Puncturing request signaling for facilitating bt-ble co-existence with wi-fi

Abstract

To provide a system and method for co-existence in a co-located device including a wireless local area network (WLAN) radio and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) radio.SOLUTION: The method includes using a WPAN side of the co-located device, notifying a WLAN side of latency-sensitive traffic (LST) for the WPAN radio. The WLAN side then identifies some of punctured sub-channels in a plurality of channels used in a basic service set (BSS) to communicate with the WLAN radio, and instructs the WPAN side over which of the punctured sub-channels the LST should be transmitted using the WPAN radio. The WPAN radio then transmits the LST over some of punctured sub-channels to eliminate interference between the WPAN radio and concurrent communications with the WLAN radio in the BSS.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to coexistence among multiple wireless technologies operating in the same frequency band.

Background Art

[0002] An increasing number of wireless devices, such as notebook computers, tablets, personal or mobile multimedia players, VoIP phones, and multi-band mobile phones, connect via both Wi-Fi and technologies such as Bluetooth (BT) and Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) that connect in the same 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands used by wireless local area networks (WLANs). Since the WLAN radio and the BT / BLE radio are co-located within the same device, coexistence of these two technologies cannot be achieved simply by creating a distance between the radios.

[0003] The coexistence problem is further exacerbated by the latest generation of devices that require wider Wi-Fi channels. For example, the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wi-Fi 6 can occupy a maximum 160 MHz channel, while the standard for Wi-Fi 7 is a maximum 320 MHz channel, and even larger bandwidth channels are assumed for Wi-Fi 8 and later. Additionally, in the new IEEE 802.11 standard for Wi-Fi 6 (6 GHz), rules regarding contention based protocols (CBP) such as listen before talk (LBT) are no longer mandatory. Also, adding 5 / 6 GHz operation to the BT / BLE standard is being considered.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a new and improved coexistence scheme for systems and methods between pairs of mainstream wireless technologies, more specifically, between the Wi-Fi communication protocol and wireless technologies in license-free applications such as BT or BLE that use radio pulses in the overlapping spectrum of frequencies in the 2.4 - 6 GHz range. It is further desirable that this system and method be fully compatible with the existing IEEE802.11 protocol.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A co-located device including a first wireless local area network (WLAN) radio and a second license-free short-range wireless personal area network (WPAN) radio, and a method for operating them to avoid or eliminate interference between the WLAN radio and the WPAN radio and provide coexistence are disclosed. Generally, the method begins by using the WPAN side of the co-located device to notify the WLAN side of latency sensitive traffic (LST) for the WPAN radio. The WLAN side then identifies some punctured sub-channels within a plurality of channels used in a basic service set (BSS) for communicating with the WLAN radio and instructs the WPAN side as to which of those some punctured sub-channels to use for transmission using the WPAN radio. The WPAN radio then transmits the LST via those some punctured sub-channels to eliminate interference between the WPAN radio and simultaneous communication with the WLAN radio within the BSS. The WLAN radio can identify the punctured sub-channels by sending a request to an access point (AP) within the BSS to identify those some punctured sub-channels using a punctured sub-channel bitmap within a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used in the BSS.

[0006] The punctured sub-channel bitmap is included in an association response, re-association response, or probe response transmitted in response to the request, or in a beacon transmitted from the AP to the co-located device. Alternatively, the punctured sub-channel bitmap can also be observed or received in a PPDU transmitted from the AP to another station (STA) within the BSS.

[0007] In some embodiments, the WLAN side of the co-located device can specify, in a request, some of the subchannels to be punctured, or one or more of the number or bandwidth of the subchannels required for the LST.

[0008] The co-located device generally includes, in addition to a WLAN radio and a WPAN radio, a microcontroller operable to execute machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the WLAN radio to identify some of the punctured subchannels within the channels used by the WLAN or BSS for communicating with the WLAN radio and transmit them to the WPAN radio, and cause the WPAN radio to transmit and receive using adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) via those some of the punctured subchannels along with other unused subchannels, thereby eliminating interference between the WPAN radio and the WLAN radio.

