Joint scheduler for integrated Wi-Fi and LTE-U wireless access point

1. A method comprising:

in an access point configured to transmit Wi-Fi transmit frames according to a Wi-Fi protocol and Long-Term Evolution-Unlicensed (LTE-U) transmit frames according to a LTE-U protocol in a shared channel bandwidth that encompasses unlicensed channel bandwidth associated with the LTE-U protocol:

assigning one of multiple, prioritized, Wi-Fi access categories to each Wi-Fi transmit frame based on a type of data in the transmit frame;

assigning to each LTE-U transmit frame a LTE -U access category prioritized relative to the Wi-Fi access categories;

establishing prioritized Wi-Fi transmit queues each corresponding to a respective one of the multiple Wi-Fi access categories and an LTE-U transmit queue corresponding to the LTE-U access category;

receiving LTE-U transmit requests to transmit corresponding ones of the LTE-U transmit frames;

placing a transmit frame indicator representative of each Wi-Fi transmit frame and each LTE-U transmit frame into the transmit queue corresponding to the access category assigned to that transmit frame, wherein the placing includes placing the LTE-U transmit requests in lieu of the corresponding LTE-U transmit frames into the LTE-U transmit queue, and placing the Wi-Fi transmit frames into the Wi-Fi transmit queues corresponding to the Wi-Fi access categories assigned to the Wi-Fi transmit frames; and

scheduling Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit opportunities for the Wi-Fi transmit frames and the LTE-U transmit frames, respectively, in the shared channel bandwidth based on the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories, the scheduling including determining a transmission order of the queued Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frame indicators based on the Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories corresponding to the transmit queues.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising issuing an LTE-U grant message indicating each scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity prior to that scheduled LTE-U opportunity.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising assigning a distinct set of Wi-Fi access category parameters to each of the Wi-Fi access categories, and a set of LTE-U access category parameters to the LTE-U access category, wherein the determining a transmission order comprises determining the transmission order in accordance with Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules, the EDCA rules including:

determining a relative transmission statistical priority for each of the transmit queues based on the set of access category parameters corresponding to that transmit queue; and

determining the transmission order of the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames based on the determined relative transmission statistical priorities.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the assigning Wi-Fi access categories includes assigning one of voice (VO), video (VI), background (BK), and best effort (BE) access categories to each of the Wi-Fi transmit frames; and

the assigning to each LTE-U transmit frame includes assigning the LTE-U access categories prioritized relative to the Wi-Fi VO, VI, BK, and BE access categories; and

the scheduling includes applying Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules across the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories to resolve schedule contention between the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scheduling includes, for each scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity:

constructing a Wi-Fi quiet message commanding Wi-Fi clients of the AP not to transmit in the shared channel bandwidth during the LTE-U transmit opportunity; and

scheduling the Wi-Fi quiet message for transmission to the Wi-Fi clients prior to the scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the scheduling includes setting a duration of each scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity to be greater than a duration of the LTE-U transmit frame that is to be transmitted in the LTE-U transmit opportunity to enable flexible transmission alignment of the LTE-U transmit frame with a periodic LTE-U system transmit frame boundary.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

sending an LTE-U grant message corresponding to each LTE-U scheduled transmit opportunity indicating the LTE-U transmit opportunity.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising dynamically adjusting a priority of the access category assigned to the LTE-U for each LTE-U transmit frame based on a type of data in the LTE-U transmit frame.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

configuring the AP to transmit the Wi-Fi transmit frames in both primary and secondary channels and the LTE-U transmit frames only in an LTE-U bandwidth portion of the secondary channel;

in a first time period, scheduling the Wi-Fi transmit frames for transmission across both the primary and secondary channels; and

in a second time period subsequent to or overlapped with the first period, scheduling for transmission:

additional Wi-Fi transmit frames across both the primary and secondary channels except for in the LTE-U bandwidth portion; and

the LTE-U transmit frames only in the LTE-U bandwidth portion of the second channel concurrent with the transmission of the additional Wi-Fi transmit frames.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

constructing a Wi-Fi quiet message commanding Wi-Fi clients not to transmit in the LTE-U bandwidth portion of the secondary channel during the second time period; and

during a third time period between the first and second time periods, scheduling the quiet message for transmission in the primary channel.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scheduling includes applying Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules across the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories to resolve schedule contention between the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames.

12. An apparatus comprising:

radios to transmit Wi-Fi and Long-Term Evolution-Unlicensed (LTE-U) transmit frames in accordance with Wi-Fi and LTE-U protocols; and

a processor coupled to the network interface unit and the radios, to:

assign one of multiple, prioritized, Wi-Fi access categories to each Wi-Fi transmit frame based on a type of data in the transmit frame;

assign to each LTE-U transmit frame a LTE-U access category prioritized relative to the Wi-Fi access categories;

establish prioritized Wi-Fi transmit queues each corresponding to a respective one of the multiple Wi-Fi access categories and an LTE-U transmit queue corresponding to the LTE-U access category;

receive LTE-U transmit requests to transmit corresponding ones of the LTE-U transmit frames;

