Methods, systems, and devices for mitigating wireless connection impairment caused by wireless charging

Abstract

Method comprising: in the case of user equipment (“UE”); Determining when the UE enters a wireless charging state; activating interference mitigation when the UE enters the wireless charging state, wherein the interference mitigation comprises changing at least one parameter of an operation associated with a layer of a protocol stack for a cellular connection to the UE; Determining when the UE leaves the wireless charging state; and Disabling interference mitigation when the UE exits the wireless charging state, wherein disabling interference mitigation comprises restoring the at least one parameter from a wireless charging state value to a wireless non-charging state value.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] Wireless charging is a way to charge electronic devices without physically connecting them to a power outlet. Wireless charging, or inductive charging, uses electromagnetic fields to transfer electrical charge from a wireless charging station to the battery of an electronic device.

[0002] However, the electromagnetic fields used to transfer charging energy to the electronic device can also interfere with the operation of the electronic device. For example, the electronic device may be connected to a wireless network (e.g., cellular network, local area network ("LAN"), Wi-Fi network, etc.) while charging. The electromagnetic fields to which the electronic device is exposed during charging can interfere with these wireless connections.

[0003] The prior art document US 2015 / 0 079 904 A1 discloses the detection of a fault condition of a wireless energy receiving device caused by a radiated field from a wireless energy transmitter of a charger. SUMMARY

[0004] The present invention is described in the independent claims. Advantageous further developments are specified in the dependent claims. Methods, systems, and devices for detecting mobile radio interference caused by wireless charging are described herein. In a first aspect, a method is disclosed in which user equipment can determine when the user equipment enters a wireless charging state and activate interference mitigation upon the user equipment entering the wireless charging state. The user equipment can further determine when the user equipment (UE) exits the wireless charging state and, when the user equipment exits the wireless charging state, deactivate the interference mitigation.

[0005] In a second aspect, user equipment is disclosed. The user equipment may include a detection application configured to determine when the user equipment enters a wireless charging state and when the user equipment exits the wireless charging state. The user equipment may further include a processor configured to enable interference mitigation when it is determined that the user equipment has entered the wireless charging state and to disable interference mitigation when it is determined that the user equipment has exited the wireless charging state.

[0006] In a third aspect, an integrated circuit is disclosed. The integrated circuit may include circuitry for determining when user equipment enters a wireless charging state and circuitry for enabling interference mitigation when it is determined that the user equipment has entered the wireless charging state. The integrated circuit may further include circuitry for determining when the user equipment exits the wireless charging state and circuitry for disabling interference mitigation when it is determined that the user equipment has exited the wireless charging state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a system arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 2 shows user equipment according to various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 8 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 10 shows an exemplary method for baseband interference mitigation according to various exemplary embodiments described herein. Fig. 11 shows an exemplary method for alerting a user of a fault in accordance with various exemplary embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0007] The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements are designated by like reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments describe an apparatus, system, and method for detecting and mitigating radio frequency ("RF") impairment in a mobile device, such as a user equipment ("UE"), through wireless charging. In the exemplary embodiments, the mobile device is described as a UE connected to one or more wireless networks. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the mobile device may be any type of wireless device that supports both wireless charging and wireless data connections according to the functionalities and principles described herein.Additionally, the exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the UE connected to a cellular network. However, those skilled in the art will understand that wireless charging may interfere with any network connection of the UE, and the exemplary embodiments may be implemented to mitigate the impact of wireless charging when the UE is connected to any type of network.

[0008] As mentioned above, wireless charging uses electromagnetic fields to transfer an electrical charge from a wireless charging station to the UE. The electromagnetic field used to transfer power to the UE may interfere with the RF waves transmitted or received by the UE. Throughout this specification, the term "RF waves" or "RF signal" is used to describe any signal exchanged between the UE and a network or device to which the UE is wirelessly connected. RF waves are distinct from the electromagnetic field and corresponding effects caused by wireless charging. The extent of RF interference may depend on a variety of factors, such as the relative orientation of the UE with respect to the wireless charging station, the strength or frequency of the RF signal, etc.RF interference may result in poor signal quality for the RF signals transmitted or received by the UE, which may impact the UE's cellular functionality and result in dropped or missed calls, poor user data throughput, a poor user experience, etc. As such, the exemplary embodiments describe methods for mitigating RF interference when the UE uses the wireless charging station, as well as methods for quickly reconnecting to the wireless network after the UE is removed from the wireless charging station.

[0009] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary system arrangement 100 according to various embodiments described herein. The exemplary system arrangement 100 includes a UE 110 located on a wireless charging station 115 and having a connection to a cellular base station 120 of a cellular network 125. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE 110 may be any type of electronic component configured to communicate over a network, e.g., smartphones, tablets, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc. It is also understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs. The example of a single (1) UE 110 is provided for illustrative purposes only.

[0010] The UE 110 may be positioned on the charging station 115. Those skilled in the art will understand that the charging station 115 may be any type of electronic component configured to wirelessly charge the UE 110 through inductive charging. Inductive charging may use an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between the wireless charging station 115 and the UE 110. The wireless charging station 115 may be freestanding or a structurally mounted pad or base in any shape or configuration that can accommodate the UE 110 for charging purposes. An exemplary electromagnetic field 117 generated by the wireless charging station 115 is shown in Fig. 1 shown.

[0011] The UE 110 may be configured to communicate directly with one or more cellular networks 125. For example, the cellular networks with which the UE 110 may communicate may be a legacy radio access network (“RAN”), a Long Term Evolution Radio Access Network (“LTE-RAN”), a wireless local area network (“WLAN”), etc. In this example, it may be assumed that the cellular network 125 is an LTE-RAN and the cellular base station 120 is an eNodeB (eNB). However, it should be understood that the UE 110 may also communicate with any type of network using any type of cellular base station(s) 120 (e.g., NodeBs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, access points, etc.). Fig. 1 also shows the RF signals 122 exchanged between the UE 110 and the mobile radio base station 120, which are subject to RF interference due to the electromagnetic field 117.

[0012] Fig. 2 shows an exemplary UE 110 according to various exemplary embodiments described herein. As described above, the UE 110 may be any electronic device configured to perform wireless charging and wireless communication. The UE 110 may include an antenna (not shown) connected to a transceiver 210 connected to a processor 220 capable of executing a sensing application 230. Those skilled in the art will understand that the processor 220 may be included, for example, in an integrated circuit or chip. The UE 110 may further include a battery 280 (or other component that stores a charge, such as a supercapacitor, etc.).The UE 110 may further include a display device 240, an I / O device 250, a memory array 260, and an inductive charging component 290 that may be used to charge the battery 280 via the wireless charging station 115. The UE 100 may also include additional components 270 such as a Bluetooth transceiver, other input devices (e.g., a keypad, a touchscreen, etc.), etc.

