Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
  • H04W24/02—Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
  • H04W48/16—Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
  • H04W88/02—Terminal devices
  • H04W88/06—Terminal devices adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
  • H04W24/08—Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W84/00—Network topologies
  • H04W84/02—Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]
  • H04W84/04—Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks
  • H04W84/042—Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W84/00—Network topologies
  • H04W84/02—Hierarchically pre-organised networks, e.g. paging networks, cellular networks, WLAN [Wireless Local Area Network] or WLL [Wireless Local Loop]
  • H04W84/10—Small scale networks; Flat hierarchical networks
  • H04W84/12—WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Definitions

• the following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to adaptive scanning with a multi-radio device. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
• a wireless network for example a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a network operating according to one of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 1 family of standards (“Wi-Fi"), may include an access point (AP) that may communicate with one or more station (STAs) or mobile devices.
• the AP may be coupled to a network, such as the Internet, and may enable a mobile device to communicate via the network, or to communicate with other devices coupled to the AP.
• the wireless network may be a heterogeneous network in which different types of APs and base stations provide coverage for various geographical regions.
• the wireless network may support both the WLAN and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.
• LTE Long Term Evolution
• a mobile device may communicate with a wireless network bi-directionally utilizing a WLAN radio or an LTE radio, and the mobile device may make regular measurements to determine which radio provides for better operation. In certain scenarios, however, making such measurements may negatively impact mobile device operation. It may therefore be advantageous to identify conditions in which making measurements may not lead to preferable device operation.
• a mobile device may monitor the signal quality of an established communication associated with a first radio (e.g., LTE radio) to dynamically adapt the scanning operation of a second radio (e.g., WLAN radio) to minimize data transmission interruption.
• a first radio e.g., LTE radio
• a second radio e.g., WLAN radio
• a method of wireless communication at a mobile device may include determining a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first radio access technology (RAT), comparing the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, and adapting a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison.
• RAT radio access technology
• the apparatus may include a signal quality detector for determining a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, a signal quality comparator for comparing the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, and an adaptive scanner for adapting a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison.
• the apparatus may include means for determining a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, means for comparing the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, and means for adapting a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison.
• a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless
• the code may include instructions executable to determine a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, compare the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, and adapt a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison.
• adapting the scan activity of the second radio may include increasing the scan periodicity of the second radio when the signal quality for the first radio is greater than the threshold. Additionally or alternatively, adapting the scan activity of the second radio may include decreasing the scan periodicity of the second radio when the signal quality for the first radio is less than or equal to the threshold.
• adapting the scan activity of the second radio may include disabling the second radio when the signal quality for the first radio is above the threshold. Additionally or alternatively, some examples may include features, means, or instructions for interrupting a connection of the first radio based on the determined signal quality for the first radio, and increasing the scan activity of the second radio upon interrupting the connection of the first radio.
• Some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described above may further include features, means, or instructions for transmitting a false channel quality report for the second radio based at least in part on the determined signal quality for the first radio, receiving a message from a base station in response to the false channel quality report, and decreasing the scan activity of the second radio based on the received message. Additionally or alternatively, adapting the scan activity may include adapting the scan activity based on at least one of power usage, history of signal quality, or proximity of base station.
• the first RAT may be an LTE RAT and the second RAT may be a WLAN RAT.
• the first RAT may be a WLAN RAT and the second RAT may be an LTE RAT.
• Some examples of the method, apparatuses, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described above may further include features, means, or instructions for operating the first and second radio within an unlicensed spectrum.
• the unlicensed spectrum may, for instance, be an Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band.
• U-NII Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure
• FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIGs. 2A and 2B illustrate an example of a wireless communications system for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a message flow for adapting WLAN scan based on LTE signal quality in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a message flow for adapting LTE scan based on WLAN signal quality in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a mobile device for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a mobile device for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a communication manager for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a system, including a mobile device, for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 9 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure
• FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for adapting scanning activity of the first radio based on signal quality of a second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• a mobile device may be equipped with multiple radios that operate independently within a shared frequency band.