[0009] The WLAN radio can include a Wi-Fi radio operable to use an IEEE 802.11 packet-based protocol that supports preamble puncturing, where some of the punctured subchannels are identified using a punctured subchannel bitmap within the PPDU used in the WLAN. The WPAN radio can include a Bluetooth (BT) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio. The Wi-Fi radio can receive a PPDU having a punctured subchannel bitmap by observing or "sniffing" the PPDU in a direct transmission from the WLAN AP or in a transmission from the WLAN AP to another WLAN STA within the WLAN. Alternatively, or in addition, the machine-readable instructions can further include instructions to cause the WPAN radio to notify the Wi-Fi radio of latency-sensitive communications (LST) and cause the Wi-Fi radio to transmit a request to the WLAN AP that includes a PPDU specifying the number of subchannels to be punctured.

[0010] Further features and advantages of embodiments of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein. Such embodiments are presented herein for illustrative purposes only. Further embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the teachings contained herein.

[0011] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings. In the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts. Further, the accompanying drawings incorporated herein and forming a part of this specification illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the present invention and enable those skilled in the art to make and use the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

[0013] A wireless device including a co-located wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver or radio and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) transceiver or radio operating in an overlapping band, and a method for operating them to provide coexistence between the WLAN radio and the WPAN radio are provided. Generally, the WLAN radio is a Wi-Fi radio compatible with one or more of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless standards or protocols, while the WPAN radio is an unlicensed short-range radio operating using a wireless technology such as Bluetooth (BT), Bluetooth low energy (BLE), or narrow-band (NB) or ultra-wideband (UWB) technology using the IEEE 802.15 standard or protocol.

[0014] Put simply, the method involves leveraging the puncturing mechanism introduced in the latest WLAN protocols such as IEEE802.11ax or Wi-Fi6, and 802.11be or Wi-Fi7 and later, for simultaneous communication in a wireless device that includes a WLAN radio and a co-located WPAN radio such as a BT or BLE radio to enable coexistence between WLAN and license-free short-range BT or BLE communication. The WLAN radio identifies some punctured sub-channels within the WLAN channel used in a WLAN or basic service set (BSS) for communicating with the WLAN radio, and instructs the WPAN radio to communicate only via these punctured sub-channels, thereby eliminating interference between communication between WLAN and the license-free BT or BLE band. The WPAN radio uses adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) within the range of punctured 20MHz sub-channels or some continuous or discontinuous sub-channel ranges, usually in a much wider WLAN channel, such as 80MHz, 160MHz, or 320MHz. The WLAN radio can operate as either a fixed or infrastructure access point (AP), a mobile AP, or a non-AP client or station (STA). In some embodiments, the WLAN radio in a wireless device, hereinafter the co-located device, can initiate a method for coexistence by requesting that an infrastructure or mobile AP puncture some sub-channels to facilitate WPAN communication. This request can be prompted by the WPAN radio notifying the WLAN radio of latency-sensitive communication or traffic (LST) before the Wi-Fi radio requests that some sub-channels be punctured.

[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 10, next, a co-located device including a co-located WLAN radio and a WPAN radio operating in overlapping bands, and a method for operating the co-located device to provide coexistence between the WLAN radio and the WPAN radio will be described. References to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" in the description mean that the particular features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. When the phrase "in one embodiment" is used in various places in this specification, it does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. As used herein, the term "coupled" can include both directly electrically connecting two or more components or elements and indirectly connecting them through one or more intervening components.

[0016] FIGS. 1A to 1D illustrate various embodiments of a co-located device 102 each including a BT or BLE radio 104 and a WLAN or Wi-Fi radio 106 which is one of several Wi-Fi personality radios capable of communicating with other Wi-Fi radios within a BSS using the 802.11 protocol.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 1A, in a first embodiment, the co-located device 102 includes a BT / BLE radio 104 and a Wi-Fi radio 106, and the Wi-Fi radio 106 is configured or operable as an infrastructure Wi-Fi AP that enables other Wi-Fi devices such as stations (STAs) and mobile access points (mobile APs) within a BSS to wirelessly connect to each other and to the Wi-Fi AP.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1B, in the second embodiment, the co-located device 102 includes a Wi-Fi radio 106 configured as, or operable as, a non-AP Wi-Fi personality or Wi-Fi STA, such as a notebook or desktop computer, a tablet, a personal digital assistant, or a Wi-Fi phone.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1C, in the third embodiment, the co-located device 102 includes a Wi-Fi radio 106 configured as, or operable as, a Wi-Fi hotspot or mobile AP, such as in a vehicle, that enables other Wi-Fi STAs within the BSS to communicate with each other and with another wired or wireless network, such as the Internet, via a separate wireless technology such as cellular radio.

