PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-11722964-B2
Application Number: US-202217589385-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Listen-before-talk systems, devices, and methods based on intra-device operations

Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for operating a control signal to communicate signals using a first antenna and a first frequency band in response to determining that intra-device operations are occurring or are expected to occur, that a first amount of energy received by the first antenna is less than a threshold amount of energy, and that the first antenna is unaffected by the intra-device operations. The control signal may also delay communication of the signals in response to determining that intra-device operations are occurring, and that first amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A device comprising:
 a first antenna configured to communicate over a first frequency band; 
 a second antenna configured to communicate over the first frequency band; 
 a third antenna configured to communicate over a second frequency band that overlaps with the first frequency band; and 
 one or more processors configured to
 receive an indication of whether the third antenna is communicating using the second frequency band, and 
 communicate signals using the first antenna, the second antenna, or both based on the indication of whether the third antenna is communicating using the second frequency band. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to communicate the signals using the first antenna and the second antenna based on
 receiving an indication that the third antenna is not communicating using the second frequency band, and 
 a first amount of energy received by the first antenna and a second amount of energy received by the second antenna each being less than a threshold amount of energy. 
 
     
     
       3. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to delay communication of the signals using the first antenna and the second antenna based on
 receiving an indication that the third antenna is not communicating using the second frequency band, and 
 a first amount of energy received by the first antenna being greater than a threshold amount of energy. 
 
     
     
       4. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to communicate the signals using the first antenna and the second antenna based on
 receiving an indication that the third antenna is communicating using the second frequency band, 
 one of a first amount of energy received by the first antenna or a second amount of energy received by the second antenna being less than a threshold amount of energy, and 
 another one of the first amount of energy or the second amount of energy being greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. 
 
     
     
       5. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to delay communication of the signals using the first antenna and the second antenna based on
 receiving an indication that the third antenna is communicating using the second frequency band, and 
 a first amount of energy received by the first antenna and a second amount of energy received by the second antenna are each greater than or equal to a threshold amount of energy. 
 
     
     
       6. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit additional signals using any combination of the first antenna, the second antenna, and the third antenna based on a first amount of energy received by the first antenna, a second amount of energy received by the second antenna, a third amount of energy received by the third antenna, and a threshold amount of energy. 
     
     
       7. The device of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to delay communications from each the first antenna, the second antenna, and the third antenna based on the first amount of energy, the second amount of energy, and the third amount of energy each being greater than the threshold amount of energy. 
     
     
       8. The device of  claim 6 , wherein the threshold amount of energy comprises between −70 decibel-milliwatts (dBm) and −85 dBm. 
     
     
       9. The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to
 receive an indication of whether the second antenna is affected by an intra-device operation; and 
 receive the signals using the first antenna and the second antenna based on an indication that the second antenna is not affected by an intra-device operation. 
 
     
     
       10. A method, comprising:
 receiving an indication that communications via a first antenna use a first frequency band, the first frequency band overlapping with a second frequency band used by a second antenna; and 
 communicating signals using the first antenna without using the second antenna based on the communications from the first antenna being free of interference by intra-device operations and based on a second amount of energy received by the second antenna being greater than or equal to a threshold amount of energy. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein communicating the signals using the first antenna without using the second antenna is based on
 receiving an indication that the communications from the first antenna are ongoing, and 
 a first amount of energy received by the first antenna and the second amount of energy received by the second antenna each being greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10 , comprising communicating additional signals using the second antenna based on the communications via the first antenna ending. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 10 , comprising
 receiving an indication that communications via a third antenna use the second frequency band and are free of interference by the communications via the first antenna, and 
 communicating additional signals using the second antenna and the third antenna based on
 receiving an indication that the first antenna is communicating using the first frequency band, and 
 the third antenna receiving a third amount of energy that is less than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the intra-device operations comprise concurrent operation of a universal serial bus (USB) device, a power connection, an external device, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       15. A device, comprising:
 a first antenna configured to communicate via a first frequency band; 
 a second antenna configured to communicate via a second frequency band overlapping the first frequency band; and 
 one or more processors configured to
 receive an indication that communications using the first antenna are free of interference by intra-device operations, and 
 transmit a signal using the first antenna via the first frequency band without using the second antenna based on the indication that the communications using the first antenna are free of interference by the intra-device operations. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The device of  claim 15 , comprising a third antenna configured to communicate via the second frequency band, wherein the one or more processors are configured to
 receive an indication that communications using the third antenna are free of interference by the communications using the first antenna, and 
 transmit an additional signal using the second antenna and the third antenna based on
 the indication that the communications using the third antenna are free of interference by the communications using the first antenna, and 
 the third antenna receiving an amount of energy that is less than or equal to a threshold amount of energy. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The device of  claim 15 , wherein the intra-device operations comprise operation of a universal serial bus (USB) device, a power connection, an external device, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       18. The device of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the signal without the second antenna based on an indication that the second antenna is affected by concurrent operation of the first antenna. 
     
     
       19. The device of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the signal without the second antenna based on an indication that the second antenna is receiving a first amount of energy greater than or equal to a threshold amount of energy. 
     
