PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9549387-B2
Application Number: US-201514871940-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Techniques for reducing interference in communications using conducted RF links

Abstract:
The present techniques relate to reducing interference on conducted RF links by utilizing country information to determine where an electronic device is located, and using such information to select sub-bands or channels that are not available for wireless transmission to be used for transmission of signals via the conducted RF links. Because the conducted RF links operate on frequency bands that are different from the frequency bands used for wireless communications in a given country, there is less likelihood that wireless communications will create interference in the signals being transmitted via the conducted RF links.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for reducing interference in a conducted radio frequency (RF) link, the method comprising:
 determining country information for an electronic device having a conducted RF link; 
 based on the country information, determining if any RF channels are not available to be radiated for wireless communications; and 
 if an unavailable RF channel exists, using the unavailable RF channel for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link. 
 
     
     
       2. The method, as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein determining country information comprises:
 determining a location of the electronic device using a global positioning system (GPS). 
 
     
     
       3. The method, as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein determining country information comprises:
 determining a location of the electronic device by determining a location of cellular towers with which the electronic device is communicating. 
 
     
     
       4. The method, as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein determining if any RF channels are not available comprises:
 accessing a list of unavailable channels for a country corresponding to a present location of the electronic device. 
 
     
     
       5. The method, as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the list is stored on the electronic device. 
     
     
       6. The method, as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the list is accessible to the electronic device via cloud storage. 
     
     
       7. The method, as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein if a plurality of unavailable RF channels exist, selecting one or more of the unavailable RF channels for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link. 
     
     
       8. The method, as set forth in  claim 7 , wherein unavailable RF channels having a higher offset from any RF channels that are available for radiated RF transmission given a greater weight when selecting one or more of the unavailable RF channels for RF signal generation and transmission over the conducted RF link. 
     
     
       9. An electronic device comprising:
 a wireless communications device having at least one antenna configured for wireless communications and having at least one conducted RF link; 
 data processing circuitry operably coupled to the wireless communications device, wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to: 
 determine a location of the electronic device; 
 based on the location of the electronic device, determine if any RF channels are not available to be radiated for wireless communications via the at least one antenna; and 
 if an unavailable RF channel exists, cause the wireless communications device to use the unavailable RF channel for RF signal generation and transmission over the at least one conducted RF link. 
 
     
     
       10. The electronic device, as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein the data processing circuitry determines the location of the electronic device using a global positioning system (GPS). 
     
     
       11. The electronic device, as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein the data processing circuitry determines the location of the electronic device by determining a location of cellular towers with which the electronic device is communicating. 
     
     
       12. The electronic device, as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein the data processing circuitry comprises a memory storing a table of countries and unavailable RF channels corresponding to each country, and wherein the data processing circuitry determines if any RF channels are not available by accessing the table and list of unavailable channels for a country corresponding to the location of the electronic device. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device, as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein cloud storage stores a table of countries and unavailable RF channels corresponding to each country, where wherein the data processing circuitry determines if any RF channels are not available by accessing the table and list of unavailable channels for a country corresponding to the location of the electronic device. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device, as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein if a plurality of unavailable RF channels exist, the data processing circuitry is configured to cause the wireless communications device to use one or more of the unavailable RF channels for RF signal generation and transmission over the at least one conducted RF link. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device, as set forth in  claim 14 , wherein the data processing circuitry is configured to give unavailable RF channels having a higher offset from any RF channels that are available for radiated RF transmission a greater weight when selecting one or more of the unavailable RF channels for the wireless communications device to use for RF signal generation and transmission over the at least one conducted RF link. 
     
     
       16. A wireless communications device comprising:
 at least one wireless core coupled to at least one antenna and at least one conducted RF link, the at least one wireless core being configured to generate RF signals based on country information such that at least one available RF channel in a given country is used to generate RF signals to the at least one antenna and at least one unavailable RF channel in the given country is used to generate RF signals to the at least one conducted RF link. 
 
