Coexistence timer mechanism for wireless communication systems

Abstract

A common coexistence timer can be implemented on collocated or proximate wireless radio devices so that timing information associated with scheduled communications of each of the wireless radio devices is communicated with a common time reference. The coexistence timer provides the common time reference for the wireless radio devices. A transmitting wireless radio device can calculate a difference time associated with the timing information of a scheduled communication and can provide the difference time to a receiving wireless radio device. The receiving wireless radio device can convert the difference time into a time format corresponding to the receiving wireless radio device's local time reference. This can minimize interference between the collocated or proximate wireless radio devices, thus minimizing performance degradation, packet collision, and interference. Moreover, this also can eliminate timing errors due to the wireless radio devices using different timers operating at different frequencies or being synchronized to different crystals.