     
       20. The device of  claim 19 , comprising a comparator that compares input noise energy received via the second antenna to the threshold amount of energy, the indication that the second antenna is receiving the first amount of energy being generated based on an output from the comparator.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/015,627, entitled “LISTEN-BEFORE-TALK SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS BASED ON INTRA-DEVICE OPERATIONS”, filed Sep. 9, 2020, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices that utilize radio frequency signals, transmitters, and receivers for wireless communication. 
     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. 
     Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functionalities. 
     Transmitters and/or receivers may be included in various electronic devices to enable communication between devices. Many electronic devices may communicate at least partially at a same time in a same room and/or region. However, overlapping communications may increase a chance of interference between concurrent communications affecting a quality or success of one or more of the communications. 
     To reduce a likelihood of interference between communications, an electronic device may listen to airwaves to verify that the airwaves are clear of ongoing communications before transmitting a new communication and/or enabling a receiver. Signals associated with ongoing communications may be received as signal noise, or energy, by antennas of the electronic device. The electronic device may compare received noise to a threshold amount of noise, and determine to delay communications if the received noise is greater than the threshold amount of noise. This process is generally referred to as a listen-before-talk (LBT) operation. Indeed, the listen-before-talk operation may include an electronic device verifying that noise received by one or more antennas is less than a threshold amount of noise, thus verifying that each antenna is clear, before transmitting a data packet to another electronic device. While these methods permit transmission if each antenna receives less than the threshold amount of noise, these methods also prevent transmission from an antenna that receives less than the threshold amount of noise if another antenna receives the amount of noise greater than the threshold amount. That is, if any of the antennas sense an energy level (e.g., receive an amount of noise) above the threshold, no antenna (even those that sense an energy level below the threshold) may be permitted to transmit. This all or nothing approach may drastically reduce efficiencies of operation since an amount of noise received at one antenna is being presumed to also affect another antenna, stopping transmission from all antennas, even if some antennas receive amounts of noise less than the threshold amount of noise. 
     Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter. 
     SUMMARY 
     A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
     Previous listen-before-talk (LBT) operations resulted in a device delaying communications on each antenna if any antenna sensed an energy level greater than a noise threshold. However, electronic devices are complex systems, where many radios, sub-radios, concurrent communicators, and the like, are integrated into a small form factor device. When multiple radios concurrently operate, and/or when some sub-systems operate (e.g., when communication with a universal serial bus (USB) is performed) concurrent to communications, nearby antennas may receive some emitted electromagnetic waves from these operations as noise. When following listen-before-talk (LBT) operations, a control system may sense that an amount of noise received from a respective antenna is greater than the noise threshold and confuse the noise source as an ongoing communication. 
     To improve these operations, systems and methods described herein relate to selective control of antennas based on the amount of noise received from a respective antenna. These techniques may be compatible with listen-before-talk (LBT) operations and may reduce a likelihood that a noise from a source other than an ongoing communication from an external antenna triggers a delay in communication. 
     For example, rather than delaying communications using multiple antennas if only some of the antennas sense noise, communications may be sent over the multiple antennas if at least one antenna is clear. In another example, communications may be sent or received over only the antennas that are clear, while not using the antennas that sense noise to send or receive communications. In particular, an antenna determined as affected by concurrent operation of a sub-system may be flagged in a memory of the electronic device during manufacturing (e.g., hardcoded based on test results). If the electronic device determines that the sub-system is in operation, the electronic device may reference the flags (e.g., indications) to determine whether to consider or ignore noise received by the antenna. For example, the electronic device may continue to use a flagged antenna if the flagged antenna receives noise greater than the threshold amount of noise since the flagged antenna had been previously indicated as affected by sub-system operation. In some cases, the electronic device may determine if every antenna of an antenna panel senses the amount of noise greater than noise threshold, and thus may indicate if the electronic device is to delay communication. 
     Various embodiments may be used to deploy the disclosed systems. For example, a device may include a first antenna that communicates over a first frequency band, a second antenna that communicates over the first frequency band, and a third antenna that communicates over a second frequency band that overlaps with the first frequency band. The device may also include one or more processors that cause communication of signals from the first antenna and the second antenna in response to determining that the third antenna is not communicating using the second frequency band, that a first amount of energy received by the first antenna is less than a threshold amount of energy, and that a second amount of energy received by the second antenna is less than the threshold amount of energy. The one or more processors may delay the communication of the signals in response to determining that the third antenna is not communicating using the second frequency band, and that the first amount of energy or the second amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. The one or more processors may cause the communication of the signals from the first antenna and the second antenna in response to determining that the third antenna is communicating using the second frequency band, that one of the first amount of energy and the second amount of energy is less than the threshold amount of energy, and that another one of the first amount of energy and the second amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. Furthermore, the one or more processors delay the communication of the signals in response to determining that the third antenna is communicating using the second frequency band, and that the first amount of energy and the second amount of energy are each greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. 
     In some embodiments, a method may include receiving an indication from memory that communications using a first antenna are unaffected by intra-device operations. The method may include communicating signals using the first antenna via a first frequency band in response to determining that the intra-device operations are occurring, that a first amount of energy received by the first antenna is less than a threshold amount of energy, and that the first antenna is unaffected by the intra-device operations. Furthermore, the method may include delaying communication of the signals in response to determining that the intra-device operations are occurring, and that the first amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. 
     In yet another embodiment, one or more tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable storage media include executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to cause communication of signals using a first frequency band from a first antenna and a second antenna in response to determining that a first amount of energy received by the first antenna is less than a threshold amount of energy, and that a second amount of energy received by the second antenna is less than the threshold amount of energy. The instructions may also cause the one or more processors to delay the communication of the signals in response to determining that the first amount of energy and the second amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. The instructions may also cause the one or more processors to cause the communication of the signals from the first antenna in response to determining that the first amount of energy is less than the threshold amount of energy, and that the second amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy. Moreover, the instructions may also cause the one or more processors to cause the communication of the signals from the second antenna in response to determining that the first amount of energy is greater than or equal to the threshold amount of energy, and that the second amount of energy is less than the threshold amount of energy. 
     Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. The brief summary presented above is intended to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       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 a transceiver, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view of a notebook computer representing a first embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a front view of a handheld device representing a second embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  4    is a front view of another handheld device representing a third embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  5    is a front view of a desktop computer representing a fourth embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  6    is a front view and side view of a wearable electronic device representing a fifth embodiment of the electronic device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  7    is a block diagram of an electronic device that includes multiple radio frequency (RF) circuitry chains (RF chains), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  8    is an illustration of the example electronic device of  FIG.  7    having three antennas, where one antenna receives noise greater than a threshold amount, two antennas receive noise less than the threshold amount of noise, and none of the antennas are used to communicate, in accordance a conventional listen-before-talk procedure; 
         FIG.  9 A  is an illustration of the example electronic device of  FIG.  7    having three antennas, where one antenna receives noise greater than a threshold amount, two antennas receive noise less than the threshold amount of noise, and each of the antennas are used to communicate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  9 B  is an illustration of an example electronic device of  FIG.  7    having three antennas, where three antennas receive noise greater than a threshold amount and none of the antennas are used to communicate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  10    is a block diagram of logic circuitry used to generate an indication of noise received by the antennas of the electronic device of  FIG.  7   , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  11    is a flow chart of a method for operating the electronic device of  FIG.  7    to communicate or delay communication in response to a signal output from the logic circuitry of  FIG.  10   , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  12    is an illustration of an example electronic device of  FIG.  7    having three antennas, where one antenna receives noise greater than a threshold amount, two antennas receive noise less than the threshold amount of noise, and the two antennas are used to communicate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  13    is a flow chart of a method for operating the electronic device of  FIG.  7    to adjust or delay transmission in response to noise received by one or more antennas, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  14    is a flow chart of a method for operating the electronic device of  FIG.  7    to adjust a single-input, single-output (SISO) transmission in response to noise received by one or more antennas, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  15    is a flow chart of a method for operating the electronic device of  FIG.  7    to adjust a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) transmission in response to noise received by one or more antennas, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. These described embodiments are examples of the presently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be 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. Furthermore, the phrase A “based on” B is intended to mean that A is at least partially based on B. Moreover, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive (e.g., logical OR) and not exclusive (e.g., logical XOR). In other words, the phrase A “or” B is intended to mean A, B, or both A and B. 
     This disclosure generally describes systems, devices, and methods that selectively use antennas to communicate when operating according to listen-before-talk (LBT) procedures. The disclosed processes bring certain advantages to operation, as are described herein. With the foregoing in mind, a general description of suitable electronic devices that may include practice such processes is provided below. 
     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 of processor(s)  12 , memory  14 , nonvolatile storage  16 , a display  18 , input structures  22 , an input/output (I/O) interface  24 , a network interface  26 , a power source  28 , and a transceiver  30 . The various functional blocks shown in  FIG.  1    may include hardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (including computer code stored on a computer-readable medium) or a combination of both hardware and software elements. Furthermore, a combination of elements may be included in tangible, non-transitory, and machine-readable medium that include machine-readable instructions. The instructions may be executed by the processor  12  and may cause the processor  12  to perform operations as described herein. It should be noted that  FIG.  1    is merely one example of a particular embodiment and is intended to illustrate the types of elements that may be present in the 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  FIG.  3   , the handheld device depicted in  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  12  and other related items in  FIG.  1    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  12  may couple with the memory  14  and the nonvolatile storage  16  to perform various algorithms. Such programs or instructions executed by the processor  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 processes, 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., an operating system) encoded on such a computer program product may also include instructions executable by the processor  12  to enable the electronic device  10  to provide various functionalities. 
     In certain embodiments, the display  18  may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a digital micromirror display (DMD), one or more organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, or some combination these, which may enable users to view images generated by the electronic device  10 . In some embodiments, the display  18  may include a touch screen, which may facilitate user interaction with a user interface of the electronic device  10 . 
     In some cases, the one or more processors  12  may operate circuitry to input or output data generated by the electronic device  10 . For example, the one or more processors  12  may control and/or operate the memory  14 , the nonvolatile storage  16 , display  18 , input structures  22 , an input/output (I/O interface)  24 , a network interface  26 , a transceiver  30 , a power source  28 , or the like to perform operations of the electronic device  10  and/or to facilitate control of the operations of the electronic device. In particular, the one or more processors  12  may generate control signals for operating the transceiver  30  to communicate using one or more communication networks. 
     The input structures  22  of the electronic device  10  may enable a user to interact with the electronic device  10  (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease a volume level). The I/O interface  24  may enable the electronic device  10  to interface with various other electronic devices, as may the network interface  26 . The network interface  26  may include, for example, one or more interfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as a BLUETOOTH® network, for a local area network (LAN) or wireless local area network (WLAN), such as an 802.11x WI-FI® network, and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as a 3 rd  generation (3G) cellular network, 4 th  generation (4G) cellular network, LTE cellular network, long term evolution license assisted access (LTE-LAA) cellular network, 5 th  generation (5G) cellular network, or New Radio (NR) cellular network. The network interface  26  may also include one or more interfaces for, for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks (e.g., WIMAX®), mobile broadband Wireless networks (mobile WIMAX®), asynchronous digital subscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T®) network and its extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H®) network, ultra-wideband (UWB) network, alternating current (AC) power lines, and so forth. 
     In some embodiments, the electronic device  10  communicates over the aforementioned wireless networks (e.g., 4G, LTE®, 5G) using the transceiver  30 . The transceiver  30  may include circuitry useful in both wirelessly transmitting and receiving signals (e.g., data signals, wireless data signals, wireless carrier signals, RF signals), such as a transmitter and a receiver. Indeed, in some embodiments, the transceiver  30  may include a transmitter and a receiver combined into a single unit, or, in other embodiments, the transceiver  30  may include a transmitter separate from a receiver. The transceiver  30  may transmit and receive RF signals to support voice and/or data communication in wireless applications in the networks listed above or any suitable network, such as PAN networks, WLAN networks, UWB networks, and the like. As further illustrated, the electronic device  10  may include the power source  28 . The power source  28  may include any suitable source of power, such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and/or an alternating current (AC) power converter. 
     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 be generally portable (such as laptop, notebook, and tablet computers) or used in one place (such as 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. of Cupertino, Calif. By way of example, the electronic device  10 , taking the form of a notebook computer  10 A, is illustrated in  FIG.  2    in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The notebook computer  10 A may include a housing or the enclosure  36 , the display  18 , the input structures  22 , and ports associated with the I/O interface  24 . In one embodiment, the input structures  22  (such as a keyboard and/or touchpad) may enable interaction with the notebook computer  10 A, such as starting, controlling, or operating a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or applications running on the notebook computer  10 A. For example, a keyboard and/or touchpad may facilitate user interaction with a user interface, GUI, and/or application interface displayed on display  18 . 