• a mobile device may include a WLAN radio and an LTE/LTE-A radio that may establish communication with a network over a licensed or unlicensed spectrum.
• each radio may periodically scan a geographical region for an AP or base station that may offer improved transmission resources.
• an established data transmission with one radio e.g., an LTE radio
• a multi-radio device may be actively communicating via LTE, and it may have an LTE signal quality that adequately supports the communication.
• measurement activity e.g., scanning activity
• measurement activity of a radio in multi-radio device may be dynamically adapted based on the signal quality of another radio of the device. This may improve network throughput because communication links that are adequate, or preferable, may not be interrupted to perform superfluous measurements.
• a mobile device may include a first radio utilizing a first radio access technology (RAT) and a second radio utilizing a second RAT.
• the first and second radios are each a WLAN or an LTE/LTE-A radio operating in licensed or unlicensed spectrum.
• the radios may utilize other RATs.
• Scan activity for one radio of the mobile device may be adapted based on the signal quality, available resources, preferable resources, etc. observed on a different radio of the device.
• the mobile device may determine a signal quality of a first radio associated with a first RAT.
• the signal quality determination may be based on a received signal strength indication (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or an effective data rate.
• RSSI received signal strength indication
• SNR signal-to-noise ratio
• the mobile device may compare the determined signal quality of the first RAT against a predetermined threshold, and adapt (e.g., increase, decrease, or disable) the scanning activity of the second RAT based in part on the comparison.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100 in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the system 100 includes base stations 105, access points (AP) 120, mobile devices 1 15, and a core network 130.
• the core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, internet protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions.
• IP internet protocol
• the base stations 105 interface with the core network 130 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., S I, etc.).
• the base stations 105 and AP 120 may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with the mobile devices 1 15, or may operate under the control of a base station controller (not shown).
• the base station 105 and AP 120 may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through core network 130), with each other over backhaul links 134 (e.g., XI, etc.), which may be wired or wireless communication links.
• the base station 105 and AP 120 may wirelessly communicate with the mobile device 1 15 via one or more antennas. Each of the base station 105 and AP 120 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 1 10.
• base station 105 may be referred to as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, eNodeB (e B), Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or some other suitable terminology.
• the geographic coverage area 1 10 for a base station 105 and AP 120 may be divided into sectors making up only a portion of the coverage area (not shown).
• the wireless communications system 100 may include base station 105 and AP 120 of different types (e.g., macro or small cell base stations). There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 1 10 for different technologies.
• each mobile device 1 15 may communicate with each other through the base station 105 and AP 120 using communication links 125, each mobile device 1 15 may also communicate directly with one or more other mobile devices 1 15 via a direct wireless link 135.
• Two or more mobile devices 1 15 may communicate via a direct wireless link 135 when both mobile devices 1 15 are in the geographic coverage area 1 10 or when one or neither mobile device 1 15 is within the AP geographic coverage area 1 10.
• Examples of direct wireless links 135 may include Wi-Fi Direct connections, connections established using a Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, and other P2P group connections.
• TDLS Wi-Fi Tunneled Direct Link Setup
• other peer-to-peer connections or ad hoc networks may be implemented within the system 100.
• the wireless communications system 100 is an LTE/LTE-
• LTE-A Long Term Evolution Advanced
• eNB evolved node B
• UEs user equipment
• the wireless communications system 100 may be a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of e Bs provide coverage for various geographical regions.
• the system 100 may, in some examples, also support a WLAN network.
• each eNB or base station 105 and AP 120 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other types of cell.
• cell is a 3GPP term that can be used to describe a base station, a carrier or component carrier associated with a base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station, depending on context.
• a macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by mobile device 1 15 with service subscriptions with the network provider.
• a small cell is a lower-powered base station, as compared with a macro cell, that may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency bands as macro cells.
• Small cells may include pico cells, femto cells, and micro cells according to various examples.
• a pico cell for example, may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by mobile device 1 15 with service subscriptions with the network provider.
