Radio access technology (RAT) aggregation on a shared communication medium

• US 10,736,125 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2017
• Issued: 08/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sadek, Ahmed Kamel
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Harry H
• Application Number:
  US15/587,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20170325251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,188 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

Techniques for managing Radio Access Technology (RAT) aggregation on a shared communication medium are disclosed. Control signaling may be sent, over a shared communication medium to an access terminal, in accordance with a first RAT. Data traffic may be scheduled for transmission to the access terminal based on one or more operating mode criteria for selecting between RATs. The scheduled data traffic may be transmitted, over the shared communication medium to the access terminal, in accordance with a second RAT.

Claims

1. A method of operating an access point, comprising:

sending, by the access point over a shared communication medium to first and second access terminals, control signaling in accordance with a first Radio Access Technology (RAT);

selecting, by the access point, one of the first RAT or a second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal based on a first set of one or more operating mode criteria,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a signal quality criterion, a traffic Quality of Service (QoS) criterion, a mobility criterion, or a combination thereof;

selecting, by the access point, one of the first RAT or the second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the second access terminal based on a second set of one or more operating mode criteria;

scheduling, by the access point, data traffic for transmission to the first and second access terminals on the respective selected RATs; and

transmitting, by the access point over the shared communication medium to the first and second access terminals, the scheduled data traffic in accordance with the respective selected RATs,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a first performance requirement threshold, wherein the first performance requirement threshold is a signal quality threshold and the second set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a second performance threshold that is different than the first performance requirement threshold, and

wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT based on a signal quality of the first access terminal being above the signal quality threshold.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the shared communication medium comprises a common set of channels that are utilized by both the first and second RATs, or

wherein the first and second RATs utilize different sets of channels that overlap in part within the shared communication medium.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the control signaling is associated with system discovery, acquisition, authentication, mobility, Radio Resource Management (RRM), paging, Radio Link Failure (RLF), Discontinuous Reception (DRX), or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first performance requirement threshold is a QoS threshold, and wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT based on a traffic QoS of the first access terminal being below the QoS threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT based on a mobility of the first access terminal being below a threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending an operating mode identifier to the first access terminal to identify utilization of the respective selected RAT for the scheduled data traffic for transmission to the first access terminal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the operating mode identifier is sent dynamically as part of a channel reservation message.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the operating mode identifier is sent semi-statically as part of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT, further comprising:

receiving, over the shared communication medium, uplink data traffic in accordance with the second RAT from the first access terminal, wherein the transmitting and the receiving of data traffic with the first access terminal in accordance with the second RAT are performed in a common time period of a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) scheme separating first RAT and second RAT traffic.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT, further comprising:

scheduling uplink data traffic in accordance with the second RAT over the shared communication medium; and

transmitting downlink data traffic in accordance with the first RAT substantially concurrently with the transmitting to the first access terminal in accordance with the second RAT, wherein the transmitting in accordance with the first RAT and the transmitting to the first access terminal in accordance with the second RAT are Frequency Division Multiplexed (FDM).

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitting in accordance with the first RAT and the transmitting to the first access terminal in accordance with the second RAT correspond to transmissions to the same access terminal.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitting in accordance with the first RAT and the transmitting to the first access terminal in accordance with the second RAT correspond to transmissions to different access terminals.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing power control to reduce a transmission power or increase a backoff threshold associated with the transmitting for the first access terminal in accordance with the respective selected RAT.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising refraining from transmitting any beacon signals to the first access terminal associated with the respective selected RAT.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing an idle, paging, or random access procedure with the first access terminal in accordance with the first RAT in response to the first access terminal entering an idle mode.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) mode command to the first access terminal in accordance with the first RAT or the second RAT.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the DRX mode command is sent via a Medium Access Control (MAC) header Information Element (IE) defined by the selected RAT.