[0020] Finally, referring to FIG. 1D, in the fourth embodiment, the co-located device 102 can include a Wi-Fi radio 106 configured as, or operable as, both a mobile AP and a STA. That is, in this embodiment, the Wi-Fi radio 106 can operate as both a mobile AP for a separate or second STA within the BSS and a STA that couples the second STA to an infrastructure Wi-Fi AP.

[0021] Figures 2A and 2B are schematic block diagrams illustrating various device architectures for co-located devices according to the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 2A, in a first embodiment, the co-located device 202 includes a WLAN or Wi-Fi transceiver or radio (Wi-Fi radio 204) having one or more first antennas 206 for transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) in the 2.4, 5, and / or 6 GHz bands. The Wi-Fi radio 204 is coupled to a first microcontroller unit (MCU#1 208) configured to control the operation of the Wi-Fi radio to communicate with other Wi-Fi STAs or APs via 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz channels using one or more IEEE 802.11 protocols. The co-located device 202 further includes a Bluetooth (BT) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transceiver or radio (BT / BLE radio 210) having one or more second antennas 212 for transmitting (Tx) and receiving (Rx) and coupled to a second microcontroller unit (MCU#2 214) configured to control the operation of the BT / BLE radio to communicate with nearby BT or BLE devices. In the illustrated embodiment, the co-located device 202 further includes a local Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) client 216 and a local TCP server 218 for communicating data and wireless states between the Wi-Fi radio 204 and the BT / BLE radio 210. The co-located device 202 can include a single integrated circuit (IC) in which the Wi-Fi radio 204, the BT / BLE radio 210, the MCU#1 208 and the MCU#2 214, and the local TCP client 216 and TCP server 218 are integrally formed on a single die or chip. Alternatively, the co-located device 202 can be implemented as several separate circuits or ICs incorporated in a multi-chip package or a common chassis.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 2B, in the second embodiment, the co-located device 202 is coupled to a Wi-Fi radio 204 and a BT / BLE radio 210, and includes a single common microcontroller unit or host (common MCU / host 220) configured to control the operations of both the Wi-Fi radio and the BT / BLE radio and communicate data therebetween. Similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, the co-located device 202 shown in FIG. 2B can be implemented as a single IC, or as several separate circuits or ICs incorporated into a single multi-chip package or chassis.

[0023] The Wi-Fi radio 204 and the BT / BLE radio 210 are severely restricted in operating in the 2.4 GHz band. In the past when the Wi-Fi radio used smaller 20 MHz channels, coexistence between the Wi-Fi radio and the BT / BLE radio was achieved by making the BT / BLE radio operate by skipping channels where the Wi-Fi radio was operating, or by the MCU#1 208 via the MCU#2 214, or by the common MCU / host 220 using Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) to inform the BT / BLE radio that transmission is possible or permitted. Generally, the TDM mechanism utilized contention-based protocols (CBP) or rules such as the Listen Before Talk (LBT) protocol supported by previous IEEE802.11 protocols. However, the latest IEEE802.11 protocols, such as 802.11ax or Wi-Fi6 and 802.11be or Wi-Fi7, no longer require such rules. As described above, the latest generations of both the Wi-Fi radio and the BT / BLE radio operate on Wi-Fi channels of 80 MHz, 160 MHz, or 320 MHz in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and / or 6 GHz bands. Additionally, note that future standards for BLE / BT, narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), and New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) may not include the LBT mechanism.

