an LTE communications system is called E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) and is commonly referred to as "3.9G". In December 2010, the ITU acknowledged that current versions of LTE and other developed 3G technologies do not meet the "IMT-advanced" requirements and cannot be considered "4G", stipulating that they are precursors to "IMT-advanced" with a substantial improvement in performance and capabilities compared to initial, already deployed "third-generation" systems. LTE is therefore sometimes also referred to as "4G" (mainly for marketing purposes).

[0031] Compared to its predecessor UMTS, LTE offers an air interface that has been further optimized for packet data transmission through improvements in system capacity and spectral efficiency. Among other enhancements, the maximum net data rate has been significantly increased to 300 Mbps in the downlink direction and 75 Mbps in the uplink direction. LTE supports scalable bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz and is based on new multiple access methods, such as OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) / TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) in the downlink direction (transmitter, e.g., base station, to handheld device, e.g., mobile device) and SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) / TDMA in the uplink direction (handheld device to transmitter).OFDMA / TDMA is a multi-carrier multiple-access method in which a participant (e.g., a mobile device) is allocated a defined number of intermediate carriers in a frequency spectrum and a defined transmission time for the purpose of data transmission. The RF (Radio Frequency) capability of a mobile device according to LTE (also referred to as user equipment (UE, e.g., a mobile phone) for transmitting and receiving has been set at 20 MHz. A Physical Resource Block (PRB) is the basic unit for the allocation of the physical channels defined in LTE. It has a matrix of 12 intermediate carriers with 6 or 7 OFDMA / SC-FDMA symbols. At the physical layer, a pair consisting of an OFDMA / SC-FDMA symbol and an intermediate carrier is referred to as a "resource element." A communication system used according to any aspect of this disclosure, and which, for example,A communication system according to LTE is referred to below with reference to . Fig. 1 described.

[0032] Fig. Figure 1 shows a communication system 100 according to one aspect of this revelation.

[0033] The communication system 100 is a cellular mobile communication system (hereinafter also referred to as a cellular wireless communication network) comprising a wireless access network (e.g., an E-UTRAN, Evolved UMTS (Universal Mobile Communication System) Terrestrial Radio Access Network according to LTE (Long Term Evolution)) 101 and a core network (e.g., an EPC, Evolved Packet Core, according to LTE) 102. The wireless access network 101 may include a base (transceiver) station (e.g., eNodeBs, eNBs, according to LTE) 103. Each base station 103 provides wireless coverage for one or more cellular cells 104 of the wireless access network 101.

[0034] A mobile device (also referred to as UE, user equipment) 105, located in a mobile radio cell 104, can communicate with the core network 102 and with other mobile devices 105 via the base station that provides coverage in the mobile cell (in other words, is operational). In other words, the base station 103, which operates the mobile cell 104 in which the mobile device 105 is located, provides the E-UTRA user-layer termination, including the PDCP (Package Data Convergence Protocol) layer, the RLC (Radio Link Control) layer, and the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer, and control-plane termination, including the RRC (Radio Resource Control) layer, to the mobile device 105.

[0035] Control and user data are transmitted between a base station 103 and a mobile device 105 located in the mobile cell 104, which is operated by the base station 103 via the air interface 106, on the basis of multiple access methods.

[0036] The base stations 103 are interconnected via a first interface 107, e.g., an X2 interface. The base stations 103 are also interconnected via a second interface 108, e.g., an S1 interface, to the core network, e.g., an MME (Mobility Management Entity) 109, via an S1-MME interface, and to a Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110 via an S1-U interface. The S1 interface supports multiple-to-multiple relationships between MMEs / S-GWs 109, 110 and the base stations 103; that is, a base station 103 can be interconnected with more than one MME / S-GW 109, 110, and an MME / S-GW 109, 110 can be interconnected with more than one base station 103. This enables network sharing (shared use of the LTE network) in the LTE network.

[0037] For example, the MME 109 may be responsible for controlling the mobility of mobile devices located within the coverage area of ​​E-UTRAN, while the S-GW 110 is responsible for handling the transfer of user data between mobile devices 105 and the core network 102.

[0038] In the case of LTE, the wireless access network 101, i.e. the E-UTRAN 101 in the case of LTE, can be considered to consist of the base station 103, i.e. the eNBs 103 in the case of LTE, which provide the E-UTRA user plane (PDCP / RLC / MAC) and control plane (RRC) protocol termination towards the UE 105.

[0039] An eNB 103 can, for example, provide the following functions: • Functions for radio resource management: radio carrier control, radio access control, link mobility control, dynamic allocation of resources to UEs 105 in uplink and downlink (scheduling); • IP head compression and encryption of user data streams; • Selection of an MME-109 attachment to UE 105 if routing to an MME 109 cannot be determined from the information provided by the UE 105; • Routing of user-level data towards the Serving Gateway (S-GW) 110; • Planning and transmission or sending of paging messages (originating from the MME); • Planning and transmission or sending of broadcast information (originating from the MME 109 or O&M (Operation and Maintenance)); • Measurement and configuration of measurement reports for mobility and planning; • Planning and transmission of PWS (Public Warning System), including ETWS (Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System) and CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert System) messages (originating from MME 109); • CSG (Closed subscriber group) handling.

[0040] Each base station of the communication system 100 controls communication within its geographical coverage area, namely its cell 104, which ideally has a hexagonal shape. When the mobile device 105 is located in cell 104 and is "camping" or "stationed" there (in other words, registered with cell 104), it communicates with the base station 103, which controls cell 104. When a call is initiated by a user of the mobile device 105 (outgoing mobile call) or a call is addressed to the mobile device 105 (incoming mobile call), radio channels are established between the mobile device 105 and the base station 103, which controls cell 104 and in which the mobile device is located (or "camping").If the mobile device 105 moves away from the original mobile cell 104 in which the call was established, and the signal strength of the radio channel that was established in the original mobile cell 104 decreases, the communication system can initiate a transmission of the (incoming) call to radio channels of another mobile cell 104 to which the mobile device 105 is moving.

[0041] If the mobile device 105 moves continuously through the coverage area of ​​the communication system 100, call control can be transferred between adjacent mobile cells 104. The transfer of a call from one mobile cell 104 to another mobile cell 104 is called a handover (or handoff).

[0042] In addition to communication via the E-UTRAN 102, the mobile device 105 can support communication via a Bluetooth (BT) communication connection 111, e.g., to another mobile device 112, and communication via a WLAN communication connection 113 to a WLAN access point (AP) 114. Through the access point 114, the mobile device can gain access to a communication network 115 (e.g., the Internet), which may be connected to the core network 102.

[0043] LTE operates in a newly allocated set of frequency bands. The main difference with the introduction of this new set of bands, compared to those for 2G / 3G communication systems, is that two of them are in close proximity to the ISM band, which is used for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

[0044] This is in Fig. 2 shown.

[0045] Fig. Figure 2 shows a frequency band diagram for 200.

[0046] In band diagram 200, frequencies are shown from left to right.

[0047] From left to right, the diagram shows LTE band 40 (201), ISM band 202, LTE band 7 UL (uplink), a guard band (204), LTE band 38 (205), and LTE band 7 DL (downlink) (206). Band diagram 200 thus illustrates the spectrum allocated to LTE around ISM band 202.

[0048] The LTE band 40 201, used by LTE-TDD (Time Division Duplex), is directly adjacent to the lower band of ISM band 202 with no guard band in between, and the LTE band 7 204, used for LTE-FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) UL, is directly adjacent to the higher band of ISM band 202 with guard band 203 of 17 MHz.

[0049] To illustrate the coexistence problems (in this case between LTE networks), the following are results from real-world measurements conducted with current or commonly used hardware. The three test cases for which results are given are: 1: WLAN affects band 40; 2: LTE band 40 interferes with WLAN in the ISM band; 3: LTE band 7 interferes with WLAN in the ISM band.

[0050] The test system used is in Fig. 3 shown.

[0051] Fig. Figure 3 shows a test system 300.

[0052] The test system 300 includes a first communication circuit 301, which supports (among other things) WLAN and Bluetooth, and a second communication circuit 302, which supports (among other things) LTE communication. Various filters 303, 304, 305, and 306 are provided for testing.

[0053] Arrow 307 indicates the coexistence case of interest, in this example (WLAN / LTE coexistence). It should be noted that in the measurements, the RF (Radio Frequency) analysis focused on interference across antennas and not on pin-to-pin interference at the IC level.

[0054] In the first test case, the LTE band 40 201 is the receiver (or victim of interference) and the ISM band 202 is the source of the interference.

[0055] Fig. Figure 4 shows the measurement results for the first test case.

[0056] Fig. Figure 5 shows modified measurement results for the first test case for different broadband noise.

[0057] The first test case shows that using the lower part of the ISM band desensitizes the entire band 40.

[0058] In the second test case, the LTE band 40 201 is the source of interference and the ISM band 202 is the receiver (or victim of interference).

[0059] Fig. Figure 6 shows the measurement results for the second test case.

[0060] Fig. Figure 7 shows modified measurement results for the second test case for different broadband noise.

[0061] The second test case shows that using the upper part of band 40 desensitizes the entire ISM band. Approximately 75% of the frequency combinations show more than 10 dB of desensitization.

[0062] In the third test case, LTE band 7 UL 204 is the source of interference and ISM band 202 is the receiver (or frequency victim).

[0063] Fig. Figure 8 shows the measurement results of the second test case.

[0064] Fig. Figure 9 shows modified measurement results of the third test case with different broadband noise.

[0065] The third test case shows that even with a narrowband WLAN filter, there is a strong desensitization at the frequency of 2510 MHz.

[0066] The test results show that serious coexistence problems occur with the existing hardware in all three test cases.

[0067] According to various aspects of this disclosure, these open issues are resolved or alleviated by using a mechanism applied at the PHY layer and protocol layer, and which relies, for example, on a mixture of software (SW) and hardware (HW) implementations.

[0068] The following examples refer to an exemplary communication device which is in Fig. 10 is shown, described.

[0069] Fig. Figure 10 shows a communication device 1000 according to various aspects of this revelation.

[0070] The Communication Device 1000, for example, is a mobile communication device configured or designed according to LTE and / or other 3GPP mobile communication technologies. The Communication Device 1000 is also referred to as a wireless communication device.

[0071] According to various aspects of the disclosure, the communication device 1000 may have a processor 1002, such as a microprocessor (for example, a central processing unit (CPU)) or another type of programmable logic device (which, for example, acts as a controller). Furthermore, the communication device 1000 may have a first memory 1004, for example, a read-only memory (ROM) 1004, and / or a second memory 1006, for example, a random-access memory (RAM) 1006.Furthermore, the communication device 1000 may have a display 1008, such as a touch-sensitive display, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. However, any other type of display may also be provided for the display 1008. The communication device 1000 may additionally have any other suitable output device (not shown), such as a loudspeaker or a vibration actuator. The communication device 1000 may have one or more input devices, such as a keypad 1010 containing a plurality of keys.The communication device may additionally include any other suitable input device (not shown), such as a microphone, for example, for voice control of the communication device 1000. If the display 1008 is implemented as a touch-sensitive display 1008, the keypad 1010 may be implemented by the touch-sensitive display 1008. Furthermore, the communication device 1000 may optionally include a coprocessor 1012 to offload processing from the processor 1002. The communication device 1000 may also include a first transceiver 1014 and a second transceiver 1018. The first transceiver 1014 is, for example, an LTE transceiver that supports wireless communication according to LTE, and the second transceiver 1018 is, for example, a WLAN transceiver that supports communication according to a WLAN communication standard, or a Bluetooth transceiver that supports communication according to Bluetooth.

[0072] The components described above can be interconnected via one or more lines, e.g., implemented in the form of a bus 1016. The first memory 1004 and / or the second memory 1006 can be volatile memory, e.g., DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or non-volatile memory, e.g., PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or flash memory, e.g.,The memory can be a floating gate memory, a charge trapping memory, an MRAM (magnetic resistive random access memory), a PCRAM (phase change random access memory), or a CBRAM (conductive bridging random access memory). The program code used to execute and thus control the processor 1002 (and the optional coprocessor 1012) can be stored in the first memory 1004. Data (e.g., messages received by or to be sent from the first transceiver 1014) processed by the processor 1002 (and optional coprocessor 1012) can be stored in the second memory 1006. The first transceiver 1014 can be configured or trained in such a way that it implements a Uu interface according to LTE.The Communication Device 1000 and the first Transceiver 1014 can also be configured to provide MIMO radio transmission.

[0073] Furthermore, the communication device 1000 can have an image and / or video camera 1020 that is configured to provide a video conference via the communication device 1000.

[0074] Furthermore, the communication device 1000 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM), e.g., a UMTS subscriber identity module (USIM), for identifying a user and subscriber of the communication device 1000. The processor 1002 may also include an audio processing circuit, such as an audio decoding circuit and / or an audio coding circuit, configured for decoding and / or encoding audio signals according to one or more of the following audio coding or audio decoding technologies: ITU G.711, Adaptive Multi-Rate Narrowband (AMR-NB), Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), Advanced Multi-Band Excitation (AMBE), etc.

[0075] It should be noted that although most of the examples described below are for the coexistence of LTE and WLAN or Bluetooth, the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 can also support other communication technologies.

[0076] For example, each of the 1014 and 1018 transceivers can support one of the following communication technologies: - a short-range radio communication technology (which may include, for example, Bluetooth wireless communication technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communication technology, and / or a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication technology (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.11 (e.g., IEEE 802.11n) wireless communication standard)), IrDA (Infrared Data Association), Z-Wave and ZigBee, HiperLAN / 2 (High Performance Radio LAN; an alternative ATM-like 5 GHz standardized technology), IEEE 802.11a (5 GHz), IEEE 802.11g (2.4 GHz), IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11VHT (VHT = Very High Throughput)), - a metropolitan area system wireless communication technology (which may include, for example, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) (e.g., according to an IEEE 802.16 wireless communication standard, e.g., WiMax fixed or WiMax mobile), WiPro, HiperMAN (High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network) and / or IEEE 802.16m Advanced Air Interface) - a cellular wireless long-range communications technology (such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) radio communications technology, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) radio communications technology, an Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) radio communications technology; and / or a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio communications technology (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, FOMA (Freedom of Multimedia Access), 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3GPP LTE Advance (Long Term Evolution Advance)), CDMA2000 (Code Split-Multiple Access, EnglishCode Division Multiple Access 2000), CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data), Mobitex, 3G (3rd Generation), CSD (Circuit-Switched Data), HSCSD (High-Speed ​​Circuit-Switched Data), UMTS (3G) (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (3rd Generation)), W-CDMA (UMTS) (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)), HSPA (High-Speed ​​Packet Access), HSDPA (High-Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access), HSUPA (High-Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access), HSPA+ (High-Speed ​​Packet Access Plus)High Speed ​​Packet Access Plus), UMTS-TDD (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - Time-Division Duplex), TD-CDMA (Time Division - Code Division Multiple Access), TD-CDMA (Time Division - Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access), 3GPP Rel. 8 (Pre-4G) (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 8 (Pre-4th Generation)), UTRA (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access), E-UTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access), LTE Advanced (4G) (Long Term Evolution Advanced (4th Generation)), cdmaOne (2G), CDMA2000 (3G) (Code division multiple access 2000 (Third generation)), EV-DO (Data-optimized or Evolution-Data-Optimized or Evolution-Data Only), AMPS (1G) (Advanced Mobile Phone System (First Generation)1st Generation), TACS / ETACS (Total Access Communication System / Extended Total Access Communication System), D-AMPS (2G) (Digital AMPS (2nd Generation)), PTT (Push-to-talk), MTS (Mobile Telephone System), IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone System), AMTS (Advanced Mobile Telephone System), OLT (Norwegian for Offentlig Landmobil Telefoni, Public Land Mobile Telephony), MTD (Swedish for Mobilisystem D, Mobile telephony system D), Autotel / PALM (Public Automated Land Mobile), ARP (Finnish for Autoradiopuhelin, wireless car phone (“car radio phone”), NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony), Hicap (High Performance Version, English).High-capacity version of NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone), CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data), Mobitex, DataTAC, iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), CSD (Circuit Switched Data), PHS (Personal Handy-phone System), WiDEN (Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA, also known as 3GPP Generic Access Network, or GAN Standard) may be present).