[0013] While the exemplary embodiments depict the inductive charging component 290 as an internal part of the UE 110, those skilled in the art would understand that the inductive charging component 290 may also be an external component. For example, the inductive charging component may be an accessory or attachment (e.g., protective case, cover, outer skin, holster, etc.) that may be attachable to the UE 110.

[0014] The processor 220 may be used to perform operations such as, but not limited to, processing input from a user, performing functions of the recognition application 230, or communicating with the inductive charging component 290. It should be noted that the exemplary embodiments are described as being performed by the processor 220 and the recognition application 230. However, each of these components may perform the described functionalities without the other component. Additionally, other components may also perform some or all of the functionalities described herein.The processor 220 and the transceiver 210 may be, for example, general-purpose processors, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), or another type of integrated circuit, and these processors and integrated circuits may execute software programs or firmware.

[0015] In some exemplary embodiments, processor 220 may include multiple processors, such as an application processor and a baseband processor. The functionalities described herein may be performed by one or both of these processor types.

[0016] The following exemplary embodiments describe various methods for mitigating interference experienced by the UE 110 caused by the charging station 115. The exemplary embodiments may refer to the UE 110 when it enters / is in a wireless charging state or exits the wireless charging state. It should be understood that the UE 110 being in the wireless charging state may mean that the UE 110 has an inductive, wireless connection with the charging station 115. For example, a user may place the UE 110 on the charging station 115, where the inductive charging component 290 may indicate to the detection application 230 that the UE 110 is wirelessly connected to the charging station 115. In another example, the detection application 230 may determine that the UE 110 is wirelessly connected to the charging station 115 by other means.For example, the detection application 230 may determine that the UE 110 is in a wireless charging state by determining that the battery of the UE 110 is charging while there is no detected cable connection to a plug port of the UE 110.

[0017] It is also understood that leaving the wireless charging state of the UE 110 may mean ending the inductive charging of the UE 110. In a first example, the user may remove the UE 110 from the charging station 115. In a second example, the charging station 115 may be turned off manually, automatically, or remotely. In either case, the UE 110 would no longer be exposed to interference caused by the charging station 115.

[0018] Furthermore, it should be noted that some of the following exemplary embodiments may only be used when the UE 110 is in an idle mode or a connected mode, while some of the following exemplary embodiments may be used regardless of whether the UE 110 is in an idle mode or a connected mode. One skilled in the art would understand that an example of an idle mode and a connected mode are the UE's Radio Resource Control ("RRC") layer modes RRC_Idle and RRC_Connected. Other types of networks may have corresponding modes that are labeled differently. However, in general, the idle mode may have minimal power consumption, with limited operations performed (e.g., listening to pages).Connected mode may involve using a channel for a variety of reasons, including exchanging data via RF signals.

[0019] Although it is not possible to generalize all exemplary embodiments of the mitigations described below, the mitigations can be categorized as follows: 1) mitigations implemented in the protocol stack; 2) mitigations in the physical layer; and 3) mitigations through user intervention. Additionally, a common theme across many (but not all) of the exemplary mitigations is that, unlike most normal operations of the UE 110, power conservation is not a major concern. That is, many of the mitigations described below consume more power than the UE 110 normally uses for operations when not in the wireless charging state. However, this additional power consumption is not a major concern because the UE 110 is currently charging and the additional power is available.The above can also be formulated in such a way that when weighing power consumption versus improvement of signal quality and / or quality of service in the charging state, the side of improvements in signal quality and / or quality of service by implementing the exemplary interference mitigations has more weight. Mitigations implemented in a UE protocol stack

[0020] A protocol stack is an implementation of a sequence of computer network protocols in which network protocol layers cooperate. The following describes exemplary mitigations that may be implemented in the protocol stack of the UE 110 in response to the interference caused by the charging station 115. The protocol stack mitigations may enable the UE 110 to remain in service with the cellular base station 120 and to attempt to reconnect to the cellular base station 120 as soon as possible when the UE 110 exits the wireless charging state.

[0021] A first example of protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state may include disabling motion sensor-based scanning while the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. Motion sensor-based scanning may involve the UE 110 using a motion protocol to determine whether the UE 110 should switch to a different RAT / frequency / band / network. For example, if the UE 110 is stationary, the UE 110's motion protocol may determine that interference or fluctuations in signal strength are likely to be temporary. Thus, the UE 110 would either not scan for or switch to a different RAT, band, or frequency, or would delay taking such action.When the UE 110 is moving, the motion protocol of the UE 110 may determine that interference or fluctuations in signal strength may be attributable to the movement of the UE 110, thereby enabling various operations such as switching the UE 110 to a different RAT / frequency / band / network. When the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the interference from the electromagnetic waves of the charging station 115 would be constant, but since the UE 110 is not moving, the motion protocol may delay the switching of the UE 110 to a different RAT / frequency / band / network, as the interference experienced by a stationary UE 110 may be considered transient. Therefore, by disabling the motion sensor-based scanning of the UE 110, the delay in measuring or switching to a different or adjacent RAT / frequency / band / network due to the motion protocol is mitigated.

[0022] Fig. 3 shows a first exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 3 illustrates a method 300 for disabling motion sensor-based searching while the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state.

[0023] At 305, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. As discussed above, the detection application 230 may make this detection based on any number of factors, including receiving a signal from the inductive charging component 290, determining that the battery 280 is charging without a wired connection, etc. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the method 300 may proceed to 310.

[0024] At 310, it is determined whether the UE 110 is currently connected to the cellular network 125. For example, the processor 220, and in particular the baseband processor of the UE 110, knows whether it has a current connection to the cellular network 125. If it is determined that either 305 or 310 is "no," the method 300 may end. However, if it is determined at 310 that the UE 110 is connected to the cellular network 125, the method 300 may proceed to 315.

[0025] At 315, the UE 110 may disable motion sensor-based scanning. As discussed above, by disabling motion sensor-based scanning, the UE 110 would prevent the electromagnetic wave interference of the charging station 115 from being mistakenly interpreted by the motion protocol as transient. That is, when determining whether to scan for a different RAT / frequency / band / network, the UE 110 does not consider whether the UE 110 is currently stationary or moving. Thus, any delay in scanning or switching to a different or adjacent RAT / frequency / band / network due to the motion protocol while the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state is mitigated.

[0026] At 320, it is determined whether the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 300 disables the motion sensor-based loop search at 315. If the UE is no longer in the wireless charging state (e.g., the user has removed the UE 110 from the charging station 115), the method 300 proceeds to 325.

[0027] At 325, the UE 110 may enable motion sensor-based scanning. In particular, the UE 110 may enable one or all of the motion protocols that were disabled at 315. Note that 325 may also enable motion protocols that were disabled for other reasons.

