Coexistence of multiple radio systems in unlicensed bands

• US 20050181823A1
• Filed: 12/24/2004
• Published: 08/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Haartsen, Jacobus C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,480,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/553.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks

Abstract

A transceiver operates in a communication environment capable of including other transceivers, wherein the transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards. The transceiver identifies a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the transceiver and by the other transceivers, and broadcasts information on the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the other transceivers of the presence of the transceiver. The transceiver also receives information from the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the transceiver of the presence of the other transceivers.

Claims

1. A method of operating a first transceiver in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the first transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the method comprising:

identifying a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the first transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers; and

broadcasting information on the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the one or more other transceivers of the presence of the first transceiver.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the carrier frequency comprises:

scanning a predefined radio band to determine whether any of the one or more other transceivers have broadcast information on the shared broadcast channel.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

selecting a frequency within the predefined radio band and establishing the shared broadcast channel in response to determining that none of the other transceivers has broadcast information on the shared broadcast channel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a carrier frequency that the first transceiver is using to communicate traffic.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a bandwidth being occupied by the first transceiver.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a duty cycle of operation on a radio spectrum by the first transceiver.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a transmit power level being used by the first transceiver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a periodicity with which the information is being broadcast on the shared broadcast channel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a first point in time relative to another point in time, the first point in time being a point in time that the information is being broadcast on the shared broadcast channel.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a spreading factor being used by the first transceiver.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a spreading code being used by the first transceiver.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a characteristic of the first transceiver that enables the one or more other transceivers to adjust operation to achieve a reduction of interference with the first transceiver.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein broadcasting information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

broadcasting a first segment on the shared broadcast channel by using a first signaling format to broadcast the information on the shared broadcast channel; and

broadcasting a second segment on the shared broadcast channel by using a second signaling format to broadcast the information on the shared broadcast channel,

wherein the first signaling format is different from the second signaling format.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein broadcasting the information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

using a signaling format that is used by all of the first and other transceivers to broadcast information on and receive information from the shared broadcast channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein broadcasting the information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

approximating a signaling format that is approximated by all of the first and other transceivers to broadcast information on and receive information from the shared broadcast channel.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein broadcasting the information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

approximating a continuous phase modulation (CPM) signaling format having a CPM modulation index that is larger than a largest CPM modulation index used by any of the first and other communications standards, and having a symbol time that is larger than the largest symbol time used by any of the first and other communications standards.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein approximating the continuous phase modulation (CPM) signaling format having the CPM modulation index that is larger than the largest CPM modulation index used by any of the first and other communications standards, and having the symbol time that is larger than the largest symbol time used by any of the first and other communications standards comprises:

for each bit of information contained in the information to be broadcast on the shared broadcast channel, substituting a corresponding symbol sequence; and

supplying each corresponding symbol sequence to a transmitter unit operating in accordance with the first communications standard.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the transmitter unit includes a delta demodulator that generates a signal waveform to be transmitted.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the CPM signaling format is a continuous phase frequency shift keying signaling format.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first transceiver operates in a first frequency band, and at least one of the other transceivers operates in an adjacent frequency band.

21. The method of clam 20, wherein the shared broadcast channel is located within the adjacent frequency band.

22. A method of operating a first transceiver in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the first transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the method comprising:

identifying a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the first transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers; and

receiving information from the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the first transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising:

in response to receipt of the information informing the first transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers, adapting operation of the first transceiver so as to reduce interference to and/or from the one or more other transceivers.

24. A transceiver for use in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the transceiver comprising:

logic that identifies a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers; and

logic that broadcasts information on the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the one or more other transceivers of the presence of the transceiver.

25. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the logic that identifies the carrier frequency comprises:

logic that scans a predefined radio band to determine whether any of the one or more other transceivers have broadcast information on the shared broadcast channel.

26. The transceiver of claim 25, comprising:

logic that selects a frequency within the predefined radio band and establishes the shared broadcast channel in response to determining that none of the other transceivers has broadcast information on the shared broadcast channel.

27. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a carrier frequency that the transceiver is using to communicate traffic.

28. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a bandwidth being occupied by the transceiver.

29. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a duty cycle of operation on a radio spectrum by the transceiver.

30. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a transmit power level being used by the transceiver.

31. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a periodicity with which the information is being broadcast on the shared broadcast channel.

32. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a first point in time relative to another point in time, the first point in time being a point in time that the information is being broadcast on the shared broadcast channel.

33. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a spreading factor being used by the transceiver.

34. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a spreading code being used by the transceiver.

35. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the information comprises an identifier of a characteristic of the transceiver that enables the one or more other transceivers to adjust operation to achieve a reduction of interference with the transceiver.

36. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the logic that broadcasts information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

logic that broadcasts a first segment on the shared broadcast channel by using a first signaling format to broadcast the information on the shared broadcast channel; and

logic that broadcasts a second segment on the shared broadcast channel by using a second signaling format to broadcast the information on the shared broadcast channel,

wherein the first signaling format is different from the second signaling format.

37. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the logic that broadcasts the information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

logic that uses a signaling format that is used by the transceiver and all of the other transceivers to broadcast information on and receive information from the shared broadcast channel.

38. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the logic that broadcasts the information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

logic that approximates a signaling format that is approximated by all of the first and other transceivers to broadcast information on and receive information from the shared broadcast channel.

39. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the logic that broadcasts the information on the shared broadcast channel comprises:

logic that approximates a continuous phase modulation (CPM) signaling format having a CPM modulation index that is larger than a largest CPM modulation index used by any of the first and other communications standards, and having a symbol time that is larger than the largest symbol time used by any of the first and other communications standards.

40. The transceiver of claim 39, wherein the logic that approximates the continuous phase modulation (CPM) signaling format having the CPM modulation index that is larger than the largest CPM modulation index used by any of the first and other communications standards, and having the symbol time that is larger than the largest symbol time used by any of the first and other communications standards comprises:

logic that, for each bit of information contained in the information to be broadcast on the shared broadcast channel, substitutes a corresponding symbol sequence; and

logic that supplies each corresponding symbol sequence to a transmitter unit operating in accordance with the first communications standard.

41. The transceiver of claim 40, wherein the transmitter unit includes a delta demodulator that generates a signal waveform to be transmitted.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the CPM signaling format is a continuous phase frequency shift keying signaling format.

43. The transceiver of claim 24, wherein the transceiver operates in a first frequency band, and at least one of the other transceivers operates in an adjacent frequency band.

51. The machine readable storage medium of claim 40, comprising program instructions that cause the processor to operate transceiver logic to perform:

in response to receipt of the information informing the first transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers, adapting operation of the first transceiver so as to reduce interference to and/or from the one or more other transceivers.

44. The transceiver of clam 43, wherein the shared broadcast channel is located within the adjacent frequency band.

45. A transceiver for use in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the transceiver comprising:

logic that identifies a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers; and

logic that receives information from the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers.

46. The transceiver of claim 45, comprising:

logic that, in response to receipt of the information informing the transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers, adapts operation of the transceiver so as to reduce interference to and/or from the one or more other transceivers.

47. A transceiver for use in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the transceiver comprising:

logic that identifies a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers;

logic that broadcasts information on the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the one or more other transceivers of the presence of the transceiver; and

logic that receives information from the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers.

48. The transceiver of claim 47, comprising:

logic that, in response to receipt of the information informing the transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers, adapts operation of the transceiver so as to reduce interference to and/or from the one or more other transceivers.

49. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of program instructions for operating a first transceiver in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the first transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the set of program instructions comprising instructions that cause a processor to operate transceiver logic to perform:

identifying a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the first transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers; and

broadcasting information on the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the one or more other transceivers of the presence of the first transceiver.

50. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of program instructions for operating a first transceiver in a wireless communication environment capable of including one or more other transceivers, wherein the first transceiver sends and receives traffic in accordance with a first communications standard, and one or more of the one or more other transceivers send and receive traffic in accordance with one or more other communication standards that are incompatible with the first communications standard such that traffic sent in accordance with any of the first and other communications standards cannot be received by a receiver operating in accordance with any other one of the first and other communications standards, the set of program instructions comprising instructions that cause a processor to operate transceiver logic to perform:

identifying a carrier frequency for use as a shared broadcast channel that is accessible by the first transceiver and by the one or more other transceivers; and

receiving information from the shared broadcast channel, wherein the information informs the first transceiver of the presence of the one or more other transceivers.