place a transmit frame indicator representative of each Wi-Fi transmit frame and each LTE-U transmit frame into the transmit queue corresponding to the access category assigned to that transmit frame by placing the LTE-U transmit requests in lieu of the corresponding LTE-U transmit frames into the LTE-U transmit queue, and placing the Wi-Fi transmit frames into the Wi-Fi transmit queues corresponding to the Wi-Fi access categories assigned to the Wi-Fi transmit frames; and

schedule Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit opportunities for the Wi-Fi transmit frames and the LTE-U transmit frames, respectively, in the shared channel bandwidth based on the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories, wherein, to schedule the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit opportunities, the processor is configured to determine a transmission order of the queued Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frame indicators based on the Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories corresponding to the transmit queues.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to assign a distinct set of Wi-Fi access category parameters to each of the Wi-Fi access categories, and a set of LTE-U access category parameters to the LTE-U access category, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the transmission order in accordance with Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules by:

determining a relative transmission statistical priority for each of the transmit queues based on the set of access category parameters corresponding to that transmit queue; and

determining the transmission order of the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames based on the determined relative transmission statistical priorities.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein:

the processor is configured to assign the Wi-Fi access categories by assigning one of voice (VO), video (VI), background (BK), and best effort (BE) access categories to each of the Wi-Fi transmit frames; and

the processor is configure to assign to each LTE-U transmit frame by assigning the LTE-U access categories prioritized relative to the Wi-Fi VO, VI, BK, and BE access categories; and

the processor is configured to schedule by applying Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules across the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories to resolve schedule contention between the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to schedule by, for each scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity:

constructing a Wi-Fi quiet message commanding Wi-Fi clients of the AP not to transmit in the shared channel bandwidth during the LTE-U transmit opportunity; and

scheduling the Wi-Fi quiet message for transmission to the Wi-Fi clients prior to the scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to schedule by applying Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules across the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories to resolve schedule contention between the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames.

17. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to schedule by setting a duration of each scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity to be greater than a duration of the LTE-U transmit frame that is to be transmitted in the LTE-U transmit opportunity to enable flexible transmission alignment of the LTE-U transmit frame with a periodic LTE-U system transmit frame boundary.

18. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

send an LTE-U grant message corresponding to each LTE-U scheduled transmit opportunity indicating the LTE-U transmit opportunity.

19. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically adjust a priority of the access category assigned to the LTE-U for each LTE-U transmit frame based on a type of data in the LTE-U transmit frame.

20. A tangible computer readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor of an access point configured to transmit Wi-Fi and Long-Term Evolution-Unlicensed (LTE-U) transmit frames in accordance with Wi-Fi and LTE-U protocols, cause the processor to:

assign one of multiple, prioritized, Wi-Fi access categories to each Wi-Fi transmit frame based on a type of data in the transmit frame;

assign to each LTE-U transmit frame a LTE-U access category prioritized relative to the Wi-Fi access categories;

establish prioritized Wi-Fi transmit queues each corresponding to a respective one of the multiple Wi-Fi access categories and an LTE-U transmit queue corresponding to the LTE-U access category;

receive LTE-U transmit requests to transmit corresponding ones of the LTE-U transmit frames:

place a transmit frame indicator representative of each Wi-Fi transmit frame and each LTE-U transmit frame into the transmit queue corresponding to the access category assigned to that transmit frame by placing the LTE-U transmit requests in lieu of the corresponding LTE-U transmit frames into the LTE-U transmit queue, and by placing the Wi-Fi transmit frames into the Wi-Fi transmit queues corresponding to the Wi-Fi access categories assigned to the Wi-Fi transmit frames, and

schedule Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit opportunities for the Wi-Fi transmit frames and the LTE-U transmit frames, respectively, in the shared channel bandwidth based on the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories, wherein the instructions to cause the processor to schedule include instructions to cause the processor to determine a transmission order of the queued Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frame indicators based on the Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories corresponding to the transmit queues.

21. The computer readable storage media of claim 20 , wherein the instructions include instructions to cause the processor to:

assign one of voice (VO), video (VI), background (BK), and best effort (BE) access categories to each of the Wi-Fi transmit frames;

assign the LTE-U access categories prioritized relative to the Wi-Fi VO, VI, BK, and BE access categories; and

schedule by applying Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules across the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories to resolve schedule contention between the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames.

22. The computer readable storage media of claim 20 , wherein the instructions include instructions to cause the processor to schedule by applying Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) rules across the prioritized Wi-Fi and LTE-U access categories to resolve schedule contention between the Wi-Fi and LTE-U transmit frames.

23. The computer readable storage media of claim 20 , wherein the instructions to cause the processor to schedule include instructions to cause the processor to set a duration of each scheduled LTE-U transmit opportunity to be greater than a duration of the LTE-U transmit frame that is to be transmitted in the LTE-U transmit opportunity to enable flexible transmission alignment of the LTE-U transmit frame with a periodic LTE-U system transmit frame boundary.

24. The computer readable storage media of claim 20 , further comprising instructions to cause the processor to:

send an LTE-U grant message corresponding to each LTE-U scheduled transmit opportunity indicating the LTE-U transmit opportunity.

25. The computer readable storage media of claim 20 , further comprising instructions to cause the processor to dynamically adjust a priority of the access category assigned to the LTE-U for each LTE-U transmit frame based on a type of data in the LTE-U transmit frame.