       FIG.  3    depicts a front view of a handheld device  10 B, which represents one embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  10 B 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  10 B may be a model of an IPOD® or IPHONE® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The handheld device  10 B may include the enclosure  36  to protect interior elements from physical damage and to shield them from electromagnetic interference. The enclosure  36  may surround the display  18 . The I/O interface  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. of Cupertino, Calif., a universal serial bus (USB), or other similar connector and protocol. 
     The input structures  22 , in combination with the display  18 , may enable user control of the handheld device  10 B. For example, the input structures  22  may activate or deactivate the handheld device  10 B, navigate a user interface to a home screen, present a user-editable application screen, and/or activate a voice-recognition feature of the handheld device  10 B. Other of the input structures  22  may provide volume control, or may toggle between vibrate and ring modes. The input structures  22  may also include a microphone to obtain a user&#39;s voice for various voice-related features, and a speaker to enable audio playback. The input structures  22  may also include a headphone input to enable input from external speakers and/or headphones. 
       FIG.  4    depicts a front view of another handheld device  10 C, which represents another embodiment of the electronic device  10 . The handheld device  10 C may represent, for example, a tablet computer, or one of various portable computing devices. By way of example, the handheld device  10 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  10 D may represent another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG.  1   . The computer  10 D may be any computer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a notebook computer, and/or may be a standalone media player or video gaming machine. By way of example, the computer  10 D may be an IMAC®, a MACBOOK®, or other similar device by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. It should be noted that the computer  10 D may also represent a personal computer (PC) by another manufacturer. The enclosure  36  may protect and enclose internal elements of the computer  10 D, such as the display  18 . In certain embodiments, a user of the computer  10 D may interact with the computer  10 D using various peripheral input devices, such as keyboard  22 A or mouse  22 B (e.g., input structures  22 ), which may operatively couple to the computer  10 D. 
     Similarly,  FIG.  6    depicts a wearable electronic device  10 E representing another embodiment of the electronic device  10  of  FIG.  1   . By way of example, the wearable electronic device  10 E, which may include a wristband  43 , may be an APPLE WATCH® by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. However, in other embodiments, the wearable electronic device  10 E may include any wearable electronic device such as, a wearable exercise monitoring device (e.g., pedometer, accelerometer, heart rate monitor), or other device by another manufacturer. The display  18  of the wearable electronic device  10 E may include a touch screen version of the display  18  (e.g., LCD, OLED display, active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display, and so forth), as well as the input structures  22 , which may facilitate user interaction with a user interface of the wearable electronic device  10 E. In certain embodiments, as previously noted above, each embodiment (e.g., notebook computer  10 A, handheld device  10 B, handheld device  10 C, computer  10 D, and wearable electronic device  10 E) of the electronic device  10  may include the transceiver  30 . 
     Keeping the forgoing in mind,  FIG.  7    is a block diagram of an electronic device  50  that includes multiple radio frequency (RF) circuitry chains (RF chains), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device  50  may also include each of the components illustrated in  FIG.  1   . For example, the electronic device  50  may include a control system  52  having a processor  54  that may operate similar to the processors  12  of  FIG.  1    and a memory  56  that may operate similar to the memory  14  of  FIG.  1   . 
     The control system  52  may control operations of radio frequency (RF) chains  58  (RF chain  58 A, RF chain  58 B) of the electronic device  50 . The control system  52  may indicate to the RF chain  58 A when to transmit and/or receive messages on antenna  60 A, and may indicate to the RF chain  58 B when to transmit and/or receive messages on antenna  60 B. It is noted that each of the RF chains  58  may include one or more antennas  60 , and may include non-equal number of antennas  60 . The antennas  60  may be grouped in one or more antenna panels, not particularly shown herein. Moreover, the two RF chains  58 A,  58 B are exemplary, and there may be more or less RF chains  58  than shown in  FIG.  7   . 
     The control system  52  may transmit a control signal to transmitter  62 A to cause the transmitter  62 A to transmit a data packet using the antenna  60 A. In response to receiving the control signal, the transmitter  62 A may prepare or process the data packet for transmission and transmit the data packet using radio frequency waves. Similarly, the control system  52  may transmit a control signal to the transmitter circuitry  62 B to cause the transmitter  62 B to transmit a data packet using the antenna  60 B. The control system  52  may also transmit a control signal to receiver  64 A to cause the receiver  64 A to receive signals using the antenna  60 A. The receiver  64 A may, in response to the control signal, prepare to receive signals using the antenna  60 A and may process any received signals according to configurations implemented by the control system  52 . Similarly, the control system  52  may transmit a control signal to receiver  64 B to cause the receiver  64 B to receive signals using the antenna  60 B. 
     The electronic device  50  may also include input/output (I/O) circuitry  66 , which may include and/or be coupled to the I/O interface circuitry  24  and/or network interface  26  of  FIG.  1   . Indeed, the electronic device  50  may receive input data from components coupled to the electronic device  50  via the additional I/O circuitry  66 . For example, USB devices may couple to the electronic device  50  at the additional I/O circuitry  66 . 
     The control system  52  may operate the electronic device  50 , and more particularly the RF chains  58 , according to a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure. That is, the control system  52  may verify that a frequency range (e.g., a communication channel defined using multiple frequencies within a frequency band) is clear of ongoing communications, prior to transmitting a data packet using one or more of the antennas  60 . Although beneficial for reducing a likelihood of communication interruptions or interference, these operations may not permit a “clear” antenna (e.g., an antenna that does not detect ongoing communications) to transmit a data packet when another antenna detects an ongoing communication. Furthermore, listen-before-talk procedures may consider intra-device interference that may not cause communication interruptions or interference, such as noise generated by a USB device or another device coupled at the I/O circuitry  66 , or a concurrently operating antenna, as causing communication interruptions or interference. 
     For example, antenna  60 B may use a frequency range that overlaps with that used by the antenna  60 A when communicating, even when antenna  60 B and antenna  60 A use different type of communications (e.g., cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication). When one antenna (e.g.,  60 B) is used, the other antenna (e.g.,  60 A) may receive some of the communication from the used antenna  60 B as noise. In listen-before-talk procedures, this noise may be misinterpreted as disruptive or interfering, and the control system  52  may delay communications to avoid interrupting the ongoing communication on the airways. The noise, however, may not cause communication interruptions or interference, and thus communication may continue without degradation or loss. 
     To elaborate,  FIG.  8    is an illustration of the electronic device  50  with three antennas  60  (e.g., antenna  60 A, antenna  60 B, antenna  60 C), where the antenna  60 B receives noise greater than a threshold amount of noise, the antenna  60 A and antenna  60 C receive noise less than the threshold amount of noise, and none of the antennas  60  are used to communicate, in accordance with a conventional listen-before-talk procedure. In this case, and as in the examples shown in  FIGS.  9 A,  9 B, and  12   , the threshold amount of noise corresponds to a power of the noise, measured in decibel-milliwatts (dBm). Although any suitable noise power that disrupts communication via the antennas  60  may be used as the threshold amount of noise, for purposes of this disclosure, the threshold amount of noise is substantially similar to −75 dBm (e.g., an amount between −70 dBm and −80 dBm). 