     
     
       17. The wireless communications device, as set forth in  claim 16 , comprising a memory storing a table of countries and unavailable RF channels corresponding to each country, and wherein the at least one wireless core determines if any RF channels are not available by accessing the table and list of unavailable channels for a country corresponding to a location of the wireless communications device. 
     
     
       18. The wireless communications device, as set forth in  claim 17 , wherein the at least one wireless core is configured to receive an input corresponding to the location and to access the table and list of unavailable channels for the country corresponding to the location of the wireless communications device.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to techniques for facilitating communication between two electronic devices and, more particularly to, techniques for reducing interference in communications that utilize a conducted radio frequency (RF) link to facilitate communication between electronic devices. 
     This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
     In the marketplace today, there are a wide variety of electronic devices available for a wide variety of purposes. Such devices include cellular telephones, tablet computers, laptop computers, personal computers, televisions, headphones, Bluetooth® enabled watches, printers, and cameras, just to name a few. It is often desirable for one electronic device to communicate with one or more other electronic devices. Traditionally, such connections have been “hard-wired”, such that the devices had to be connected directly to one another by some sort of cabling or by cabling via a network interface. Such cabling is typically terminated by standardized connectors (e.g., USB, RS232, etc.) or by proprietary connectors, e.g. Apple&#39;s Lightning® connector, etc. Hence, not only does the cabling solution require a plethora of unsightly wires, it often requires specific types of cables and/or adaptors because of the wide variety of connectors and signaling schemes. 
     In addition to some of these disadvantages, cables are subject to wear and tear. Their conductors and insulation can be damaged, and their connectors can break, corrode, or become too dirty to conduct signals properly. These problems tend to reduce the ability of the cables to send and receive signals accurately, thus limiting their speed and efficiency. 
     To address many of these concerns, various wireless technologies have become popular for facilitating communication between electronic devices. For example radio frequency (RF) technologies, such as WiFi (IEEE 802.11) and Bluetooth® (IEEE 802.15), are now commonly used by many electronic devices to facilitate communication without the need for cabling. Although such wireless interfaces address some of the problems with cabling, they are subject to their own disadvantages. For example, because wireless signals are transmitted through the air, they can be received by devices other than those intended by the user, thus creating potential security problems. Furthermore, because wireless signals typically need to be amplified more than signals that travel on an actual conductor, electronic devices typically utilize more power when communicating wirelessly, thus reducing battery life. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device including display control circuitry, in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a notebook computer representing an embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a hand-held device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of another hand-held device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of a desktop computer representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of a wearable electronic device representing another embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram illustrating a first electronic device, such as a tablet computer, communicating with a second electronic device, such as a television, via a conducted RF link; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of one example of an I/O interface that includes one or more traditional ports along with one or more wireless links and conducted RF links; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram of an example an RF circuit that facilitates both wireless communication and conducted RF communication; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram illustrating an example of a Bluetooth® time domain slot for wireless and conducted RF communication; 
         FIG. 11  is diagram illustrating an example of a WiFi time domain slot for wireless and conducted RF communication; 
         FIG. 12  is a diagram illustrating an example of a multiple in multiple out (MIMO) time division duplex scheme for the circuit illustrated in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram illustrating an example of a single in single out (SISO) communication scheme for the circuitry illustrated in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 14  and  FIG. 15  depict configuration scenarios for the RF circuit of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 16  is a diagram illustrating WiFi channels allowed in various countries; 
         FIG. 17  is a flow diagram depicting a technique for selecting a channel for a conducted RF link; and 