[0028] Another example of protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state may include disabling a Broadcast Control Channel (“BCCH”) early read timeout. In particular, the BCCH early read timeout may include optimizing a BCCH timeout timer when the UE 110 cannot decode a received Master Information Block (“MIB”) and / or a System Information Block (“SIB”). By optimizing the timeout timer, the UE 110 may extend the battery life of the battery 280 because the UE 110 will not continuously attempt to decode the MIBs and SIBs transmitted on the cell's BCCH after a failure. In contrast, energy consumption when charging the UE 110 is not a problem, since the battery 280 of the UE 110 is not exhausted by multiple MIB and SIB decoding attempts.Thus, the BCCH early read timeout can be disabled. The UE 110 can disable the BCCH early read timeout when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state and no other suitable cells are available. This means that the UE 110 will continuously attempt to decode the MIBs and SIBs of the connected cell, as it is the only available cell. By disabling the BCCH early read timeout, the UE 110 can improve its MIB and SIB decoding success rate, especially when the UE 110 is in the LTE network.

[0029] Fig. Figure 4 shows a second exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 4 a method 400 for disabling the BCCH early read timeout while the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state.

[0030] At 405, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. As discussed above, the detection application 230 may make this detection based on any number of factors, including receiving a signal from the inductive charging component 290, determining that the battery 280 is charging without a wired connection, etc. If the UE 110 is not in a charging state, the method 400 may end. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the method 400 may proceed to 410.

[0031] At 410, it is determined whether a suitable cell is available for the UE 110 to connect to, instead of the cell to which the UE 110 is currently connected. For example, the processor 220, and in particular the baseband processor of the UE 110, may search for cells in range and determine whether the cells in range are suitable for the UE 110 to connect to. If it is determined that there is another suitable cell to which the UE 110 can connect, the method 400 may end. However, if it is determined that there are no other suitable cells to which the UE 110 can connect, the method 400 may proceed to 415.

[0032] At 415, the UE 110 may disable the BCCH early read timeout. As discussed above, by disabling the BCCH early read timeout, the UE 110 may improve its MIB and SIB decoding success rate for the cell to which it is currently locked, as there will be more decoding attempts. Additionally, because the UE 110 is currently charging, there is no negative impact on battery drain from the multiple attempts.

[0033] At 420, it is determined whether the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 400 loops to 415 to disable the BCCH early read timeout. If the UE is no longer in the wireless charging state (e.g., the user has removed the UE 110 from the charging station 115), the method 400 proceeds to 425. At 425, the UE 110 may enable the BCCH early read timeout that was disabled at 415.

[0034] Another example of protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state may include disabling Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (“UMTS”) cell avoidance. During normal operations, UMTS cell avoidance may include blocking a cell in the cellular network 125 for a predetermined duration (e.g., a blocking timer). The cell may be blocked if a first value of a first parameter exceeds at least a predetermined threshold. For example, the cell may be blocked if a number of radio resource control (“RRC”) call setup failures exceeds a threshold (e.g., 96 attempts). In another example, the cell may be blocked if the first value of the first parameter exceeds the first threshold and a second value of a second parameter exceeds a second threshold.For example, the cell may be blocked if the number of RRC connection setup failures exceeds 24 and the number of failed Inter-Radio Access Technology (“IRAT”) attempts exceeds 2. In another example, the cell may be blocked if the number of RCC connection setup failures exceeds 24 and the number of Out Of Service (“OOS”) indications exceeds 2. One skilled in the art would understand that the values ​​and parameters described above are only exemplary and that any value or parameter may be used in implementing UMTS cell avoidance. For example, a different threshold may be used depending on the mode(s) the UE 110 implements (e.g., battery / power saving mode).After the lock timer has expired, all locked cells can be placed into a monitoring state in which access to the cells is permitted until the threshold(s) are exceeded again.

[0035] In contrast, when the UE 110 is in the charging state, the UE 110 may disable UMTS cell avoidance so that the cells are not blocked. By disabling UMTS cell avoidance, the UE 110 may increase the probability of regaining service. This is because the UE 110 may repeatedly attempt to connect to a cell or cells whose signals are disrupted by the electromagnetic fields of the charging station 115. In particular, when UMTS cell avoidance is disabled, the cell(s) are not blacklisted.

[0036] Fig. Figure 5 shows a third exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 5 a method 500 for disabling UMTS cell avoidance while the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state.

[0037] At 505, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. If the UE 110 is not in a charging state, the method 500 may end. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the method 500 may proceed to 510.

[0038] At 510, the UE 110 may disable UMTS cell avoidance. For example, the UE 110 may not bar a cell if the cell barring thresholds for that cell are triggered. By disabling UMTS cell avoidance of the UE 110, the UE 110 may increase the probability of returning to service because, for example, RRC connection attempts would not be restricted.

[0039] At 515, it is determined whether the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 500 allows UMTS cell avoidance to be disabled through a loop to 510. If the UE is no longer in the wireless charging state, the method 500 proceeds to 520. At 520, the UE 110 may enable UMTS cell avoidance, which was disabled at 510.

[0040] Another example of protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state may include changing cell connection parameters of the UE 110. That is, the UE 110 may have (default) connection parameters when attempting to establish a connection to a cell. The connection parameters may relate to connection setup errors, link state radio link failures (“RLFs”), SIB decoding errors (mandatory or non-mandatory), etc. If thresholds related to these connection parameters are triggered by a cell, the cell may be blocked (e.g., blacklisted) for a period of time. It should be noted that the terms “blocked” and “blacklisted” may be used interchangeably in this description. In a first example, if the UE 110 has a predetermined number (e.g.,3) experiences consecutive connection setup failures in a cell, the cell may be temporarily locked for a predetermined period of time, such as 300 seconds. After the predetermined period of time (e.g., 300 seconds) expires, the cell may be unlocked, and the UE 110 may be allowed to attempt to establish a connection to the cell again. In a second example, if the UE 110 experiences a predetermined number of connection state RLFs to a cell (e.g., 6) within a first predetermined period of time (e.g., 60 seconds), the cell may be temporarily locked for a second predetermined period of time (e.g., 300 seconds). After the predetermined period of time (e.g., 300 seconds) expires, the cell may be unlocked.In a third example, if the UE 110 fails to decode a SIB, such as a mandatory SIB, or is unable to decode a SIB, such as a non-mandatory SIB, within a number of attempts during a period (e.g., 5 attempts within 60 seconds), the cell may be temporarily locked for a predetermined period of time, such as 30 seconds. After the predetermined period of time (e.g., 30 seconds) expires, the cell may be unlocked. Those skilled in the art would understand that the above values ​​are only exemplary and that any value may be used for any of the parameters discussed above.