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first basic service set (first BSS 302) and a second BSS (second BSS 304) having overlapping basic service areas (BSAs). A BSS means a wireless network topology including a group of wireless devices, and generally includes a Wi-Fi access point (AP) and several Wi-Fi clients or stations (STAs) that share physical layer medium access characteristics (e.g., radio frequency, modulation method, security settings) so that they are wirelessly network-connected. Although not shown in this figure, a Wi-Fi AP is generally further configured or operable to enable other Wi-Fi devices within the BSS to connect to a wired network such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet directly through the Wi-Fi AP or through a wired or wireless connection to a router.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 3, the first BSS 302 includes a first Wi-Fi AP (first AP 306) and several associated first Wi-Fi STAs (first STAs 308), and the second BSS 304 includes a second Wi-Fi AP (second AP 310) and several associated second Wi-Fi STAs (second STAs 312). In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, the first BSS 302 and the second BSS 304 each include several co-located devices 314 that wirelessly communicate with a WLAN or Wi-Fi transceiver or radio and several separate BT or BLE devices 316 within the overlapping BSA, such as license-free short-range transceivers or radios such as Bluetooth (BT) or Bluetooth low energy (BLE) radios.

[0026] Since the basic service areas of the first BSS 302 and the second BSS 304 physically overlap, if the radio frequency or the spectrum or range of channels used by the first AP 306 and the second AP 310 also overlap, there may be interference between at least some of the Wi-Fi STAs 308, 312 associated with each Wi-Fi AP. To prevent or mitigate this interference, the latest generations of the 802.11 standard, such as 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6 and 802.11be or Wi-Fi 7, introduce static preamble puncturing to enable a Wi-Fi AP to transmit and receive through the "punctured" part of the channel when some sub-channels within the channel are being used by another device. For example, the first AP 306 can either statically puncture or disallow transmissions through sub-channels within a specific channel used by the second AP 310 to enable coexistence between simultaneous transmissions in the first BSS 302 and the second BSS 304. Information related to static preamble puncturing may be included in or carried by the U-SIG and / or EHT-SIG fields of the physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) in the beacon transmitted from the Wi-Fi AP, or may be carried in response to probes, association responses, and re-association responses from the Wi-Fi STA.

[0027] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary format of a PPDU 400 that includes a Universal Signaling (U-SIG402) field containing information related to preamble puncturing and an Extremely High Throughput Signaling (EHT-SIG404) field that accommodates signaling data specific to IEEE 802.11be. Referring to Figure 4, the PPDU generally further includes a legacy short training field (L-STF406), a legacy long training field (L-LTF408), a legacy signal field (L-SIG410), a legacy repeated signal field (RL-SIG412), an EHT-LTF field 414, a data field 416, and a packet extension (PE418), all as defined or described in the IEEE 802.11be specification.