         FIG. 18  is a flow diagram depicting another technique for selecting a channel for a conducted RF link. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. 
     To address some of the concerns mentioned above, it is proposed to allow electronic devices to communicate with each other using a “conducted RF link.” Such a conducted RF link is essentially a link that utilizes a conductor or cable that facilitates communication between electronic devices, but instead of the cable carrying a traditional signal it carries a modulated RF signal, such as those produced by a typical wireless RF radio like presently available WiFi / Bluetooth® cores. Because the signal is transmitted via a conductor as opposed to an air interface, it does not require the amount of amplification of a wireless signal, thus saving power compared to wireless communication. Furthermore, since the signal is not transmitted over the air, wireless security problems are not an issue. In addition, because a conducted RF link uses only a very simple connector scheme (only one conductor for the signal and another conductor for ground), many problems related to standardized and proprietary connectors are overcome. Indeed, because of the simplicity of the connection scheme, electronic devices can have surface contacts so that one merely places one electronic device on the surface of the other to facilitate the conducted RF connection. 
     As discussed in greater detail below, some of the techniques for providing communications using a conducted RF link also provide wireless communications. Because these communications may take place at the same time over the same frequency band (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz), radiation from the conducted RF link could unintentionally interfere with a wireless communication, or vice versa. Furthermore, radiation from other emitters, such as other electronic devices or neighboring networks that are operating in the same frequency band, could unintentionally interfere with communications taking place via a conducted RF link. However, most countries limit the sub-bands or channels that electronic devices may use to transmit wireless signals. Despite that, the wireless modules used on most electronic devices are capable of operating on all sub-bands or channels. Hence, the present techniques for reducing interference on conducted RF links involve utilizing country information to determine where an electronic device is located, and using such information to select sub-bands that are not available for wireless transmission to be used for transmission of signals via the conducted RF links. Because the conducted RF links operate on frequency bands that are different from the frequency bands used for wireless communications in a given country, there is less likelihood that wireless communications will create interference in the signals being transmitted via the conducted RF links. 
     Another technique for reducing interference on conducted RF links involves a determination of active wireless channels in an electronic device. For example, the device can determine whether there are any active cellular, WiFi, and/or Bluetooth channels. If so, any active channels can be removed from a list of possible channels that can be used for generating the RF signals for the conducted RF link. If any idle channels remain available, one or more may be selected for use for the conducted RF link, and those idle channels having a higher offset from any active channels may be given a greater weight in the selection since they should be less likely to be subject to interference. If not, one of the least crowded active channels may be selected for use for the conducted RF link. 
     With these features in mind, a general description of suitable electronic devices that may use conducted RF links is provided. Turning first to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device  10  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include, among other things, one or more processor(s)  12 , memory  14 , nonvolatile storage  16 , a display  18  input structures  22 , an input/output (I/O) interface  24  and a power source  26 . The various functional blocks shown in  FIG. 1  may include hardware elements (e.g., including circuitry), software elements (e.g., including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium) or a combination of both hardware and software elements. It should be noted that  FIG. 1  is merely one example of a particular implementation and is intended to illustrate the types of components that may be present in electronic device  10 . 
     By way of example, the electronic device  10  may represent a block diagram of the notebook computer depicted in  FIG. 2 , the handheld device depicted in either of  FIG. 3  or  FIG. 4 , the desktop computer depicted in  FIG. 5 , the wearable electronic device depicted in FIG. 6 , or similar devices. It should be noted that the processor(s)  12  and/or other data processing circuitry may be generally referred to herein as “data processing circuitry.” Such data processing circuitry may be embodied wholly or in part as software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof Furthermore, the data processing circuitry may be a single contained processing module or may be incorporated wholly or partially within any of the other elements within the electronic device  10 . 
