BANDWIDTH EFFICIENT WIRELESS NETWORK MODEM

• US 20090310619A1
• Filed: 08/27/2009
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Collision Communications, Inc. (Concert Technology Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: BROMMER, Karl D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,089,946 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/449
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1682 Allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users, e.g. concentrated multiplexers, statistical multiplexers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/18 Automatic repetition systems, e.g. Van Duuren systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/54 based on quality criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance

Abstract

A modem that provides efficient use of wireless network bandwidth in the presence of multiuser interference and noise is disclosed. The modem design provides for compatibility with existing network hardware and protocols so that new efficient modems may be added to the network without removing installed hardware and software.

Claims

1. A modern which enables efficient use of bandwidth in a multiuser wireless network including a plurality of modems in the presence of interference and noise, the modem comprising:

a multiuser detection module adapted to simultaneously demodulate and recover K wirelessly transmitted signals using co-channel demodulation;

a data formatting module operatively coupled to the multiuser detection module, and adapted to produce network data packets for at least one of the K recovered signals;

a control processor operatively coupled to the formatting module, and adapted to detect with which protocol mode the at least one of the K recovered signals was transmitted, and to enable a corresponding transmission mode including one of a legacy protocol mode and a bandwidth efficient aggressive access protocol mode that exploits co-channel demodulation capabilities of the modem; and

a demultiplexer operatively coupled to the data formatting module and the control processor, and adapted to select one of the recovered K wirelessly transmitted signals as a target signal intended for a user associated with the modem, where the selection is based on a control input from the control processor.

2. The modem of claim 1 further comprising:

a front end adapted to simultaneously receive the K wirelessly transmitted signals, and to provide those signals in a form that facilitates their subsequent processing by the multiuser detection module.

3. The modem of claim 1 wherein the data formatting module supports multiple types of format modes, and the control processor is configured to select a formatting mode in which the data formatting module operates.

4. The modem of claim 1 wherein in response to the control processor knowing that a modem with which it is communicating does not support the bandwidth efficient aggressive access protocol mode, the control processor is further adapted to enable a legacy protocol mode there by providing backwards compatibility.

5. A method for polling and scheduling in a multiuser network that includes three or more bandwidth efficient modems, with at least one modem designated as a polling point coordinator access point (AP) element that operates as a global timer, the method comprising:

receiving a beacon signal from the AP element that indicates frame start, the frame having an interval;

monitoring current broadcasting activity of other modems included in the network so as to identify an open slot available for data transmission in a channel, where two or more modems can transmit in the channel at the same time; and

in response to identifying an open slot and being next in a transmission queue, transmitting data in the open slot.

6. The modem of claim 5 wherein the transmission queue is based on a round robin scheme, where each modem included in the network is assigned a transmission priority.

7. The modem of claim 5 wherein the transmission queue is based on priority information included in the beacon signal.

8. The modem of claim 5 wherein the monitoring and transmission steps are repeated until a global signal to end the frame is received from the AP element.