[0077] A wireless short-range communication technology can have the following short-range communication technology subfamilies: - Personal area networks (Wireless PANs) are a subfamily of wireless communication technologies that can include, for example, IrDA (Infrared Data Association), Bluetooth, UWB, Z-Wave, and ZigBee; and - Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are a subfamily of wireless communication technologies, which may include, for example, HiperLAN / 2 (High Performance Radio LAN; an alternative ATM-like 5 GHz standardized technology), IEEE 802.11a (5 GHz), IEEE 802.11g (2.4 GHz), IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11VHT (VHT = Very High Throughput).

[0078] A wireless metropolitan area system communication technology family can have the following wireless metropolitan area system communication technology subfamilies: - Wireless campus area networks (W-CANs) are a subfamily of wireless communication technologies that can be considered a form of metropolitan area network, specifically in academic settings, and which may include technologies such as WiMAX, WiPro, HiperMAN (High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network), or IEEE 802.16m Advanced Air Interface; and - Wireless metropolitan area networks (W-MANs) are a subfamily of wireless communication technologies that may be limited to a room, building, campus or a specific metropolitan area (e.g., a city) and may include technologies such as WiMAX, WiPro, HiperMAN (High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network), or IEEE 802.16m Advanced Air Interface.

[0079] Cellular wireless wide area communication technologies can also be understood as Wireless Wide Area Network (Wireless WAN).

[0080] In the following examples, it is assumed that the first transceiver 1014 supports LTE communication and is therefore operated in the LTE frequency bands 201, 204, 205, and 206. Accordingly, the first transceiver 1014 is also referred to as LTE-RF.

[0081] For the following examples, it is further assumed that the second transceiver 1018 operates in ISM band 212 and supports WLAN or Bluetooth communication.

[0082] The first transceiver 1014 has a first communication circuit 1022, which can perform various tasks related to the communication carried out by the first transceiver 114, such as controlling the timing of transmitting / receiving, etc. The first communication circuit 1022 can be considered a (first) processor of the communication device 1000 and is, for example, designed to control the first transceiver 1014.

[0083] The second transceiver 1018 similarly features a second communication circuit 1024, which can perform various tasks related to the communication carried out by the second transceiver 1018, such as controlling the timing of transmit / receive, etc. The second transceiver 1018 is also referred to as the connectivity system or CWS. The second communication circuit 1024 is also referred to as the CWS chip or connectivity chip. The second communication circuit 1024 can be considered a (second) processor of the communication device 1000 and is, for example, configured to control the second transceiver 1018.

[0084] Each of the first 1014 transceivers and the second 1018 transceivers can also have front-end components (filters, amplifiers, etc.) and one or more antennas.

[0085] The first communication circuit 1022 can have a first real-time (RT) interface 1026 and a first non-real-time (NRT) interface 1028. Similarly, the second communication circuit 1024 can have a second RT interface 1030 and a second NRT interface 1032. These interfaces 1026 and 1032 are described in detail below and can be used to exchange control information with other components of the communication device 1000. For example, the RT interfaces 1026 and 1030 can form an RT interface between the first communication circuit 1022 and the second communication circuit 1024. Similarly, the NRT interfaces 1028 and 1032 can form an NRT interface between the first communication circuit 1022 and the second communication circuit 1024.

[0086] It should be noted that the term "circuit" can refer to any type of logic-implementing unit, which may be a circuit for a specific purpose, a processor that executes software stored in memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Consequently, a "circuit" can be a wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit, such as a programmable processor, e.g., a microprocessor (e.g., a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processor or a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor). A circuit can also be a processor that executes software, e.g., any type of computer program, such as a computer program that executes virtual machine code like Java.Other types of implementations of the corresponding functions, which are described in greater detail below, can also be understood as circuits according to aspects of this revelation. RT coexistence mechanism

[0087] According to one aspect of this revelation, a real-time coexistence architecture is provided, which is based on two methods (or at least on one of these methods), namely protocol synchronization and traffic arbitration.

[0088] Protocol synchronization can, for example, have two mechanisms: utilizing the available period in which LTE-RF 1014 is idle and organizing the RF activity of the connectivity system 1018 such that RX (i.e. receive) periods occur simultaneously with LTE-RX periods and TX (i.e. send or transmit) periods occur simultaneously with LTE-TX periods. Protocol synchronization can be achieved by using LTE frame indication and LTE gap indication signals, which allow the second transceiver 1018 (WLAN or BT) to schedule its activities at suitable times: i.e., when the LTE-RF 1014 is idle or when the relevant activities are compatible (i.e., so that the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 are receiving or so that the first transceiver 1018 and the second transceiver 1018 are transmitting).

[0089] Traffic arbitration can consist of receiving CWS 1018 and LTE-RF 1014 pre-activity indications and selecting the traffic whose processing is allowed when a conflict is identified. Traffic arbitration can be achieved through a CWS activity indication or CWS activity display, which is used by a real-time (RT) arbiter to issue a CWS kill and an LTE kill signal (from "deleting" a frame or subframe for a communication technology, i.e., preventing transmission in the communication technology within that subframe or frame).

[0090] The following describes an LTE frame indication or LTE frame display in the LTE-TDD case (i.e., in the case that the LTE-RF 1014 is operated in TDD mode), which is used for protocol synchronization according to one aspect of this disclosure.

[0091] In a time-division duplex system (TDD), an LTE-TDD has a unique frame structure that incorporates both a DL and an UL subframe. This is in Fig. 11 shown.

[0092] Fig. Figure 11 shows a frame structure 1100.

[0093] The frame structure 1100 illustrates an LTE-TDD frame 1101, comprising DL subframes, i.e., subframes allocated for downlink transmissions (where LTE-RF 1024 receives data), UL subframes, i.e., subframes allocated for uplink transmissions (where LTE-RS 1028 sends data), and special (S) subframes, which can be used, for example, as guard time and pilot transmission.

[0094] There is a set of seven possible configurations defined in 3GPP for TDD. Whichever configuration is selected, the TDD framework contains a periodic DL / UL pattern that can be communicated to the CWS chip 1024 and used by the connectivity system 1018 to schedule communication traffic.

[0095] The LTE-TDD frame structure is typically static or varies very rarely. It can be displayed to the CWS chip 1028 via an NRT message through an NRT interface 1032. The required synchronization between the CWS chip 1028 and the timing alignment with the LTE-TDD frame can be performed via the RT interfaces 1026 and 1030, which use an LTE-frame_SYNC signal 1102, as shown in Fig. 11 shown.

[0096] The LTE frame start (i.e., the beginning of each frame 1001) is indicated to the CWS chip 1024 one millisecond in advance, via the pulse sent 1 ms in advance via the RT interface between the first communication circuit 1022 and the second communication circuit 1024 (i.e., via the RT interfaces 1026, 1030).

[0097] By using the LTE frame SYNC signal, which is coupled with the LTE frame structure signaled via an NRT message, the CWS chip 1024 has full knowledge of the LTE-TDD frame and can plan its communication activities accordingly.

[0098] This LTE-TDD frame structure signaling message via the NRT (coexistence) interface between the first communication circuit 1022 and the second communication circuit 1024 (formed by NRT interfaces 1028, 1032) has, for example, the format shown in Table 1. Table 1 ID Message payload Info bits I / O Description 11 LTE bitmap 10x2 O 0=Special subframe 1=RX LTE subframe 2 = TX LTE subframe

[0099] This message can be reduced to 3 bits (only 7 configurations) and encoding of the S-subframe structure can be added: • the seven UL / DL-TDD frame configurations as defined in 3GPP: 3 bits, • the nine special subframe configurations: 4 bits.

[0100] Considering that the message is an NRT message, and that using an implied LTE configuration encoding will require some LTE knowledge on the 1024 connectivity chip, it may be desirable to stick with the explicit 20-bit encoding.

[0101] For LTE frame indication in the LTE-FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) scenario, LTE Band 7 UL 204 is the most relevant band. This is an uplink band, and therefore all subframes are UL subframes. Nevertheless, LTE frame indication can still be used in this case to allow the CWS chip 1024 to properly schedule its activity at the LTE subframe boundaries. It can also be used by the CWS chip 1024 to synchronize its system clock with the LTE system clock.

[0102] If (traffic) arbitration grants medium access to the CWS 1018, by definition this can continue until the end of the deleted LTE subframe, and the CWS 1018, which knows the subframe boundaries, is able to apply a plan to maximize the amount of traffic transferred until the end of the deleted (LTE subframe).

[0103] Below is an LTE gap indicator in the case of LTE-FDD discontinuous receive (DRX) and discontinuous transmit (DTX), which is used for protocol synchronization according to one aspect of this disclosure.

[0104] LTE was designed to address the needs of mobile internet access. Internet traffic can be characterized by high bursts with high peak data rates and long periods without signal or radio silence. An LTE system allows DRX (discontinuous receive) to conserve battery power. Two DRX profiles are supported, addressed by short-DRX and long-DRX. An LTE system allows discontinuous transmission (DTX) to increase the system capacity for the uplink (reverse link).

[0105] For example, isochronous traffic can be assumed for VoLTE (Voice over LTE). Because the voice encoder generates a packet every 20 ms, the underlying periodicity of LTE traffic can be used for WLAN and BT transmissions during LTE idle periods or signal-free LTE periods.

[0106] For example, the UL / DL planning for an inactivity period of two (the smallest allowed value in 3GPP Release 9 for DRX inactivity times is 1) is in Fig. 12 shown.

[0107] Fig. Figure 12 shows a data transfer diagram 1200.

[0108] In data transmission diagram 1200, the time increases from left to right. Data transmission diagram 1200 shows uplink LTE data transmission 1201, downlink LTE data transmission 1202, and a bottom timeline 1203 illustrating the time (in units of subframes) available to the CWS 1024 during the DRX periods 1207.

[0109] A first hatching 1204 indicates periods available for the CWS 1024 (e.g. BT or WLAN), a second hatching 1203 indicates the periods available for the CWS 1024, and a third hatching 1206 indicates the periods usable by the CWS 1024.

[0110] In the bottom timeline 1203, the periods are marked (by the first hatching 1204 and the second hatching 1205) during which no LTE-UL activity is expected and the signal can therefore be handed off to the CWS 1024. It is important to note that the interference-free time must be communicated to the LTE transceiver 1022 (specifically in its role as receiver) before the impending reception, in order to determine the AGC (Automatic Gain Control) and for potential signal reacquisition. For short LTE-DRX periods, the period is approximately 300 µs; for long DRX periods, it is less than 1.3 ms.

[0111] The LTE standard also offers a mechanism called semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) to reduce signal overhead in the case of isochronous transmission. In this case, UL approval is implicitly granted by the SPS schedule, and the DRX period can start immediately after receiving the specified or scheduled TTI (Transmission Time Interval).

[0112] The following describes an RT algorithm for LTE-FDD gap indication or LTE-FDD gap display, which is used for protocol synchronization according to one aspect of this invention.

[0113] An LTE transmission gap can be created at any time by the communication device 1000, following the decision rules applicable in the network. The beginnings and ends of this transmission are indicated according to one aspect of this disclosure to the CWS 1024, so that the CWS 1024 can plan its data traffic within the transmission gap (e.g., in the case that the CWS 1024 performs WLAN or Bluetooth communication using a profile that is ACL (Asynchronous Connectionless Link)-based).

[0114] In 3 GPP Version 9, there are three possible root causes for creating a transmission gap: measurement gap, DRX / DTX, and autonomous measurement gap.

[0115] A measurement (transmission) gap is known 34 ms or 74 ms in advance at the LTE L1 plane or LTE L1 layer, respectively, and is 6 ms long. A DRX / DTX (transmission) gap in a subframe is known after decoding the PDCCH (Packet Data Control Channel) of the preceding subframe, i.e., much less than 1 ms in advance (for example, approximately 200 µs). However, in an ad-hoc operating mode, a transmission gap decision can be rejected up to 1.5 ms before the transmission gap starts.

[0116] LTE gap signaling according to one aspect of this disclosure is in Fig. 13 illustrated.

[0117] Fig. Figure 13 shows a transfer diagram 1300.

[0118] The transmission diagram 1300 shows an uplink LTE data transmission 1301, a downlink LTE data transmission 1302, an uplink transmission gap signaling 1303 and a downlink transmission gap signaling 1304. The time increases from left to right.

[0119] In this example, there is an uplink transmission gap 1305 and a downlink transmission gap 1306. The uplink transmission gap 1305 is signaled by an uplink transmission gap signal 1307 (UL gap envelope signal), and the downlink transmission gap 1306 is signaled by a downlink transmission gap signal 1308 (DL gap envelope signal), whereby the start and end of the transmission gap 1305, 1306 are indicated to the CWS chip 1204, for example, one second in advance by the uplink transmission gap signal 1307 and the downlink transmission gap signal 1308, and, for example, via the RT interface between the first communication circuit 1022 and the second communication circuit 1024.

[0120] It should be noted that under 3GPP Version 11 – working title “In Device Coexistence” – newly defined transmission gaps, specifically triggered for coexistence purposes, may be introduced. The transmission gap signaling, according to one aspect of this disclosure, is compliant with these new transmission gaps.

[0121] In practice, the lead time of the DL gap-enveloping signal 1308 remains short because the decision to implement a gap can only be made during the last DL subframe before the gap and can only be executed if the PDCCH is decoded. For the UL gap, the decision is also based on DL subframe decoding, but there is a delay of approximately 4 ms between the DL and UL subframes. Additionally, the UL gap decision can be rejected before it is applied, up to 1.5 ms before the gap begins. Rejection requests after this time, if present, are not applied. Thus, the UL gap start can be signaled 1 ms in advance (< 1.5 ms). Similarly, a transmission gap end can be signaled a maximum of 1 ms in advance, as a higher value cannot be applied for a 1 ms UL transmission gap (1 subframe).According to one aspect of this disclosure, a 1 ms advance signaling for LTE transmission gap end signaling is maintained as the maximum of advance facilitated traffic planning on the side of CWS 1018.

[0122] As in Fig. Figure 13 shows the predefined values, for example tadv3: 150 µs, tadv4: 1 ms, tadv1 and tadv2: 1 ms.

[0123] It should be noted that optimal signaling for a transmission gap can be achieved by displaying the start time and duration of the transmission gap.

[0124] It should also be noted that protocol synchronization can also be used for LTE-TDD discontinuous receive (DRX) and discontinuous transmit (DTX).

[0125] The following describes the arbitration process for the LTE-TDD case.

[0126] Due to LTE resource usage and WLAN / BT protocol requirements, perfect protocol synchronization on each side and the application of only simultaneous RX and simultaneous TX may not be sufficient to support the use case, and some colliding RX / TX events may occur.

[0127] Fig. 14 and Fig. Figure 15 illustrates conflicts or collisions that can occur between LTE-TDD operation and WLAN / BT operation.

[0128] Fig. Figure 14 shows a transfer diagram for 1400.

[0129] The transmission diagram 1400 illustrates the occurrence of transmit and receive conflicts or collisions in the case of synchronized LTE-TDD and WLAN traffic.

[0130] For each of the three timelines 1401, 1402, 1403, WLAN downlink transmissions are shown above and WLAN uplink transmissions are shown below the timelines 1401, 1402, 1403, with the time increasing from left to right and, for example, from top to bottom along the timelines 1401, 1402, 1403. Furthermore, LTE transmissions (or LTE subframe allocations) 1404, 1405, 1406 are shown for the timelines 1401, 1402, 1403.

[0131] Hatching 1407 shows RX / TX conflicts that can occur between WLAN transmissions and LTE transmissions.

[0132] Fig. Figure 15 shows a transfer diagram for 1500.

[0133] The transmission diagram 1500 illustrates the occurrence of UL-DL conflicts in the case of synchronized LTE-TDD and Bluetooth traffic.

[0134] For each of the three timelines 1501, 1502, 1503, Bluetooth data transmission is shown above, and Bluetooth data reception is shown below, with the time increasing from left to right for each timeline 1501, 1502, 1503. Additionally, LTE transmissions (or LTE subframe allocations) 1504, 1505, 1506 are shown for timelines 1501, 1502, 1503.

[0135] Hatching 1507 shows UL / DL conflicts that can occur between Bluetooth transmissions and LTE transmissions.