18. An access point, comprising:

a first transceiver configured to send, over a shared communication medium to first and second access terminals, control signaling in accordance with a first Radio Access Technology (RAT);

at least one processor;

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 select one of the first RAT or a second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal based on a first set of one or more operating mode criteria,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a signal quality criterion, a traffic Quality of Service (QoS) criterion, a mobility criterion, or a combination thereof;

to select one of the first RAT or the second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the second access terminal based on a second set of one or more operating mode criteria, and

to schedule data traffic for transmission to the first and second access terminals on the respective selected RATs; and

a second transceiver configured to transmit, over the shared communication medium to the first and second access terminals, the scheduled data traffic in accordance with the respective selected RATs,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a first performance requirement threshold, wherein the first performance requirement threshold is a signal quality threshold and the second set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a second performance threshold that is different than the first performance requirement threshold, and

wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT based on a signal quality of the first access terminal being above the signal quality threshold.

19. The access point of claim 18,

wherein the shared communication medium comprises a common set of channels that are utilized by both the first and second RATs, or

wherein the first and second RATs utilize different sets of channels within the shared communication medium.

20. The access point of claim 18, wherein the control signaling is associated with system discovery, acquisition, authentication, mobility, Radio Resource Management (RRM), paging, Radio Link Failure (RLF), Discontinuous Reception (DRX), or a combination thereof.

21. The access point of claim 18, wherein the first transceiver is further configured to send an operating mode identifier to the first access terminal to identify utilization of the respective selected RAT for the scheduled data traffic for transmission to the first access terminal.

22. The access point of claim 18,

wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory are configured to select the second RAT as the respective selected RAT for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal, and

wherein the second transceiver is further configured to:

receive, over the shared communication medium, uplink data traffic in accordance with the second RAT from the first access terminal; and

perform the transmitting and the receiving of data traffic with the first access terminal in accordance with the second RAT in a common time period of a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) scheme separating first RAT and second RAT traffic.

23. The access point of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor and the at least one memory are further configured to perform power control to reduce a transmission power or increase a backoff threshold associated with the second transceiver transmitting to the first access terminal in accordance with the respective selected RAT.

24. The access point of claim 18, wherein the second transceiver is further configured to refrain from transmitting any beacon signals to the first access terminal associated with the respective selected RAT.

25. The access point of claim 18, wherein the first transceiver is further configured to perform an idle, paging, or random access procedure with the first access terminal in accordance with the first RAT in response to the first access terminal entering an idle mode.

26. An access point, comprising:

means for sending, over a shared communication medium to first and second access terminals, control signaling in accordance with a first Radio Access Technology (RAT);

means for selecting one of the first RAT or a second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal based on a first set of one or more operating mode criteria,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a signal quality criterion, a traffic Quality of Service (QoS) criterion, a mobility criterion, or a combination thereof;

means for selecting, by the access point, one of the first RAT or the second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the second access terminal based on a second set of one or more operating mode criteria;

means for scheduling data traffic for transmission to the first and second access terminals on the respective selected RATs; and

means for transmitting, over the shared communication medium to the first and second access terminals, the scheduled data traffic in accordance with the respective selected RATs,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a first performance requirement threshold, wherein the first performance requirement threshold is a signal quality threshold and the second set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a second performance threshold that is different than the first performance requirement threshold, and

wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT based on a signal quality of the first access terminal being above the signal quality threshold.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code, which, when executed by at least one processor of an access point, causes the at least one processor to perform operations for communication, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

code for sending, over a shared communication medium to first and second access terminals, control signaling in accordance with a first Radio Access Technology (RAT);

code for selecting one of the first RAT or a second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal based on a first set of one or more operating mode criteria,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a signal quality criterion, a traffic Quality of Service (QoS) criterion, a mobility criterion, or a combination thereof;

code for selecting, by the access point, one of the first RAT or the second RAT for transmission of data traffic to the second access terminal based on a second set of one or more operating mode criteria;

code for scheduling data traffic for transmission to the first and second access terminals on the respective selected RATs; and

code for transmitting, over the shared communication medium to the first and second access terminals, the scheduled data traffic in accordance with the respective selected RATs,

wherein the first set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a first performance requirement threshold, wherein the first performance requirement threshold is a signal quality threshold and the second set of one or more operating mode criteria comprises a second performance threshold that is different than the first performance requirement threshold, and

wherein the selecting for transmission of data traffic to the first access terminal selects the second RAT as the respective selected RAT based on a signal quality of the first access terminal being above the signal quality threshold.