Abstract: A technique is disclosed that enables both an IEEE 802.11 transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver to be employed in a single wireless telecommunication station (e.g., a device supporting a wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, etc.) without interfering on each other. In particular, the illustrative embodiment enables standard “off-the-shelf” IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth transceivers to work in a coordinated fashion in a single telecommunications terminal. In the illustrative embodiment, a Bluetooth transceiver gains access to a shared-communications channel from an IEEE 802.11 transceiver by requesting access, even if the access is not immediate. The technique disclosed is also applicable to communications protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth.

Abstract: An interface between radios supporting different air interfaces is disclosed that avoids some of the costs and disadvantages associated with inter-radio interfaces in the prior art. The present invention enables the needed coordination across multiple wireless protocols, such as 802.11 and Bluetooth, by providing a communication link spanning different integrated circuits when each radio is on a separate integrated circuit. This low cost, low complexity link can be added to standard integrated circuits produced by individual companies without adding appreciably to the overall cost of the integrated circuits.

Abstract: A wireless telecommunications terminal employing both an IEEE 802.11 radio and a Bluetooth radio is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment employs a novel preemption scheme that ensures that Bluetooth preemptions of the 802.11 radio are not fatal to the 802.11 media access control (MAC) error-correction mechanism. The illustrative embodiment thus enables what appears to be concurrent 802.11 and Bluetooth activity by a single wireless telecommunications terminal. The preemption scheme does not require any changes to the 802.11 and Bluetooth protocols, or to the radios. It will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention for protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth that might interfere with each other.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed that provides a host computing device user with convenient access to a network. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a telecommunications station stores device driver files. The host computing device installs a device driver. Once properly configured, the host computing device controls the station, through the device driver, to transmit data blocks into a shared-communications medium. The host computing device also receives a first portion of network-specific data (e.g., network configuration information, security configuration information, etc.) that enables the host computing device to properly configure itself to communicate via the network of interest.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed to provide a single wireless local area network in which authorized wireless stations and non-authorized wireless stations can associate with different security levels and privileges. In the first illustrative embodiment of the present invention, there are multiple physical or logical ports connecting a wireless station to public and private resources. The purpose of using multiple ports to access the external resources is to segregate the traffic associated with each level of security to a different port, and to ensure that each external resource only accepts traffic from those ports that are associated with the level of security needed for that resource. In the second illustrative embodiment of the present invention, segregation of traffic associated with each level of security is achieved by putting resources of different levels of security or privilege on different virtual local area networks.

Abstract: A technique for enabling a secure, point-to-point wireless connection between a secondary computer (e.g., a personal digital assistant, etc.) and a primary computer (e.g., a notebook, a desktop, etc.) is disclosed. The primary computer is associated with an extended infrastructure through an access point. The present invention enables the secondary computer to communicate either with the associated primary computer or with an extended network indirectly through the access point.

Abstract: A technique for coordinating potentially-conflicting air-interface subsystems in the same station is disclosed. In accordance with the first illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a first air-interface subsystem that is compliant with a first protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.11, etc.) and a second air-interface subsystem that is compliant with a second protocol (e.g., Bluetooth, etc.) both have direct physical interfaces with the host that they serve. The two subsystems coordinate their operation via messages that are shuttled between them by the host. In accordance with the second illustrative embodiment, the first air-interface subsystem and the second air-interface subsystem both have a logical connection with the host that they serve, but only the first air-interface subsystem has a physical connection with the host. The second air-interface subsystem cannot exchange messages with the first air-interface subsystem directly but can only do so by routing them through the host.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed that enables both an IEEE 802.11 transceiver and a Bluetooth transceiver to be employed in a single wireless telecommunication station (e.g., a device supporting a wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, etc.) without interfering on each other. In particular, the illustrative embodiment enables standard “off-the-shelf” IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth transceivers to work in a coordinated fashion in a single telecommunications terminal. In the illustrative embodiment, a Bluetooth transceiver gains access to a shared-communications channel from an IEEE 802.11 transceiver by requesting access, even if the access is not immediate. The technique disclosed is also applicable to communications protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed for queuing frames that are to be transmitted. The illustrative embodiment enables partial queuing of portions of frames on the part of a receiving entity, requiring only a minimum of real-time response on the part of the sending entity once the start of a frame is queued by the receiving entity. The illustrative embodiment relaxes queue memory requirements by recognizing that the interface between the sending entity and the receiving entity is able to respond to a request from the receiving entity to fetch additional frame data before the data presently in the partial queue is consumed. The amount of data that needs to be stored in each partial queue entry is causally related to a bounded latency time of the upper-to-lower layer interface multiplied by the physical layer rate of the transmitted frame.