[0136] RX / TX conflicts can be resolved using arbitration, which potentially leads to LTE partial frame losses. Arbitration can be performed between WLAN / BT and LTE to determine whether WLAN / BT traffic is allowed or not.

[0137] For example, if a WLAN / BT transmission event (by the second transceiver 1018) conflicts with an LTE-DL subframe (i.e., a planned reception by the first transceiver 1014), real-time arbitration is performed. The arbitration process decides either to drop a WLAN / BT transmission to protect the LTE-DL subframe or to allow it to proceed. In the latter case, depending on the RS interference level, the LTE-DL subframe is unlikely to be decoded by the LTE-PHY, i.e., the LTE physical layer (implemented by components of the first transceiver 1014).

[0138] In the LTE-UL case, an arbitration decision can consist of allowing a WLAN / BT reception or allowing an LTE-UL subframe (i.e., an LTE transmission). Fig. 14 and Fig.Figure 15 can be interpreted as illustrating the impact of a WLAN and Bluetooth usage case over LTE-TDD for full connectivity traffic support (i.e., support through communication via the second transceiver 1018), which relies solely on LTE denial and LTE desense. This determines the worst-case scenario for the LTE-TDD side and can be used as a reference to quantify the improvements provided by the LTE-TDD coexistence mechanism.

[0139] The RT arbitration can be a unit implemented by a combination of hardware and software located in the LTE subsystem (e.g., in the first transceiver 1014). This unit synchronizes the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 via the real-time (coexistence) interface between them (established by the RT interface 1026, 1030), for example, in the context of an NRT arbitration decision. This results in an RT arbitration, which is then applied to the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 (via the RT coexistence interface).

[0140] For LTE-FDD, the interfering band is an UL band. LTE-UL cannot be damaged by CWS, and thus the role of arbitration is reduced to protecting WLAN / BT-RX from LTE-TX, or not protecting it. If a conflict occurs, i.e., as a consequence of misplanning (or mis-planning) or insufficient medium access for connectivity traffic, arbitration can be applied. This either results in the deletion of the LTE-UL subframe or it proceeds as normal.

[0141] Fig. 16 and Fig. Figure 17 shows the impact of a WLAN and Bluetooth usage case over LTE-FDD for full connectivity traffic support, relying solely on LTE denial and LTE kill. This determines the worst-case scenario for the LTE-FDD side and can be used as a reference to quantify the improvement provided by the LTE-FDD coexistence mechanism.

[0142] Fig.Figure 16 shows a transfer diagram 1600.

[0143] The transmission diagram 1600 illustrates the occurrence of transmit-receive conflicts or transmit-receive conflicts in the case of synchronized LTE-FDD and WLAN traffic.

[0144] For all four timelines 1601, 1602, 1603, and 1604, WLAN downlink transmissions are shown above and WLAN uplink transmissions are shown below, with the time increasing from left to right. Further LTE transmissions (or LTE subframe allocations) 1605, 1606, 1607, and 1608 are shown for timelines 1601, 1602, 1603, and 1604.

[0145] Hatching 1609 denotes RX / TX conflicts that can occur between WLAN transmissions and LTE transmissions.

[0146] Fig. Figure 17 shows a transfer diagram for 1700.

[0147] The transmission diagram 1700 illustrates the occurrence of UL-DL conflicts in the case of synchronized LTE-FDD and Bluetooth traffic.

[0148] For each of the three timelines 1701, 1702, 1703, a Bluetooth data transmission is shown above, and a Bluetooth data reception is shown below, with the time increasing from left to right for each of the timelines 1701, 1702, 1703. Further LTE transmissions (or LTE subframe allocations) 1704, 1705, 1706 are shown for timelines 1701, 1702, 1703.

[0149] Hatching 1707 denotes UL / DL conflicts that can occur between Bluetooth transmissions and LTE transmissions.

[0150] The real-time (coexistence) interface 1026 can only be implemented by hardware or a combination of hardware and software located in the LTE subsystem (i.e., in the first transceiver 1014). According to one aspect of this disclosure, this includes a set of eight proprietary real-time signals to support protocol synchronization and traffic arbitration. These signals can be controlled, for example, by a software driver located in the LTE subsystem. It is connected to the CWS chip real-time interface 1013.

[0151] The RT interface can, for example, include the traffic arbitration signals shown in Table 2. Table 2 signal Width I / O Description CWS active 1 I Medium occupied, indicating CWS RF activity 0 = Idle / 1 = Active CWS Tx / Rx 1 I CWS Traffic direction 0 = RX / 1 = Tx CWS 2 I CWS priority priority 0 = low priority / 1 = BT High priority / 2 = WLAN high priority (PS-POLL, ACK, BACK) / 3 = reserved LTE active 1 O CWS-Kill ad

[0152] The RT interface can, for example, exhibit protocol synchronization signals, as shown in Table 3. Table 3 signal Width SRC / Dest I / O Description LTE frame sync 1 CWS O Synchronization signal indicating an LTE frame start UL - Column Envelopes de 1 CWS O Synchronization signal indicating an LTE-UL gap. Signal envelope with edges occurring 1 ms before the air interface gap (rising and falling edges). DL gap envelopes de 1 CWS O Synchronization signal indicating an LTE-DL gap. Rising edge signal envelope used only for LTE-TDD. Signal envelope with Flanks that occur 1 ms before the air interface gap (rising and falling flanks)

[0153] The following is an example of a hardware implementation of the RT interface between the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018.

[0154] This example describes a real-time (RT) interface between the first communication chip 1022 and the connectivity chip 1024. The purpose of the RT interface is to enable high-speed communication between the two chips 1022 and 1024 in both directions. Non-real-time communication can be carried out, for example, using a standardized interface between the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018.

[0155] The real-time interface can also be understood as something that basically consists of a set of discrete signals, as in Fig. 18 shown, has.

[0156] Fig. Figure 18 shows a communication circuit from 1800 according to one aspect of this revelation.

[0157] The communication circuit 1800 corresponds, for example, to the first communication circuit 1022.

[0158] The communication circuit 1800 features an LTE subsystem 1801 (L1CC) that can control all hardware interactions. The communication circuit 1800 has an RT interface 1803, through which the LTE subsystem 1801 can be connected to another communication circuit, such as the second communication circuit 1024, which uses various IDC (In-Device Coexistence) signals. These signals are shown on the left side of the RT interface 1803 and are described in more detail below.

[0159] According to one aspect of this disclosure, there are no specific requirements for the electrical characteristics of the RT 1803 interface. For example, the IDC signals are configured during system startup. There is no need to reconfigure the IDC ports (implementing the RT 1803 interface) during operation.

[0160] From a hardware perspective, the communication protocol for the interface signals can be kept simple. However, additional hardware support in the Layer 1 subsystem context may be required to support real-time handling of the interface signals (i.e., the IDC signals).

[0161] The LTE subsystem 1801 includes an RT-coex (co-existence) timer unit (or timing unit) 1804, which is responsible for generating time-accurate events for the output signals IDC_LteDrxEnv, IDC_LteDtxEnv, and IDC_LteFrameSync when configured as output signals. When IDC_LteFrameSync is configured as an input signal, a snapshot in the form of LTE timing is performed. The signal characteristics are described in more detail below.

[0162] IDC_Lte FrameSync-LTE2CWS_SYNC configuration (output signal): This signal can be used to generate periodic frame pulses for the CWS 1018. It should be noted that these pulses may not be available during LTE sleep phases.

[0163] IDC_LteDrxEnv, IDC_LteDtxEnv: These output signals are envelope signals that indicate discontinuous transmit / receive phases toward the CWS subsystem 1018. They are used to indicate discontinuous transmit / receive phases, depending on the cause: DARX, DTX measurements, or something else. Both signals can be individually programmed using a timer.

[0164] IDC_LteFrameSync-CWS2LTE_SYNC configuration (input signal): This signal can be used even if LTE2CWS_SYNC is a preferred solution, while the former is kept as a fallback. Using this signal, CWS subsystem 1018 can request a snapshot of the LTE timing. Additionally, this event can be used to generate an interrupt.

[0165] The LTE subsystem 1801 also includes an arbitration unit 1805, an interrupt control unit (IRQ) 1806, and an LTE transmit (Tx) path 1807. The arbitration unit 1805 is described in more detail in Fig. 19 shown.

[0166] Fig. 19 shows an arbitration unit of 1900 according to one aspect of this revelation.

[0167] The arbitration unit 1900 includes an IDC status register 1901, an arbitration reference table (LUT) 1902, and register 1903.

[0168] The arbitration unit 1900 can be used for status indication or display (e.g., via the IDC status register 1901) and for interrupt generation. For example, the current level of signals, such as the IDC-related signals mentioned below, can be monitored using the arbitration unit 1900. Furthermore, some of the signals can be fed to the interrupt control unit 1806.

[0169] The Arbitration Unit 1900, in its role as an arbitration unit, provides hardware support for IDC real-time arbitration. The task of the Arbitration Unit 1900 is to control the signals IDC_LteActive and IIC_LteKill based on the input signals IDC_CwsActive, IDC_CwsTxRx, and IDC_CwsPriority (which, due to its length, can be considered to consist of two signals, IDC_CwsPriority1 and IDC_CwdPriority2). For this purpose, a combination of the input signals can be made according to a programmable reference table of the Arbitration LUT 1902. The reference table 1902 can be programmed "on-the-fly" using the LTE Subsystem 1801.

[0170] IDC_LteActive: This signal is available at the IDC-RT interface 1803. The connectivity chip 1024 is the receiver of this signal. This signal can be hardware-based to provide a fast response in case of changing input parameters. For example, the reset and decoupling level of this signal is zero.

[0171] IDC_LteKill: This signal can be used for ad-hoc termination of an LTE transmission. Within LTE subsystem 1014, the signal can be used to generate an interrupt for LTE subsystem 1804 and / or the LTE Tx path 1807. In principle, this signal can be used for direct manipulation of the Tx-IQ data stream. For backup or emergency purposes, the LteKill signal is visible on the external IDC real-time interface 1803. If necessary, the LteKill signal from the RT interface 1803 can be connected to a GPIO (General Purpose Input / Output) to enable rapid termination of the current LTE transmission.

[0172] The Arbitration LUT 1902 may contain specially provided reference tables implemented for IDC_LteActive and IDC_LteKill.

[0173] The arbitration unit 1900 can include filters 1904 for output signal filtering. An unstable state of the output signal (e.g., IDC_LteActive and IDC_LteKill) is possible, for example, if an input signal changes and / or the reference table 1902 is updated. If this unstable state causes a problem on the receiving side, output filtering may be necessary. In this case, changes to the output signal are only applied if the input is stable for a minimum period (e.g., 1 µs). One-microsecond filtering does not imply a loss of granularity in signal processing, as it is not necessary to display events shorter than one microsecond. The filtering creates a 1-microsecond latency, which can be hidden by requiring the CWS 1118 to indicate its activity on the RT interface 1030 1 µs earlier.

[0174] LTE-kill is a mechanism that can be used to stop (or terminate) the current LTE transmission (i.e., UL communication), preventing the LTE transceiver 1014 from transmitting or sending, for example, to free up the communication medium for WLAN / BT use. It can occur, for instance, as a result of real-time arbitration favoring WLAN / BT.

[0175] According to one aspect of this revelation, abruptly shutting down an LTE transmission should be avoided because it could have various side effects such as spurious emissions and a possible impact on eNodeB AGC power control.

[0176] To avoid the spurious signal, LTE-kill can be performed using a power reduction command (e.g., sent via a digRF interface) or by zeroing out IQ samples. Using the power reduction command may be preferable to a shutdown command because it allows the LTE transmission power to be reduced down to -40 dBm (vs. -50 dBm) while avoiding unwanted side effects (such as PLL (Phase Locked Loop) shutdown).

[0177] Using a command sent via the digRF interface ensures that changes in transmission power occur in a smooth or uniform manner, thus avoiding spurs generation.

[0178] According to one aspect of this revelation, in order to achieve optimal adaptation to WLAN / BT traffic, LTE-kill has a very short latency, e.g., approximately 10 µs for WLAN traffic and approximately 150 µs for BT traffic.

[0179] Fig. Figure 20 shows a transfer diagram for 2000.

[0180] Along a 2001 timeline, WLAN traffic over the medium is depicted, with data reception (i.e., downlink communication) shown above the 2001 timeline and data transmission (i.e., uplink communication) shown below the 2002 timeline. LTE transmissions are also shown, firstly in 2002 and secondly in 2003. Additionally, CWS-Rx / Tx is shown over the RT interface in 2004.

[0181] It should be noted that WLAN activity can have timing uncertainties due to contention or competition in CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access). - When a WLAN device gains access, timing uncertainty on the order of several microseconds occurs. This uncertainty is not precisely known in advance, but it is inherent to the WLAN MAC (Medium Access Control) protocol; - When a Wi-Fi device loses access to the medium, its activity differs for several hundred microseconds and, from a coexistence standpoint, can be interpreted as a new traffic event. This is not known in advance and can repeat itself multiple times.

[0182] In contrast, BT has no timing uncertainty.

[0183] It should be noted that ensuring LTE-kill is not applied to consecutive retransmissions of the same subframe can be crucial for protecting the HARQ. For FDD, this means that LTE-kill is prohibited for subframe n and subframe n+8. A pattern can be used to protect the HARQ.

[0184] It should also be noted that the full utilization of the remaining time in the deleted LTE subframe by WLAN / BT may be desirable.

[0185] Below is another example of components of the communication device 1000.

[0186] Fig. 21 shows a communication device 2100.

[0187] The communication device 2100, for example, corresponds to the communication device 1000, with only some of the components shown, while other components have been omitted for the sake of simplicity.

[0188] The communication device 2100 includes an LTE subsystem 2101, which corresponds, for example, to the first transceiver 1014 and / or the LTE subsystem 1801, and a WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit 2102, which corresponds, for example, to the second communication circuit 1024. The LTE subsystem 2101 includes an LTE radio module 2103 and a communication circuit 2104, which corresponds, for example, to the first communication circuit 1022. The LTE subsystem 2101 can implement the L1 (Layer 1) LTE communication stack 2114 and the LTE protocol stack 2115 (above Layer 1).

[0189] The communication device 2100 also features an application processor 2105, which corresponds, for example, to the processor (CPU) 1002. Connectivity applications 2012 (including WLAN applications and / or Bluetooth applications) and LTE applications 2113 can be run on the application processor 2105.

[0190] The communication circuit 2104 can have an NRT-apps (application) coexistence interface 2106 for communicating with the application processor 2105 via an application interface 2109 of the application processor 2105, and an NRT coexistence interface 2107, which corresponds for example to the NRT interface 1028, for communicating with the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102 via an NRT coexistence interface 2110 of the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102, which corresponds for example to the NRT interface 1032.

[0191] The LTE subsystem 2101 has an RT arbitration unit 2111 (which corresponds, for example, to the arbitration unit 1805).

[0192] The communication circuit 2104 also includes an (LTE connectivity) NRT arbitration unit 2108. It should be noted that the NRT arbitration unit 2108 is not necessarily located within the communication circuit 2104, but can also be located in other components of the communication device 1000, 2108. For example, it can be implemented in the form of the CPU 1002.

[0193] The LTE subsystem 2101 has a first RT interface 2106, which corresponds, for example, to the first RT interface 1026, and the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit 2102 has a second RT interface 2107, which corresponds, for example, to the second RT interface 1030, which can be understood as forming an RT interface 2116 between the LTE subsystem 2101 and the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit 2102.

[0194] Table 4 shows the signals that can be exchanged, for example, via the RT interface 2116. Table 4 signal Width I / O Description Used in FDD Volume 7 Used in TDD Volume 40 CWS active 1 I Medium occupied, display of CWS-RF activity: 0 = idle / 1 = active Arbitration Arbitration CWS Tx / Rx 1 I CWS Traffic direction 0 = Rx 1 = Tx Unused (CWS Active high only for Rx) Arbitration CWS priority 2 I CWS priority 0: low priority / 1: BT high priority / 2: WLAN high priority (PS-POLL, ACK, BACK) / 3: reserved Arbitration Arbitration LTE active 1 O CWS-Kill ad Arbitration Arbitration LTE frame sync 1 O Synchronization signal indicating an LTE frame start Unused Traffic synchronization UL gap filler 1 O Synchronization signal indicating an LTE-UL gap. Signal envelope with edges occurring 1 ms before the air gap (rising and falling edges). Traffic synchronization Traffic synchronization DL gap enveloping 1 O Synchronization signal indicating an LTE-DL gap. Signal envelope with rising edge only for LTE-TDD. Unused Traffic synchronization Used. Signal envelope with edges that occur 1 ms before the air section gap (rising and falling edges).

