Assembly, and associated method, for facilitating channel frequecy selection in a communication system utilizing a dynamic frequency selection scheme

• US 20050013275A1
• Filed: 04/20/2004
• Published: 01/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Gray, Steven, Black, Simon A., Vadde, Venkatesh
• Granted Patent: US 7,535,868 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An assembly, and an associated method, for an ad hoc network, such as an independent basic service set defined in an IEEE 802.11 protocol specification. A channel map is created and maintained at each mobile station of the ad hoc network. The channel map is populated with channel characteristic indicia of channel frequencies that might be available upon which to be used in the ad hoc network to effectuate communications between the mobile stations. Information related to the channel map created and maintained at each of the mobile stations is exchanged, and any of the mobile stations is selectable to form a DFS owner that defines the channel frequency to be used upon which to define a communication channel for communications in the network.

Claims

1-20. -20. Canceled.

21. In an ad hoc communication network having a plurality of communication stations, an improvement of apparatus for at least a selected communication station of the plurality, said apparatus for dynamically selecting selected channel frequencies upon which to communicate data between the communication stations of the plurality, the selected channel frequencies selected from a plurality of potential channel frequencies, said apparatus comprising:

a channel frequency measurer selectably for measuring local indications of channel conditions on various of the potential channel frequencies within a selected range of frequencies;

a channel map information detector selectably for detecting global indications of channel conditions, also on various of the channel frequencies, communicated thereto;

a combiner for combining the local indications, if any, measured by said channel frequency measurer with the global indications, if any, to form combined values of the channel conditions; and

a channel map populated with the combined values formed by said combiner, said channel map selectably accessible pursuant to selection procedures by which to select the selected channel frequencies upon which to communicate the data.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the plurality of communication stations comprises a first communication station and at least a second communication station and wherein said apparatus is embodied at each of the first and at least second communication stations.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein a selected one of the first and at least second selected communication stations is defined as a dynamic frequency selection owner during a selected time period and wherein said channel map of the selected one of the first and at least second selected communication stations is accessed to select which of the plurality of potential channel frequencies is selected to form the selected channel frequencies upon which to communicate the data.

24. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said channel map comprises a listing formed of entries, each identifying the various of the channel frequencies together with the combined values associated therewith, each of the channel frequencies and the combined values associated therewith formatted according to a selected format.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein the combined values forming part of each entry of the listing of said channel map comprises an octet including at least one sub-field, values populating the at least the one sub-field determinative, at least in part, of which of the plurality of potential channel frequencies forms the selected channel frequencies.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the at least one sub-field is populated with values representative of interference on the channel frequency associated therewith.

27. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the at least one sub-field comprises a basic service set indication value.

28. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the at least one sub-field identifies a value of a PLCP header flag.

29. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the at least one sub-field comprises a value of a periodicity flag.

30. The apparatus of claim 21 further comprising a dynamic frequency selection controller selectably for accessing values populating said channel map, said dynamic frequency selection controller for selecting the selected channel frequencies upon which to communicate the data.

31. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said combiner compares values of the local indications and corresponding, if any, values of the global indications and forms the combined values responsive to comparisons therebetween.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein the combined values formed by said combiner responsive to the comparisons between the values of the local indications and the values of the global indications are formed of the values of the local and global indications, respectively, that are of greatest magnitudes.

33. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said combiner further determines whether differences between the values of the local indications and the values of the global indications are greater than a selected threshold and for utilizing values of the local indications to form the combined values when the differences exceed the selected threshold.

34. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said combiner averages together values of the local indications and corresponding values, if any, of the global indications and forms the combined values responsive to averages of the values of the local and global indications, respectively.

35. A method for communicating in an ad hoc communication network having a plurality of communication stations, the method for dynamically selecting selected channel frequencies upon which to communicate data between the communication stations of the plurality, the selected channel frequencies selected from a plurality of potential channel frequencies, said method comprising the operations of:

measuring local indications of channel conditions on various of the potential channel frequencies within a selected range of frequencies;

detecting global indications of channel conditions, also on various of the channel frequencies;

combining the local indications measured during said operation of measuring and the global indications to form combined values of the channel conditions; and

populating a channel map with the combined values formed during said operation of combining, the channel map selectably accessible pursuant to selection procedures by which to select the selected channel frequencies upon which to communicate the data.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the plurality of communication stations comprises a first communication station and at least a second communication station and wherein said operations of measuring, detecting, combining, and populating are performed at each of the first and at least second communication stations.

37. The method of claim 36 further comprising the operations of:

selecting one of the first and at least second communication stations as a dynamic frequency selection owner; and

using the channel map at the dynamic selection owner selected during said operation of selecting pursuant to the selection procedures by which to select the channel frequencies upon which to communicate the data.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising the operations of successively reselecting the one of the first and at least second communication stations as the dynamic frequency selection owner during successive time intervals.

39. The method of claim 37 further comprising the operation of choosing a channel frequency identified in the channel map of the dynamic frequency selection owner upon which to communicate the data.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the channel frequency chosen during said operation of choosing exhibits levels of interference lower than a selected threshold.