[0028] As described above, information related to preamble puncturing can be included within the U-SIG field 402 and / or the EHT-SIG field 404 of the PPDU 400. FIGS. 5A through 5C are schematic block diagrams illustrating exemplary formats of an EHT operation element 500 included in an exemplary EHT-SIG field 404 of the PPDU 400. Referring to FIG. 5A, the EHT operation element 500 generally includes an element identifier (ID) field 502, a length field 504, an EHT operation parameter field 506, a basic EHT-MCS and Nss set field 508, an EHT operation information field 510, and optionally an element ID extension field 512. The element ID field 502, and the element ID extension field 512 if present, identify the EHT operation element 500. The length field 504 indicates the total length of the EHT operation element 500 as the number of 8-bit octets, and the basic EHT-MCS and Nss set field 508 indicates the EHT-MCS supported by all EHT APs and STAs within the BSS. Generally, all fields within the EHT operation element 500 are 1 octet in length, except for the basic EHT-MCS and Nss set field 508, which is 4 octets, and the EHT operation information field 510, which can include 0, 3, or 5 octets depending on the number of subfields present.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 5B, the EHT operation parameter field 506 has or includes a plurality of 1-bit or 2-bit subfields. These subfields include a 1-bit EHT operation information present field 514 that, when set, indicates the presence of EHT information, a punctured subchannel bitmap present field 516 that, when set, indicates the presence of a punctured subchannel bitmap, an EHT default PE duration subfield 518, a group address designated bufferable unit (Bufferable Unit (BU)) indication limit subfield 520, a 2-bit group address designated BU indication index subfield 522, and a 1-bit or 2-bit reserved subfield 524.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 5C, the EHT operation information field 510 accommodates a subfield of 1 octet or 2 octets, including a control subfield 526 having information regarding the channel width, one or more channel center frequency segment (CCFS) subfields 528, and a 2-octet or 16-bit punctured subchannel bitmap 530 subfield for identifying the subchannels to be punctured. The punctured subchannel bitmap 530 is a 16-bit number where the least significant bit corresponds to the lowest frequency 20 MHz subchannel within the BSS channel bandwidth, and each successive bit corresponds to the next higher frequency 20 MHz subchannel. Bits within the bitmap that are within the BSS bandwidth are set to 1 (otherwise 0) to indicate that the corresponding 20 MHz subchannel is to be punctured. Any bit outside the BSS bandwidth within the bitmap is reserved.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a table illustrating various embodiments in which Wi-Fi having channels with bandwidths of 80 megahertz (MHz), 160 MHz, and 320 MHz can be punctured with sub-channels of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz. In the table of FIG. 6, "1" represents an unpunctured sub-channel and "x" represents a punctured sub-channel. Referring to FIG. 6, it can be seen that in the current 802.11 specification, puncturing of sub-channels smaller than 20 MHz is not permitted. It can further be seen that the standardized static puncturing patterns that can be punctured can include continuous or discontinuous 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz sub-channels. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the field value and the channel mask / puncturing pattern. For example, in the case of a Wi-Fi radio operating in an 80 MHz bandwidth, the PPDU can have a punctured pattern of [1 x 1 1] for a field value of 2. Thus, co-located devices within the BSS operate to cause an associated BT / BLE radio to communicate using adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) before and after the second 20 MHz sub-channel within the 80 MHz channel.

[0032] FIG. 7 shows another table illustrating various embodiments in which Wi-Fi having a 320 MHz bandwidth channel can be simultaneously punctured by continuous or discontinuous 40 MHz and 80 MHz sub-channels. For example, in the case of a Wi-Fi radio operating in a 320 MHz bandwidth, the PPDU can have a punctured pattern of [x x 1 1 x 1 1 1] for a field value of 15, in which case co-located devices operate to cause a BT / BLE radio to communicate using AFH within the fifth 20 MHz sub-channel at the first or lowest frequency 20 MHz sub-channel.

[0033] Next, a method for operating a co-located device including a WLAN or Wi-Fi radio and a WPAN or BT / BLE radio according to the first embodiment to minimize or eliminate interference will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A through 9C. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the method, and FIGS. 9A through 9C schematically illustrate punctured subchannels within a Wi-Fi channel according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 8, the method begins with the MCU or common MCU / host controlling the Wi-Fi radio on the Wi-Fi side of the co-located device to identify the subchannels that are punctured or to be punctured (step 802). The co-located device can include any of the Wi-Fi types or personalities described above with reference to FIG. 1, including a fixed or infrastructure AP, a mobile AP or client, or an STA. The identification can be done by the Wi-Fi side configuring or selecting the subchannels to be punctured and communicating a request to the AP, or by knowing which subchannels are already punctured. Generally, the identification can be achieved using the punctured subchannel bitmap within the physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) that is communicated (transmitted or received) within the BSS in which the co-located device operates. For example, if the co-located device is a Wi-Fi STA, the punctured subchannel bitmap can include a bitmap of statically punctured subchannels that are punctured by the AP or mobile AP based on a previously detected clear channel assessment (CCA) or received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the subchannels and are either directly addressed / transmitted to the Wi-Fi side of the co-located device or observed or "sniffed" by the co-located device in a PPDU transmitted between the AP and another Wi-Fi AP or STA within the BSS.

[0035] Next, the Wi-Fi side of the co-located device notifies the MCU that controls the BT / BLE radio of the BT / BLE side of the co-located device or the common MCU / host as to which static punctured subchannels the BT / BLE radio can communicate through without interference (step 804). As shown previously in FIG. 2A, this information regarding the static punctured subchannels can be communicated via a local TCP client 216 and a TCP server 218 within the co-located device 202 that includes separate first and second MCUs 208, 214 for controlling the Wi-Fi radio 204 and the BT / BLE radio 210, respectively. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, the information regarding the static punctured subchannels can also be communicated internally in the common MCU / host 220.