[0195] It should be noted that, due to its length, the CWS priority signal can also be interpreted as two signals, CWS priority 1 & 2.

[0196] It should also be noted that the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 can also be connected via the application processor 2105 (i.e., for example, the CPU 1002) instead of a direct connection (as a direct RT interface). Furthermore, it should generally be noted that communication can be implemented using a serial or parallel bus instead of using dedicated signals (as shown, for example, in Table 4).

[0197] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a degraded or degraded RT operating mode can be used. Specifically, only a subset of the RT coexistence I / F signals listed in Table 4 can be effectively connected to the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit 2102.

[0198] For an FDD-only platform (i.e., in this case, the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 use only FDD), a first option (designated as Option 1a in Table 5 below) for a degraded RT interface is to remove the DL slit envelope signal and the CWS Tx / Rx signal, leaving six signals. Because these removed signals are useless for FDD, there is no impact on coexistence performance. A second option (designated as Option 1b in Table 5 below) involves removing the CBS priority signal (CWS priority signals 1 & 2) in addition to the DL slit envelope signal and the CWS Tx / Rx signal, leaving four signals. In this case, there is no longer a priority indication. Alternatively, a "light" orWeak arbitration is used, in which the second transceiver 1018 indicates activity only for high-priority traffic, but high-priority traffic from BT and WLAN can no longer be distinguished from each other.

[0199] For an FDD-TDD platform (i.e., in this case, the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018 use TDD and FDD, respectively), a first option (designated as Option 2 in Table 5 below) is to eliminate arbitration and rely solely on traffic synchronization, leaving only three signals. In this case, the second transceiver 1018 becomes a pure slave and can only use the communication resources remaining available from the LTE communication (i.e., the first transceiver 1014), signaled via the DL gap envelope signal and the UL gap envelope signal, or synchronization via the TDD frame structure based on the LTE frame sync signal. In this case, there is no way to protect LTE traffic from incorrect or late CWS scheduling.

[0200] As a second option (designated as option 3 in Table 5 below), traffic synchronization and "light" or weak arbitration can be retained, leaving six signals. In this case, there is no priority assignment. The second transceiver, 1018, can only signal or display above a certain priority but cannot distinguish between Bluetooth and WLAN. The same arbitration rules are used for LTE-Bluetooth conflicts and LTE-WLAN conflicts.

[0201] Table 5 summarizes the options for a degraded RT interface. Table 5 option Applicable for TDD / FDD Distant signals I / F signals Influence comment BT Wi-Fi on LTE 1a FDD only DL Gap Envelope CWS Tx / Rx 6 no one no he no he - Traffic sync - Arbitration 1b FDD only DL Gap Envelope CWS Tx / Rx CWS Priority 1 & 2 4 no one no he Number of LTE denials is increasing. - Traffic sync - Arbitration - no distinction between WLAN and BT activity 2 FDD & TDD CWS Active CWS Tx / Rx CWS Priority 1 & 2 LTE Active 3 HFP not supported Use only for small amounts / no he - traffic sync only - no arbitration A2D only for small groups / with T-Mobile LTE radio signal supported mitt lere LTE-Funk belegung unter-stützt 3 FDD & TDD CWS Priority 1 & 2 6 no one no he Number of LTE denials is increasing. - Traffic sync - Arbitration - no distinction between WLAN and BT activity

[0202] As a summary, the following, for example, can be provided for an RT coexistence mechanism according to various aspects of this revelation: - LTE frame indicator (signal + frame structure message) - UL Gap Display - DL gap indicator - Arbitration with a short conflict opportunity - HARQ protection (for arbitration and LTE denial) - Degraded RT operating mode - Full use of an LTE-erased subframe - Implementation of an RT interface, as described above. General Coexistence Architecture

[0203] According to one aspect of this revelation, five units or elements perform the LTE-CWS coexistence management: the MRT arbitration unit 2108, the NRT application coexistence interface 2106, the NRT coexistence interface (trained by NRT coexistence interfaces 2107, 2110), the RT arbitration unit 2111, and the RT coexistence interface (trained by RT interfaces 2106, 2107).

[0204] The (LTE connectivity) NRT arbitration unit 2108 can be implemented, for example, by software located in the communication circuit 2104. It uses, for example, a combination of application requirements (from connectivity and LTE applications) and contextual information from both cores (e.g., from the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018), such as the band, bandwidth, and EARFCN (E-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number), to perform arbitration and displays static information, such as selected frequency bands or power levels, to the first transceiver 1014 and the second transceiver 1018. It also provides indications or displays / information for the RT arbiter 2111, which is located in the LTE subsystem 2101. It should be noted that, according to one aspect of this disclosure, the NRT arbitration unit 2108 does not perform arbitration between WLAN and BT. This arbitration can, for example,in a WLAN / BT communication circuit.

[0205] The NRT-apps (application) coexistence interface 2106 can also be a unit implemented by means of software running in the communication circuit 2104. It transmits NRT messages carrying application information from connectivity applications 2112 and LTE applications 2113 running on the application processor 2105. Table 6 lists messages that can be exchanged between the application processor 2105 and the communication circuit 2104 via the NRT-apps coexistence interface 2106 (and the corresponding application interface 2109). Table 6 News about LTE-NRT Apps Coex I / F (R / W) ID Message payload Info Bits I / O Description 1 IS_COEX 1 I 1 = Coexistence between at least 2 systems 0 = no coexistence 2 IS_TETHERING 1 I 1 = WLAN unit is access point 0 = WLAN unit is a STA 3 WLAN_APP_PERIOD 16 I Required WLAN service period in ms 4 WLAN_APP_DURATION 6 I Required WLAN service duration in ms 5 BT_APP_PERIOD 16 I Required service period for BT in ms. Applies to a connection using eSCO or SCO. 6 BT_APP_DURATION 6 I Required service duration for BT in ms. Applies to a connection using only eSCO or SCO. 7 WLAN_APP_THROUGHP UT 16 I In kbps 8 BT_PROFILE_BITMAP 32 I Bitmap of the active BT profile (HFP, HSP, A2DP ...) 9 LTE_APP_THROUGHPU T 16 I In kbps ID LTE_APP_LATENCY 16 I Application latency in ms

[0206] The NRT coexistence interface 2107 can also be a unit implemented by software located in the communication circuit 2104. It transmits NRT messages carrying context information from the WLAN / BT communication circuit and sends messages from the NRT arbiter 2108 to the WLAN / BT communication circuit (via the corresponding NRT coexistence interface 2110 of the WLAN / BT communication circuit). Table 7 provides a list of messages that can be exchanged, for example, via the interface formed by the NRT coexistence interface 2107 of the communication circuit 2104 and the NRT coexistence interface 2110 of the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102. Table 7 News about LTE-RT Coex I / F (R / W) ID Messages Payload Info Bits I / O Description 1 WLAN_CHAN_NBR 3 I / O WLAN channel number (applied) or to apply) 2 WLAN_BW 1 I / O WLAN bandwidth (used or to be used): 0 = 20 MHz 1 = 40 MHz 3 WLAN_MCS 4 I WLAN MCS 4 WLAN_TX_POWER 4 I / O WLAN Tx performance (used or to be used) 5 WLAN_CHANNEL_RANK 14x4 I WLAN channel plan, ordered from best to worst based on SINR measurements and WLAN / BT restrictions 6 BT_AFH_RANK 79x3 I Full AFH plan (including channels that may be excluded for WLAN / BT Coex) with preferences encoded over 3 bits: 000 -> preferred 111 -> worst 7 BT_AFH_MAP 79 I / O BT AFH Bitmap (applied or to be applied) 8 BT_PKT_TYPE 4 I Bluetooth packet type 9 GNSS_BD 2 operated frequency band 10 GNSS_STATE 2 0 = Sleep 1 = Recording 2 = Tracking 11 LTE_BITMAP 10x2 O 0 = Special subframe 1 = RX LTE subframe 2 = TX LTE subframe 13 WLAN_LTE_EN 1 O Transmission of WLAN packets shorter than wlan_short_tx while LTE RX is allowed. 14 BT_LTE_EN 1 O Transmission of WLAN packets with a power < bt_low_pwr_tx, while LTE RX is allowed 15 LTE_SPS_PATTERN 24 O PLC periodicity (ms): 11 bits PLC event duration (ms): 9 bits SPS initial offset (subframe offset in the first LTE frame where SPS is applied): 4 bits

[0207] It should be noted that the LTE bitmap can be modified (limited to seven frame structures, but also allowing more configurations for the S content itself). It should also be noted that the NRT messages mentioned above can be sent partially or completely to the eNodeB 103, depending on certain coexistence decisions made by the latter.

[0208] Additionally, it should be noted that, depending on the platform architecture and application stacks, the distribution of information between the communication circuit 2104 and the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102 may be changed.

[0209] According to one aspect of this revelation, the NRT coexistence algorithm and the RT coexistence algorithm are coordinated. This is in Fig. 22 illustrated.

[0210] Fig. Figure 22 shows a flowchart 2200.

[0211] When the coexistence status of communication device 1000 changes to 2201, the NRT coexistence mechanism 2202 is activated. A message is then sent via the NRT coexistence interface to apply the NRT arbitration decision.

[0212] Subsequently, in 2203, the desensitization level (de-sensing level) for the connectivity RAT, achieved with the newly applied NRT arbitration, is estimated using a pre-calculated RF interference table. If it is above the desensitization target (desense target), the RT coexistence mechanism is activated (2204) and operates continuously in an autonomous manner. If the desensitization level (de-sensing level) is below the desensitization target (desense target), in 2205, the RT coexistence mechanism is deactivated.

[0213] When updates (via software messages) are received either from the LTE subsystem 2101 or the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102, the NRT arbiter 2108 can detect a change in coexistence status, in the sense that, for example, if the frequencies previously used for LTE and CWS communication were not in the critical bands, this may now be the case and coexistence algorithms must be activated.

[0214] The NRT-Arbiter 2108 is the responsible unit for activating or deactivating any specific coexistence algorithms and is always ready to receive input signals from LTE or CWS indicating a change in any relevant parameter.

[0215] Cases of changes in coexistence status can include (among other things): - a second RAT becomes active; - a handover is performed in LTE communication to a different LTE band; - the LTE bandwidth is modified; - the number of active RATs drops to 1

[0216] As described above and according to various aspects of this disclosure, a separation (e.g., in the form of interfaces) between RT and NRT can occur. RT and NRT processing can be synchronized. NRT messages or communications can be extended by communications between the communication device 105 and the eNodeB 103. NRT coexistence mechanism

[0217] The NRT coexistence mechanism can incorporate an FDM / PC (Frequency Division Multiplex / Power Control) algorithm for Bluetooth, which is described below.

[0218] Bluetooth medium access is based on a slotted traffic schedule link. Slots are scheduled and defined in a fixed grid of time and frequency. The time slots are 625 µs long and mapped onto 1 MHz wide BT channels. The frequency channel used for a given time slot is subject to frequency hopping patterns that change pseudo-randomly from slot to slot.

[0219] A Bluetooth unit (e.g., a Communication Device 1000 that uses Bluetooth) can be either a Bluetooth master or a Bluetooth slave. A Bluetooth master provides reference time and controls the synchronization and activity of the piconet it controls, which is a small network of surrounding Bluetooth devices. Slave units periodically monitor the medium to capture any control information coming from the piconet master. A Bluetooth slave listens for all potential master transmissions (1.25 ms periods) during a slot or slot portion and responds in the next slot if it receives a packet addressed to it in the current slot.A BT slave can use a "sniff mode" to reduce and avoid power consumption: Master-slave transactions only take place in reserved slots (negotiated before switching to sniff mode).

[0220] According to Bluetooth, user data and / or control data are carried over two periods and / or by asynchronous packets. The type of packets for a given data traffic depends on the corresponding traffic profile (which is standardized). Control traffic is carried by asynchronous traffic.

[0221] A BT slave can use a "sniffing mode" to reduce and avoid energy consumption: Master-slave transactions only take place in reserved slots (negotiated before switching to sniffing mode).

[0222] Target Bluetooth profiles can be A2DP for audio (e.g., music) streaming and HFP as a voice headset profile. A2DP is an asynchronous traffic profile that uses variable-length (single-multislot) packets, while HFP is a periodic single-slot traffic that is transferred in designated (reserved) slots. Devices can also be Bluetooth-paired without any traffic.

[0223] Slots can be reserved during connection setup (by the connection manager). The most common packets are HV3 packets (for synchronous connection-oriented (SCO) communication), which occupy one-third of a double slot.

[0224] An example of multi-slot Bluetooth traffic is in Fig. 23 illustrated.

[0225] Fig. Figure 23 shows a transfer diagram for 2300.

[0226] In the transmission diagram 2300, time increases from left to right and is divided into time slots 2301 of 625 µs. First transmissions 2302 are carried out by a master device and second transmissions 2303 are carried out by a slave device.

[0227] Bluetooth communication uses frequency hopping. During communication, the frequency channels used or operated change pseudo-randomly from time slot to time slot, and a pseudo-random route is taken through 79 available 1 MHz channels in the ISM band 202.

[0228] Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) is a mechanism that allows the selection of channels to be restricted to a subset of the 79 available channels. However, the number N of channels used must not be less than 20. Channel plan selection is fully flexible, but results from negotiations between the master and slave units, which are conducted on a static basis. AFH can be disabled for "parked" slaves.

[0229] The adaptive frequency-hopping mechanism can be used to push Bluetooth traffic away from the LTE frequency bands. It is particularly efficient for protecting LTE-Rx from Bluetooth-Tx (LTE-TDD), but less so in the reverse direction because the Bluetooth front end (filter / low-noise amplifier (LNA)) operates across a wide band.

[0230] According to one aspect of this revelation, the adaptive frequency-hopping mechanism is exploited in the following: - The first communication circuit 1022 sends a static request to the second communication circuit 1024 (which acts as the (local) BT core) to change its channel plan; - The second communication circuit 1024 updates the channel plan and synchronizes it with the paired unit (e.g., another communication device).

[0231] Bluetooth spectrum occupancy can be reduced to as little as 1 / 3 of ISM band 202. This provides a guard band of up to 60 MHz for LTE band 40 201 and a guard band of up to 79 MHz for LTE band 7 UL 204. It should be noted that the efficiency of AFH for BT / LTE coexistence may be limited due to the fact that the BT-RX frontend receives the full band even in an AFH context (non-linearities are present regardless).

[0232] The impact of using this mechanism for BT-WLAN coexistence can be considered limited.

[0233] The following describes a procedure for protecting Bluetooth from LTE-FDD transmissions in LTE band 7 UL 204 with reference to Fig. 24 described.

[0234] Fig. Figure 24 shows a message flow diagram 2400.

[0235] An NRT algorithm corresponds to the message flow diagram 2400, which can be executed, for example, by the NRT arbitration unit 2108.

[0236] The message flow takes place between an LTE subsystem 2401, which corresponds to the LTE subsystem 2101 (e.g., software), an NRT arbiter 2402, which corresponds to the NRT arbiter 2108, and a BT communication circuit 2403, which corresponds to the WLAN BT communication circuit 2102.

[0237] In 2404, the NRT arbiter 2402 loads the BT desensitization target (BT desensing target).

[0238] In 2405, the NRT arbiter 2402 sends an LTE information request message 2406 to the LTE subsystem 2401 to request information about the LTE configuration.

[0239] In 2407, the LTE subsystem 2401 generates information about the LTE configuration, e.g., an LTE information table, including the band used, the bandwidth used, the EARFCN, the path loss margin (estimated transmission power loss without trigger modulation / bandwidth switching), etc.

[0240] In 2408, the LTE subsystem 2401 sends the generated information with an LTE information acknowledgment message 2409 to the NRT arbiter 2402.