[0041] When the UE 110 is in the charging state, the blocking thresholds may be relaxed so that a cell is less likely to be blocked. By changing the threshold described above (e.g., the predetermined time periods, attempts, etc.), the UE 110 may have more opportunities to connect to the cell or maintain connection to the cell. It should be understood that if the changed predetermined amounts of the connection parameters are triggered (e.g., exceeding the threshold), the cell may be blocked for an initial or a modified period of time.

[0042] Fig. Figure 6 shows a fourth exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 6 illustrates a method 600 for changing connection parameters for connecting / maintaining a connection to a cell while the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state.

[0043] At 605, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. If the UE 110 is not in a charging state, the method 600 may end. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the method 600 may proceed to 610.

[0044] At 610, the connection parameters may be changed. In particular, processor 220 may change the threshold values ​​of the connection parameters. As discussed above, connection parameters may include connection setup errors, link state radio link errors ("RLFs"), SIB decoding errors, etc. Those skilled in the art would understand that the above connection parameters are merely exemplary and that any connection parameters related to the connection of UE 110 to a cell may be used.

[0045] In a first example regarding connection failures, the predetermined number of consecutive connection failures may be increased (e.g., from 3 to 5) and / or the predetermined time period may be reduced (e.g., from 300 seconds to 30 seconds). This would allow for more attempts to establish a connection to the cell.

[0046] In a second example, the predetermined number of link state RLFs within the first predetermined period may be increased (e.g., from 6 to 8) and / or the cell lockout period may be reduced for the second predetermined period if the predetermined number of link state RLFs exceeds the first predetermined period (e.g., from 300 seconds to 30 seconds). As such, this would allow the UE 110 to remain in the cell during additional RLFs and / or shorten the cell lockout period.

[0047] In a third example, the number of attempts during the SIB decoding period may be increased or eliminated (e.g., from 300 seconds to 900 seconds). This would give the UE more time to decode the SIBs. Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the above examples are merely exemplary and that any value for any of the parameters discussed above may be used.

[0048] At 615, it is determined whether thresholds of the changed connection parameters are triggered. For example, six consecutive connection failures may have occurred within 28 seconds, thus exceeding the threshold of five consecutive connection failures within 30 seconds. If any of the thresholds are triggered, method 600 may proceed to 620.

[0049] At 620, the cell to which the UE 110 is attempting to establish or maintain a connection is blacklisted. The cell may be blacklisted for a predetermined period of time, a modified period of time, or until the UE 110 exits the charging state.

[0050] After 620 or 615, it is determined in 625 whether the UE 110 is still in the wireless charging state. If the UE is still in the wireless charging state, the method 600 returns to 615, where it may again be determined whether thresholds of the changed connection parameters are triggered. It should be understood that if the predetermined period of time for which a cell is blacklisted expires during the execution of the method 600, but before the UE 110 leaves the charging state, the UE 110 may attempt to establish a connection to the cell again. In this case, the thresholds of that cell may be triggered again in 615, and the cell may be blacklisted again in 620.

[0051] When the UE 110 is no longer in the wireless charging state, the method 600 may proceed to 630. In 630, the UE 110 may remove the cells blacklisted in 615 and reset the modified connection parameters to their default values. By removing the cells from the blacklist when the UE 110 exits the charging state, the UE 110 may quickly regain service or quickly connect to a better RAT / frequency / band / network. This is because the source of interference for the blacklisted cells (e.g., the electromagnetic field of the charging station 115) has been eliminated. Furthermore, by resetting the modified connection parameters to their default values, the power saving procedures of the UE 110 prior to entering the charging state are restored.

[0052] Another example of protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state may include enabling fast mode measurement. This may allow the UE 110 to make reselections at a faster speed. In particular, in a normal measurement mode (e.g., when not in the charging state), the UE 110 may only search and measure a subset of frequencies during a discontinuous reception (“DRX”) cycle. During fast mode, the UE 110 may measure all enabled frequencies. This may increase the probability of finding an acceptable frequency when the UE 110 experiences interference.

[0053] Fig. Figure 7 shows a fifth exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 7 illustrates a method 700 for enabling protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 enters the charging state and disabling protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 exits the charging state. It should be noted that while the method 700 refers to the protocol stack mitigation for enabling fast mode measurement, the method 700 may be used for any of the protocol stack mitigations described herein.

[0054] At 705, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. If the UE 110 is not in a charging state, the method 700 may end. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the method 700 may proceed to 710.

[0055] At 710, the UE 110 may enable protocol stack mitigation. For example, as discussed above, protocol stack mitigation may include enabling a fast mode measurement. Thus, at 710, the fast mode measurement may be enabled. Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any protocol stack mitigation may be enabled at 710.

[0056] At 715, it is determined whether the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 700 allows the protocol stack mitigation to be enabled through a loop to 710. If the UE is no longer in the wireless charging state, the method 700 proceeds to 720. At 720, the UE 110 may disable the protocol stack mitigation enabled at 710. Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any protocol stack mitigation may be enabled at 720, as described herein.

[0057] Another example of protocol stack mitigation that may be enabled at 710 may include adjusting an access barring factor. Access barring may be a feature used by the cellular network 125 to reduce congestion by barring a UE or class of UEs from the network and / or from some aspect of the network (e.g., a specific frequency band). In an exemplary embodiment, the UE 110 may be assigned a network-configured access barring factor. If a random number generated by the UE 110 is less than the access barring factor, access is permitted. If the number is higher, access to the network 125 may be barred by the UE 110 for a predetermined period of time. As such, at 710, the UE 110 may add a bias factor to the access barring factor to generate a loading barring factor.For example, if the access blocking factor assigned to the network is 45 and the bias factor is 20, the charging blocking factor of the UE 110 may be 65, which reduces the likelihood that the UE 110 will be blocked from the network 125. Those skilled in the art would understand that the above values ​​are only exemplary and would further understand how to adapt other implementations of access blocking factors to reduce the likelihood that the UE 110 will be blocked from the network 125. In another exemplary embodiment, at 710, the UE 110 may eliminate the access blocking factor entirely.

[0058] Another example of protocol stack interference mitigation that may be enabled at 710 may include removing a RAT, cell, or frequency from a deprioritized list. In an exemplary embodiment, the UE 110 or the network 125 may deprioritize at least one of the RATs, cells, or frequencies that has the lowest chance that the UE 110 can lock onto. By deprioritizing the RATs / cells / frequencies during normal operations, the UE 110 maintains a selection of other RATs, cells, and frequencies that have a high chance that the UE 110 can lock onto. However, at 710, the UE 110 may remove all RATs / cells / frequencies that have been deprioritized. This may increase the likelihood that the UE 110 can lock onto a RAT / cell / frequency while in the wireless charging state.One skilled in the art would understand that, at 720, the UE 110 may de-prioritize any RAT / cell / frequency that was de-prioritized prior to the UE 110 entering the wireless charging state. One skilled in the art would also understand that de-prioritizing the RAT / cell / frequency may involve running a timer while the RAT / cell / frequency is de-prioritized. As such, at 710, the timer(s) may be suspended during the period the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. Furthermore, at 720, after the UE exits the wireless charging state, the timer(s) may be unsuspended.