• a femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access by mobile device 1 15 having an association with the femto cell (e.g., mobile device 1 15 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), mobile device 1 15 for users in the home, and the like).
• An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB.
• An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB.
• An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells (e.g., component carriers).
• the wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation.
• the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time.
• the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time.
• the techniques described herein may be used for either synchronous or asynchronous operations.
• the communication networks may be packet-based networks that operate according to a layered protocol stack.
• PDCP packet data convergence protocol
• a radio link control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels.
• RLC radio link control
• a medium access control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels.
• the MAC layer may also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency.
• HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request
• the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a mobile device 1 15 and the base stations 105.
• the RRC protocol layer may also be used for core network 130 support of radio bearers for the user plane data.
• the transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.
• a mobile device 1 15 may also include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.
• a mobile device 1 15 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, or the like.
• a mobile device may be able to communicate with various types of base stations and network equipment including macro e Bs, small cell e Bs, relay base stations, and the like.
• the mobile devices 1 15 may be multi-radio devices employing adaptive scanning techniques. For example, a mobile device 1 15 may dynamically adapt scanning operations of one of its radios (e.g., LTE radio or a WLAN radio), based on a signal quality of another of its radios.
• the communication links 125 shown in wireless communications system 100 may include uplink (UL) transmissions from a mobile device 1 15 to a base station 105 or AP 120, or downlink (DL) transmissions, from a base station 105 or AP 120 to a mobile device 1 15.
• the downlink transmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while the uplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions.
• Each communication link 125 may include one or more carriers, where each carrier may be a signal made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., waveform signals of different frequencies) modulated according to the various radio technologies described above.
• Each modulated signal may be sent on a different sub-carrier and may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, user data, etc.
• the communication links 125 may transmit bidirectional communications using frequency division duplex (FDD) (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or time division duplex (TDD) operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources).
• FDD frequency division duplex
• TDD time division duplex
• Frame structures may be defined for FDD (e.g., frame structure type 1) and TDD (e.g., frame structure type 2).
• the communication links 125 may utilize resources of licensed spectrum or unlicensed spectrum, or both. Broadly speaking, the unlicensed spectrum in some
• unlicensed spectrum or “shared spectrum” may thus refer to industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands, irrespective of the frequency of those bands.
• unlicensed spectrum is the U-NII radio band, which may also be referred to as the 5GHz or 5G band.
• licensed spectrum or “cellular spectrum” may be used herein to refer to wireless spectrum utilized by wireless network operators under administrative license from a governing agency.
• Wireless communications system 100 may support operation on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation.
• a carrier may also be referred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc.
• carrier may also be referred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc.
• carrier may also be referred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc.
• a mobile device 1 15 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs for carrier aggregation.
• Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.
• the scanning activity of a dual-radio mobile device 1 15 may be adapted based on the signal quality of an established communication link 125-a.
• Mobile device 1 15-a may, for example, be located in a strong signal geographic coverage area 1 10, may establish an active connection 125-a with an e B 105 over a licensed or unlicensed spectrum utilizing an LTE/LTE-A radio.
• the mobile device 1 15-a may determine whether to adapt the scanning activity of the co-located WLAN radio of the mobile device 1 15-a based on the signal quality of the established communication link 125-a.
• the mobile device 1 15-a may measure the signal quality based on the RSSI, SNR or data rate of the communication link 125-a between the base station 105 and the LTE/LTE-A radio of the mobile device 1 15-a. [0046] In some examples, the mobile device 1 15-a may compare the measured signal quality of the communication link 125-a with a signal quality threshold. If the mobile device 1 15-a determines that the signal quality of communication link 125-a between the LTE/LTE- A radio of the mobile device and the eNB 105 is above the threshold, the mobile device 1 15-a may reduce the scan activity of the co-located WLAN radio by, for example, increasing the scan periodicity or disabling the WLAN radio.
• the mobile device 1 15-a may increase the scan activity of the co-located WLAN radio by, for example, decreasing the scan periodicity.