[0241] In 2410, the NRT arbiter 2042 stores the information it received with the LTE information confirmation message 2409.

[0242] In 2411, the NRT arbiter 2402 sends an AFH plan request message 2412 to the BT communication circuit 2403 to request an AFH plan.

[0243] In 2413, the BT communication circuit 2403 forms a ranked AFH plan including channels that are excluded from coexistence.

[0244] In 2414, the BT communication circuit 2403 sends the generated AFH plan to the NRT arbiter 2402 with an AFH plan confirmation message 2415.

[0245] In 2416, the NRT arbiter 2402 generates a new AFH plan. The input for this is the BT desensitization level. The generated plan might, for example, have the following characteristics: 1) Calculating a Delta F for BT channels (full band, granularity to be defined) 2) Evaluating BT de-sensing versus operating BT channels (full band) using isolation or separation tables (static, pre-calculated for LTE at full power) 3) Selection N, highest number of BT channels that satisfy or fulfill the BT desensitization target. 4) If the target cannot be reached or N < Nmin, then use Nmin. 5) If the target cannot be reached, retain the exclusion applied for WLAN / BT coex -> neglect 6) Creating a new AFH plan

[0246] In 2417, the NRT arbiter 2402 sends the new AFH plan to the BT communication circuit 2403 with an AFH sentence request message 2418, which requests the BT communication circuit 2403 to use the new AFH plan.

[0247] In 2419, the BT communication circuit 2403 updates the frequency hopping sequence accordingly.

[0248] In 2420, the BT communication circuit 2403 confirms the use of the new AFH plan by means of an AFH set confirmation message 2421.

[0249] In 2422, the NRT arbiter 2402 selects the highest LTE-Tx (transmit) power that meets the BT de-sensing target and the LTE-Tx path loss margin.

[0250] It should be noted that this approach to interoperability testing (IOT) can be dangerous. According to one aspect of this disclosure, it must be ensured that it is only applied in coexistence cases as defined by AB.

[0251] In 2423, the NRT arbiter 2402 sends the specified or fixed LTE Tx power to the LTE subsystem 2401 with a power request message 2424, which requests the LTE subsystem 2401 to use the specified Tx power.

[0252] In 2425, the LTE subsystem 2401 uses the Tx power accordingly.

[0253] In 2426, the LTE subsystem 2401 confirms the use of the Tx power by means of a power acknowledgment message 2427.

[0254] In 2428, it is assumed that the NRT arbiter 2402 recognizes that there is no (more) coexistence that needs to be considered from now on.

[0255] In 2429, the NRT arbiter 2402 sends a power cancellation request message 2430 to the LTE subsystem 2401, which is confirmed in 2431 by the LTE subsystem 2401 by means of a power cancellation confirmation message 2432.

[0256] According to one aspect of this revelation, the NRT coexistence mechanism features an FDM / PC algorithm for WLAN, which is described below.

[0257] WLAN medium access is based on carrier-sense medium access (CSMA), where stations listen to a medium and compete for access when it is free. There is no resource planning and no traffic periodicity. Global synchronization is achieved via a beacon transmitted by the access point approximately every 102 ms, but effective beacon transmission can be delayed due to medium occupancy.

[0258] WLAN MACs adapt to the radio channel conditions by means of a link rate adaptation based on a packet error rate calculated on the transmission side, based on received ACKs (positive ACKs with repeated or retransmissions).

[0259] In the 2.4 GHz band (ISM band), WLAN systems operate on 14 overlapping channels, designated CH#1 to CH#14 (CH#14 is only used in Japan). This is in Fig. 25 illustrated.

[0260] Fig. Figure 25 shows a frequency allocation diagram for 2500.

[0261] In the frequency allocation diagram 2500, the frequencies increase from left to right. The 14 overlapping channels allocated for WLAN are illustrated by semicircles 2501.

[0262] WLAN typically operates in BSS (Basic Service Set) mode. A peer-to-peer mode also exists, but it is rarely used so far. However, it could prove useful in smartphone applications.

[0263] In BSS operating state or BSS mode, the access point (AP) has full control over the WLAN channel selection and the mobile stations (STA). The WLAN channel is selected or set by the static access point.

[0264] According to one aspect of this revelation, WLAN power control is used to reduce interference with LTE communication.

[0265] WLAN has a peak power output of approximately 20 dBm and is typically transmitted at full power to enable the highest possible PHY rate and minimize packet duration for power consumption reasons. However, the WLAN protocol stack does not prevent the use of lower Tx power or define rules to select the power used.

[0266] If necessary, the second transceiver 1018 (which is operated as a WLAN transceiver in this example), integrated into the communication device 1000, can autonomously reduce its Tx power: - If the communication device 1000, via the second transceiver 1018, acts as a station connected to a home access point or hotspot, it would likely trigger a link rate adjustment event to reduce the PHY rate, resulting in a longer packet duration and thus prolonged interference between WLAN and LTE. According to one aspect of this disclosure, the use of power control is limited in this case. - If the communication device 1000 acts as an AB (i.e., in a tethering case) using the second transceiver 1018, the distance between the communication device 1000 (e.g., a smartphone), which is used as an access point (router), and a connected WLAN client (e.g., a wiki) (e.g., a laptop) is under the user's control and can be shortened. The communication device 1000 can then significantly reduce its WLAN Tx power to compensate for the lower BSS coverage and associated path losses.

[0267] A comparison of the estimated path losses for tethering versus hot spot is given in Table 8. Table 8 Use case Tethering Hot spot (indoors) AP-STA distance 10 30 Path losses dB 66,1 85,2 Delta dB 19, 1

[0268] The approximate estimate given in Table 8 shows a 19 dB margin between hotspot and tethering, which shows that the WLAN Tx power can be reduced by up to 19 dB, which is equivalent to 1 dBm.

[0269] According to one aspect of this revelation, the AP-Tx power is gradually reduced and the PER development at the AP is monitored (PER statistics are generated in WLAN anyway).

[0270] In summary, WLAN power control can achieve a 15-20 dB reduction in WLAN-to-LTE interference in tethering scenarios. LTE-to-WLAN interference rejection requirements could be relaxed (WLAN de-sensing requirement). This approach may not be suitable for connections using TDM (Time Division Multiplex) solutions because reducing Tx power can lead to a lower PHY rate and thus increased Tx duration. A trade-off or balance exists between power control and the use of high PHY rates.

[0271] According to one aspect of this revelation, WLAN channel selection is used to reduce WLAN / LTE interference.

[0272] In the use case where the communication device 1000 (as a WLAN unit) acts as an access point (e.g., for tethering), it can freely select the WLAN channel for its operation. This allows WLAN traffic to be diverted away from the LTE operating band, thus protecting both WLAN from LTE and vice versa. According to one aspect of this invention, the WLAN channel quality as perceived by the WLAN access points, e.g., reflection channel occupancy by a nearby hotspot or a home access point, is taken into account in this process.

[0273] WLAN channel selection can reduce WLAN to LTE (LTE Band 40) interference by 18 to 42 dB when channels CH#3 to #14 are selected. This mechanism is compatible with power control solutions, which can be used in addition.

[0274] Selecting the WLAN channel can reduce LTE (LTE band 40) interference by 27 to 77 dB when channels CH#3 to #10 are selected.

[0275] Overall, selecting an AP channel can reduce - WLAN to LTE Band 40 OOB (Out-Off-Band) rejection by 18 to 42 dB - LTE band 40 to WLAN out-of-band rejection by 27 to 77 dB - LTE Band 7 UL -> WLAN OOB rejection by 19 to 49 dB

[0276] This mechanism does not harm WLAN throughput or WLAN robustness.

[0277] It should be noted that the previously mentioned analysis only considers out-of-band noise effects and thus assumes that nonlinear effects such as signal compression due to backmixing are avoided by the RF system design.

[0278] The following describes a procedure for protecting WLAN from LTE-FDD transmissions in LTE band 7 UL 204 with reference to Fig. 26 described.

[0279] Fig. Figure 26 shows a message flow diagram 2600.

[0280] An NRT algorithm corresponds to the message flow diagram 2600, which can be executed, for example, by the NRT arbitration unit 2108.

[0281] The message flow takes place between an LTE subsystem 2601, which corresponds to the LTE subsystem 2101 (e.g., software), and an NRT arbiter 2602, which corresponds to the NRT arbiter 2108, and a WLAN communication circuit 2603, which corresponds to the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102.

[0282] In 2604, the NRT arbiter 2602 loads the WLAN desensitization target (WLAN desensing target).

[0283] In 2605, the NRT arbiter 2602 sends an LTE information request message 2606 to the LTE subsystem 2601 to request information about the LTE configuration.

[0284] In 2607, the LTE subsystem 2601 generates information about the LTE configuration, e.g., an LTE information table containing the band used, the bandwidth used, EARFCN, the path loss margin (estimated transmission power degradation without trigger modulation / bandwidth changes), etc.

[0285] In 2608, the LTE subsystem 2601 sends the generated information to the NRT arbiter 2602 with an LTE information acknowledgment message 2609.

[0286] In 2610, the NRT arbiter 2602 stores the information it received with the LTE information confirmation message 2608.

[0287] In 2611, the NRT arbiter 2602 sends a channel plan request message 2612 to the WLAN communication circuit 2603 to request a channel plan.

[0288] In 2613, the WLAN communication circuit 2603 forms a ranked channel plan. The ranking can be based on SINR (signal-to-interference plus noise ratio) and WLAN / BT limitations or interference.

[0289] In 2614, the WLAN communication circuit 2603 sends the generated channel plan to the NRT arbiter 2602 with a channel plan confirmation message 2615.

[0290] In 2615, the NRT arbiter 2602 determines a WLAN channel to be used. The requirement for this is the WLAN desensitization level. This determination can include, for example, the following: 1) Calculate a Delta F for each WLAN channel 2) Evaluating WLAN desensitization for each WLAN usage, using an isolation table (static, pre-calculated for LTE at full power) 3) Selection of the WLAN channel that is ranked highest and fulfills the WLAN desensitization goal

[0291] In 2617, the NRT arbiter 2602 sends an indication of the specified WLAN channel to the WLAN communication circuit 2603 with a channel-setting request message 2618, which requests the WLAN communication circuit 2603 to use the specified WLAN channel.

[0292] In 2619, the WLAN communication circuit 2603 moves accordingly to the specified WLAN channel.

[0293] In 2620, the WLAN communication circuit 2603 confirms the use of the specified WLAN channel by means of a channel setting confirmation message 2621.

[0294] In 2622, the NRT-Arbiter 2602 stores a display of the WLAN channel.

[0295] In 2623, the NRT arbiter 2602 sends a WLAN information request message 2624 to the WLAN communication circuit 2603 to request information about the WLAN configuration.

[0296] In 2625, the WLAN communication circuit 2603 generates information about the WLAN configuration, e.g., a WLAN information table, the channel number, the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme), the Tx power, etc.

[0297] In 2626, the WLAN communication circuit 2603 sends the generated information to the NRT arbiter 2602 with a WLAN information acknowledgment message 2627.

[0298] In 2628, the NRT arbiter 2602 selects the highest LTE-Tx (transmit) power that meets the WLAN desensitization target and the LTE-Tx path loss margin.

[0299] This may include the following: 1) Calculate a Delta F for the operating WLAN channel; 2) Calculating WLAN desensitization for the operated WLAN channel, using an isolation table (static, pre-calculated for LTE at full power); 3) Selection of the highest LTE-Tx power that meets the WLAN desensitization target and the LTE-Tx path loss margin.

[0300] It should be noted that this approach to interoperability testing (IOT) can be dangerous. According to one aspect of this disclosure, it must be ensured that it is only applied in coexistence cases defined by AB.

[0301] In 2629, the NRT arbiter 2602 sends the specified LTE Tx power to the LTE subsystem with a power request message 2630, which requests the LTE subsystem 2601 to use the specified Tx power.

[0302] In 2631, the LTE subsystem 2601 applies the Tx power accordingly.

[0303] In 2632, the LTE subsystem 2601 confirms the use of the Tx power by means of a power acknowledgment message 2633.

[0304] In 2634, it is assumed that the NRT Arbiter 2602 realized that there is no further coexistence to be considered from now on.

[0305] In 2635, the NRT arbiter 2602 sends a power cancellation request message 2636 to the LTE subsystem 2601, which is acknowledged by the LTE subsystem 2601 in 2637 by means of a power cancellation confirmation message 2638.

[0306] Messages can be exchanged, for example, via the NRT interface, which is formed by the NRT coexistence interface 2107 of the communication circuit 2104 and the NRT coexistence interface 2110 of the WLAN / BT communication circuit 2102 (e.g., operated as a WLAN / BT baseband circuit), in the context of NRT coexistence, as shown in Table 7 above. Further examples are given in the following text.

[0307] According to one aspect of this revelation, a measurement gap configuration is used in LTE-connected operating mode for LTE-WLAN coexistence.

[0308] While in LTE-connected operating mode, measurement columns (or gaps) defined in 3GPP specifications allow individual wireless mobile devices (i.e., mobile devices with only one LTE transceiver that does not have the ability to transparently measure frequencies other than those used by the serving cell during LTE-connected operating mode) to take measurements of: 1. LTE neighboring cells operating on different frequencies than the serving cell (intermediate frequency measurements), 2. To perform other RAT (e.g. 2G or 3G) neighboring cell measurements (Inter-RAT measurements).

[0309] If LTE is the serving RAT, these measurement gaps typically have a length of 6 ms and are planned with either a 40 ms or 80 ms periodicity.

[0310] When LTE communication is used, which employs a frequency that overlaps with WLAN communication and vice versa, the measurement gap can be used for secure WLAN reception and transmission: • if the gap is used for an LTE intermediate frequency measurement, and if the LTE frequency does not overlap with the WLAN frequency, • If the gap is used for 2G or 3G measurement because there is no possible interference between 2G / 3G and the ISM frequency band, the gap can be used without restriction for WLAN / BT in parallel with the LTE measurement.

[0311] Furthermore, 3GPP Release 9 introduces the concept of the so-called autonomous metering gap for improved closed subscriber group (CSG) cell support in LTE-connected operating mode. This is because CSG cells require the System Information Block (SIB) to be read, necessitating an additional metering gap that is asynchronous to those scheduled at regular intervals. If the network supports autonomous metering gaps, it is permissible for the mobile device to ignore some TTIs, as long as the mobile device is capable of sending at least 60 ACKs / NAKs per 150 ms interval. HARQ and higher-layer signaling ensure that no data is lost.

[0312] To inform the second transceiver 1018 in advance of any impending regular gap event or occurrence during which no interference with WLAN reception or transmission will occur, the first transceiver 1014 (e.g., the LTE baseband circuit) can send a message to the second transceiver 1018 (e.g., the CWS baseband circuit) displaying a slot pattern, along with: • the measurement slit pattern periodicity (e.g. 40 / 80 ms), • the measurement slot duration (e.g. 6 ms), • a unique method for identifying the first occurrence of a measurement gap for the measurement gap pattern under consideration.

[0313] This can be used for: • Intermediate frequency measurement gap, • Inter-RAT measurement gap, • autonomous measurement gap.

[0314] The message can be, for example, a Periodic_Gap_Pattern_Config (periodicity, duration, first event date) message sent by the first transceiver 1014 (e.g., LTE baseband circuit) to the second transceiver 1018 (e.g., like CWS baseband circuit), indicating the periodic gap pattern, and the second transceiver 1018 can freely transmit and receive during each of these gaps.

[0315] A criterion and a decision in the first transceiver 1014 (e.g., the LTE baseband circuit) to enable the sending of a gap message display from the first transceiver 1014 (implemented, for example, by the LTE protocol stack or the LTE physical layer), controlled by the first processor, to the second transceiver 1018 (e.g., the CWS baseband circuit), may belong to the non-real-time arbiter unit (e.g., software) 2018, which may be executed on the first transceiver 1014 (e.g., the LTE baseband circuit), based on whether: • Frequency interference occurs; • whether there are enough or not enough interference-free time periods during which the second transceiver 1018 (e.g. the CWS baseband circuit) could be operated.

[0316] The gap message display can be dynamically turned on or off by the non-real-time arbiter 2108 (e.g., software) when it believes that the criterion is met to start or stop the use of gaps to ensure proper functionality of the second transceiver 1018.