     In the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 , the processor(s)  12  and/or other data processing circuitry may be operably coupled with the memory  14  and the nonvolatile memory  16  to perform various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor(s)  12  may be stored in any suitable article of manufacture that includes one or more tangible, computer-readable media at least collectively storing the instructions or routines, such as the memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16 . The memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16  may include any suitable articles of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory, hard drives, and optical discs. Also, programs (e.g., e.g., an operating system) encoded on such a computer program product may also include instructions that may be executed by the processor(s)  12  to enable the electronic device  10  to provide various functionalities. 
     In certain embodiments, the display  18  may be a liquid crystal display (e.g., LCD), which may allow users to view images generated on the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, the display  18  may include a touch screen, which may allow users to interact with a user interface of the electronic device  10 . Furthermore, it should be appreciated that, in some embodiments, the display  18  may include one or more light emitting diode (e.g., LED, OLED, AMOLED, etc.) displays, or some combination of LCD panels and LED panels. 
     The input structures  22  of the electronic device  10  may enable a user to interact with the electronic device  10  (e.g., e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). The I/O interface  24  may enable electronic device  10  to interface with various other electronic devices. The I/O interface  24  may include various types of ports that may be connected to cabling. These ports may include standardized and/or proprietary ports, such as USB, RS232, Apple&#39;s Lightening® connector, as well as one or more ports for a conducted RF link. The I/O interface  24  may also include, for example, interfaces for a personal area network (e.g., PAN), such as a Bluetooth network, for a local area network (e.g., LAN) or wireless local area network (e.g., WLAN), such as an 802.11x Wi-Fi network, and/or for a wide area network (e.g., WAN), such as a 3rd generation (e.g., 3G) cellular network, 4th generation (e.g., 4G) cellular network, or long term evolution (e.g., LTE) cellular network. The I/O interface  24  may also include interfaces for, for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks (e.g., WiMAX), mobile broadband Wireless networks (e.g., mobile WiMAX), and so forth. 
     As further illustrated, the electronic device  10  may include a power source  26 . The power source  26  may include any suitable source of power, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (e.g., Li-poly) battery and/or an alternating current (e.g., AC) power converter. The power source  26  may be removable, such as replaceable battery cell. 
     In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  may take the form of a computer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, or other type of electronic device. Such computers may include computers that are generally portable (e.g., such as laptop, notebook, and tablet computers) as well as computers that are generally used in one place (e.g., such as conventional desktop computers, workstations and/or servers). In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  in the form of a computer may be a model of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®, iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc. By way of example, the electronic device  10 , taking the form of a notebook computer  30 A, is illustrated in  FIG. 2  in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The depicted computer  30 A may include housing or enclosure  32 , a display  18 , input structures  22 , and ports of the I/O interface  24 . In one embodiment, the input structures  22  (e.g., such as a keyboard and/or touchpad) may be used to interact with the computer  30 A, such as to start, control, or operate a GUI or applications running on computer  30 A. For example, a keyboard and/or touchpad may allow a user to navigate a user interface or application interface displayed on display  18 . 
       FIG. 3  depicts a front view of a handheld device  30 B, which represents one embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  34  may represent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personal data organizer, a handheld game platform, or any combination of such devices. By way of example, the handheld device  34  may be a model of an iPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     The handheld device  30 B may include an enclosure  36  to protect interior components from physical damage and to shield them from electromagnetic interference. The enclosure  36  may surround the display  18 , which may display indicator icons  39 . The indicator icons  38  may indicate, among other things, a cellular signal strength, Bluetooth connection, and/or battery life. The I/O interfaces  24  may open through the enclosure  36  and may include, for example, an I/O port for a hard wired connection for charging and/or content manipulation using a connector and protocol, such as the Lightning connector provided by Apple Inc., a universal service bus (e.g., USB), one or more conducted RF connectors, or other connectors and protocols. 