[0059] Another example of protocol stack interference mitigation that may be enabled in 710 may include reducing cell selection criteria if no suitable cells are found. Cell selection criteria may include thresholds such as a minimum required receiver level of a cell (e.g., Q rxlevmin ) and a minimum required quality level of a cell (e.g. Q qualmin ). Due to the fault of the charging station 115, the threshold values ​​Q rxlevmin and Q qualmin be reduced to allow lower requirements and a greater probability of connecting to a cell. Thus, in 710, the UE 110 can set the thresholds Q rxlevmin and Q qualmin reduce.

[0060] Another example of protocol stack mitigation that may be enabled at 710 may include initiating a fingerprinting function. In particular, the UE 110 may fingerprint a cellular environment from a previous situation when the UE 110 was in the wireless charging state. For example, the UE 110 may fingerprint the previous situation as having lost connection to the LTE network and choosing the 1x network based on a certain set of metrics (e.g., signal level and cell identity). As such, at 710, the UE 110 may use the fingerprint of the previous situation when the UE 110 was in the wireless charging state to immediately connect to the 1x network. This may reduce or eliminate a period of time during which the UE 110 is without service.

[0061] Another example of protocol stack interference mitigation that may be enabled at 710 may include increasing a no-service ("OSS") recovery scan rate. By increasing the OOS recovery scan rate, there may be an increased likelihood that the UE 110 will exit OOS. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that at 720, the OOS recovery scan rate may return to the level prior to the UE 110 entering the wireless charging state.

[0062] Another example of protocol stack mitigation that may be enabled at 710 may include changing a lost recovery scan type from a first scan type to a second scan type. In particular, certain scan types may be more effective but require more power (battery life). However, while the UE 110 is charging, power consumption is not an issue. Thus, for example, at 710, the UE 110 may change from the first scan type (e.g., Most Recently Used ("MRU") scan) to the second scan type (e.g., Sector Level Sweep ("SLS") scan). Those skilled in the art would understand that the above scans are only exemplary and that any scan type may be used. At 720, the UE 110 may change back from the second scan to the first scan.

[0063] Another example of protocol stack mitigation that may be enabled at 710 may include increasing a degraded service recovery scan rate. In particular, the UE 110 may select a degraded service cell when no normal service cells are available. This may be due to variations in cellular coverage from one operator to another. Once the UE 110 has locked onto the degraded service cell, the UE 110 may frequently perform background scans for the normal service cells. For example, at 710, by increasing the degraded service recovery scan rate, there may be an increased probability that the UE 110 will find normal service.

[0064] Fig. Figure 8 shows an exemplary method for protocol stack interference mitigation with respect to exiting the load state according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 8 illustrates a method 700 for enabling protocol stack mitigation when the UE 110 exits the charging state, e.g., when the UE 110 is removed from the charging station 115. In the above examples, implementing the mitigations when the UE 110 is in the charging state was described. In contrast, the following mitigations are implemented after the UE 110 has exited the charging state. These types of mitigations are designed to allow the UE 110 to regain mobile service as quickly as possible after exiting the charging state. It should be noted that the operations described above with reference to 630 of the method 600 may also be considered as mitigation implemented after the UE 110 has exited the charging state.

[0065] At 805, it is determined that the UE has entered the wireless charging state. As discussed above, the detection application 230 may make this determination based on any number of factors, including receiving a signal from the inductive charging component 290, determining that the battery 280 is charging without a wired connection, etc.

[0066] At 810, it is determined whether the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 800 remains in the loop by repeating 810. If the UE 110 is no longer in the wireless charging state, the method 800 proceeds to 815.

[0067] At 815, the UE 110 may enable protocol stack mitigation related to exiting the charging state. In a first exemplary embodiment, protocol stack mitigation related to exiting the charging state includes the UE 110 initiating a quick scan. For example, the quick scan may be a Better System Reselection (“BSR”) type scan, which may occur while the UE 110 is in idle mode, or a Better System Force scan, which may suspend active data transmission at a lower RAT. The quick scan may allow the UE 110 to quickly search for and / or connect to a better RAT / frequency / band / network after exiting the charging state. Further, quick scans may include an MRU scan and an SLS scan. The quick scan may be particularly useful in the LTE network.

[0068] In another example, a precondition may be used to trigger the quick scan in 815. In a first example, the quick scan may be triggered when the UE 110 exits the charging state and is in an OOS state. In a second example, the quick scan may be triggered when the UE 110 exits the charging state and the UE 110 is currently locked to a lower priority RAT. One skilled in the art would understand that other conditions may be used to trigger the quick scan when the UE 110 exits the charging state.

[0069] In a second exemplary embodiment, protocol stack interference mitigation related to exiting the charging state may include removing a throttle timer. A throttle timer may be a period of time during which a service request from the UE 110 to the cellular network 125 is blocked. The throttle timer may be implemented as a result of the interference generated by the electromagnetic fields of the wireless charging station 115 while the UE 110 is in charging mode. Alternatively, the throttle timer may be implemented for reasons other than the interference generated by the electromagnetic fields of the wireless charging station 115 while the UE 110 is in charging mode.

[0070] Returning to 815, if the throttle timer is implemented as a result of the interference generated by the electromagnetic fields of the wireless charging station 115, the UE 110 may, upon exiting the charging state, remove any of the throttle timers implemented due to the interference generated by the electromagnetic fields of the wireless charging station 115. This allows the UE 110 to generate service requests upon exiting the charging state, thus allowing the UE 110 to quickly regain service.

[0071] In a third exemplary embodiment, protocol stack interference mitigation related to leaving the charging state includes triggering a High Priority Public Land Mobile Network (“HP-PLMN”) scan. An HP-PLMN timer is a timer that controls how frequently the UE 110 attempts to establish a connection to an HP-PLMN. While the UE 110 is in the charging station, it may have migrated to a lower priority PLMN due to the interference caused by the charging station 115 and fluctuations in cellular coverage from one operator to another. At 815, the UE 110 may trigger an HP-PLMN timer expiration event, thus immediately initiating an HP-PLMN search.

[0072] Fig. 9 shows an exemplary embodiment for implementing multiple protocol stack mitigations related to exiting the load state, according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 9 a method 900 for determining which of the quick scans described above should be performed.