[0317] In summary, WLAN communication can be protected from LTE band 7 UL 204, Bluetooth communication can be protected from LTE band UL 204, and WLAN communication can also be protected from LTE band 40 201 and Bluetooth communication can be protected from LTE band 40 201. PHY mitigation

[0318] Pilot symbols within superimposed OFDM symbols are typically meaningless. The worst-case scenario is when two consecutive OFDM symbols are missing per LTE slot. This means that one pilot symbol per antenna and per slot (e.g., two for antennas 0 and 1, one for antennas 2 and 3) is missing. It should be noted that antennas 0 and 1 are only relevant for smartphones. This leaves a worst-case scenario (for 1 / 2 antennas): one pilot symbol is missing for a given carrier.

[0319] This can have the following effects: 1) The external receiver can be affected by AGC, noise estimation, and channel estimation. - These tasks are performed with a delay sufficient to utilize a real-time display of the WLAN interfering timeslot (burst), - Some filters already exist in an equalizer to compensate for the absence of a reference signal (RS), - The indication of the WLAN interfering timeslot can be used by an external receiver to declare the corresponding RS as missing, if necessary, and an existing filter can then be applied. - This real-time display can feature the RT coexistence interface.

[0320] In summary, external receiver protection against short-term WLAN interference can be implemented through framework modifications (the implementation of RT coexistence and RT arbitration can be performed as a prerequisite). 2) Indoor receiver: - Transport block / codeword / code block vulnerability can be difficult to evaluate; any impact or influence depends at least on code block length and channel conditions: • In the best case, code blocks (coding blocks) can be restored by the turbo code in such a way that it has no impact on LTE throughput, • In the worst case, a code block is similarly affected (periodically) by successive repeated HARQ transmissions. This would mean that the corresponding transport block would never be transmitted.

[0321] Typically, it is desirable to avoid the worst-case scenario. Furthermore, it may be desirable to prevent two consecutive interfering timeslots within the same LTE subframe. This can be achieved, for example, by blocking two consecutive interfering Wi-Fi timeslots separated by the HARQ period (e.g., 8 ms).

[0322] According to one aspect of this disclosure, trace removal (trace nulling) can be used to address the above points, which can be understood as a frequency domain solution. For example, it is assumed or presupposed that the trace does not saturate the FFT (and thus does not run across the full bandwidth in the frequency domain): The WLAN / BT requirements for transmission interference or spurious emissions can be dimensioned accordingly. For example, frequency domain trace detection and frequency domain trace cancellation or signal trace cancellation can be applied.

[0323] In summary, RS filtering is based on an RT coexistence indicator (AGC, noise estimation and channel estimation protection) and / or trace detection and cancellation is applied for coexistence. Protocol Mitigation

[0324] On the LTE side, several protocol mechanisms can be used to prevent conflicts between LTE and WLAN / BT activities on the communication medium: In the absence of idle gaps, or if their number / duration is insufficient compared to WLAN / BT requirements, certain protocol-level techniques can be applied to reject some LTE subframes so they can be used by WLAN / BT. This is known as LTE denial. Such techniques cannot rely on the current 3GPP specification and can operate autonomously at the mobile device level. However, they may be partially incorporated into the 3GPP version 11 standard (IDC work item). Additionally, when in handover range, the mobile device can attempt to influence the eUTRAN to prioritize a handover towards a cell with a more coexistence-friendly carrier frequency. It can also attempt to delay a handover towards a less coexistence-friendly cell. This is also known as a coexistence-friendly handover.

[0325] LTE denial can be implemented by ignoring UL (Unlimited Volume) allocations or by deferring / postponing SR (Schedule Request) allocations. Coexistence-friendly handover can be implemented using smart reporting of measurement results from neighboring cells (values ​​and / or times).

[0326] The impact of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth usage cases over LTE-FDD for full connectivity traffic support, which relies solely on LTE, is discussed above. Fig. 16 and Fig.Figure 17 illustrates this. This can be considered the worst-case scenario for the LTE-FDD side and can be used as a reference to quantify the improvements provided by the LTE-FDD coexistence mechanism. The following assumptions were made: - systematic LTE denial, - WLAN is operated with medium channel quality (29 Mbps PHY rate, worst case), - WLAN STA (i.e., not valid for tethering).

[0327] Tables 9 and 10 further illustrate the worst-case impact of Bluetooth usage over LTE-FDD and the worst-case impact of WLAN usage over LTE-FDD, respectively (assuming full support, no LTE column). The usage cases are the same as those described in the Fig. 16 and Fig. 17 are illustrated. Table 9 BT traffic profiles (of usage cases) Worst case (without gap) Best case (with / without gap) HFP bi-directional - Master, SCO HV3 - 4 non-consecutive UL Ident 64Kbps+64Kbps -Subframe over 11 (36%) HFP bi-directional - Master, eSCO EV3 64kbps + 64kbps In the absence of repeated transmission, 1 UL subframe over 6 (16.6%) Ident A2DP SBC Stereo High Quality, SRC - Master, 2-DH5, 345Kbps, Period 30 ms 4 non-consecutive UL subframes per 30 ms (13.3%) Ident Table 10 WLAN traffic types (of usage cases) Worst case (without gap) Best case (with / without gap) Wi-Fi beacon eavesdropping 2 subframes, negated every 300ms (2 / 300) Ident Skype Video - bidirectional 1Mbps 2 subframes every 20 ms (1 / 10) Ident YouTube - DL 600kbps 2 consecutive subframes every 20 ms (1 / 10) Ident TCP - DL 600kbps 1 subframe every 20 ms (1 / 20) Ident

[0328] According to one aspect of the revelation, LTE Denial consists of: - At the mobile device level, autonomous rejection of the use of UL subframes where LTE has allocated communication resources. This can be applied to both LTE-FDD (e.g., LTE Band 7 UL 204) and LTE-TDD (e.g., LTE Band 40 201). - At the mobile device level, autonomous rejection of the use of DL subframes where LTE had allocated communication resources. This can be applied to LTE-TDD (e.g., LTE band 40201).

[0329] It should be noted that for UL-Denial, a deletion / postponement of the planned LTE activity can be performed, while for DL-Denial, allowing simultaneous TX activity on the CWS side may be sufficient.

[0330] In the context of SR shifts, it should be noted that LTE was developed to address the needs of mobile internet access. Internet traffic can be characterized by high bursts with high peak data rates and long periods of inactivity or radio silence. To enable battery conservation, an LTE communication system (as in Fig.(1 shown) DRX. Two DRX profiles are introduced, addressed as Short-DRX and Long-DRX, respectively. For the reverse connection, i.e., the uplink, an LTE communication system allows discontinuous transmission (DTX) to increase system capacity. For uplink traffic, the mobile device 105 reports its uplink buffer status to the eNB 103, which then plans and allocates uplink resource blocks (RBs) to the mobile device 105. In the case of an empty buffer, the eNB 103 cannot plan uplink capacity, and in this case, the eNB 105 is unable to report its uplink buffer status. In the event that the uplink buffer switches to one of its uplink queues, the UE 105 sends a so-called schedule request (SR) in order to be able to report its buffer status to a subsequent scheduled uplink community channel (PUSCH).

[0331] To prevent this, the MAC layer of the mobile device 105 can delay the SR if WLAN activity was previously permitted during the DTX period. According to one aspect of this invention, this mechanism can be used for LTE-WLAN coexistence. This is in Fig. 27 shown.

[0332] Fig. Figure 27 shows a transfer diagram for 2700.

[0333] LTE uplink transmissions are shown along a first timeline 2701, and LTE downlink transmissions are shown along a second timeline 2702. The transmissions occur, for example, between mobile device 105 and the base station 103, which serves mobile device 105. The time increases from left to right along timelines 2701 and 2702.

[0334] In this example, mobile device 105 receives an UL grant or approval in a first TTI 2703. Mobile device 105 responds to this UL grant by sending a UL signal in a second TTI 2704. Simultaneously, mobile device 105 sets its DRX inactivity counter. Assuming that no further UL grants or DL ​​transport blocks (TBs) are scheduled that would reset the DRX inactivity counter to the DRX inactivity time, mobile device 105, after receiving the pending ACK from the last UL transport block, transmits that the DRX and DTX conditions are met (as indicated by arrow 2705). During DRX and DTX period 2706, it is not necessary for the mobile device 105 to listen on any of the downlink control channels in the PDCCH, and the mobile device 105 will not be scheduled by the eNB 103 before the end of DRX and DTX period 2706. DRX and DTX period 2706 can be used for WLAN transfers, respectively.-Transfer can be used.

[0335] The mobile device 105 can send a signal strength (SR) if it needs to transmit uplink data that would otherwise interrupt the DRX and DTX period 2706. To prevent this, the mobile device's MAC address can suppress the SR if the period is being used for interfering WLAN activity.

[0336] In the example of Fig. On page 27, the mobile device 105 receives a UL grant in the first TTI 2703. The mobile device 105 accepts this UL grant by sending a UL signal in the second TTI 2704 (four TTIs later). However, the mobile device 105 can ignore the UL grant and thus reject the UL subframe that arrives four TTIs later, which is then enabled for WLAN / BT operation. The enabled subframe is indicated to the CWS chip 1024 using the RT coexistence interface 1026 (UL column indicator).

[0337] According to one aspect of this disclosure, LTE denial is used with HARQ protection. This is described below.

[0338] In LTE-WLAN / BT coexistence, the use of LTE denial may be necessary to release the LTE subframe for connectivity traffic (overriding the LTE subframe allocation). When applied in UL, LTE denial can be seen as preventing the LTE transceiver 1014 from transmitting in a subframe where it has some allocated communication resources. In this case, the characteristics of the LTE HARQ mechanism can also be considered: HARQ is a MAC-level retransmission mechanism that is synchronous and periodic with an 8 ms period (UL case; in DL it is asynchronous).

[0339] In LTE-FDD UL, HARQ is synchronous and supports a maximum of eight processes. The potentially repeated transmission of a packet, initially transmitted in a subframe N, thus occurs in subframes N+8*K, where K >= 1. Consequently, the impact of LTE denial over a transport channel can vary significantly depending on its interaction with LTE-HARQ. For example, a periodic LTE denial with an 8 ms period can affect every retry attempt by a single HARQ process and can lead to connection losses. An example with a 12 ms denial period is shown in Fig. 28 shown.

[0340] Fig. Figure 28 shows a transfer diagram for 2800.

[0341] Along a first timeline 2801, UL subframe denials and the allocation of TTIs to HARQ processes (numbered from 0 to 7) are shown. In this example, there are regular LTE denials, so processes 0 and 4 are rejected periodically (every second time).

[0342] A periodic LTE denial with a 9 ms period affects the same HARQ process only once every eight LTE denials.

[0343] Periodic rejections without considering HARQ behavior can have significant negative effects, even with a small number of rejections: They can lead to a weaker connection (best case) or HARQ errors (worst case). A weak connection can lead to eNodeB link adjustments, which reduce resource allocation, while HARQ errors can lead to data loss (RLC entering an unacknowledged operating mode) or repeated RLC transmissions with a corresponding delay.

[0344] It is desirable to avoid the use of LTE denial periods, which have such a negative impact on HAQR. However, LTE denial requests can originate from applications or from the connectivity (CWS) side, and many codecs have periodic requests. The following describes a mechanism for smart LTE denial that enables periodic LTE denial to support application / codec requests while minimizing its impact on HARQ processes, or avoids periodic LTE denial altogether when applicable.

[0345] For example, the following precautions can be taken when applying LT-Denial to minimize the impact on HARQ. - Bursty Denial: Although there are no strict requirements from applications / codecs for periodic medium access (e.g., in the case of HTTP traffic transmitted over WLAN), rejected subframes are grouped together (into bursts or time slots of continuous-time subframes) to minimize the number of consecutive denials for a given HARQ process (i.e., denials of TTIs allocated to the same HARQ process). For example, rare burst time slots with a duration of less than 8 ms usually affect each HARQ process only once. Therefore, it is likely that these are completely mitigated by the HARQ. - Smart Denial: If Bursty Denial cannot be applied, a denial pattern is generated that minimizes the impact on HARQ while ensuring periodic requests. This pattern is designed to maximize the time interval between successive denials from subframes executing a given HARQ process. ◯ This approach is optimal with regard to LTE connection robustness maintenance (HARQ process protection), The periodicity requirements are met on average (the LTE denial is executed with the required period on average across the entire LTE denial pattern). The pattern contains variations in the period between two LTE denials. ◯ Avoidance of underflow / overflow for codecs with periodic behavior.

[0346] The general pattern generation algorithm for Smart LTE Denial could be, for example, the following. Requirements ◯ B: periodic requests (in ms) ◯ N: Duration of the request (in ms) ◯ W: HARQ window length (8 ms for UL) Algorithm: Find P1 <= P such that [(MOD(P1,W) >=N) or (MOD(P1,W)>=WN)] and (MOD(P1,W) + N) is just ◯ if (P1 = P) continuous application of P otherwise Applying K1 times P1 with K1 = W-abs(P-P1) Applying K2 times P1 + W with K2 = P-P1

[0347] A simple implementation example of this described algorithm is given below: ◯ P1 = P-abs (mod (P, W) -N) ◯ P2 = P1+W ◯ K1 = W- (P-P1) ◯ K2 = P-P1

[0348] An example is in Fig.Figure 28 shows the UL subframe denial and the allocation of TTIs to HARQ processes along a second timeline, 2802, with the periods between LTE denials determined according to the algorithm above. In this case, the LTE denial pattern period P1 is applied K1 times and P2 is applied K2 times. As can be seen, this avoids periodically rejecting TTI allocations from the same HARQ process.

[0349] It should be noted that this pattern generation algorithm is applicable autonomously in the Mobile Device 105. It is also potentially applicable to 3GPP Release 11 IDC, which discusses the possibility of LTE rift generation decided at an eNodeB level. In this case, defining an LTE denial pattern may be necessary, and the algorithm described above may be optimal from a robustness perspective.

[0350] The following describes a mechanism for Smart-VoLTE (Voice over LTE)-BT-HFP coexistence.

[0351] In this use case, it is assumed that the mobile device 105 is connected to a headset via Bluetooth and is receiving or sending a voice call over LTE (VoLTE). It is further assumed that the mobile device 105 acts as a master Bluetooth device (in other words, the Bluetooth unit of the mobile device 105 is assumed to have a master role).

[0352] If this is not the case, a BT role swap command can be issued.

[0353] Bluetooth communication is organized in piconets, with a single master that controls traffic allocation using 625 µs time slots. This is in Fig. 29 shown.

[0354] Fig. Figure 29 shows a transfer diagram.

[0355] The transmission diagram shows transmission (TX) and reception (RX) by a master device, a first slave device (Slave 1), and a second slave device (Slave 2). The master has transmission capabilities for straight slots. while the slaves can only transmit in odd-numbered slots (based on allocations from the master). They listen for all potential master transmissions every 1.25 ms, unless they are in a sleep mode (snooping, parking, holding mode) in which these requirements are relaxed.

[0356] For an earphone connection, the Bluetooth units are typically paired in a low-power operating mode (e.g., one traffic exchange every 50–500 ms). When a call starts, the Bluetooth unit switches to an HFB (Hands-Free Profile) with very frequent periodic eSCO (Extended Synchronous Connection Oriented) or SCO (Synchronous Connection Oriented) traffic. This is in Fig. 30 shown.

[0357] Fig. Figure 30 shows a transfer diagram 3001, 3002.

[0358] The first transmission diagram 3001 shows eSCO communication between a master (M) and a slave (S) and the second transmission diagram 3002 shows SCO communication between the master and the slave.

[0359] Typically, as in Fig.Figure 30 shows that an HFP-eSCO setup or parameter set has eight slot periods with two consecutive slots specifically designated for master and slave transmissions, followed by repeated transmission possibilities, and an SCO setup has a six-slot period with two consecutive slots specifically designated for master and slave transmissions, followed by four idle slots, and there is no repeated transmission possibility.

[0360] It should be noted that once Bluetooth devices are paired, a piconet network is created, thus activating a Bluetooth system clock and slot counter. For example, the odd and even slots are then determined. Attempting to synchronize the Bluetooth system clock with the LTE system clock after setting up a piconet network may not be possible, neither by defining odd nor even slots. It should also be noted that the term TTI here refers to the LTE TTI (1 ms), and Ts refers to the Bluetooth timeslot duration (0.625 ms).