     User input structures  40  and  42 , in combination with the display  18 , may allow a user to control the handheld device  30 B. For example, the input structure  40  may activate or deactivate the handheld device  30 B, one of the input structures  42  may navigate user interface to a home screen, a user-configurable application screen, and/or activate a voice-recognition feature of the handheld device  30 B, while other of the input structures  42  may provide volume control, or may toggle between vibrate and ring modes. Additional input structures  42  may also include a microphone may obtain a user&#39;s voice for various voice-related features, and a speaker to allow for audio playback and/or certain phone capabilities. The input structures  42  may also include a headphone input to provide a connection to external speakers and/or headphones. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a front view of another handheld device  30 C, which represents another embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  30 C may represent, for example, a tablet computer, or one of various portable computing devices. By way of example, the handheld device  30 C may be a tablet-sized embodiment of the electronic device  10 , which may be, for example, a model of an iPad® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     Turning to  FIG. 5 , a computer  30 D may represent another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1 . The computer  30 D may be any computer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a notebook computer, but may also be a standalone media player or video gaming machine. By way of example, the computer  30 D may be an iMac®, a MacBook®, or other similar device by Apple Inc. It should be noted that the computer  30 D may also represent a personal computer (e.g., PC) by another manufacturer. A similar enclosure  36  may be provided to protect and enclose internal components of the computer  30 D such as the dual-layer display  18 . In certain embodiments, a user of the computer  30 D may interact with the computer  30 D using various peripheral input devices, such as the keyboard  22  or mouse  38 , which may connect to the computer  30 D via a wired and/or wireless I/O interface  24 . 
     Similarly,  FIG. 6  depicts a wearable electronic device  30 E representing another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG. 1  that may be configured to operate using the techniques described herein. By way of example, the wearable electronic device  30 E, which may include a wristband  43 , may be an Apple Watch® by Apple, Inc. However, in other embodiments, the wearable electronic device  30 E may include any wearable electronic device such as, for example, a wearable exercise monitoring device (e.g., e.g., pedometer, accelerometer, heart rate monitor), or other device by another manufacturer. The display  18  of the wearable electronic device  30 E may include a touch screen (e.g., e.g., LCD, OLED display, active-matrix organic light emitting diode (e.g., AMOLED) display, and so forth), which may allow users to interact with a user interface of the wearable electronic device  30 E. 
     As mentioned previously, it is often desirable for various electronic devices to communicate with one another. In view of the various disadvantages associated with traditional cabling and wireless solutions, many situations may arise where a conducted RF link represents a desirable alternative to facilitate such communication. Indeed in a communication scenario that would benefit from relatively high bandwidth and relatively low power consumption, a conducted RF link represents a good option. One such example is illustrated in  FIG. 7 , where a video that is stored on or is streaming from a tablet computing device  30 C is coupled to a television  50  via a conducted RF link  52 . In this example, a relatively simple cable may be run between the I/O interface  24  of the tablet computer  30 C to an appropriate input of the television  50 , as illustrated. Alternatively, a pad  54  may be coupled to an appropriate input of the television  50  by a conducted RF link  52 A. The pad  54  may include surface contacts  56  that may interface with surface contacts (not shown) on the back of the tablet computer  30 C, or other electronic device, so that the tablet computer  30 C may simply be laid upon the pad  54  such that its surface contacts align with the contacts  56  to facilitate the conducted RF communication. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , to provide various communication options, the I/O interface  24  of the electronic device  10  may include a variety of traditional conductive ports  58  as well as a wireless communications device such as a wireless module  60 . The wireless module  60  may include one or more wireless cores  61  that may be coupled to one or more antennae  62  and one or more conductive RF ports  64 .  FIG. 9  illustrates one example of a wireless module  60 A, which includes a WiFi/Bluetooth® 2×2 core  61  that feeds three antennas  62 A,  62 B and  62 C and one conducted RF port  64 . As can be seen, the WiFi/Bluetooth® core  61  can output a 2.4 GHz signal or Bluetooth® signal from core  0  on line  66 , a 2.4GHz signal from core  1  on line  68 , a 5 GHz signal from core  1  on line  70 , and a 5 GHz signal from core  0  on line  72 . A first switch  74  can deliver the 2.4 GHz WiFi signal or Bluetooth® signal from core  0  through an amplifier  76 A to the antenna  62 A or through a combiner  78  to the conducted RF port  64 . The 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signals from core  1  on lines  68  and  70  may be delivered through a multiplexor  80  to a second switch  82 . The switch  82  may deliver one of these WiFi signals through the combiner  78  to the conducted RF port  64 , or through an amplifier  76 B to the second antenna  62 B. The 5 GHz signal from core  0  on line  72  may be delivered through an amplifier  76 C to the third antenna  62 C. 
