Priority arbitration for interference mitigation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9510281-B2
Application number	US-201414491175-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 19, 2014
Priority date	Sep 19, 2014
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

Aspects of priority arbitration for interference mitigation are disclosed. In one aspect, a computing device is provided that employs a control system configured to arbitrate the activity of multiple interfaces. This arbitration mitigates potential electromagnetic interference (EMI) that may degrade the performance of the computing device. Upon a first interface requesting to become active, the control system is configured to determine if a second interface is currently active. If so, the control system is configured to arbitrate the activity of the first interface and the second interface to mitigate the potential EMI generated if the interfaces are concurrently active. The computing device includes an aggressor controller and a victim receiver, each corresponding to a particular interface. The control system is configured to arbitrate such activity so that the aggressor controller and corresponding cable do not generate EMI during a time period that would degrade the performance of the victim receiver.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computing device comprising:
an aggressor controller configured to couple to an external cable;
a victim receiver; and
a control system coupled to the aggressor controller and the victim receiver, configured to:
in response to a first interface issuing a request to enter an active state, determine if a second interface is in the active state;
in response to determining that the second interface is in the active state, issue a request to the second interface to enter a non-active state;
in response to requesting the second interface to enter the non-active state, determine if the second interface has entered the non-active state;
in response to determining that the second interface is in the non-active state, issue a request for the first interface to enter the active state;
while the first interface is in the active state, determine if the second interface issues a request to place the first interface in the non-active state; and
in response to the request to place the first interface in the non-active state, place the first interface in the non-active state.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the control system is further configured to:
in response to determining that the second interface is not in the non-active state, determine if a timer has expired;
in response to the timer not being expired, determine if the second interface is in the non-active state; and
in response to the timer being expired, issue the request for the first interface to enter the active state.

3. The computing device of claim 2 , wherein the control system is further configured to, in response to the timer being expired, place the second interface in the non-active state.

4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first interface corresponds to the aggressor controller; and
the second interface corresponds to the victim receiver.

5. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first interface corresponds to the victim receiver; and
the second interface corresponds to the aggressor controller.

6. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the aggressor controller comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 controller.

7. The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising a second aggressor controller comprising a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) controller, wherein the second aggressor controller is operatively coupled to the control system.

8. The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising a second aggressor controller comprising a Camera Serial Interface (CSI) controller, wherein the second aggressor controller is operatively coupled to the control system.

9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the aggressor controller comprises a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) controller.

10. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the aggressor controller comprises a Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) controller.

11. The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising a second aggressor controller comprising a Display Serial Interface (DSI) controller, wherein the second aggressor controller is operatively coupled to the control system.

12. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the victim receiver comprises a modem configured to communicate with a Bluetooth™-enabled device.

13. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the victim receiver comprises a modem configured to communicate with a wireless local area network (WLAN).

14. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the victim receiver comprises a modem configured to communicate with a global positioning system (GPS) protocol.

15. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the victim receiver comprises a modem configured to communicate with a wireless wide area network (WWAN).

16. The computing device of claim 1 integrated into a device selected from the group consisting of: a set top box; an entertainment unit; a navigation device; a communications device; a fixed location data unit; a mobile location data unit; a mobile phone; a cellular phone; a computer; a portable computer; a desktop computer; a personal digital assistant (PDA); a monitor; a computer monitor; a television; a tuner; a radio; a satellite radio; a music player; a digital music player; a portable music player; a digital video player; a video player; a digital video disc (DVD) player; an infotainment system; and a portable digital video player.

17. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first interface is configured to support a non-wireless protocol over the external cable; and
the second interface is configured to support a wireless protocol.

18. A method for mitigating electromagnetic interference (EMI) of a victim receiver caused by an aggressor controller, comprising:
in response to a first interface issuing a request to enter an active state, determining if a second interface is in the active state;
in response to determining that the second interface is in the active state, issuing a request to the second interface to enter a non-active state;
in response to requesting the second interface to enter the non-active state, determining if the second interface has entered is in the non-active state;
in response to determining that the second interface is in the non-active state, issuing a request for the first interface to enter the active state;
while the first interface is in the active state, determining if the second interface issues a request to place the first interface in the non-active state; and
in response to the request to place the first interface in the non-active state, placing the first interface in the non-active state.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
in response to determining that the second interface is not in the non-active state, determining if a timer has expired;
in response to the timer not being expired, determining if the second interface is in the non-active state; and
in response to the timer being expired, issuing the request for the first interface to enter the active state.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein:
the first interface corresponds to an aggressor controller; and
the second interface corresponds to a victim receiver.

21. The method of claim 18 , wherein:
the first interface corresponds to a victim receiver; and
the second interface corresponds to an aggressor controller.

22. The method of claim 18 , comprising:
in response to the first interface supporting a non-wireless protocol over an external cable issuing the request to enter the active state, determining if the second interface is in the active state; and
in response to determining that the second interface supporting a wireless protocol is in the active state, issuing the request to the second interface to enter the non-active state.

23. A method for mitigating electromagnetic interference (EMI) of a wireless local area network (WLAN) modem and a Bluetooth™ modem caused by a Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 controller, comprising:
determining if a USB 3.0 controller issues a request to enter an active state;
in response to the USB 3.0 controller issuing the request to enter the active state, placing the USB 3.0 controller, a WLAN modem, and a Bluetooth™ modem in a non-active state;
in response to placing the WLAN modem and the Bluetooth™ modem in the non-active state, placing the USB 3.0 controller in the active state for a first amount of time; and
following the first amount of time, determining

Assignees

• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Igartua Fernando
• Gerber Nir

Classifications

• H04B1/123

  using adaptive balancing or compensation means (adaptive filter circuits and algorithms H03H) · CPC title

• H04W4/008

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W88/06

  adapted for operation in multiple networks {or having at least two operational modes}, e.g. multi-mode terminals · CPC title

• H04W52/0209 Primary

  in terminal devices · CPC title

• G06F13/4221

  being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus · CPC title