[0361] The following describes the protection provided by BT-eSCO. This applies when a Bluetooth unit (e.g., implemented by the second transceiver 1018) uses the HFP profile to transmit voice to / from a headset with eSCO traffic.

[0362] Fig. Figure 31 shows a transfer diagram 3100.

[0363] The top timeline, 3101, represents VoLTE traffic over the air in LTE-FDD UL (1 ms grid). The HARQ process is synchronous with an 8 ms period, and the voice codec has a 20 ms period.

[0364] Subframes with a T and an RTn designation correspond to the initial transmission of a VoLTE frame and its nth repeated transmission (in the sense of a HARQ-repeated transmission). VoLTE original subframes are represented by a first hatching 3103, and potential repeated transmissions are represented by a second hatching 3104.

[0365] A lower timeline 3102 shows the Bluetooth HFB traffic as seen from a master's perspective, based on eSCO packets. BT slots with a second hatching 3104 correspond to the potential BT retransmissions according to the eSCO traffic definition.

[0366] Due to both traffic characteristics (periods and duration), applying MAC protocol synchronization can enable efficient coexistence between VoLTE and BT-HFP operation. Two different compromises are possible: a first where only the initial BT-HFP eSCO reception is protected from LTE-UL interference, and a second where both the initial BT-HFP eSCO reception and repeated transmitted slot reception are protected.

[0367] The reception of original packets transmitted via a BT slave can be protected from LTE retransmissions under the following conditions: - Protection from T mod (D0, 5TTI) >= TTI-Ts or mod(D0,5TTI) <= STTI-2Ts - Protection against RT1 mod(D0.5TTI) <= 3TTI- 2Ts or mod(D0.5TTI) >= 4TTI-Ts - Protection against RT2 mod(D0, 5TTI) <= TTI-2Ts or mod (D0, 5TTI) >= 2TTI-Ts - Protection against RT3 mod(D0.5TTI) <= 4TTI-2Ts or mod(D0.5TTI) >= 5TTI-Ts

[0368] The reception of packets repeatedly transmitted by the BT slave can be protected from LTE retransmission under the following conditions: - Protection from T mod(D0.5TTI) >= 4TTI or mod(D0.5TTI) <= 3TTI-Ts - Protection against RT1 mod(D0.5TTI) <= TTI-Ts or mod(D0.5TTI) >= 2TTI - Protection against RT2 mod(D0.5TTI) <= 4TTI-Ts or mod(D0.5TTI) >= 0 - Protection against RT3 mod(D0.5TTI) <= 2TTI-Ts or mod(D0.5TTI) >= 3TTI

[0369] As a first approach to VoLTE and BT-eSCO coexistence, BT can be protected from LTE-TX, ReTX1, ReTX2, ReTX3 (i.e., protection of the first transmission and the first three retransmissions of the packet) without BT retransmission protection.

[0370] In this case, the initial BT packet exchange (1TX slot + 1RX slot) is protected from LTE transmissions as long as LTE does not retransmit four times consecutively for the same HARQ process. BT retransmissions can be blocked by LTE UL transmissions if necessary. This can be achieved by instructing the BT master to delay the initial packet transmission relative to the initial LTE subframe transmission by D0 with 2TTI-Ts <= mod(D0,5TTS) <= 3TTI-2Ts, e.g., 1375 µs <= mod(D0,5 ms) <= 1750 µs. An example is shown in Fig. 32 shown.

[0371] The Fig. Figure 32 shows a transfer diagram 3200.

[0372] A top timeline 3201 represents VoLTE traffic in LTE-FDD-UL. Subframe T and RTn designations correspond to the initial transmission of a VoLTE subframe and its nth retransmission (in the sense of HARQ retransmission). Original VoLTE subframes are represented by a first hatch 3103, and a potential retransmission is represented by a second hatch 3104.

[0373] A lower timeline 3102 shows Bluetooth HFP traffic as seen from a master's perspective and is based on eSCO packets. BT slots with a second hatching 3104 correspond to potential BT retransmissions, according to the eSCO traffic definition.

[0374] As a second approach for VoLTE and PT-eSCO coexistence, BT and BT retransmission (i.e., BT packet retransmission) can be protected from LTE-TX and ReTx1 (i.e., from packet transmission and the first retransmission). In this case, the initial BT packet exchange (1TX slot + 1RX slot) and its potential first retransmissions are protected from LTE-UL transmissions as long as the LTE system does not retransmit twice consecutively for the same HARQ process. If an LTE system retransmits more than twice, some BT transmissions / retransmissions may be blocked. This can be achieved by instructing the BT master to delay the initial packet transmission relative to the initial LTE subframe transmission by D1, where D1 = TTI - Ts. For example, mod(D1, 5 ms) = 375 µs for eSCO and eSCO repeated protection against LTE-T and RT1. The transmission scenario corresponds to that described in Fig. 31 is shown.

[0375] As a third approach for SVoLTE and BT-eSCO coexistence, BT can be protected from LTE-TI and ReTx1. BT retries are not protected.

[0376] In this case, the initial BT packet exchange (1TX slot + 1RX slot) is protected before the LTE-UL transmission as long as LTE does not retransmit twice consecutively for the same HARQ process. If LTE retransmits more than twice, some BT transmissions / retransmissions may be blocked.

[0377] This can be achieved by instructing the BT master to delay initial packet transmission relative to all initial LTE subframe transmissions, in order to achieve D0 with TTI-Ts <= mod (D3, 5TTI) <= 3 TTI-2Ts. For example, 375 µs <= mod (D3, 5 ms) <= 1625 µs for eSCO protection against LTE-T, RT1. The transmission scenario corresponds to that in Fig. 31 shown.

[0378] Another approach to protecting BT-SCO is as follows. According to Bluetooth, the HFD profile can be used to transmit speech to / from a hands-free headset or microphone / headphone combination with SCO traffic, which occupies 1 / 3 of the communication medium time and does not allow for retransmission. An example is shown in Fig. 33 is given.

[0379] Fig. Figure 33 shows a transfer diagram 3300.

[0380] An upper timeline 3301 represents VoLTE traffic in LTE-FDD UL. Subframes with T and RTn designations correspond to the initial transmission of a VoLTE subframe and its nth retransmissions (in the sense of HARQ retransmissions). Initial VoLTE subframes are represented by a first hatch 3103, and potential retransmissions are represented by a second hatch 3104.

[0381] A lower timeline 3102 shows the Bluetooth HFP traffic from the perspective of a master and based on SCO packets.

[0382] Two-thirds of the Bluetooth packet exchange (1 TX slot + 1 RX slot) is protected from LTE-UL transmissions. If some LTE retransmission occurs, it is likely that several Bluetooth slots will be blocked. This can be achieved by requiring that Bluetooth be delayed relative to LTE-active subframe start, between TTI - Ts and TTI, and TTI - Ts <= mod (D2, 6Ts) <= TTI. For example, 375 µs <= mod (D2, 3.75 ms) <= 1 ms for minimal LTE-VoLTE interference over SCO traffic. If D2 is not within this range, then two-thirds of the SCO packets can be blocked by the VoLTE subframe transmissions.

[0383] In summary, the delays or range of delays between the VoLTE transmitter and the BT master transmitter, identified above (which can be considered optimal), provide a minimal collision probability between VoLTE subframe transmissions and BT HFP packet receptions. The delay requirements are derived accordingly from either eSCO packet usage for BT HFP profiles or SCO packet usage.

[0384] Using eSCO packets can be desirable because they coexist much better with the VoLTE traffic pattern. When SCO is used, one-third of the BT packets are lost due to collisions with VoLTE UL subframes, and this cannot be resolved by using LTE denial for that frame because the effect on call quality would be worse (20 ms loss versus 5 ms loss).

[0385] Among the eSCO solutions, the third approach may be desirable because: - it is sufficient to fully protect the initial BT reception - its delay requirements are relatively low (2xBT T-slots); this can be evaluated in the case of an LTE handover during the call.

[0386] One possible concept could be the following: A) Establish a call 1) BT pairing, which typically occurs before a VoLTE connection is established, without any specific coexistence restriction. 2) Once the LTE connection (LTE call) is established, information from the periodically assigned subframes (PLC-based) is passed through to the BT and added to NRT messages. This information is available, for example, 5-10 ms after the PLC pattern is applied. 3) The BT master then interprets the PLC display message (period, duration, offset) and uses the LTE frame sync RT signal as a sync reference. 4) Once the eSCO / SCO traffic is established, the BT master assigns the BT slots that meet the delay requirements related to VoLTE transmissions (which is always possible, since for the third approach the delay is 2xT slot). B) LTE handover

[0387] When LTE performs a handover from a first cell to a second cell during a VoLTE call, the LTE system clock in the first cell may differ in phase from the LTE system clock in the second cell (or second sector). A PLC allocation may also differ. As a consequence, the delay between BT and VoLTE traffic patterns may no longer be met. 1) The handover and new PLC allocation can then be made available to BT via NRT messages. 2) The BT master can change the BT slot allocation for eSCO traffic to meet the delay requirement again (always only possible with the third approach described above).

[0388] It should be noted that due to the lack of a timestamp mechanism, it may not yet be guaranteed that BT can directly derive the VoLTE subframe positions from the indication in NRT messages. If not, the BT unit can detect them by monitoring the LTE-UL gap envelope (RT interface), which uses the PLC period information. Since it can take several VoLTE cycles to achieve VoLTE sync in this way, BT may have a blind eSCO plan at startup and plan it again once the VoLTE subframe has been identified.

[0389] This mechanism, with a 20 ms period, can be considered optimized for VoLTE, but it can be used for any PLC-based LTE traffic. Only the latency requirements may need to be adjusted.

[0390] In summary, for LTE-WLAN / BT coexistence in the context of protocol mitigation, the following can be provided / implemented: - Coexistence-friendly handover - SR shift - ignoring UL certification - LTE denial control (algorithm with monitoring of the packet error rate) - Minimizing the impact of LTE denial over LTE-HARQ and thus on LTE connection robustness (e.g., through a suitable algorithm) - Minimizing the impact on BT-HFD traffic over VoLTE traffic.

[0391] According to one aspect of the present invention, a wireless communication device is provided, as described in Fig. 34 shown.

[0392] Fig. Figure 34 shows a 3400 wireless communication device.

[0393] The wireless communication device 3400 comprises a first transceiver 3401, configured for transmitting and receiving at least one signal according to a cellular wireless long-range communication technology and a second transceiver 3402, configured for transmitting and receiving at least one signal according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, the second transceiver 3402 comprising a filter 3600 having a filter characteristic.

[0394] The wireless communication device 3400 further comprises a processor 3403, which is connected to the first transceiver 3401 and is configured to control the first transceiver 3401 to transmit signals during a first transmission period in order to determine whether a planned uplink transmission meets a predefined criterion, taking into account at least one of the following: at least a part of the filter characteristic of the filter 3600 of the second transceiver 3402; a transmission power used for the uplink transmission; and channel information indicating the physical channel used for the uplink transmission; and a second processor 3404, configured to control the second transceiver 3402 to receive (or transmit) signals, taking into account the transmission period of the first transceiver 3401.

[0395] The first processor 3403 is further configured to provide a guidance signal indicating whether the second processor 3404 should control the second transceiver 3402 to receive (or send) a signal or not receive (or send) a signal, depending on whether the planned uplink transmission by the first transceiver 3401 meets the predetermined criterion.

[0396] For example, the second processor 3404 is further configured to control the second transceiver 3402 to receive (or send) a signal or not receive (or send) a signal according to the cue signal provided by the first processor 3403.

[0397] The first processor 3403 can be further configured to determine whether the planned uplink transmission meets the predetermined criterion, taking into account one or more uplink transmission frames or one or more uplink transmission subframes.

[0398] The transmission period is determined, for example, by the transmission of a frame structure.

[0399] According to one aspect of this revelation, the first transceiver 3401 is set up to send and receive signals according to a third-generation wireless partnership project communication technology.

[0400] The first transceiver 3401, for example, is set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless 4G communication technology.

[0401] The first transceiver 3401 can be set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless Long Term Evolution communication technology.

[0402] The second transceiver 3402, for example, is configured to send and receive signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology, selected from a group consisting of: wireless Bluetooth communication technology; wireless Ultra Wide Band communication technology; wireless wireless local area network Communication technology; wireless infrared data association Communication technology; wireless Z-Wave communication technology; wireless ZigBee communication technology; Wireless High Performance LAN communication technology; wireless IEEE 802.11 communication technology; and wireless Digital Enhanced Cordless Communication technology

[0403] The second transceiver 3402, for example, is configured to send and receive signals according to a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, selected from a group consisting of: Wireless Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Communication Technology; WiPro wireless communication technology; Wireless High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area System communication technology; and Wireless 802.16m Advanced Air Interface communication technology.

[0404] The predetermined criterion is, for example, whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold compared to an estimated or measured interference power received by the second transceiver 3402, whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power spectral density (PSD) threshold compared to an estimated (or measured) interference PSD received by the second transceiver 3402, or whether the type of physical channel used for the planned uplink transmission is identical to a predetermined type of physical channel.

[0405] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method for controlling a wireless communications device, as described in Fig. 35 shown, provided.

[0406] Fig. Figure 35 shows a flowchart 3500.

[0407] In 3501, a first transceiver transmits and receives signals according to a cellular wireless long-distance communication technology.

[0408] In 3502, a second transceiver transmits and receives signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology.

[0409] In 3503, a first processor controls the first transceiver to send signals during a first transmission period (or transmission period, or transmission period).

[0410] In 3504, the first processor determines whether a planned uplink transmission meets a predefined criterion, taking into account at least one of the following: at least a part of the filter characteristic of the second transceiver's filter; a transmission power used for the uplink transmission; and channel information specifying the physical channel used for the uplink transmission;

[0411] In 3505, a second processor controls the second transceiver to receive (or send) signals taking into account the transmission period of the first transceiver, the first processor further providing a guidance signal indicating whether the second processor should control the second transceiver to receive (or send) a signal or not receive (or send) a signal, depending on whether the planned uplink transmission by the first transceiver meets the predetermined criterion.

[0412] The second processor, for example, continues to control the second transceiver to receive (or send) a signal or not to receive (or send) a signal, according to the cue signal provided by the first processor.

[0413] The first processor, for example, further determines whether the planned uplink transmission meets the predetermined criterion, taking into account one or more uplink transmission frames or one or more uplink transmission subframes.

[0414] For example, the transmission period is determined by the transmission of a frame structure.

[0415] The first transceiver can send and receive signals according to a third-generation wireless partnership project communication technology.

[0416] For example, the first transceiver sends and receives signals according to a wireless 4G communication technology.

[0417] The first transceiver transmits and receives signals, for example, according to a wireless Long Term Evolution communication technology.

[00418] The second transceiver can, for example, transmit and receive signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology, selected from a group consisting of: wireless Bluetooth communication technology; wireless Ultra Wide Band communication technology; wireless wireless local area network Communication technology; wireless infrared data association Communication technology; wireless Z-Wave communication technology; wireless ZigBee communication technology; Wireless High Performance LAN communication technology; Wireless IEEE 802.11 communication technology; and wireless Digital Enhanced Cordless Communication technology.

[00419] The second transceiver can, for example, transmit and receive signals according to a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, selected from a group consisting of: Wireless Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Communication Technology; WiPro wireless communication technology; Wireless High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area System communication technology; and wireless 802.16m Advanced Air Interface communication technology.

[0418] The predetermined criterion is, for example, whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold compared to an estimated or measured interference power received by the second transceiver, whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power spectral density (PSD) threshold compared to an estimated (or measured) interference PSD received by the second transceiver, or whether the type of physical channel used for the planned uplink transmission is identical to a predetermined type of physical channel.

[0419] An example of the operation of a 3400 wireless communication device and the procedure, illustrated in Fig.35, is specified below. First, it should be noted that, according to one approach, the non-real-time (NRT) coexistence controller can evaluate whether the selected frequency channels / transmission powers generate significant disturbances (interference).