     Indeed, when following listen-before-talk procedures, even though antenna  60 A and antenna  60 C receive a noise less than the threshold amount of noise, the control system  52  instruct transmitters  62  for each of the antennas  60  to delay transmissions (e.g., to not transmit). These listen-before-talk operations may be improved when, for example, the control system  52  selectively considers which of the antennas  60  are known to be affected by the USB device or another device coupled at the additional I/O circuitry  66  before determining to delay transmission in response to just the antenna  60 B experiencing the noise, as elaborated on below with regards to at least  FIGS.  9 - 11   . Indeed, when performing listen-before-talk procedures while considering intra-device operations, communication using the electronic device  50  may improve. Communications may improve since, for example, fewer false positives may be detected, thereby increasing the time spent communicating. That is, intra-device operations may not be confused as talking on a frequency band (e.g., communication channel), and thus communications may continue rather than be disrupted. In some cases, firmware and/or a software application of the electronic device  50  may indicate the intra-device operations to the control system  52 . Thus, these systems and methods may permit processing operations to control communication circuitry via indication to the control system  52 . For example, the processor  54  of the electronic device  50  may generate and send control signals to the control system  52  that indicate an ongoing USB device operation or another external device operation. The control system  52  may then adjust communication operations based on which communication circuitries are affected by the ongoing operations. Additionally or alternatively, listen-before-talk operations may improve when, for example, the control system  52  delays transmission corresponding to only the antenna  60 B experiencing the noise, as elaborated on below with regards to at least  FIGS.  12 - 15   , thus enabling other antennas  60  to continue communicating. 
     In particular,  FIG.  9 A  is an illustration of the electronic device  50  with the antennas  60 A,  60 B, and  60 C, where the antenna  60 B receives noise greater than a threshold amount of noise, the antenna  60 A and antenna  60 C receive noise less than the threshold amount of noise, and each of the antennas  60  are used to transmit one or more data packets, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Indeed, in this example, the control system  52  may reference the memory  56  (e.g., memory  14 ) to determine that the antenna  60 B is impaired when the USB device or when another device is coupled at the I/O circuitry  66  (e.g., such that the USB device or the other device may interfere with communications sent or received using the antenna  60 B). Since the antenna  60 B is impaired, the control system  52  may not use the antenna  60 B to communicate. In this example, where the antenna  60 B is impaired while inter-device interference is present (e.g., the USB device or other device is plugged into the electronic device  50 ), the antenna  60 B noise levels may be an inaccurate indication of whether ongoing communications are occurring. Thus, the control system  52  may instead use an indication of noise received by the antenna  60 A and/or the antenna  60 C to determine when to delay transmission operations. In this way, the control system  52  may delay transmissions on one or more antennas  60  when antenna  60 A and/or antenna  60 C receives noises greater than a threshold amount of noise as opposed to when the antenna  60 B receives the noises. 
     This example is shown in  FIG.  9 B , which is an illustration of the electronic device  50  with the antennas  60 A,  60 B, and  60 C, where the antennas  60  each receive noise greater than a threshold amount of noise, and the control system  52  delays transmissions scheduled for each of the antennas  60 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Indeed, as with the example of  FIG.  9 A , the antenna  60 B is known as impacted from intra-device interference, and thus is a relatively inaccurate indicator of whether ongoing communications are occurring. However, since the antenna  60 A and/or the antenna  60 C are relatively more accurate indicators of whether ongoing communications are occurring, the control system  52  may determine to delay transmit operations since these antennas  60 A,  60 C receive noise greater than the threshold amount of noise. 
     To elaborate,  FIG.  10    is a block diagram of logic circuitry  78  used to generate an indication of noise received by the antennas  60  of the electronic device  50 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The logic circuitry  78  may be disposed within the control system  52 , within a Wi-Fi chipset of the electronic device  50 , and/or any suitable location within the electronic device  50 . Indeed, each RF chain  58  of the electronic device  50  may include the logic circuitry  78 . The logic circuitry  78  may compare received noise energies  80 A of a first antenna  60 , such as antenna  60 A, to a noise energy level threshold  82  using a comparator  84 , or other suitable comparison circuitry. This comparison may be repeated for noise energies  80 B for another antenna  60 B using comparator  84 B. When a respective noise energy  80 A,  80 B is greater than a voltage value of the noise energy level threshold  82 , a signal transmits to an OR logic gate  86  and an AND logic gate  88 . Based at least in part on a mode signal saved in a command register  90 , either the OR logic gate  86  output or the AND logic gate  88  output is transmitted from multiplexer  92 . 
     The control system  52  may control which mode (e.g., an OR mode or an AND mode) that the logic circuitry  78  operates. The mode may be set via configuration information (e.g., one or more configuration bits) stored in the command register  90 . The output from the multiplexer  92  either matches the output from the OR logic gate  86  or matches the output from the AND logic gate  88 . In the AND mode, the control system  52  may delay communication of the electronic device  50  only when each antenna  60  receives an amount of noise energy  80  greater than or equal to the noise energy level threshold  82 . However, in the OR mode, the control system  52  may delay communication of the electronic device  50  when any of the antennas  60  receives an amount of noise energy  80  greater than or equal to the noise energy level threshold  82 . 
     The resulting indication from the multiplexer  92  may be integrated into an operational flow of the control system  52 .  FIG.  11    is a flow chart of a method  110  for operating the electronic device  50  to transmit or delay transmission in response to a signal output from the logic circuitry  78 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is noted that, although depicted in a particular order, the blocks of the method  110  may be performed in any suitable order, and at least some blocks may be skipped altogether. Furthermore, it is noted that although the method  110  is directed toward transmit operations, similar operations may be used in receive operations, such as determining when to turn on a receiver since turning on a receiver in response to noise as opposed to a message may undesirably consume power. As described herein, the method  110  is described as performed by the control system  52  of the electronic device  50 , however, it should be understood that any suitable processing and/or control circuitry may perform some or all of the operations of the method  110 , such as one or more of the processors  12  or the like. 
     At block  112 , the control system  52  transmits a command signal to operate logic circuitry  78  in an AND operational mode. The control system  52  may generate a control signal as the command signal for storage in the command register  90  of the logic circuitry  78 . In this way, when the command signal has a first state, the logic circuitry  78  is operated in a first operational mode (e.g., OR mode) and when the command signal has a second state, the logic circuitry  78  is operated in a second operational mode (e.g., AND mode). It is noted that there may be cases where data stored in the command register  90  as a result of the command signal may be used as a trigger to power off portions of the logic circuitry  78  to save power, such as by disabling the logic gate  86  and/or the logic gate  88  while not in use. 
     At block  114 , the control system  52  receives an output from the logic circuitry  78 , and determine whether the output is a voltage level indicative of each comparator  84  detecting that the respective noise energy  80  was greater than the noise energy threshold  82 . For example, the voltage level may include a logic high voltage level (e.g., logic high output). When the respective noise energy  80  received by every antenna  60 , impaired (such that a USB device or other device coupled to the electronic device  50  negatively impacts operation of the antenna  60 ) and non-impaired (such that the USB device or other device coupled to the electronic device  50  does not negatively impact operation of the antenna  60 ), is greater than or equal to the noise energy level threshold  82 , the control system  52  may deem transmission unsuitable, and thus may delay transmission at block  116 . Similar processes apply to when the control system  52  sets the logic circuitry  78  to an OR operational mode; however, the control system  52  may delay transmission at block  116  when any of the antennas  60  receives noise energy  80  greater than or equal to the noise energy level threshold  82 . 