[0036] Finally, the BT / BLE radio operates to transmit and receive via some of the static punctured subchannels simultaneously with Wi-Fi transmission via other Wi-Fi channels including non-punctured subchannels (step 806). Preferably, the BT / BLE radio operates to transmit and receive by rapidly changing the carrier frequency of the BT / BLE communication to fall within the static punctured subchannels using an adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) technique (step 808).

[0037] It will be appreciated that those some static punctured subchannels can include both consecutive or adjacent static punctured subchannels and non-consecutive static punctured subchannels. FIG. 9A schematically illustrates a 160 MHz Wi-Fi channel 902 that includes two consecutive 20 MHz punctured subchannels 904. Similarly, FIG. 9B illustrates a 320 MHz Wi-Fi channel 906 that includes four consecutive 20 MHz punctured subchannels 908, and FIG. 9C illustrates a 320 MHz Wi-Fi channel 906 that includes four consecutive 20 MHz punctured subchannels 908 that are separated from or non-consecutive with two consecutive 20 MHz punctured subchannels 904.

[0038] Alternatively, in another embodiment illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 10, latency-sensitive traffic (LST) on the BT / BLE side of the co-located device can trigger the Wi-Fi side to punch some sub-channels within the Wi-Fi bandwidth in order to enable simultaneous BT / BLE communication via the punched sub-channels. Also in this case, similar to the method described with respect to FIG. 8, the co-located device can include any of the Wi-Fi types or personalities described with reference to FIG. 1, including a fixed or infrastructure AP, a mobile AP, or a client or STA.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 10, in this embodiment, the method begins with the BT / BLE side of the co-located device notifying the Wi-Fi side of the co-located device that it is necessary to transmit the LST (step 1002). This information regarding the LST can also be transmitted via the local TCP client 216 and TCP server 218 within the co-located device 202 including separate first and second MCUs 208, 214 as shown in FIG. 2A, or can be transmitted internally in the common MCU / host 220 as shown in FIG. 2B. Next, the Wi-Fi side of the co-located device identifies the punctured subchannels or appropriately punctures some subchannels (step 1004). Generally, when the co-located device is a mobile AP or STA, puncturing the subchannels includes preparing a PPDU including a punctured subchannel bitmap along with a request asking for the subchannels to be punctured and transmitting it to the AP within the associated BSS or another mobile AP. Next, the Wi-Fi side of the co-located device notifies the MCU or the common MCU / host that controls the BT / BLE radio of the BT / BLE side of the co-located device as to which punctured subchannels the BT / BLE radio can communicate without interference (step 1006). Finally, the BT / BLE radio operates to transmit and receive via some static punctured subchannels simultaneously with Wi-Fi transmission via other Wi-Fi channels including non-punctured subchannels (step 1008). Preferably, the BT / BLE radio operates to transmit and receive by rapidly changing the carrier frequency of the BT / BLE communication to fall within the punctured subchannels using the adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) technique. Similar to the embodiment described above with respect to FIG. 8, the requested punctured subchannels can include both continuous and discontinuous subchannels having a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C.

[0040] Figure 11, according to yet another embodiment, illustrates a method of operating an infrastructure or mobile AP to request or negotiate with an infrastructure or mobile AP to create a margin for latency-sensitive traffic (LST) on the BT / BLE side of a co-located device that includes a WLAN or Wi-Fi STA co-located with a BT / BLE radio, using standardized over-the-air signaling to provide it according to the IEEE 802.11BE standard, by puncturing continuous or discontinuous sub-channels. Referring to Figure 11, the method begins by using the WPAN side to notify the WLAN side of latency-sensitive traffic (LST) for the WPAN radio (step 1102). As shown in Figure 2A, this information regarding LST can also be communicated via a local TCP client 216 and a TCP server 218 within the co-located device 202 that includes separate first and second MCUs 208, 214, or, as shown in Figure 2B, can be communicated internally at a common microcontroller / host 220. Next, using the WLAN side, some punctured sub-channels within a plurality of channels used to communicate with the WLAN radio in a basic service set (BSS) are identified (step 1104).