[0420] Based on this, it can enable / disable the Real-Time (RT) Coexistence Controller. When enabled, the Real-Time (RT) Coexistence Controller systematically reports LTE-UL activity to the WLAN / BT subsystem 2102.

[0421] However, the power controller can significantly reduce the Tx power (dynamic range - 60 dB, TBC). Furthermore, PUSCH has a variable RB (resource block) allocation, PUCCH has only one allocated RB, and PUSCH and PUCCH have different power control rules. Therefore, the above approach may be overly pessimistic (or too pessimistic) because the interface performance with WLAN / BT LNA input can vary significantly with the bandwidth of the LTE signal transmitted in the UL (i.e., LTE resource block (RB) allocation), the transmission power of the LTE signal, the ISM band RX filter shape (before the WLAN / BT LNA), and the UL transport channel type (PUSCH vs. PUCCH).

[0422] In light of the foregoing, an internal RT coexistence controller can be provided, and the ability to filter the LTE-UL transmission process before activating the UL gap envelope is added, so that an LTE-UL transmission with minimal impact on the ISM band can be displayed as a medium-free period on WLAN / BT.

[0423] The filter criteria include, for example: • the TX (transmission) power; • the RB assignment; • the WLAN RX (receive) filter attenuation; and • the PUCCH / PUSCH channel type (or channel type).

[0424] In LTE-FDD, the eNodeB (base station) performs wireless uplink (UL) resource management, dynamically allocating resources to the UE (subscriber device) on the uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Resource allocation is based on subframes and consists of a set of consecutive resource blocks (RBs). Between 6 and 100 RBs can be allocated to a UE, depending on a frequency bandwidth of 1.4 to 20 MHz. For UL control traffic in the absence of PUSCH allocation, the uplink control channel (PUCCH) is used, which can be triggered either by the eNodeB resource allocation or by the UE itself (e.g., in the case of SR). The PUCCH resource allocation features single RB hopping from one end of the LTE channel to the other on a slot basis. UL power control regulates the power spectral density of the UE transmission based on subframes, e.g.accordingly:. PPUSCH=min{Pmax⋅Po+∝PLDL+10log10(NRB)+ΔMCS+δ} PPUSCH=min{Pmax⋅Po+PLDL+10log10(NRB)+ΔFORMAT+δ} where 10log 10 (N RB ) → 7. 8 to 20 dB ΔMCS + typically in 0 to 20 dB α → network dependent, typically 0.6 to 1 PL DL → 70 to 150 dB δ → TPC command

[0425] As a consequence, the UL transmit power varies due to PSD integration over the LTE TX bandwidth (BW) based on subframes. For example, it can vary by several tens of dB due to downlink (DL) path loss variations, or it can even vary instantly by 10–12 dB due to RB allocation changes. Interference (or noise) over the ISM band varies accordingly.

[0426] Additionally, the influence of a given LTE-UL transmission power over the ISM band depends on the ISM-RX filter attenuation in the frequency range, depending on the assigned RBs.

[0427] To adapt to LTE-Tx power variations (LTE-Tx power dynamic range is greater than 60 dB, which is sufficient to completely change the influence of LTE interference over the ISM band), a filter function (a filter) is implemented, for example, to determine whether the LTE-UL operations generate a level of interference power at the WLAN (or Bluetooth) LNA (low noise amplifier) ​​input that requires prohibiting simultaneous operation of LTE-TX and WLAN (or Bluetooth) RX.

[0428] If so, the filter creates an LTE-UL gap indicator command, which is then converted into a medium busy indicator via the RT interface (high level on the LTE-UL gap envelope); otherwise, a medium free indicator is passed (LTE-UL gap indicator is set to low, as if LTE were not transmitting).

[0429] The filter is in Fig. 36 shown.

[0430] Fig. 36 shows an LTE uplink event filter 3600.

[0431] The LTE Uplink Event Filter 3600, for example, is located within an RT coexistence controller and, in this example, has three dynamic inputs, namely: - a list of assigned resource blocks on PUSCH in subframe (number + position) 3601; - the transmission power for the current subframe 3602; - the PUCCH / PUSCH indicator 3603.

[0432] Additionally, the uplink event filter 3600 features the ISM-RX filter characteristic 3604 as a static input.

[0433] The assigned RBs 3601, the TX power 3602, and the PUSCH / PUCCH 3603 are known at the L1 firmware level and can be made available to the UL event filter 3600 without any changes to the firmware interface. The ISM (WLAN / BT) RX filter characteristics can be defined by a platform-dependent table, which may be stored in non-volatile memory and is loaded during initial setup.

[0434] While LTE frequency resource allocations are defined with support for 1, 4, 3, 5, 10, and 20 MHz channels, only the 5, 10, and 20 MHz bands are permitted in Band 7 (and in Bands 40 and 41). Therefore, the ISM band filter attenuation for attenuations between 0 and -63 dB, per 2.5 MHz subband, is encoded on 6 bits. This is shown in Tables 11 and 12. Table 11: ISM-RX Filter Attenuation Codes code Filter attenuation 000000 0 dB 000001 -1 dB 000010 -2dB 000011 -3dB ... ... 111110 - 62dB 111111 - 63dB Table 12: Frequency clusters for ISM-RX filter characteristic decoding Volume No. Frequencies 1 2500.0 - 2502.5 MHz 2 2502.5 - 2505.0 MHz ... ... 28 2567.5 - 2570.0 MHz

[0435] The uplink event filter 3600, for example, is set up by higher levels to match the platform antenna isolation and ISM receiver blocker rejection capability and linearity: for example, the settings specified in Table 13 are passed to the FW via the FW interface. Table 13: Configuration parameters for UL event filters parameter comment Values standard UL_event_filter_enable Activation bit 0: disabled 1: enabled 1 WLAN_max_PSD Maximum interference power spectral density (PSD) that can be tolerated at WLAN LNA input. Dependent on WLAN receiver linearity. In dBm / MHz, 1dB accuracy N / A BT_max_PSD Maximum interference power spectral density (PSD) that can be tolerated at BT-LNA input. Dependent on BT receiver linearity. In dBm / MHz, 1 dB accuracy N / A PUCK_indication_disabled Placeholder to utilize potential narrowband noise rejection methods on ISM band receivers 0: PUCCH activity displayed similarly to PUSCH 1: PUCCH activity never displayed on the RT interface 0

[0436] It should be noted that for Phase 1, the lowest value between WLAN_max_PSD and BT_max_PSD is used (called ISM_mx_PSD in the example described below). Fig. 37), since it may not be possible to distinguish between WLAN and BT traffic.

[0437] Depending on its inputs, the uplink process filter 3600 generates an LTE-UL gap indicator signal 2605 and transmits it via the RT coexistence interface 3606 and the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit. This is in Fig. 37 shown.

[0438] Fig. Figure 37 shows a flowchart (3700). In Figure 3701, the event filter checks whether an uplink transmission is scheduled as a push transmission.

[0439] If this is the case, the event filter 3600 determines the LTE transmission power spectral density in 3702.

[0440] Based on this, the event filter 3600 in 3703 determines the ISM (WLAN / BT) receive power spectral density.

[0441] In 3704, the event filter 3600 determines whether the ISM receive power spectral density is below the maximum ISM (WLAN / BT) receive power.

[0442] If this is the case, the uplink event filter 3600 issues a medium-free notification to the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit via the RT coexistence interface 3606 at 3705. If this is not the case, the uplink event filter 3600 issues a medium-busy notification to the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit via the RT coexistence interface 3606 at 3706.

[0443] If it is not a PUSCH transmission, the uplink event filter 3600 checks at 3707 whether there is a PUCCH deactivation indicator. If so, the uplink event filter 3600 sends a medium-free message to the WLAN / Bluetooth communication circuit via the RT coexistence interface 3606 at 3705. If not, the uplink event filter 3600 continues at 3702.

[0444] The following are some examples: 1. Wireless communication device comprising: a first transceiver (3401) configured to transmit and receive at least one signal according to a cellular wireless long-range communication technology; a second transceiver (3402) configured to transmit and receive at least one signal according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, the second transceiver (3402) having a filter (3600) having a filter characteristic; a first processor (3403) configured to control the first transceiver (3401) to transmit signals during a first transmission period to determine whether a planned uplink transmission meets a predefined criterion, taking into account at least one of the following: at least a part of the filter characteristic of the filter (3600) of the second transceiver (3402); a transmission power used for the uplink transmission; and channel information specifying the physical channel used for the uplink transmission; and a second processor (3404), configured to control the second transceiver (3402), to receive signals taking into account the transmission period of the first transceiver (3401); wherein the first processor (3403) is further configured to provide a guidance signal indicating whether the second processor (3404) should control the second transceiver (3402) to receive a signal or not to receive a signal, depending on whether the planned uplink transmission by the first transceiver (3401) meets the predetermined criterion. 2. Wireless communication device (3400) according to example 1, wherein the second processor (3404) is further configured to control the second transceiver (3402) to receive a signal or not receive a signal according to the cue signal provided by the first processor (3403). 3. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of examples 1 to 2, where the first processor (3403) is still configured, to determine whether the planned uplink transmission meets the predetermined criterion, taking into account one or more uplink transmission frames or one or more uplink transmission subframes. 4. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of examples 1 to 3, where the transmission period is determined by the transmission of a frame structure. 5. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of examples 1 to 4, the first transceiver (3401) is set up to send and receive signals in accordance with a wireless third generation partnership project communication technology. 6. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of examples 1 to 5, the first transceiver (3401) is set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless 4G communication technology. 7. Wireless communication device (3400) according to example 6, wherein the first transceiver (3401) is set up to send and receive signals according to a wireless Long Term Evolution communication technology. 8. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of Examples 1 to 7, wherein the second transceiver (3402) is configured to transmit and receive signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology selected from a group consisting of: wireless Bluetooth communication technology; wireless Ultra Wide Band communication technology; wireless local area network communication technology; wireless Infrared Data Association communication technology; wireless Z-Wave communication technology; wireless ZigBee communication technology; Wireless High Performance LAN communication technology; wireless IEEE 802.11 communication technology; and Wireless Digital Enhanced Cordless Communication Technology. 9. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of examples 1 to 7, where the second transceiver (3402) is set up to receive signals according to a wireless metropolitan area system Communication technology for sending and receiving, selected from a group consisting of: Wireless Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Communication Technology; WiPro wireless communication technology; Wireless High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area System communication technology; and Wireless 802.16m Advanced Air Interface communication technology. 10. Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of examples 1 to 9, wherein the predetermined criterion is whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold compared to an estimated or measured interference power received by the second transceiver (3402), whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold a power spectral density (PSD) threshold compared to an estimated or measured interference PSD received by the second transceiver (3402), or whether the type of physical channel used for the planned uplink transmission is identical to a predetermined type of physical channel. 11. Method for operating a wireless communication device, wherein the method comprises: a first transceiver (3401) that transmits and receives signals according to a cellular wireless long-distance communication technology (3501); a second transceiver (3402) that transmits and receives signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology, the second transceiver (3402) having a filter (3600) which has a filter characteristic (3502); a first processor (3403) that controls the first transceiver (3401) to send signals during a first transmission period (3503), wherein the first processor (3403) determines whether a planned uplink transmission meets a predefined criterion, taking into account at least one of the following: at least a part of the filter characteristic of the filter (3600) of the second transceiver (3402); a transmission power used for the uplink transmission; and channel information indicating the physical channel used for the uplink transmission (3504); and a second processor (3404) that controls the second transceiver (3402) to receive signals taking into account the transmission period of the first transceiver (3401); wherein the first processor (3403) further provides a guidance signal indicating whether the second processor (3404) should control the second transceiver (3402) to receive a signal or not to receive a signal, depending on whether the planned uplink transmission by the first transceiver meets the predetermined criterion (3505). 12. Procedure according to Example 11, wherein the second processor (3404) further controls the second transceiver (3402) to receive a signal or not receive a signal, according to the cue signal available from the first processor (3403). 13. Method according to one of Examples 11 or 12, wherein the first processor (3403) further determines whether the planned uplink transmission meets the predetermined criterion, taking into account one or more uplink transmission frames or one or more uplink transmission subframes. 14. Method according to one of Examples 11 to 13, wherein the transmission period is determined by the transmission of a frame structure. 15. Method according to one of Examples 11 to 14, wherein the first transceiver (3401) transmits and receives signals according to a Wireless Third Generation Partnership Project communication technology. 16. Method according to any of Examples 11 to 15, wherein the first transceiver (3401) transmits and receives signals according to a wireless 4G communication technology. 17. Procedure according to Example 16, wherein the first transceiver (3401) transmits and receives signals according to a wireless Long Term Evolution communication technology. 18. Method according to one of Examples 11 to 17, wherein the second transceiver (3402) transmits and receives signals according to a wireless short-range communication technology selected from a group consisting of: wireless Bluetooth communication technology; wireless Ultra Wide Band communication technology; wireless local area network communication technology; wireless Infrared Data Association communication technology; wireless Z-Wave communication technology; wireless ZigBee communication technology; Wireless High Performance LAN communication technology; wireless IEEE 802.11 communication technology; and Wireless Digital Enhanced Cordless Communication Technology. 19. Method according to one of Examples 11 to 17, wherein the second transceiver transmits and receives signals (3402) according to a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology selected from a group consisting of: Wireless Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access Communication Technology; WiPro wireless communication technology; Wireless High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area System communication technology; and Wireless 802.16m Advanced Air Interface communication technology. 20. Method according to any of Examples 11 to 19, wherein the predetermined criterion is whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold compared to an estimated or measured disturbance power received by the second transceiver (3402), whether the planned uplink transmission exceeds a power threshold a power spectral density (PSD) threshold compared to an estimated or measured disturbance PSD received by the second transceiver (3402), or whether the type of physical channel used for the planned uplink transmission is identical to a predetermined type of physical channel.

[0445] While the invention is presented and described with particular reference to specific aspects, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims. The scope of the invention is therefore defined by the accompanying claims, and any modifications that fall within the meaning and scope of equivalence of the claims are therefore to be deemed specified.

Claims

[1] Wireless communication device (3400), comprising: • a first communication circuit (1022, 3401) configured to transmit and receive (3501) at least one signal according to a cellular wireless wide area communication technology; • a second communication circuit (1024, 3402) configured to transmit and receive (3502) at least one signal according to a wireless short-range communication technology or a wireless metropolitan area system communication technology; • wherein the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) and the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) are configured to activate a coexistence state in which real-time communication is exchanged via a real-time interface (1026, 1030) between the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) and the second communication circuit (1024, 3402), or a non-coexistence state; • a first controller (3403) configured to control (3503) the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) to transmit signals during a first transmission period and to transmit an indication signal to a second controller (3404) indicating whether an uplink transmission from the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) causes interference with the reception of a signal by the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) when a predetermined condition is met, and the coexistence state is activated, wherein the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) is configured to transmit the indication signal to the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) in real time by means of the real-time interface; • wherein the first controller (3403) is configured to determine (3504) whether the predetermined condition is met by determining whether the uplink transmission from the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) would result in a reception quality that is below (2203-Yes) a predetermined threshold value when a signal is simultaneously received by the second communication circuit (1024, 3402), taking into account at least one of the following: a transmission power used for the uplink transmission; and / or channel information indicating the physical channel used for the uplink transmission, then the first controller (3403) is configured to control the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) to switch off (2205) the real-time communication; and • the second controller (3404) configured to control (3505) the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) to receive signals. [2] The wireless communication device (3400) of claim 1, wherein the cellular wireless wide area communication technology is a wireless long term evolution communication technology. [3] The wireless communication device (3400) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the short-range wireless communication technology comprises a Bluetooth wireless communication technology and / or a Wireless Local Area Network wireless communication technology. [4] Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) is arranged for uplink transmission to an access network (101) or a base station (103). [5] Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) is configured for peer-to-peer communication. [6] The wireless communication device (3400) according to claim 5, wherein the coexistence state can be changed. [7] Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the predetermined threshold value is determined by a de-sense level. [8] Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of claims 1 to 7, • wherein the first controller (3403) is a first processor (3403); and / or • wherein the second controller (3404) is a second processor (3404). [9] Wireless communication device (3400) according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first communication circuit (1022, 3401) and / or the second communication circuit (1024, 3402) are / is coupled to an application processor or a CPU (1002).

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