• the adaptive scanning of the present disclosure is not limited to the WLAN radio, but may also be used to adapt the scan activity of the LTE/LTE-A radio as discussed below with reference to FIG. 4.
• FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate an example of a wireless communication system 200 for adapting scanning activity of a first radio of a multi-radio device based on signal quality of a second radio of the device, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• Wireless communication system 200 may include a mobile device 1 15, which may be an example of a mobile device 1 15 described above with reference to FIG. 1.
• the system 200 may also include base station 105 and an AP 120, which may be examples of base stations 105 and AP 120 described above with reference to FIG. 1.
• base stations 105 and AP 120 may both operate in a common frequency band, which may include licensed or unlicensed spectrum.
• FIG. 2A illustrates an example where the scan activity of a WLAN radio of the mobile device 1 15-b may be reduced or disabled based on the signal quality of an LTE radio of the mobile device 1 15-b.
• the mobile device 1 15-b may establish a connection to a base station 105-a, and the connection may have an adequate signal quality to support the mobile device' s 1 15-b communication requirements (e.g., QoS parameters and the like).
• the signal quality for a channel for the LTE radio may exceed a predetermined signal quality threshold.
• the mobile device 1 15-b may determine that interrupting an active data communication between the mobile device 1 15-b and base station 105-a over LTE radio may adversely impact the overall performance of the mobile station 1 15-b. As a result, the mobile device 1 15-b may reduce the WLAN scan activity by increasing the scan periodicity of the WLAN radio. [0049] Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 1 15-b may determine to adapt the scan activity of a radio based on a signal quality comparison of a WLAN radio with the signal quality of the LTE radio. For example, the mobile device 1 15-b may calculate a first signal quality over the first radio (e.g., WLAN radio) and a second signal quality over the second radio (e.g., LTE radio).
• the first radio e.g., WLAN radio
• a second signal quality over the second radio e.g., LTE radio
• the mobile device 1 15-b may compare the first signal quality with the second signal quality, and determine whether the first radio or the second radio offers improved throughput for the mobile device 1 15-b. Thus, the mobile device 1 15-b may select the first or the second radio based in part on the determination.
• the mobile device 1 15-b may determine that during a previous WLAN scan, the mobile device 1 15-b was unable to locate an AP 120-a that offered signal quality that exceeds the measured signal quality between the LTE radio of the mobile device 1 15-b and the base station 105-a. Therefore, in some examples, the mobile device 1 15-b may dynamically adapt the scan activity of the WLAN radio based on the calculated signal quality of a previous scan.
• FIG. 2B illustrates an example where the scan activity of the WLAN radio may be increased based on the signal quality of the LTE radio.
• the mobile device 1 15-c may, for example, travel to the edge of the coverage area of the base station 105-b, and thus experience poor channel quality with the base station 105-b over the LTE radio. In such instances, it may be beneficial for the mobile device 1 15-c to increase scan activity of an WLAN radio in order to locate resources or an AP that may offer improved throughput.
• the mobile device 1 15-c may measure the signal quality (e.g., RSSI, SNR, data rate, etc.) between the LTE radio of the mobile device 1 15-c and the base station 105-b. Based on the measured signal quality, the mobile device 1 15-c may determine to dynamically adapt (e.g., increase) the scan activity of the WLAN radio by, for example, decreasing the scan periodicity. As a result, the mobile device 1 15-c may increase the scan frequency of the WLAN radio based on the measured signal quality of the LTE radio co-located at the mobile device 1 15-c.
• the signal quality e.g., RSSI, SNR, data rate
• the message flow 300 may be an example of communications between devices of systems 100 or 200 described above with reference to FIGs. 1, 2A, or 2B.
• the base station 105-c and AP 120-c may be an example of base station 105 and AP 120 described above with reference to the preceding figures.
• mobile device 1 15-d may be an example of a mobile device 1 15 described above with reference to the preceding figures.
• the mobile device 1 15-d may include a WLAN radio 305 and an LTE radio 310.