[0041] When the WLAN radio is a Wi-Fi radio operable to use an IEEE 802.11 packet-based protocol that supports preamble puncturing such as 802.11be, the WLAN side can identify the punctured subchannels by sending a request to the AP to identify those punctured subchannels using the punctured subchannel bitmap within the PPDU used in the BSS. Generally, the punctured subchannel bitmap is included in the association response, re-association response, or probe response sent in response to the request, or in the beacon sent from the AP to the co-located device. Alternatively, the punctured subchannel bitmap can also be observed or received in the PPDU sent from the AP to another STA within the BSS. In another embodiment, the request to the AP can specify some subchannels to be punctured, the bandwidth of the LST, or identify the subchannels to be punctured by the AP.

[0042] Next, the WLAN side instructs the WPAN side as to which of those punctured subchannels to use for transmission using the WPAN radio (step 1106). Again, this information regarding the LST can be communicated via the local TCP client 216 and TCP server 218 within the co-located device 202 including separate first and second MCUs 208, 214, or can be communicated internally at the common microcontroller / host 220. Finally, the LST is transmitted using the WPAN radio via those punctured subchannels to eliminate interference with simultaneous communication between the WPAN radio and the WLAN radio within the BSS (step 1108). Preferably, the LST is communicated using adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) in the punctured subchannels.

[0043] Finally, the wireless devices and methods of the present disclosure have been described in detail using several punctured subchannels having a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, and each of the WLAN channels has a bandwidth of 80, 160, or 320 MHz, but it will be understood that the wireless devices and methods of the present disclosure will also operate with WLAN channels having a bandwidth greater than 320 MHz and / or punctured subchannels having a bandwidth less than 20 MHz.

[0044] Thus, a wireless device including a co-located wireless local area network (WLAN) radio and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) radio, and a method for operating them to provide coexistence between the WLAN radio and the WPAN radio are disclosed. Embodiments of the present invention have been described above with the aid of functional block diagrams and schematic block diagrams that illustrate the implementation of specified functions and their relationships. The boundaries of these functional components are arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of explanation. Alternative boundaries can be defined as long as the specified functions and their relationships are properly implemented.

[0045] The foregoing description of specific embodiments sufficiently reveals the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying knowledge within the scope of the technology in the art, readily modify and / or adapt such specific embodiments for various applications without undue experimentation and without departing from the general concept of the invention.

[0046] It should be understood that the detailed description section, rather than the summary and abstract sections of the invention, is intended to be used for interpreting the claims. The summary and abstract sections of the invention may describe one or more, but not all, exemplary embodiments contemplated by the inventor(s), and thus are not intended to limit the invention and the appended claims in any way.

[0047] The width and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. A method for operating an adjoining device including a wireless local area network (WLAN) side having a WLAN radio and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) side having a WPAN radio, the method comprising: using the WPAN side to notify the WLAN side of reservation of latency sensitive traffic (LST) for the WPAN radio; identifying, using the WLAN side, a number of punctured sub-channels within a number of channels used for WLAN communications with the WLAN radio in a basic service set (BSS); instructing the WPAN side over which of the number of punctured subchannels to transmit using the WPAN radio; communicating the LST over at least some of the number of punctured subchannels using the WPAN radio to reduce interference between the WPAN radio and WLAN communications within the BSS; The method includes:

2. the WLAN radio is a Wi-Fi radio operable to use an IEEE 802.11 packet-based protocol that supports preamble puncturing; the WPAN radio is a short-range unlicensed Bluetooth (BT), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Narrowband (NB) or Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio operable to communicate by adaptive frequency hopping in the punctured subchannel; The method of claim 1.

3. identifying the number of punctured subchannels includes negotiating with an access point (AP) in the BSS using the Wi-Fi radio to identify the number of punctured subchannels using a punctured subchannel bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used by the BSS. The method of claim 2.

4. The negotiation with the AP includes one or more of a number of subchannels to be punctured, a band for the LST, or identifies one or more specific subchannels to be punctured. The method according to claim 3.

5. the punctured subchannel bitmap is included in an association response, a reassociation response, or a probe response sent by the AP to the adjacent device in response to the negotiation; The method according to claim 3.