Abstract: A novel implementation of a partitioned Medium Access Control (MAC) is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment employs a shared bus that typically is already present in a wireless terminal for communication between an Upper MAC and a Lower MAC. The partitioned MAC implementation therefore does not require any additional communication means between the Upper MAC and Lower MAC, resulting in a lower-cost system. In addition, the Upper MAC and Lower MAC pass native data structures by reference over the shared bus, thereby eliminating the need for drivers to coordinate communication via interrupts, handshaking, etc. The partitioned MAC implementation results in a cost-effective distributed architecture in which the Upper MAC resides in the terminal's host processor, and the Lower MAC resides in the terminal's wireless station.

Abstract: A method for adjusting the transmission bit rate and fragmentation threshold of a wireless station in response to transmission errors is disclosed. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention is based on a wireless station that employs both an IEEE 802.11 radio and a Bluetooth radio, and determines whether transmission errors of the IEEE 802.11 radio are due to fading, or interference from the Bluetooth radio. It will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention for protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth, as well as stations that employ wireline or non-RF-wireless transceivers.

Abstract: An apparatus for adjusting the transmission bit rate and fragmentation threshold of a wireless station in response to transmission errors is disclosed. In particular, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention is based on a wireless station that employs both an IEEE 802.11 radio and a Bluetooth radio, and determines whether transmission errors of the IEEE 802.11 radio are due to fading, or interference from the Bluetooth radio. It will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention for protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth, as well as stations that employ wireline or non-RF-wireless transceivers.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed in which two radios share two antennas in a receive diversity antenna system without the costs associated with a low-noise amplifier. In particular, the illustrative embodiment uses a switching matrix (e.g., a double-pole, double-throw, single-break switch, etc.) to feed the stronger signal from the two antennas to one radio and the weaker signal from the two antennas to the second radio. Although this causes the second radio to always receive a weaker signal than the first radio, embodiments of the present invention are acceptable when the second of the two radios is capable of receiving weaker signals than is the first radio.

Abstract: A wireless telecommunications terminal employing both an IEEE 802.11 radio and a Bluetooth radio is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment employs a novel preemption scheme that ensures that Bluetooth preemptions of the 802.11 radio are not fatal to the 802.11 media access control (MAC) error-correction mechanism. The illustrative embodiment thus enables what appears to be concurrent 802.11 and Bluetooth activity by a single wireless telecommunications terminal. The preemption scheme does not require any changes to the 802.11 and Bluetooth protocols, or to the radios. It will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention for protocols other than IEEE 802.11 and Bluetooth that might interfere with each other.

Abstract: An interface between radios supporting different air interfaces is disclosed that avoids some of the costs and disadvantages associated with inter-radio interfaces in the prior art. The present invention enables the needed coordination across multiple wireless protocols, such as 802.11 and Bluetooth, by providing a communication link spanning different integrated circuits when each radio is on a separate integrated circuit. This low cost, low complexity link can be added to standard integrated circuits produced by individual companies without adding appreciably to the overall cost of the integrated circuits.

Abstract: A novel Medium Access Control (MAC) architecture for IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networks is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment partitions the medium access control into an Upper Medium Access Control for providing medium-access-control services that are independent of a Physical Control, and a Lower Medium Access Control for providing medium-access-control services that are dependent on the Physical Control. By partitioning the Medium Access Control in this manner, a single Upper Medium Access Control can be employed for any existing or future Physical Control while maintaining full compatibility with the huge installed base of existing IEEE 802.11 equipment. It will be clear to those skilled in the art how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention for networks that employ protocols other than IEEE 802. 11.