Method and system for a continuing scan in a bluetooth wireless system

Abstract

Methods and systems for wireless communication are disclosed and may include controlling one or more scans of a received signal detection frequency across a frequency range and storing a magnitude of the received signal at each frequency where the magnitude exceeds a threshold level. A type of one or more signals in the received signal may be determined based on a bandwidth of the signals. A Bluetooth page/inquiry scan may be initiated if the determined type is a page/inquiry signal, and scans may be continued if the determined type may not be a page/inquiry signal. The scans may be repeated on a periodic basis and may be controlled utilizing a voltage controlled oscillator. Each of the scans may include a plurality of discrete frequency steps or a continuous frequency ramp. The controlling may include a start frequency, an end frequency and a frequency step size for the scans.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for wireless communication, the method comprising:
 performing a scan across a frequency range to detect a wireless signal;   determining a wireless signal bandwidth associated with the wireless signal;   storing in a memory a signal profile that corresponds to the wireless signal, the signal profile specifying a wireless signal magnitude at a frequency within the frequency range; and   determining a type of wireless signal based on the wireless signal bandwidth and a threshold bandwidth.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , performing the scan across the frequency range comprises adjusting a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) within a phase locked loop (PLL) according to an open loop mode. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the wireless signal is detected in response to the wireless signal magnitude exceeding a threshold magnitude. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising initiating a page/inquiry scan based on the type of wireless signal. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein determining the type of wireless signal comprises determining that the wireless signal is an interferer signal. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , further comprising performing a continued scan in response to the determined interferer signal. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 5 , further comprising refraining from initiating a page/inquiry scan in response to the determined interferer signal. 
     
     
         8 . A system for wireless communication, the system comprising:
 circuitry configured to:
 perform a scan across a frequency range; 
 for at least a portion of the frequencies of the frequency range, determine a respective signal strength at the corresponding frequency; 
 detect a presence of a wireless signal based on the respective signal strength and a threshold signal strength; 
 determine a wireless signal bandwidth associated with the wireless signal; and 
 determine a type of wireless signal based on the wireless signal bandwidth and the wireless signal bandwidth. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 8 , wherein scanning across the frequency range comprises adjusting a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) within a phase locked loop (PLL). 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 9 , wherein the PLL is configured to refrain from locking onto each of the frequencies of the frequency range. 
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 8 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine whether to initiate a page/inquiry scan based on the type of wireless signal. 
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to refrain from initiating the page/inquiry scan in response to the type of wireless signal being an interferer signal. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 8 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to store in a memory each respective signal strength and corresponding frequency as signal strength versus frequency data. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 8 , wherein performing the scan across the frequency range comprises a continuous frequency ramp. 
     
     
         15 . A system for wireless communication, the system comprising:
 circuitry configured to:
 measure a wireless signal strength for at least a portion of frequencies in a frequency range; 
 detect a presence of a wireless signal based on the corresponding wireless signal strength; 
 determine a wireless signal bandwidth for the wireless signal; and 
 determine a type of wireless signal based on the wireless signal bandwidth and a threshold bandwidth. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein measuring comprises utilizing a phase locked loop (PLL) and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 16 , wherein the VCO is configured to operate in an open loop mode. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to store in a memory a signal profile of the wireless signal, the signal profile specifying the corresponding wireless signal strength and corresponding frequency. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 18 , wherein the signal profile of the wireless signal further specifies the wireless signal bandwidth. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to initiate a page/inquiry scan based on the type of wireless signal.