     At block  116 , because each comparator  84  detected that the respective noise energy  80  was greater than the noise energy level threshold  82 , the control system  52  signals to transmitter  62  to delay transmission (e.g., by not transmitting a scheduled packet). The control system  52  may resume transmission at another uplink, downlink, or other transmission opportunity, such as one indicated by a communication configuration. In some cases, the control system  52  may resume transmission when the output signal from the logic circuitry  78  has a logic low voltage level (e.g., logic low output) generally indicating that resuming transmission is not going to disrupt an ongoing communication. 
     Referring back to block  114 , when the signal output from the logic circuitry  78  does not have the voltage level indicative of the comparator detecting the respective noise energy  80  as greater than or equal to the noise energy threshold  82 , at block  118 , the control system  52  transmits a packet using each antenna  60 . It is noted that the control system  52  may periodically poll the logic circuitry  78  for the output signal and/or may receive the output signal on an ongoing basis. 
     As described above, listen-before-talk operations may improve when, for example, the control system  52  delays transmission for just the antenna  60 B experiencing the noise, as elaborated on with regards to at least  FIG.  12 - 15   .  FIG.  12    is an illustration of an example electronic device  50  having three antennas  60 , where the antenna  60 B receives noise greater than a threshold amount, two antennas  60 A,  60 C receive noise less than the threshold amount of noise, and the two antennas  60 A,  60 C of the antennas  60  proceed with transmission, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The electronic device  50  of  FIG.  12    may independently determine whether to communicate using each of the three antennas  60 . When the control system  52  determines that an antenna  60  is clear, the control system  52  may use the antenna  60  to communicate. However, when the control system  52  determines that an antenna  60  is not clear, the control system  52  may not use the antenna  60  to communicate. Both of these decisions may be made independent of a decision made for another antenna  60 . It is noted that the independent determinations may combine with aspects of the AND logic decision illustrated in  FIGS.  9 A and  9 B  to ignore noise energies  80  received by antennas  60  known as impacted by intra-device interferences (e.g., impaired antennas) when determining which antennas to use in transmission. 
     To elaborate,  FIG.  13    is a flow chart of a method  130  for operating the electronic device  50  to adjust or delay transmission in response to noise received by one or more antennas  60 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is noted that, although depicted in a particular order, the blocks of the method  130  may be performed in any suitable order, and at least some blocks may be skipped altogether. As described herein, the method  130  is described as performed by the control system  52  of the electronic device  50 , however, it should be understood that any suitable processing and/or control circuitry may perform some or all of the operations of the method  130 , such as one or more of the processors  12  or the like. 
     At block  132 , the control system  52  tests the antennas  60  for noise and/or receives indications of noise stored in memory  56  (e.g., memory  14 ). Indications of noise, such as amounts of noise sensed, may be generated if additional sensing circuitry is used to identify noise amounts sensed by the antennas  60 . The noise may include the noise energies  80  (e.g., energy) received at each respective antenna  60 . The antenna  60  may be “clear” in each of the  FIGS.  13 - 15    when its received noise is less than the threshold amount of noise. The control system  52  may perform the method  130  to determine whether to communicate using a multiple-in, multiple-out transmission or reception mode (e.g., MIMO TX mode, MIMO RX mode) or a single-in, single-out transmission or reception mode (e.g., SISO TX mode, SISO RX mode). The “MIMO TX mode” refers to a transmission that uses multiple antennas  60  and the “MIMO RX mode” refers to a reception that uses multiple antennas  60 . The “SISO TX mode” refers to a transmission that uses a single antenna  60  and the “SISO RX mode” refers to a reception that uses a single antenna  60 . 
     In some cases, the receiver  64  may also be initialized to communicate in a matching transmission mode to the transmitter  62 , such as when response communications are expected to be returned in a similar format as transmitted. Indeed, dual MIMO and SISO capable devices may be enabled through use of a queue where the control system  52  generates packets for transmission using both MIMO TX and SISO TX, adds the packets to a queue, and determines prior to transmission whether to use MIMO TX, SISO TX, or multiple SISO TX at once to transmit data. In some cases, packets stored in the queue may be designed for transmission using MIMO TX or SISO TX, and thus the transmitter  62  may retrieve the packets from the same queue. In some cases, a first packet may be designed for transmission using MIMO TX and a second packet may be designed for transmission using SISO TX. The control system  52  may store the first packet and the second packet in different queues respective to the transmission types (e.g., MIMO TX queue, SISO TX queue) for access at a later time, such as when preparing to transmit the first packet or the second packet. 
     To decide between the SISO TX mode and the MIMO TX mode, at block  134 , the control system  52  determines whether the first antenna  60  is clear or not. In particular, the control system  52  may determine whether the noise energies  80  and/or the indications of sensed noises from the memory  56  (or memory  14 ) corresponding to the first antenna  60  are less than a threshold amount of noise. If the control system  52  determines that the first antenna  60  is not clear, at block  136 , the control system  52  determines whether the second antenna  60  is clear. 
     At block  138 , if the control system  52  determines that the second antenna  60  is clear, the control system  52  configures at least the transmitter  62  to the SISO TX mode using the second antenna  60 . It is noted that a SISO TX mode may involve communicating using any clear antenna  60  of the control system, as elaborated on further below, and should not be limited to only using the first antenna  60  when it is determined as clear. For example, it may be preferred to communicate using some antennas  60  in a SISO TX mode compared to other antennas  60 , such as the case if one or more antennas are impacted from intra-device operations (e.g., such antennas  60  may be used if needed, but it may not be preferred to do so). Once the transmitter  62  is ready for transmission, such as after any calibrations are performed or transmission circuitries are powered on, at block  140 , the control system  52  transmits a packet. The control system  52  may use the transmitter  62  to transmit the packet. If a queue is being used, the transmitter  62  may receive the packet for transmission from a queue corresponding to the SISO TX mode. 
     Returning to block  136 , when the control system  52  determines that the second antenna  60  is not clear, at block  142 , the control system  52  proceeds to delay at least transmissions using the first antenna  60  and second antenna  60 . It is noted that in cases where the transmitter  62  includes additional antennas  60  (e.g., a third antenna  60 ), the control system  52  may continue to test each antenna  60  to determine whether any of the antennas  60  is clear for transmission. When no antenna  60  for the transmit operation is clear, the control system  52  may delay transmission for each of the antennas  60 . It is noted that this control decision to delay transmissions may be made on a per-RF chain  58  basis, such that the control system  52  may delay transmission of the RF chain  58 A without also delaying transmissions of the RF chain  58 B. The control system  52  may delay transmit operations at least one communication cycle, such as until a subsequent uplink or transmission allocation is available. In some cases, the control system  52  may monitor or repeat testing of the antennas  60  for noise and/or repeat access of the indications in the memory  56  (e.g., memory  14 ) at block  132  and continue to perform operations of method  130  until finding a clear antenna  60  to use to transmit the data packet at block  140  according to a SISO TX or MIMO TX mode. 
     Returning to block  134 , when the control system  52  determines that the first antenna  60  is clear, at block  144 , the control system  52  may determine whether the second antenna  60  is clear or not. The control system  52  may access the noise energies  80  and/or the indications of sensed noises from the memory  56  (or memory  14 ). If the control system  52  determines that the second antenna  60  is not clear, at block  146 , the control system  52  may proceed with configuration of at least the transmitter  62  to the SISO TX mode using the first antenna  60 . It is noted that a SISO TX mode may involve any clear antenna  60  of the control system, as elaborated on further below, and should not be limited to using a first antenna  60  determined as clear. Once the transmitter  62  is ready for transmission, such as after any calibrations are performed or transmission circuitries are powered on, at block  140 , the control system  52  may transmit the packet using the mode determined at block  146 . If a queue is being used, the transmitter  62  may receive the packet for transmission from a queue corresponding to the SISO TX mode. 