     As mentioned previously, one of the advantages of communicating using the conducted RF link is that it may use less power than communicating wirelessly because the RF signal produced by the core  61  may not need to be amplified prior to transmission. Indeed, in some circumstances the RF signal produced by the core  61  may be attenuated using an attenuator  84  prior to transmission via the conducted RF port  64 . For example, a −10 dB attenuator may be used. To provide further power savings, the amplifiers  76 A,  76 B, and/or  76 C may be turned off during periods when signals are being provided via the conducted RF port  64  rather than the respective antennas  62 A,  62 B, and  62 C. 
     The wireless module  60 A can operate in different modes, depending upon the positions of the switches  74  and  82 . For example, the wireless module  60 A can operate in single in, single out (SISO) mode where one link outputs WiFi and the other link outputs Bluetooth®. Alternatively, the wireless module  60  can operate in multiple in, multiple out (MIMO), where both links can output WiFi simultaneously.  FIG. 10  illustrates one example in which the first switch  74  is operating the Bluetooth® link in a time division duplex fashion. As illustrated, the switch  74  may be in position 1 while communicating with a wireless mouse and a wireless headset via the antenna  62 A, and then switch to position 2 to communicate with a conducted RF accessory via the conducted RF port  64 . Similarly,  FIG. 11  illustrates a conducted RF accessory running on a WiFi link, such as an Apple wireless direct link. In this situation, the second switch  82  is in position 2 while communicating with the home WiFi, and then switches to position 1 to communicate with the conducted RF accessory. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 12 , at any given time either the conducted RF Bluetooth® accessory is active or WiFi MIMO is active. Similarly, as illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the WiFi may operate in SISO and the conducted Bluetooth® accessory will operate at the same time. 
     It should be understood that the wireless module  60 A and the manner in which it operates as described with respect to  FIGS. 9-13  above represents merely a single set of examples of how the wireless module  60  may be structured and may operate. Indeed, it should be understood that using a 2×2 core  61 , the wireless module  60  may include up to four antennas  62  and up to four conducted RF ports  64 . 
     It should also be understood that various configuration scenarios may be envisioned, with respect to the wireless module  60 A illustrated in  FIG. 9 , for example, depending upon which radio is active, the coexistence scenario, and the switch positions, and that these different configuration scenarios can affect the bandwidth or throughput of the wireless links and the conducted RF link. Various configuration scenarios are illustrated in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . These configuration scenarios are discussed in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/871,903, filed on Sep. 30, 2015, entitled Techniques for Communicating using Conducted RF Links, by Liu, Sen, Narang, Agboh and Caballero, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes. 
     Finally, it should be understood that the accessories that may be used to communicate with the electronic device via the conducted RF link  64  may include a suitable demodulator that receives the modulated analog RF signal and demodulates it to recover the digital signal that is being transmitted between the devices, as well as a suitable modulator for converting digital data to a modulated analog RF signal so that it can be transmitted back to the device  10  via a conducted RF link. Similarly, although it is not shown, the wireless module  60  may include a demodulator for receiving the RF signal transmitted back to the electronic device  10  from the accessory. 
     It should be appreciated that if the core  61  of the wireless module  60  generates RF signals on the conducted RF port  64  in the same sub-band or channel as RF signals it generates for transmission via the antennae  62 , the RF signals on the wireless links could cause interference with the RF signals on the conducted RF links and vice versa. However, as previously mentioned, most countries allow for wireless transmission only on certain sub-bands or channels, with the other channels remaining unused for wireless transmission. One example is illustrated in  FIG. 16 , which shows the approved channels in Europe, Japan, and the United States for 5 GHz WiFi. Information of this type may be stored in a list or table, for example, of the electronic device  10 , or it could be accessible by the electronic device via cloud storage for example. Indeed, such information may be stored on the wireless module  60 . Hence, to reduce interference of RF signals transmitted via conducted RF links, such information may be used to select sub-bands or channels that are not allowed for wireless transmission in a particular country to be used for RF signals generated and transmitted via the conducted RF links. 