[0073] At 905, it is determined that the UE has entered the wireless charging state. At 910, it is determined whether the UE 110 remains in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 900 remains in a loop by repeating 910. If the UE 110 is no longer in the wireless charging state, the method 900 proceeds to 915.

[0074] At 915, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the OOS state. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the OOS state, the method 900 proceeds to 920. At 920, the UE 110 may search for one or more recently used cells or one or more recently used frequencies. In particular, the UE 110 may perform the MRU or SLS scan.

[0075] At 925, it is determined whether a signal is detected from the most recently used cell(s) or on the most recently used frequency(s). If it is determined that the signal has been detected, the method 900 proceeds to 930, where the UE 110 may enter idle mode and the method 900 may end. If it is determined that the signal has not been detected, the UE 110 may proceed to 935, where the UE 110 may remain in the OOS state and the method 900 may end.

[0076] Returning to 915, if it is determined that the UE 110 is not in the OOS state, the method 900 proceeds to 940. At 940, it is determined whether the UE 110 has locked onto the most preferred RAT. If it is determined that the UE 110 has locked onto the most preferred RAT, the method 900 may proceed to 930, where the UE 110 may enter idle mode and the method 900 may end. If it is determined that the UE 110 has not locked onto the most preferred RAT, the method 900 may proceed to 945.

[0077] At 945, the UE 110 may perform a BSR scan, as described above. At 950, it is determined whether a higher priority RAT is located. If it is determined that the higher priority RAT has been located, the method 900 proceeds to 955, where the UE 110 may lock onto the higher priority RAT and the method 900 may end. If it is determined that the higher priority RAT has not been located, the UE 110 may proceed to 960, where the UE 110 may lock onto the current RAT and the method 900 may end. It is understood that the method 900 is merely an exemplary embodiment for illustrative purposes. Mitigations implemented in a baseband / physical layer of the UE

[0078] Provided below are exemplary interference mitigations that may be implemented in at least one of the software, hardware, or firmware of the baseband processor and / or a physical layer of the baseband processor of the UE 110. Hereinafter, exemplary interference mitigations are referred to as baseband interference mitigations. Similar to the protocol stack interference mitigations, the baseband interference mitigations may enable the UE 110 to maintain service with the cellular base station 120 and attempt to reconnect to the cellular base station 120 as soon as possible when the UE 110 exits the wireless charging state.

[0079] A first example of baseband interference mitigation when the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state may include any of the protocol stack mitigations discussed above. This may include, but is not limited to, disabling motion sensor-based searching, disabling BCCH early read timeout, disabling UMTS cell avoidance, changing the cell link parameters of the UE 110, and enabling fast mode measurement.

[0080] Fig. Figure 10 shows an exemplary method for baseband interference mitigation according to various embodiments described herein. In particular, Fig. 10 illustrates a method 1000 for enabling baseband interference mitigation when the UE 110 enters the charging state and disabling baseband interference mitigation when the UE 110 exits the charging state. Note that the method 1000 is described with reference to the baseband interference mitigations discussed above in the first example of baseband interference mitigations, as well as additional baseband interference mitigations discussed below.

[0081] In 1005, it is determined whether the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state. If the UE 110 is not in a charging state, the method 1000 may end. If it is determined that the UE 110 is in the wireless charging state, the method 1000 may proceed to 1010.

[0082] At 1010, the UE 110 may enable baseband interference mitigation. For example, as discussed above, baseband interference mitigation may include disabling motion sensor-based searching, disabling BCCH early read timeout, disabling UMTS cell avoidance, changing the cell connection parameters of the UE 110, and enabling fast mode measurements. Thus, at 1010, one or a combination of these, or other baseband interference mitigations, may be enabled.

[0083] In 1015, it is determined whether the UE 110 is still in the wireless charging state. If so, the method 1000 allows the baseband interference mitigations to be enabled through a loop to 1010. If the UE is no longer in the wireless charging state, the method 1000 proceeds to 1020. In 1020, the UE 110 may disable the baseband interference mitigation(s) enabled in 1010. Again, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that any baseband interference mitigation may be disabled in 1020.

[0084] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include enabling one or more additional diversity antennas. For example, the baseband processor of processor 220 may enable one or more additional diversity antennas on which the UE 110 may enter a higher-order diversity mode. By enabling one or more diversity antennas, the UE 110 may achieve improved cell search, system information decoding, and page reception performance while in the charging state.

[0085] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include changing a time duration of an on-duration of a discontinuous reception ("DRX") or a connected discontinuous reception ("C-DRX"), which may be used interchangeably with the DRX cycle included herein. In particular, when the UE 110 is connected to the cellular network 125, the UE 110 may utilize the DRX cycle to conserve power by using an active processing mode only during the on-duration of the DRX cycle. Outside of the on-duration, the UE 110 may be in an off-duration or sleep mode. In 1010, the UE 110 may change the duration of the DRX cycle by entering the on duration earlier than scheduled, extending a period of the on duration, or eliminating the off duration, which would cause the UE 110 to remain continuously in the on duration.One skilled in the art would understand that any combination of the above examples can be implemented by the UE 110. By changing the duration of the on-duration, the UE 110 can mitigate interference with the charging station 115 by extending the duration of its active mode during which transmission and reception are possible. Again, since the UE 110 is in a charging state, maintaining battery power is not an immediate concern.

[0086] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include increasing the number of physical broadcast channel (“PBCH”) attempts. The PBCH is typically an extremely reliable channel, usually using a coding rate of less than 1 / 48. Furthermore, the PBCH may be used to broadcast parameters essential for initial access to the network. In 1010, the UE 110 may increase the number of PBCH attempts to improve performance during a cell reselection process and decoding of system information.

[0087] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include changing the threshold(s) related to a panic search and measurement state of the UE 110. The panic search and measurement state of the UE 110 may include more frequent searching / measuring of a neighboring cell. In 1010, by changing the threshold(s) for the panic search and measurement state of the UE 110, the UE 110 increases a probability of finding a suitable neighboring cell. Thus, the UE 110 may experience improved performance in cell reselection and decoding of system information.

[0088] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include extending a search measurement window or a quick measurement. By extending the search measurement window or the quick measurement, the UE may increase a probability of finding or maintaining a connection to the mobile radio base station 120 and thus experience improved performance in cell reselection and decoding of system information.

[0089] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include increasing a cap on a maximum transmit power of the UE 110. By increasing the cap on the maximum transmit power of the UE 110, the UE 110 may experience improved connection establishment and connection retention while in the charging state.

[0090] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled at 1010 may include increasing a duration of a search length. By increasing the duration of the search length, the UE 110 may search for a neighboring cell, a new frequency, or a new band for a longer period of time. At 1010, the UE 110 may extend the search length to increase a probability of locating the neighboring cell, the new frequency, or the new band. For example, the processor 220 may increase the search length from 6 ms to 21 ms. Those skilled in the art would understand that the above search lengths are only exemplary, and each search length duration may be increased to any new search length duration.

