Wi-Fi Punctured Sub-channels for Bluetooth Coexistence
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of wireless devices, which require wider Wi-Fi channels and operate in overlapping frequency bands, poses a challenge for achieving effective coexistence between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth/BLE technologies, leading to interference issues.
Innovation Solution
A wireless device with co-located Wi-Fi and Bluetooth/BLE radios uses punctured sub-channels to eliminate interference, where the Wi-Fi radio identifies and communicates punctured sub-channels to the Bluetooth/BLE radio, allowing it to transmit and receive using adaptive frequency hopping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If Wi-Fi channels are widened to 160 MHz or 320 MHz, then Wi-Fi data throughput is improved, but interference with co-located Bluetooth/BLE radios increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wide Wi-Fi channel (160 MHz or 320 MHz) into multiple 20 MHz sub-channels. By identifying and puncturing specific sub-channels where Bluetooth/BLE signals are detected, the system allows Wi-Fi to utilize the full wide channel bandwidth while creating protected frequency gaps for Bluetooth/BLE operation, thus resolving the interference issue while maintaining high throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by creating frequency-specific punctured sub-channels within the wide Wi-Fi channel. Instead of uniformly reducing Wi-Fi bandwidth, only specific 20 MHz sub-channels are punctured where Bluetooth/BLE interference occurs, allowing Wi-Fi to maintain high throughput on non-punctured sub-channels while providing localized protection for Bluetooth/BLE frequencies.
2Device complexity
If Wi-Fi and Bluetooth/BLE radios are co-located in the same device, then device integration is improved, but radio interference cannot be eliminated by physical separation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the interference issue by transitioning from spatial separation (physical dimension) to frequency separation (spectral dimension). By implementing punctured sub-channels in the frequency domain, the system allows co-located radios to operate simultaneously without interference, maintaining device integration while eliminating the need for physical separation.
3Reliability
If punctured sub-channels are identified and communicated to Bluetooth/BLE radio, then interference elimination is improved, but protocol compatibility requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves protocol compatibility by making the punctured sub-channel mechanism universal across different Wi-Fi standards (802.11ax, 802.11be) and applicable to multiple Bluetooth/BLE scenarios. The same puncturing approach works for both intra-BSS and inter-BSS interference, and can be applied regardless of whether the device is an AP or STA, thus maintaining reliability while managing complexity through a unified solution.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for co-existence in a wireless device including a co-located wireless local area network (WLAN) radio and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) radio. Generally, the method includes identifying a number of punctured sub-channels in channels used in a WLAN to communicate with the WLAN radio, and instructing the WPAN radio over which of the sub-channels to transmit and receive to reduce interference between the WPAN radio and communications between the WLAN radio and access point or station in the WLAN. The WLAN radio can be a Wi-Fi radio using an IEEE 802.11 protocol supporting preamble puncturing using a Punctured Sub-channel Bitmap in a physical layer protocol data unit, and the WPAN radio can be an unlicensed, short-range Bluetooth, Bluetooth low-energy, narrow-band or ultra-wideband radio. The WLAN radio can learn the punctured sub-channels from an access point, or request the sub-channels be punctured.