     Returning to block  144 , if the control system  52  determines that the second antenna  60  is clear, at block  148 , the control system  52  configures at least the transmitter  62  to the MIMO TX mode using the first antenna  60  and the second antenna  60 . When the electronic device  50  includes more than two antennas  60 , the control system  52  may determine to transmit using each clear antenna  60 , just the two clear antennas  60  (e.g., first antenna  60  and second antenna  60 ), or any number of clear antennas (e.g., after a suitable number of clear checks are performed, such as those at blocks  134 ,  136 , and  144 ). Once the transmitter  62  is ready for transmission, such as after any calibrations are performed or transmission circuitries are powered on, at block  140 , the control system  52  transmits the packet using the mode determined at block  146 . If a queue is being used, the transmitter  62  may receive the packet for transmission from a queue corresponding to the MIMO TX mode. 
     To elaborate further on how antenna  60  preferences may affect control decisions and other considerations that may be taken into account when determining how to transmit a packet,  FIG.  14    is a flow chart of a method  162  for operating the electronic device  50  to adjust single-input, single-output (SISO) transmission (SISO TX) operations in response to noise received by one or more antennas  60 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is noted that, although depicted in a particular order, the blocks of the method  162  may be performed in any suitable order, and at least some blocks may be skipped altogether. As described herein, the method  162  is described as performed by the control system  52  of the electronic device  50 , however, it should be understood that any suitable processing and/or control circuitry may perform some or all of the operations of the method  162 , such as one or more of the processors  12  or the like. It is noted that the following description of operations presume that each antenna  60  in consideration for use in the SISO TX operation has already been tested by the control system  52  and is determined as clear or as unclear. 
     At block  164 , the control system  52  receives an indication to communicate using an antenna  60 . The antenna  60  to be used may be a type of antenna compatible with protocols or frequencies used for a first type of communication, like Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth communications. The control system  52  may adjust communication operations based on the type of antenna  60  to be used and whether an intra-device operation is ongoing since, for example, an ongoing intra-device operation may reduce an ability of an antenna  60  to accurately report talking on airways. Indeed, based on the combination of operations requested and operations ongoing, the control system  52  may delay communication and/or may adjust which antenna  60  is used for communication. 
     At block  166 , the control system  52  may determine whether there is an indication that an intra-device operation is being performed. For example, the control system  52  may communicate using a second antenna  60  that uses an overlapping frequency and/or may communicate with a USB and/or other external device is plugged into the electronic device  50 , causing interference to the communication using the first antenna  60 . A second antenna  60  may use a same type of communication as the antenna  60  and/or may use a different type of communication as the antenna  60  that overlaps in frequency and causes noise at the antenna  60 . Indeed, the control system  52  may receive the indication from memory  56 , firmware, or user input, where firmware or user input may be used to generate and/or store the indication that the intra-device operation is being performed. The indications may indicate which of the antennas  60  are affected by intra-device operations. Since some antennas may be impacted from intra-device concurrent operations, while other may not, an additional check may be performed when determining which antenna  60  to use in a SISO TX mode transmit operation. Intra-device operations may include concurrent operation of another antenna  60  on an overlapping frequency band, concurrent operation of another antenna  60  on a non-overlapping frequency band, concurrent communication with a USB device or other external device, concurrent access to a power supply via a power connecting input to the electronic device  10 , or the like. 
     In some cases, the indications may be learned over time by the control system  52  (e.g., via machine-learning techniques). For example, the control system  52  may have access to operational logs detailing antenna performance and operational logics detailing intra-device operations, and may analyze these logs to identify (e.g., over time) which intra-device operations negatively affect transmission operations of respective antennas  60 , and may learn over time to adjust transmission during the identified operations. In some cases, the control system  52  also identifies which of the antennas  60  are affected by the intra-device operations, and to what degree they are affected, if at all. The indications to use intra-device operations may be generated based on these analyses and/or identifications and be accessed at block  170  to determine if there is an antenna  60  of the type known to be affected by the intra-device operations. In some cases, the control system  52  accesses the indications from encoded or stored data in memory  56  (e.g., memory  14 ). The control system  52  may additionally or alternatively correlate impacted antennas to current ranges of communication frequencies (e.g., frequencies used for the Wi-Fi transmission or other transmissions when the antennas  60  are to communicate using cellular frequencies, expected ranges to be used) and/or to current operational status (e.g., USB in use or no USB, external power connection in use or no external power connection). 
     When an indication is not received, at block  168 , the control system  52  transmits a packet of data using the antenna  60  when the antenna  60  is clear. In some cases, the control system  52  may generate and store an indication in memory  56  corresponding to each antenna  60  and whether the antenna  60  is impacted by the intra-device concurrent operations and/or determined to be clear (e.g., receiving a noise energy less than a threshold level of noise energy). These flags may be accessed during later repetitions of the process  162  when determining which antenna  60  to use in a SISO TX mode transmit operation. After accessing indications in the memory  56  (or memory  14 ), the control system  52  may transmit the packet once determining that the antenna  60  is clear. If the antenna  60  is not clear, the control system  52  may use a next clear antenna  60  found. 
     Returning to block  166 , if the control system  52  determines that an indication of an intra-device operation was received, the control system  52  determines, at block  170 , whether the antenna  60  known as or is affected by the intra-device operations. It is noted that, as described above, intra-device operations may include operating conditions where concurrent communications using one or more overlapping frequencies and/or using a USB or other external coupling to the electronic device  50  relative to operations of block  164  (e.g., communications instructed at block  164 ). The control system  52  may make this determination for each antenna  60  of the type corresponding to the communication operation based on the one or more indications in the memory  56  (or memory  14 ). The control system  52 , for example, may determine whether the communication may be of a relatively lower priority, such that if the transmission were to be interrupted, an incomplete transmission would be permitted. In some embodiments, the control system  52  may reference antenna preferences in the memory  56  (e.g., memory  14 ) to determine which antenna  60  to use. 
     If the antenna  60  is not affected by the intra-device operations, at block  168 , the control system  52  transmits a packet of data using the antenna  60  when the antenna  60  is clear. Decisions related to clarity of an antenna  60  are similar to those decisions earlier with reference to operations of method  130 , and thus previous discussions are relied upon herein. 
     Returning to block  170 , if the antenna  60  is affected by the intra-device operations, the control system  52 , at block  172 , determines whether transmission is permitted via the antenna  60  affected by intra-device operations. In particular, the intra-device operation may negatively impact performance of communication using the antenna  60 , to the point that there may be packet loss when using the antenna  60  to communicate. The control system  52  may reference indications stored in the memory  56  to determine whether or not these communications are permitted (e.g., transmission and/or reception). Communications may continue from an antenna  60  affected by intra-device operations when, for example, data being set is of relatively low priority, such that packet loss may not alter electronic device  50  operation. 
     If, at block  172 , the control system  52  determines that transmission is not permitted via the antenna  60  affected by the intra-device operations, the control system  52 , at block  174 , delays transmission from the antenna  60 . The control system  52  may use a different antenna  60  that is unaffected by intra-device operations and is determined to be clear as opposed to the antenna  60  indicated as affected by intra-device operations. That is, the control system  52  ensures that transmission is not performed by an antenna  60  affected by the intra-device operations. 