[0091] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include disabling a micro-sleep feature or disabling a physical downlink control channel only (“PDCCH-only”) mode. The micro-sleep feature may utilize a small sleep interval within a PDCCH-only subframe during which the UE 110 does not receive signals to extend the runtime of the battery 280 of the UE 110. By disabling the micro-sleep feature, the UE 110 can receive signals at times when it would otherwise be asleep. In this way, the call holding capability and decoding performance of the UE 110 are maintained while the UE 110 is in the charging state.

[0092] The PDCCH is a physical channel that carries downlink control information (“DCI”). The DCI may include information about which resources the UE 110 should use for uplink transmissions. PDCCH-Only is a power-saving feature that may be implemented by the UE. In particular, under certain conditions, the UE 110 may prematurely power down its transceiver 210 (or receiver and / or transmitter) to extend battery life. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that PDCCH-Only may have several variations, such as, but not limited to, early PDCCH, PDCCH-Only, etc. Early PDCCH may include the UE 110 powering down its transceiver 210 if no downlink allocation is detected in the PDCCH. PDCCH-Only may include the UE 110 powering down its transceiver after a PDCCH is received, regardless of the allocation information in the PDCCH.Similar to the micro-sleep feature, this can improve call hold capability and decoding performance while the UE 110 is charging.

[0093] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled in 1010 may include adjusting one or more thresholds for triggering enhanced receiver functions. The enhanced receiver may refer to the UE 110 enabling enhanced techniques. The enhanced techniques may include cell reference symbol interference cancellation (“CRS-IC”) and / or cell reference symbol interference mitigation (“CRS-IM”) in a multi-cell scenario to achieve better downlink performance. The CRS-IC and / or CRS-IM may be enabled during high signal interference, such as when a signal-to-interference ratio (“SIR”) is low. Thus, for example, when the SIR, which may be measured in decibels (“dBs”), falls below a threshold, the CRS-IC and / or CRS-IM may be enabled.The interference corrected by the CRS-IC and / or CRS-IM may relate to interfering signals from a cell to which the UE 110 has not locked. In 1010, the processor 220 adjusts the threshold(s) above which the CRS-IC and / or CRS-IM should be activated. In particular, the processor 220 may lower a first threshold for activating the CRS-IC (e.g., increase the SIR required to activate the CRS-IC from 2 dB to 6 dB), increase a second threshold for activating the CRS-IM (e.g., increase the SIR required for the CRS-IM from 5 dB to 10 dB), or both. By increasing the thresholds, the UE 110 may activate the CRS-IC and / or CRS-IM when the interference is not as severe as normally required. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that there may be situations where only one of the CRS-IC or the CRS-IM can operate at a time. In this respect, the thresholds of the CRS-IC and CRS-IM in 1010 can be adjusted accordingly.It should also be noted that the ARx threshold may include at least one of one or more conflicting interference thresholds and / or one or more non-conflicting interference thresholds, and that the above values ​​for the thresholds are exemplary and for illustrative purposes only.

[0094] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled at 1010 may include disabling various cellular features intended to limit the consumption of the battery 280. For example, the various cellular features may include limiting scheduling requests, limiting uplink Hybrid Automatic Repeat (“HARQ”) requests, or limiting Channel Quality Index (“CQI”) takeovers. By limiting these various cellular features, the UE 110 is able to extend battery life. At 1010, the processor 220 may change or disable the limiting of the various cellular features. This would allow the UE 110 to send a greater number of scheduling requests, HARQ requests, and perform more CQI takeovers.

[0095] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled at 1010 may include disabling optimization of a downlink carrier aggregation (“DL-CA”) small cell measurement. The DL-CA small cell measurement optimization may be used to extend the runtime of the battery 280 since the UE 110 does not continuously adjust the DL-CA small cell measurement. In contrast, power consumption while the UE 110 is charging is not a concern. Thus, at 1010, the processor 220 may disable the DL-CA small cell measurement optimization so that the UE 110 can perform as many DL-CA small cell measurements as necessary.

[0096] Another example of baseband interference mitigation that may be enabled at 1010 may include disabling frame early termination (“FET”) for a paging channel (“PCH”) and / or a paging indicator channel (“PICH”). The FET of the PCH and / or PICH may serve to extend the runtime of the battery 280 by terminating frames from the PCH and / or PICH earlier than required. Thus, at 1010, the processor 220 may disable the FET for the PCH and / or PICH so that more frames are received by the UE 110. REDUCTIONS THROUGH USER INTERVENTION

[0097] As discussed above, the degree of RF interference may depend on a variety of factors, one of which is the relative orientation of the UE 110 with respect to the wireless charging station 115. In particular, when the user places the UE 110 in a first position and / or orientation, the electromagnetic field generated by the wireless charging station 115 may cause more or less interference than when the UE 110 is placed in a second position / orientation on the wireless charging station 115. This may be because the antenna of the UE 110 may be in a position where the electromagnetic field is stronger than in another position on the charging station 115, the electromagnetic wave is parallel and / or perpendicular to the antenna, etc. In this respect, Fig.11 a method 1100 for warning the user of the UE 110 when the interference from the charging station 115 is greater than expected, to allow the user to take corrective action (e.g., repositioning the UE 110 on the charging station 115).

[0098] In 1105, it is determined that the UE has entered the wireless charging state. As discussed above, the detection application 230 may make this determination based on any number of factors.

[0099] In 1110, the UE 110 may determine whether the RF impairment is above a predetermined threshold. In particular, the UE 110 may initiate a process for determining the RF impairment. In an exemplary embodiment, the process may include at least one of determining the current serving cell measurement, determining the neighboring cell measurement (e.g., intra-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT, etc.), determining a current barging threshold on one or more serving cells, and determining a current barging state of the UE 110 (e.g., whether reselection is pending, whether reselection is expiring, whether in an OOS state, etc.). Once the RF impairment is determined, the RF impairment may be compared to an RF impairment threshold.

[0100] It is understood that the UE 110 may enable certain features when initiating the RF impairment determination process. For example, the UE 110 may trigger a faster measurement rate. This would allow the UE 110 to determine the RF impairment more quickly. Furthermore, it is understood that after the RF impairment is determined, certain features may be disabled. For example, once the RF impairment is determined, the UE 110 may disable the faster measurement rate and return to a normal measurement rate.

[0101] If the RF impairment does not exceed the RF impairment threshold, method 1100 may end. If the RF impairment exceeds the RF impairment threshold, method 1100 may proceed to 1115.