     Referring to  FIG. 17  as well, a co-existence mitigation algorithm  100  is illustrated to facilitate the selection of an available channel to be used for transmission of information via a conducted RF link. When a conducted RF link is discovered (block  102 ), it generates a trigger event that causes the country information or a change of country information to be determined (block  104 ). For example, the location of the electronic device  10  may be determined using any of a variety of techniques, including for example, its GPS location, the location of cellular towers with which it is in communication, etc. If the location or country information for the electronic device  10  cannot be determined (block  106 ), then a default WiFi or Bluetooth® channel is selected (block  108 ). However, if the location or country information for the electronic device  10  is available, it is determined whether any sub-bands or channels exist that are not available to be radiated for wireless transmissions, by accessing the table or cloud storage for example as mentioned above (block  110 ). Indeed, if the table is stored on the wireless module  60 , the wireless module  60  may be configured to receive the location information, from the GPS of the device  10  for example, and determine which RF channels may be used for radiation via the antenna  62  and which RF channels may be used for the conducted RF link  64 . If no such channels are available, then again a default channel is selected (block  108 ). However, if one or more sub-bands or channels are available, one or more of the sub-bands or channels is selected to use for RF signal generation and transmission via the conducted RF links (block  112 ). For example, unavailable channels having a higher offset from any channels that are available for radiated RF transmission may be given a greater weight in the selection since they should be less likely to be subject to interference. 
     As mentioned above, the device  10  may determine whether there are any active cellular, WiFi, and/or Bluetooth channels and, based at least in part on that determination, select one or more channels for use for the conducted RF link to reduce interference. Referring to  FIG. 18 , another co-existence mitigation algorithm, such as a smart link selection algorithm  120 , is illustrated to facilitate the selection of an available channel to be used for transmission of information via a conducted RF link. When a conducted RF link is discovered (block  122 ), it generates a trigger event that initiates the determination and updating of an Idle Channel List and a list of existing active wireless channels, e.g., a Channel Avoidance List (block  124 ). As illustrated, if the cellular is connected, the active cellular channels may be placed on the Channel Avoidance List (blocks  128  and  130 ). Similarly, if the WiFi is connected, the active channels can be placed on the Channel Avoidance List (blocks  132  and  134 ), and if the Bluetooth is connected, the existing channel masks (due to frequency hopping) can be placed on the Channel Avoidance List (blocks  136  and  138 ). Using the Channel Avoidance List, the Idle Channels List can be updated (block  139 ), and the updated Idle Channel List may be used to select an appropriate inactive RF channel for use of the conducted RF link  64  (block  140 ). If a plurality of idle channels remains available, one or more may be selected for use for the conducted RF link, and those idle channels having a higher offset from any active channels may be given a greater weight in the selection since they should be less likely to be subject to interference. If not, one of the least crowded active channels may be selected for use for the conducted RF link. 
     The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example, and it should be understood that these embodiments may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should be further understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20150930
Publication Date: 20170117
Grant Date: 20170117
Priority Date: 20150529
Inventors: Chong Chia-Yiaw
LIU HSIN-YUO
NARANG MOHIT
AGBOH PETER M.
Kota Sathish Shanbhag
CABALLERO RUBEN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04B15/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/542", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/542", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W16/14", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0238", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W64/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/80", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0225", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W4/80", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B15/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/0808", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B15/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W64/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0238", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0225", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/0808", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W16/14", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 57397278