• the WLAN radio 305 and the LTE radio 310 may be controlled by a central processor. Additionally or alternatively, the WLAN radio 305 and the LTE radio 310 may both operate in a common frequency band (e.g., licensed or unlicensed spectrum).
• a common frequency band e.g., licensed or unlicensed spectrum
• the mobile device 1 15-d may establish a communication 302 with the eNB 105-c utilizing an LTE radio 310. Once the mobile device 1 15-d and the eNB 105-c have established communication, the mobile device 1 15-d may periodically measure channel quality 304 of the signal between the LTE radio 310 and the eNB 105-c. It should be appreciated that any of a number of measurements may be taken to determine the channel quality of the communication link between the LTE radio 310 and the eNB 105-c. For example, the channel quality may be based on signal quality measurements, power usage, location of the device in the geographical area, proximity of a base station or AP, historical data, or the like. In some examples, the signal quality may include received signal strength indication, signal-to-noise ratio or data rate.
• the mobile device 1 15-d may compare the established channel quality value with a threshold value 306.
• the signal quality threshold may be based on a value, or combination of values measured at block 304. It should further be appreciated that the threshold value may be a static or dynamic value.
• the mobile device 1 15-d may thus adapt scan activity 308 of WLAN radio 305 based on the channel quality of the co-located LTE radio 310.
• the channel quality for the LTE radio 310 may exceed a predetermined signal quality threshold.
• the mobile device 1 15-d may decrease or disable 312 the scan activity of the WLAN radio 305, which may include increasing the scan periodicity.
• the scanning activity of the WLAN radio 305 may be increased 312, which may include reducing the scan periodicity, and thereby increasing the scan frequency of the WLAN radio 305.
• FIG. 4 illustrates a message flow 400 for adapting scanning activity of the LTE radio based on signal quality of the WLAN radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the message flow 400 may be an example of communications between devices of systems 100 or 200 described above with reference to FIGs. 1, 2A, or 2B.
• the base station 105-d and AP 120-d may be examples of base station 105 and AP 120 described above with reference to the preceding figures.
• mobile device 1 15-e may be an example of a mobile device 1 15 described above with reference to the preceding figures.
• the mobile device 1 15-e may include WLAN radio 305-a and LTE radio 310-a.
• the WLAN radio 305-a and the LTE radio 310-a may be examples of WLAN radio 305 and LTE radio 310 described above with reference to FIG. 3.
• the WLAN radio 305-a and the LTE radio 310-a may communicate bi-directionally or may be controlled by a central processor. Additionally or alternatively, the WLAN radio 305-a and the LTE radio 310-a may both operate in a common frequency band (e.g., licensed or unlicensed spectrum).
• a common frequency band e.g., licensed or unlicensed spectrum
• a mobile device 1 15-e may establish communication 402 with the AP 120-d utilizing the WLAN radio 305-a. Once the mobile device 1 15-e has established active communication with the AP 120-d, the mobile device 1 15-e may periodically measure channel quality 404 between the WLAN radio 305-a and the AP 120-d. It should be appreciated that any number of measurements may be taken to determine the channel quality of the communication link between the WLAN radio 305-a and the AP 120-d. For example, the channel quality measurements may be based on signal quality, power usage for the radios, location of the device, proximity of base stations/access points, historical data, etc. In some examples, the mobile device 1 15-e may compare 406 the measured channel quality with a predetermined threshold. The threshold value may be static or dynamic value.
• the mobile device 1 15-e may determine to adjust the scan activity 408 of the LTE radio 310-a based on the calculated comparison of signal quality against a predetermined threshold. But, in some examples, the scanning behavior of the LTE radio 310-a may be configured by the eNB 105-d. For instance, eNB 105-d may configure the LTE radio 310-a to periodically scan (e.g., scan for 6ms every 40ms) for new resources or base stations 105. The mobile device 1 15-e may therefore adapt the scan activity of the LTE radio 310-a by generating a report 410.