[0102] At 1115, the UE 110 may enable interference mitigation. In an exemplary embodiment, the interference mitigation may be any of the interference mitigations discussed above (e.g., protocol stack interference mitigations, baseband interference mitigations, etc.). It should be understood that implementing step 1115 may be optional, and that the method 1100 may skip directly from 1110 to 1120.

[0103] In 1120, the UE 110 may warn the user to take a corrective action. In a first exemplary embodiment, the processor 220 may instruct the display device 240 to display a visual message to the user instructing the user to take a corrective action. In a second exemplary embodiment, the processor 220 may generate an audible warning, such as an alarm tone or a verbal message, via a speaker of the UE 110 that a corrective action must be taken. This corrective action may be that the user moves the UE 110 to a different position or orientation on the charging station 115. After warning the user, the method 1100 may proceed to 1110, where it may be determined whether the user's corrective action has reduced the RF impairment. That is,the method 1100 may again determine whether the RF impairment is above the predetermined threshold and act accordingly.

[0104] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary embodiments described above may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configurations, or combinations thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86-based platform with a compatible operating system, a Windows operating system, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device with an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. In another example, the exemplary embodiments of the method described above may be implemented as a program including lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium and executable on a processor or microprocessor when compiled.

[0105] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

[1] Method comprising: in the case of user equipment (“UE”); Determining when the UE enters a wireless charging state; activating interference mitigation when the UE enters the wireless charging state, wherein the interference mitigation comprises changing at least one parameter of an operation associated with a layer of a protocol stack for a cellular connection to the UE; Determining when the UE leaves the wireless charging state; and Disabling interference mitigation when the UE exits the wireless charging state, wherein disabling interference mitigation comprises restoring the at least one parameter from a wireless charging state value to a wireless non-charging state value. [2] The method of claim 1, wherein enabling interference mitigation is further based on whether the UE is connected to a cellular network. [3] The method of claim 1, wherein the interference mitigation comprises changing one of a threshold of a link parameter, an access barring factor, a cell selection criterion, an Out Of Service (“DOS”) recovery scan rate, a time duration of an on-duration of a Discontinuous Reception (“DRX”) cycle, a number of Physical Broadcasting Channel (“PBCH”) decoding attempts, a threshold of a panic search and measurement state, a search and measurement window duration, an upper limit of a maximum transmit power limit of the UE, a search length duration, or a threshold that triggers extended receiver functions. [4] The method of claim 3, wherein the connection parameter comprises one of a connection setup error, a link state radio link failure (“RLF”), or a SIB decoding error. [5] The method of claim 1, wherein the interference mitigation comprises one of disabling motion sensor-based scanning, disabling Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) early read timeout, disabling UMTS cell avoidance, disabling a microsleep function, disabling Physical Downlink Control Channel Only (PDCCH-Only) mode, disabling scheduling request limiting, disabling Channel Quality Index (CQI) takeover limiting, disabling Hybrid Automatic Repeat (HARQ) limiting, disabling Downlink Carrier Aggregation (DL-CA) small cell measurement optimization,deactivating a frame early termination (“FET”) for a paging channel (“PCH”) or a paging indicator channel (“PICH”) or activating one or more additional diversity antennas. [6] The method of claim 1, wherein the interference mitigation comprises performing one of a quick scan, a quick mode measurement, or a fingerprint function. [7] The method of claim 1, further comprising: Enable further interference mitigation when the UE exits the wireless charging state. [8] The method of claim 7, wherein the further interference mitigation includes one of a quick scan, a removal of a throttling timer, or a High Priority Public Land Mobile Network (“HP-PLMN”) scan. [9] The method of claim 1, wherein interference mitigation comprises removing one of a radio access technology (“RAT”), a cell, or a frequency from a deprioritized list. [10] User Equipment (“UE”), comprising: a transceiver configured to connect to a base station of a network; and a processor configured to: Determining when the UE enters a wireless charging state; and activating interference mitigation when it is determined that the UE has entered the wireless charging state, wherein the interference mitigation comprises changing at least one parameter of an operation associated with a layer of a protocol stack for a cellular connection; Determining when the UE leaves the wireless charging state; and Disabling interference mitigation when it is determined that the UE has exited the wireless charging state, wherein disabling interference mitigation comprises restoring the at least one parameter from a wireless charging state value to a wireless non-charging state value. [11] The UE of claim 10, wherein when the UE exits the wireless charging state, the processor is further configured to enable further interference mitigation, the further mitigation including one of a quick scan, a removal of a throttle timer, or a High Priority Public Land Mobile Network (“HP-PLMN”) scan. [12] The UE of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to enable interference mitigation depending on whether the UE is connected to a cellular network. [13] The UE of claim 10, wherein the interference mitigation comprises changing one of a threshold of a link parameter, an access barring factor, a cell selection criterion, an Out Of Service (“DOS”) recovery scan rate, a time duration of an on-duration of a Discontinuous Reception (“DRX”) cycle, a number of Physical Broadcasting Channel (“PBCH”) decoding attempts, a threshold of a panic search and measurement state, a search and measurement window duration, an upper limit of a maximum transmit power limit of the UE, a search length duration, or a threshold that triggers extended receiver functions. [14] The UE of claim 10, wherein the interference mitigation comprises one of disabling motion sensor-based searching, disabling a Broadcast Control Channel (“BCCH”) early read timeout, disabling UMTS cell avoidance, disabling a micro-sleep function, disabling a Physical Downlink Control Channel Only (“PDCCH-Only”) mode, disabling limiting of scheduling requests, disabling limiting of Channel Quality Index (“CQI”) takeover, disabling limiting of uplink Hybrid Automatic Repeat (“HARQ”) requests, disabling optimization of a Downlink Carrier Aggregation (“DL-CA”) small cell measurement,deactivating a frame early termination (“FET”) for a paging channel (“PCH”) or a paging indicator channel (“PICH”) or activating one or more additional diversity antennas. [15] The UE of claim 10, wherein the interference mitigation comprises performing one of a quick scan, a quick mode measurement, or a fingerprint function. [16] The UE of claim 10, wherein interference mitigation comprises removing one of a Radio Access Technology (“RAT”), a cell, or a frequency from a deprioritized list. [17] UE according to claim 10, further comprising: an inductive charging component, wherein the inductive charging component indicates to the processor that the UE is in the wireless charging state. [18] Integrated circuit comprising: circuit logic for determining when a user equipment (“UE”) enters a wireless charging state, wherein interference mitigation comprises changing at least one parameter of an operation associated with a layer of a protocol stack for a cellular connection; circuit logic for activating interference mitigation when it is determined that the UE has entered the wireless charging state; logic for determining when the UE exits the wireless charging state; and logic for disabling interference mitigation when it is determined that the UE has exited the wireless charging state, wherein disabling interference mitigation comprises restoring the at least one parameter from a wireless charging state value to a wireless non-charging state value.

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