Advance notification of transmit opportunities on a shared-communications channel
View Patent ↗A technique is disclosed that enables both an IEEE 802.11 transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver to be employed in a single wireless telecommunication station (e.g., a device supporting a wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, etc.) without interfering on each other. In particular, the illustrative embodiment enables standard “off-the-shelf” IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth transceivers to work in a coordinated fashion in a single telecommunications terminal. In the illustrative embodiment, an IEEE 802.11 transceiver that uses a shared-communications channel notifies a Bluetooth transceiver that a transmit opportunity exists and that the Bluetooth transceiver has permission to use the shared-communications channel. The technique disclosed is also applicable to communications protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, at a transceiver, a beacon frame wherein the beacon frame comprises a beacon interval and wherein the transceiver communicates in accordance with at least a first communications protocol using a shared-communications channel;
determining a transmit opportunity on the shared-communications channel wherein the transmit opportunity is based on a time at which the beacon frame is received and on the beacon interval; and
sending a notification of the transmit opportunity in accordance with a second communications protocol using the shared-communications channel.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising powering down the transceiver after determining the transmit opportunity.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending a notification that the transmit opportunity is at an end.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the transceiver remains powered on after sending the notification of the transmit opportunity.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising muting a second transceiver after determining the transmit opportunity, wherein the second transceiver communicates in accordance with the first communications protocol using the shared-communications channel.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmit opportunity is based on at least one request to transmit.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: periodically receiving the at least one request to transmit.
8. A method comprising:
receiving at a transceiver a first beacon frame wherein the transceiver communicates in accordance with a first communications protocol using a shared-communications channel;
determining a transmit opportunity on the shared-communications channel;
sending a notification of the transmit opportunity in accordance with a second communications protocol using the shared-communications channel; and
powering down the transceiver based on a time remaining before receiving a second beacon frame.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first beacon frame comprises a beacon interval and wherein the transmit opportunity is based on a reception time of the first beacon frame and the beacon interval.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the powering down is based on a time taken by the transceiver to recover from leaving a power down state.
11. The method of claim 8 further comprising sending a notification that the transmit opportunity is at an end.
12. The method of claim 8 further comprising sending an indication to mute a transceiver in accordance with the first communications protocol.
13. The method of claim 8 wherein the transmit opportunity is based on at least one request to transmit.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising: periodically receiving the at least one request to transmit.
15. An apparatus comprising:
a first air interface subsystem comprising:
a receiver configured for receiving a beacon frame in accordance with a first communications protocol using a shared-communications channel wherein the beacon frame comprises a beacon interval;
a processor configured for determining a transmit opportunity on the shared-communications channel wherein the transmit opportunity is based on the time at which the beacon frame is received and on the beacon interval; and
an interface configured for notifying a second air interface subsystem of the transmit opportunity, wherein the second air interface subsystem comprises a first transmitter, wherein the first transmitter is configured to communicate in accordance with a second communications protocol using the shared-communications channel, and wherein the first air interface subsystem and the second air interface subsystem are both configured to be associated with a same host computer.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a second transmitter wherein the second transmitter is configured to communicate in accordance with the first communications protocol using the shared-communications channel.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein at least one of the receiver and the second transmitter are configured to power down after the processor determines the transmit opportunity.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the receiver and the second transmitter are configured to remain powered on after the interface notifies the second air interface subsystem of the transmit opportunity.
19. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the transmit opportunity is also based on at least one request to transmit received from the second air interface subsystem.
20. An apparatus comprising:
a station comprising:
a first air interface subsystem configured for:
transmitting a first data block in accordance with a first communications protocol using a shared-communications channel,
receiving a beacon frame, and
determining a transmit opportunity on the shared-communications channel wherein the transmit opportunity is based on the beacon frame; and
a second air interface subsystem configured for transmitting a second data block in accordance with a second communications protocol using the shared-communications channel; and
a host computer configured for:
providing the first data block to the first air interface subsystem; and
providing the second data block to the second air interface subsystem.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the beacon frame comprises a beacon interval and wherein the transmit opportunity is also based on a time at which the beacon frame is received and on the beacon interval.