• the mobile device 1 15-e may generate a report 410 that includes a false RSSI or false reference signal receive power (RSRP) levels, in order to induce the eNB 105-d to decrease scan activity of the LTE radio.
• the mobile device 1 15-e may prepare a report 410 identifying proper RSSI or RSRP levels.
• the mobile device 1 15-e may transmit the report 412 to the eNB 105-c based on the determination by the mobile device 1 15-e whether or not to dynamically adjust the scanning activity of the LTE radio 310-a.
• FIG. 5 shows a block diagram 500 of a mobile device 1 15-f for adapting first radio scan activity based on the signal quality of the second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the mobile device 1 15-f may be an example of aspects of a mobile device 1 15 described with reference to FIGs. 1-4.
• Mobile device 1 15-f may include a receiver 505, a communication manager 510, and a transmitter 515.
• Mobile device 1 15-f may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in
• the receiver 505 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to adapting WLAN scan based on LTE signal quality, etc.). Information may be passed on to the communication manager 510, and to other components of UE 1 15-f. In some examples, the receiver 505 may receive a message from a base station in response to the false channel quality report.
• information channels e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to adapting WLAN scan based on LTE signal quality, etc.
• Information may be passed on to the communication manager 510, and to other components of UE 1 15-f.
• the receiver 505 may receive a message from a base station in response to the false channel quality report.
• the communication manager 510 may determine a signal quality for a channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, compare the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, and adapt a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison.
• the transmitter 515 may transmit signals received from other components of UE 1 15-f.
• the transmitter 515 may be collocated with the receiver 505 in a transceiver module.
• the transmitter 515 may include a single antenna, or it may include a plurality of antennas.
• FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a mobile device 1 15-g for adapting scan activity of the first radio based on the signal quality of the second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• Mobile device 1 15-g may be an example of aspects of a mobile device 1 15 described with reference to FIGs. 1-5.
• Mobile device 1 15-g may include a receiver 505-a, a communication manager 510-a, or a transmitter 515-a.
• the mobile device 115-g may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with one another.
• the communication manager 510-a may also include a signal quality detector 605, a signal quality comparator 610, and an adaptive scanner 615.
• the receiver 505-a may receive information which may be passed on to communication manager 510-a, and to other components of mobile device 115-g.
• the communication manager 510-a may perform the operations described above with reference to FIG. 5.
• the transmitter 515-a may transmit signals received from other components of mobile device 115-g.
• the signal quality detector 605 may determine a signal quality for a channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the first RAT is an LTE RAT and the second RAT is a WLAN RAT.
• the first RAT comprises a WLAN RAT and the second RAT comprises an LTE RAT.
• the first or second RATs may be RATs other than LTE and WLAN.
• the signal quality comparator 610 may compare the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a communication manager 510-b for adapting scan activity of the first radio based on the signal quality of the second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the communication manager 510- b may be an example of aspects of a communication manager 510 described with reference to FIGs. 5-6.
• the communication manager 510-b may include a signal quality detector 605-a, a signal quality comparator 610-a, and an adaptive scanner 615-a. Each of these components may perform the functions described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• the communication manager 510-b may also include a periodicity incrementer 705, a periodicity decrementer 710, a disabler 715, an interrupter 720, a channel quality reporter 725, and a shared spectrum manager 730.
• the various components of communication manager 510-b may be in communication with one another.
• the periodicity incrementer 705 may adapt the scan activity of the second radio, which may include increasing the scan periodicity of the second radio when the signal quality for the first radio is greater than the threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the periodicity decrementer 710 may adapt the scan activity of the second radio, which may include decreasing the scan periodicity of the second radio when the signal quality for the first radio is less than or equal to the threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2- 4.
• the disabler 715 may adapt the scan activity of the second radio, which may include disabling the second radio when the signal quality for the first radio is greater than the threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the interrupter 720 may interrupt a connection of the first radio based on the determined signal quality for the first radio, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the channel quality reporter 725 may transmit a false channel quality report for the second radio based on the determined signal quality for the first radio, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the shared spectrum manager 730 may operate the first and second radio within an unlicensed spectrum, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the unlicensed spectrum is a U-NII band.
