Operating mode coordination on a shared communication medium

• US 10,264,541 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2017
• Issued: 04/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Patel, Chirag Sureshbhai, Luo, Tao, Radulescu, Andrei Dragos, Sadek, Ahmed Kamel, Kadous, Tamer Adel
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US15/421,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20170223737A1
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 370278, 370329, 370445
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/02 Hybrid access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0808 using carrier sensing, e.g. carrier sense multiple access [CSMA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

Techniques for intra- and inter-operator coordination on a shared communication medium are disclosed. A central coordination server may send an operating mode information message to coordinate operation of different points on the communication medium. An access point may receive such an operating mode information message and adjust one or more communication parameters. An access point may determine a level of timing synchronization with neighboring access points and send a synchronization advertisement message to an access terminal. An access terminal may receive a synchronization advertisement message and perform one or more measurements of the neighboring access points.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising:

receiving, at a central coordination server from a first access point associated with a first operator, information regarding operation of the first access point on a shared communication medium; and

sending, from the central coordination server to a second access point associated with a second operator, an operating mode information message based on the received information to coordinate operation of the first and second access points on the communication medium.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating mode information message includes a contention mode indicator that indicates whether and to what extent contention is in effect for transmission on the communication medium.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the contention mode indicator identifies a Listen Before Talk (LBT) category.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the contention mode indicator identifies an energy detection threshold, a contention window size, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating mode information message includes a reference signal timing indicator that assigns reference signal locations for the second access point.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reference signal timing indicator assigns Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) Transmission Window (DTxW) locations and lengths for the second access point that are staggered in time with respect to the first access point.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating mode information message includes a channel configuration indicator that indicates different operating channel frequencies for different Over-The-Air (OTA) co-existence schemes.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the channel configuration indicator indicates (i) a first operating channel frequency for access points that operate with contention in effect for transmission on the communication medium and (ii) a second operating channel frequency for access points that operate without contention in effect for transmission on the communication medium.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operator and the second operator are the same.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, from the central coordination server to the first access point, a second operating mode information message based on the operating mode information message to further coordinate operation of the first and second access points on the communication medium.

11. A communication apparatus, comprising:

at least one transceiver configured to receive, at a central coordination server from a first access point associated with a first operator, information regarding operation of the first access point on a shared communication medium;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being configured to direct the at least one transceiver to send, from the central coordination server to a second access point associated with a second operator, an operating mode information message based on the received information to coordinate operation of the first and second access points on the communication medium.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the operating mode information message includes a contention mode indicator that indicates whether and to what extent contention is in effect for transmission on the communication medium.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the operating mode information message includes a reference signal timing indicator that assigns reference signal locations for the second access point.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the operating mode information message includes a channel configuration indicator that indicates different operating channel frequencies for different Over-The-Air (OTA) co-existence schemes.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory are further configured to direct the at least one transceiver to send, from the central coordination server to the first access point, a second operating mode information message based on the operating mode information message to further coordinate operation of the first and second access points on the communication medium.

16. A communication method, comprising:

receiving, at a first access point associated with a first operator, directly or indirectly from a central coordination server, an operating mode information message for coordinating operation of the first access point on a shared communication medium with a second access point associated with a second operator; and

adjusting one or more communication parameters of the first access point based on the received operating mode information message.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the operating mode information message includes a contention mode indicator that indicates whether and to what extent contention is in effect for transmission on the communication medium.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the contention mode indicator identifies a Listen Before Talk (LBT) category.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the contention mode indicator identifies an energy detection threshold, a contention window size, or a combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising selectively contending for access to the communication medium based on the contention mode indicator.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the operating mode information message includes a reference signal timing indicator that assigns reference signal locations for the first access point.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the reference signal timing indicator assigns Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) Transmission Window (DTxW) locations and lengths for the first access point that are staggered in time with respect to the second access point.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the operating mode information message includes a channel configuration indicator that indicates different operating channels for different Over-The-Air (OTA) co-existence schemes.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the channel configuration indicator indicates (i) a first operating channel for access points that operate with contention in effect for transmission on the communication medium and (ii) a second operating channel for access points that operate without contention in effect for transmission on the communication medium.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

selecting the first or second operating channel for the first access point based on a contention mode employed by the first access point; and

transmitting from the first access point over the selected operating channel.

26. A communication apparatus, comprising:

at least one transceiver configured to receive, at a first access point associated with a first operator, directly or indirectly from a central coordination server, an operating mode information message for coordinating operation of the first access point on a shared communication medium with a second access point associated with a second operator;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being configured to adjust one or more communication parameters of the first access point based on the received operating mode information message.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the operating mode information message includes a contention mode indicator that indicates whether and to what extent contention is in effect for transmission on the communication medium.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the operating mode information message includes a reference signal timing indicator that assigns reference signal locations for the first access point.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the operating mode information message includes a channel configuration indicator that indicates different operating channels for different Over-The-Air (OTA) co-existence schemes.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the channel configuration indicator indicates (i) a first operating channel for access points that operate with contention in effect for transmission on the communication medium and (ii) a second operating channel for access points that operate without contention in effect for transmission on the communication medium.