     When identifying another antenna  60  to use, the control system  52  may reference antenna preferences to determine which alternative antenna  60  to use and/or reference earlier sensing operations to determine which of the antennas  60  are clear. Antenna preferences may be set during manufacturing and stored in the memory  56  (e.g., memory  14 ). Antenna preferences additionally or alternatively may be learned over time by the control system  52  (and stored in memory  56  and/or memory  14 ), such as the control system  52  may track over time which antenna  60  is relatively more reliable for communications based on a frequency or likelihood of incomplete transmission happening when using the respective antenna. Once the antenna  60  is selected, the control system  52  may transmit the packet using the selected antenna  60  according to the SISO TX mode operations. 
     However, returning to block  172 , if the control system  52  determines that transmission is permitted via the antenna  60  affected by the intra-device operations, at block  168 , the control system  52  transmits data using the antenna  60  that is determined to be clear, regardless of whether the antenna  60  is affected by intra-device operations. Once the antenna  60  is selected, the control system  52  may transmit the packet using the selected antenna  60  according to the SISO TX mode operations. 
     In some cases, it may be desired to use a MIMO TX system instead of the SISO TX system described with  FIG.  14   . Indeed,  FIG.  15    is a flow chart of a method  188  for operating the electronic device  50  to adjust multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) transmission (MIMO TX) operations in response to noise received by one or more antennas  60 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is noted that, although depicted in a particular order, the blocks of the method  188  may be performed in any suitable order, and at least some blocks may be skipped altogether. As described herein, the method  188  is described as performed by the control system  52  of the electronic device  50 , however, it should be understood that any suitable processing and/or control circuitry may perform some or all of the operations of the method  188 , such as one or more of the processors  12  or the like. It is noted that the following description of operations presume that each antenna  60  in consideration for use in the MIMO TX operation has already been tested by the control system  52  and/or is determined as clear or unclear. 
     When performing the method  188 , operations performed at blocks  164 ,  166 ,  170 , and  172  may also be performed by the control system  52  when determining how to transmit using MIMO TX operations. Although the same determinations may be made, operations performed in response to the determinations may change for MIMO TX systems versus SISO TX systems (e.g., to accommodate and operate multiple antennas compared to a single antenna). For ease of description, descriptions of operations performed at blocks  164 ,  166 ,  170 , and  172  are not repeated herein. 
     Indeed, at block  164 , the control system  52  receives an indication to communicate using one or more antennas  60  (e.g., one or more Wi-Fi antennas). At block  166 , the control system  52  determines whether an indication of an intra-device operation was received. 
     If, at block  166 , the control system  52  determines that the indication was not received, the control system  52 , at block  190 , transmits a packet using each antenna  60  that is clear. The absence of the indication (or a different indication) may communicate to the control system  52  that an intra-device operation is not ongoing. When intra-device operations are not ongoing, the control system  52  may default to using each antenna  60  if each antenna  60  is clear (e.g., unflagged for noise energies  80  higher than the threshold amount of noise). When no intra-device operations affect a current transmission, noise energies  80  received by the antennas  60  correspond to talking occurring in the airways, and thus is to not be ignored. 
     However, if intra-device operations are ongoing, and the control system  52 , at block  166 , determines that an indication of intra-device operation was received, the control system  52 , at block  170 , determines whether there is an antenna  60  known as affected by the intra-device operation (e.g., receives interference when a sub-system operates concurrent to communication operations, receives interference when a USB is connected to the electronic device  50 ). If the control system  52  determines that there are no antennas  60  affected by intra-device operations, the control system  52 , at block  192 , transmits using each unaffected antenna  60  that is clear. Indeed, as long as one antenna  60  is clear when each antenna  60  is affected by intra-device operations on the overlapping frequency, the control system  52  may determine to communicate using the antennas  60 . 
     Returning to block  170 , the control system  52  determines that an antenna  60  is known to be affected by intra-device operations, and determines, at block  172 , whether transmission is permitted based on the antenna  60  affected by the intra-device operations. If the control system  52  determines that transmission is not to be permitted based on the antenna  60  affected by intra-device operations, the control system  52 , at block  194 , transmits a packet using each antenna  60  if an unaffected antenna  60  is clear. The control system  52  may generally disregard noise readings from the antenna  60  affected by the intra-device operation and make control decisions based on the known unaffected antennas  60 . 
     Returning to block  172 , if the control system  52  determines that transmission is able to be permitted based on the antenna  60  affected by intra-device operations, the control system  52 , at block  196 , transmits a packet using each antenna  60  if an antenna  60  is clear (e.g., any antenna  60  is clear). Thus, the control system  52  may determine to transmit a packet via MIMO TX based at least on an indication of an antenna  60  being clear, regardless of whether the antenna  60  is impacted by intra-device operations. 
     In some cases, if the control system  52  determines an antenna  60  as clear, the control system  52  may store an indication of the clarity determination such that the determinations may not need to be re-determined. The clarity determinations may expire after a duration of time and may be repeated on an ongoing basis. It is noted that flagging antennas as clear and/or unimpaired may provide an embodiment where the control system  52  uses each antenna that is determined as clear and impaired (or is generally flagged). These examples that use stored indications may reduce an amount of time spent by the control system  52  preparing to communicate since the control system  52  may reference stored indications as opposed to redetermining clarity before each communication. 
     Technical effects of the present disclosure include systems and methods for operating transceiver circuitry to selectively use antennas based on noise received by the antennas. Considerations may be made when determining to not use an antenna for a transmission include whether the transmission is to be a MIMO TX or a SISO TX, whether intra-device operations overlap (e.g., indication of intra-device operation), whether one or more antennas  60  are affected by overlapping intra-device operations, and/or whether transmission is to be permitted based on the antenna affected by the overlapping intra-device operations. Similar considerations may be made for some receive operations. Logic circuitry may be used in combination with a control system to implement at least some of the decisions, such as to provide a control signal output to the control system for determining when to delay a transmit operation. The above-described systems and methods may improve operation of an electronic device since the described techniques may reduce a likelihood of interrupting ongoing communications, in line with listen-before-talk operations, without under-utilizing communication circuitry, such as by not using an antenna to transmit when noise is actually from an interfering sub-system operation and/or interfering transmission from the electronic device. 
     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. 
     The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20220131
Publication Date: 20230808
Grant Date: 20230808
Priority Date: 20200909
Inventors: CHONG, CHIA YIAW
VILA RODRIGUEZ, PABLO LUIS
Alakkatt Paleri, Sajeev
WU, QIONG
BAI, Kai
LIU, HSIN-YUO
AGBOH, PETER M.
SHAEFFER, DEREK KEITH
KRISHNA, DAYA
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W52/0274", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0473", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/52", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/085", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0667", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0274", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/0808", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0274", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/0808", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/1215", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/0808", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W88/06", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0602", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/0875", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W88/02", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04B7/0404", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0473", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W74/085", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/52", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 77750084