• the components of the mobile device 115-f, the mobile device 115-g, or communication manager 510-b may, individually or collectively, be implemented with at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) adapted to perform some or all of the applicable functions in hardware.
• ASIC application-specific integrated circuit
• the functions may be performed by one or more other processing units (or cores), on at least one integrated circuit (IC).
• IC integrated circuit
• other types of integrated circuits may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform
• FIG. 8 shows a diagram of a system 800, including a mobile device 1 15-h, for adaptive scanning in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the mobile device 1 15-h may be an example of a mobile device 1 15 described above with reference to FIGs. 1-7.
• the mobile device 1 15-h may include a communication manager 810, which may be an example of a communication manager 510 described with reference to FIGs. 5-7.
• the mobile device 1 15-h may also include a WLAN radio 305-b and LTE radio 310-b, which may be examples of WLAN radio 305 and LTE radio 310 described with references to FIGs. 1-4.
• WLAN radio 305-b and an LTE radio 310-b may manage communications with other network devices, such as base station 105-e and AP 120-e as shown in FIG. 8, via the transceiver 835 and antennas 840.
• Mobile device 1 15-h may also include a report generator 825.
• mobile device 1 15-h include components for bi-directional voice and data communications, including components for transmitting communications and components for receiving communications.
• mobile device 1 15-h may communicate bi-directionally with an AP 120-e or base station 105-e.
• the report generator 825 may be configure to generate signal quality reports to transmit to the eNB 105-e in order to adjust the scanning behavior of an LTE radio of the mobile device 1 15-h.
• the report generator 825 may generate report comprising a false RSSI or RSRP level(s) to induce the eNB 105-e to decrease the scan activity of the LTE radio.
• the report generator 825 may generate report comprising correct RSSI or RSRP level(s) to induce the eNB 105-e to increase the scan activity of the LTE radio when the signal quality of the co-located WLAN radio may be below a predetermined threshold.
• Mobile device 1 15-h may also include a processor 805, memory 815 (including software (SW) 820), a transceiver 835, and one or more antenna(s) 840, each of which may communicate, directly or indirectly, with each other (e.g., via buses 845).
• the transceiver 835 may communicate bi-directionally, via the antenna(s) 840 or wired or wireless links, with one or more networks, as described above.
• the transceiver 835 may
• the transceiver 835 may include a modem to modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna(s) 840 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna(s) 840.
• the transceiver 835 is an aspect of the WLAN radio 305-b or the LTE radio 310-b.
• mobile device 1 15-h may include a single antenna 840. In some examples, mobile device 1 15-h may also have multiple antennas 840 capable of concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions.
• the memory 815 may include random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM).
• the memory 815 may store computer-readable, computer-executable software/firmware code 820 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor 805 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., adapting WLAN scan based on LTE signal quality, etc.).
• the software/firmware code 820 may not be directly executable by the processor 805 but cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform functions described herein.
• the processor 805 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc.)
• FIG. 9 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 900 for adapting scan activity of the first radio based on the signal quality of the second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the operations of method 900 may be implemented by a mobile device 1 15 or its components, as described with reference to FIGs. 1-8.
• the operations of method 900 may be performed by the communication manager 510, as described with reference to FIGs. 5-9.
• a mobile device 1 15 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the mobile device 1 15 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 1 15 may perform aspects the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
• the mobile device 1 15 may determine a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4. In certain examples, the operations of block 905 may be performed by the signal quality detector 605, as described above with reference to FIG. 6. [0080] At block 910, the mobile device 1 15 may compare the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4. In certain examples, the operations of block 910 may be performed by the signal quality comparator 610, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• the mobile device 1 15 may adapt a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 915 may be performed by the adaptive scanner 615, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 for adapting scan activity of the first radio based on the signal quality of the second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the operations of method 1000 may be implemented by a mobile device 115 or its components, as described with reference to FIGs. 1-8.