6. identifying the number of punctured subchannels includes receiving, using the Wi-Fi radio, a beacon transmitted from an access point (AP) in the BSS to the co-located device, the beacon including a punctured subchannel bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU); The method of claim 2.

7. identifying the number of punctured subchannels includes observing, using the Wi-Fi radio, a punctured subchannel bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted from an access point (AP) in the BSS to a station (STA) in the BSS; The method of claim 2.

8. each of the number of punctured subchannels having a minimum bandwidth of 20 MHz, each of the plurality of channels having a bandwidth of 80, 160 or 320 MHz, and the number of punctured subchannels including adjacent subchannels for simultaneously providing punctured subchannels having bandwidths of 40, 80 or 120 MHz. The method of claim 1.

9. a wireless local area network (WLAN) side having a WLAN radio; a wireless personal area network (WPAN) side having a WPAN radio; a microcontroller operable to execute machine-readable instructions; A co-located device comprising: The machine-readable instructions, when executed by the microcontroller, having the WPAN side notify the WLAN side of latency sensitive traffic (LST) for the WPAN radio; having the WLAN side identify and communicate to the WPAN side a number of punctured subchannels within a number of channels used to communicate with the WLAN radio in a basic service set (BSS); causing the WPAN radio to transmit and receive using adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) over the several punctured subchannels to eliminate interference between the WPAN radio and simultaneous communication with the WLAN radio in the BSS; Adjacent devices.

10. the WLAN radio is a Wi-Fi radio operable to use an IEEE 802.11 packet-based protocol that supports preamble puncturing; the WPAN radio is a short-range unlicensed Bluetooth (BT) or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio operable to communicate using Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) on the punctured subchannel; The co-location device according to claim 9.

11. The machine-readable instructions include instructions for causing the WLAN side to identify the number of punctured subchannels by sending, using the Wi-Fi radio, a request to an access point (AP) in the BSS to identify the number of punctured subchannels using a punctured subchannel bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used in the BSS. The co-location device according to claim 10.

12. The request to the AP specifies one or more of a number of subchannels to be punctured or a band for the LST. The co-location device according to claim 11.

13. the punctured subchannel bitmap is included in an association response, a reassociation response, or a probe response sent by the AP to the co-located device in response to the request; The co-location device according to claim 11.

14. The punctured subchannel bitmap is included in a beacon transmitted from the AP to the co-located device in the BSS. The co-location device according to claim 11.

15. the punctured subchannel bitmap is included in a PPDU transmitted from the AP to a station (STA) in the BSS and observed using the Wi-Fi radio; The co-location device according to claim 11.

16. 1. A method for operating an adjoining device including a Wi-Fi side having a Wi-Fi radio and a Bluetooth (BT) side having a BT radio, the method comprising: using the BT side to inform the Wi-Fi side of latency sensitive traffic (LST) for the BT radio; identifying, using the Wi-Fi side, a number of punctured subchannels within a number of channels used to communicate with the Wi-Fi radio in a basic service set (BSS); instructing the BT side over which of the number of punctured sub-channels to transmit using the BT radio; transmitting the LST over the several punctured subchannels using adaptive frequency hopping (AFH) using the BT radio to eliminate interference between the BT radio and concurrent communication between the Wi-Fi radio and an access point (AP) in the BSS; The method includes:

17. the Wi-Fi radio is operable to use an IEEE 802.11 packet-based protocol that supports preamble puncturing, and identifying the number of punctured subchannels includes sending, using the Wi-Fi radio, a request to the AP to identify the number of punctured subchannels using a punctured subchannel bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) used in the BSS.

17. The method of claim 16.

18. The request to the AP specifies one or more of a number of subchannels to be punctured or a band for the LST.

20. The method of claim 17.

19. the punctured subchannel bitmap is included in an association response, a reassociation response, or a probe response sent by the AP to the co-located device in response to the request; 20. The method of claim 17.

20. identifying the number of punctured subchannels includes observing, using the Wi-Fi radio, a punctured subchannel bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted from the AP to a station (STA) in the BSS; 20. The method of claim 17.

Images