• the operations of method 1000 may be performed by the communication manager 510, as described with reference to FIGs. 5-9.
• a mobile device 115 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the mobile device 115 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 115 may perform aspects the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
• the method 1000 may also incorporate aspects of method 900 of FIG. 9.
• the mobile device 115 may determine a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1005 may be performed by the signal quality detector 605, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• the mobile device 115 may compare the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1010 may be performed by the signal quality comparator 610, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• the mobile device 115 may adapt a scan activity of a second radio utilizing a second RAT based in at least in part on the comparison, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• adapting the scan activity of the second radio may comprise disabling the second radio when the signal quality of the first radio is above the threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1015 may be performed by the adaptive scanner 615 or disabler 715, as described above with reference to FIGs. 6 and 7.
• FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for adapting scan activity of the first radio based on the signal quality of the second radio in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
• the operations of method 1100 may be implemented by a mobile device 115 or its components, as described with reference to FIGs. 1-8.
• the operations of method 1100 may be performed by the communication manager 510, as described with reference to FIGs. 5-9.
• a mobile device 115 may execute a set of codes to control the functional elements of the mobile device 115 to perform the functions described below. Additionally or alternatively, the mobile device 115 may perform aspects the functions described below using special-purpose hardware.
• the method 1100 may also incorporate aspects of methods 900 or 1000 of FIGs. 9 orlO.
• the mobile device 115 may determine a signal quality for at least one channel for a first radio utilizing a first RAT, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1105 may be performed by the signal quality detector 605, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• the mobile device 115 may compare the determined signal quality for the first radio with a threshold, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4. In certain examples, the operations of block 1110 may be performed by the signal quality comparator 610, as described above with reference to FIG. 6. [0089] At block 1115, the mobile device 115 may transmit a false channel quality report for the second radio based at least in part on the determined signal quality for the first radio as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4. In certain examples, the operations of block 1115 may be performed by the channel quality reporter 725, as described above with reference to FIG. 7.
• the mobile device 115 may receive a message from a base station in response to the false channel quality report, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1125 may be performed by the receiver 505, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.
• the mobile device 115 may decrease the scan activity of the second radio based on the received message, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1130 may be performed by the adaptive scanner 615, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• the mobile device 115 may increase the scan activity of the second radio based on the received message, as described above with reference to FIGs. 2-4.
• the operations of block 1130 may be performed by the adaptive scanner 615, as described above with reference to FIG. 6.
• methods 900, 1000, and 1 100 may provide for adaptive scanning for a multi -radio device. It should be noted that methods 900, 1000, and 1 100 describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods 900, 1000, and 1 100 may be combined.
• data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
• DSP digital signal processor
• a general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.
• a processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).
• the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these.
• Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and
• a storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.
• computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor.
• any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.
• Disk and disc include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.
• a CDMA system may implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc.
• CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards.
• IS- 2000 Releases 0 and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 IX, IX, etc.
• IS-856 (TIA- 856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 lxEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc.
• UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA.
• a TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile
• GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
• An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc.
• UMB Ultra Mobile Broadband
• E-UTRA Evolved UTRA
• Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11
• WiMAX IEEE 802.16
• IEEE 802.20 Flash-OFDM
• Flash-OFDM Flash-OFDM
• Universal Mobile Telecommunications system UMTS
• 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE- Advanced (LTE- A) are new releases of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) that use E-UTRA.
• UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE- A, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3 GPP).
• CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2).
• the techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other systems and radio technologies.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=55272577

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (7)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (18)

• 2015
  • 2015-01-22 US US14/603,234 patent/US10098016B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2015-12-17 CN CN201580073868.7A patent/CN107211355A/zh active Pending
  • 2015-12-17 JP JP2017538304A patent/JP2018509034A/ja active Pending
  • 2015-12-17 WO PCT/US2015/066261 patent/WO2016118260A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2015-12-17 EP EP15830922.9A patent/EP3248416A1/en not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (5)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events