Base station with coordinated multiple air-interface operations

• US 20100173667A1
• Filed: 12/16/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirHop Communications, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AirHop Communications, Inc.
• Inventors: Hui, Yan, Park, Edwin
• Granted Patent: US 8,295,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/552.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/51 based on terminal or device properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

Base stations with coordinated multiple air-interface operations are provided. In some embodiments, multi-mode base station (BTS) systems operate with different air-interfaces, functionality, or configurations in a coordinated manner. For example, typical applications of such systems can include Macrocell BTS, Picocell BTS, Femtocell BTS, or Access Point (AP), Set Top Box (STB), or Home Gateway, Hot Spot Devices, User Terminal with the capability to perform required base station operations. In some embodiments, various techniques are provided for system improvements and optimizations via radio resource management, including user and system throughput optimization, QoS improvement, interference management, and various other improvements and optimizations. In some embodiments, a system (e.g., a multi-mode device, such as a base station, a repeater, and/or a terminal) includes a multi-mode communication unit, in which the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two modes; and a processor configured to implement at least in part the multi-mode communications unit. In some embodiments, the at least two modes include one or more of the following: frequency band, protocol standard, duplexing format, broadcast mode (e.g., television broadcast and/or a radio broadcast), and one-way communication mode.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a multi-mode communication unit, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two modes; and

a processor configured to implement at least in part the multi-mode communications unit.

2. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the at least two modes include one or more of the following:

frequency band, protocol standard, duplexing format, and one-way communication mode.

3. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the at least two modes include at least one broadcast mode.

4. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the at least two modes include at least one broadcast mode, and wherein the at least one broadcast mode includes a television broadcast mode or a radio broadcast mode.

5. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor implements the multi-mode communication unit.

6. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the processor is a digital processor, and wherein the digital processor implements the multi-mode communication unit.

7. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit includes a plurality of executable instructions for allocating access for communication using at least two modes, and wherein the processor is configured to execute the multi-mode communications unit.

8. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the communication includes wireless communication.

9. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the communication includes wired communication and wireless communication.

10. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-mode device, wherein the multi-mode device is a terminal.

11. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-mode device, wherein the multi-mode device is a terminal, and wherein the terminal is selected from one or more of the following:

a mobile phone, UE, Datacard, broadcast receiver, and broadcast transmitter.

12. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-mode device, wherein the multi-mode device is a base station.

13. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-mode device, wherein the multi-mode device is a repeater.

14. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-mode device, wherein the multi-mode device communicates with other multi-mode devices in a peer-to-peer wireless to communication network.

15. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a multi-mode device, wherein the multi-mode device is a base station, wherein the base station is selected from one or more of the following:

a cellular base station, a microcell base station, a Macrocell base station, a Picocell base station, a Femtocell base station, an Access Point (AP), a Set Top Box (STB), a Home Gateway, a Hot Spot Device, a User Terminal, a repeater, nodeB, and WiFi.

16. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit includes a radio resource manager.

17. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit includes a multi-mode radio resource manager (RRM).

18. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit includes a radio resource manager, and wherein the radio resource manager performs at least in part the allocation of access for communication using at least two modes.

19. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit includes a radio resource manager and a protocol management unit, wherein the radio resource manager and the protocol management unit perform at least in part the allocation of access for communication using at least two modes.

20. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit includes a radio resource manager, a protocol management unit, and a plurality of multi-mode protocol stacks, wherein the radio resource manager, the protocol management unit, and the plurality of multi-mode protocol stacks perform at least in part the allocation of access for communication using at least two modes.

21. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an RF/analog front end.

22. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an RF/analog front end, wherein the multi-mode communication is provided at least in part using the RF/analog front end.

23. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an antenna.

24. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an antenna, wherein the multi-mode communication is provided at least in part using the antenna.

25. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a multi-mode modem, wherein the multi-mode modem provides at least in part for communication using at least two modes.

26. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a first multi-mode modem, wherein the first multi-mode modem provides at least in part for communication using at least two modes; and

a second multi-mode modem, wherein the second modem provides at least in part for communication in at least two modes.

27. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a first multi-mode modem, wherein the first multi-mode modem communicates using at least a first air interface; and

a second multi-mode modem, wherein the second multi-mode modem communicates using at least a second air interface.

28. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes, wherein the access is allocated between at least two multi-mode air interfaces based on one or more of the following functions;

a time multiplex function, a spatial multiplex function, a soft reuse function, and a frequency reuse function.

29. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes, and wherein the access is dynamically allocated between at least two multi-mode air interfaces based on one or more of the following functions:

a time multiplex function, a spatial multiplex function, a soft reuse function, and a frequency reuse function.

30. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes, and wherein the access is allocated to between at least two multi-mode air interfaces using different power levels for wireless transmission for each of the at least two modes.

31. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function.

32. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit dynamically allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function.

33. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function, and wherein a first mode includes a time division based mode, and a second mode includes a frequency division based mode.

34. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function, and wherein a first mode includes a time division based mode and a second mode includes a frequency division based mode, including at least a TDD mode and an FDD mode.

35. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function, and wherein the scheduling function allocates resources.

36. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function, and wherein the scheduling function includes one or more of the following:

proportional fairness, round robin, and maximum throughput.

37. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using a single mode based on a first scheduling function;

and the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a second scheduling function.

38. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to coordinate transmissions using a multi-mode modem.

39. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to coordinate transmissions using a first multi-mode modem and a second multi-mode modem.

40. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to coordinate transmissions using a multi-mode modem, and wherein the scheduling function determines scheduling between a plurality of air interfaces based on one or more of the following:

frequency, bandwidth, interference, quality of service, service type, application type, device type, service provider, number of users, and spectrum availability.

41. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to coordinate transmissions using a multi-mode modem, wherein at least one frequency band is not allocated, and wherein the scheduling function includes scheduling between a plurality of frequency bands, based on one or more of the following:

bandwidth, interference, quality of service, service type, application type, device type, service provider, number of users, and spectrum availability.

42. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to coordinate transmissions using a multi-mode modem, wherein at least one time-frequency plane is not allocated, and wherein the scheduling function includes scheduling between a plurality of time-frequency planes based on one or more of the following:

bandwidth, interference, quality of service, service type, application type, device type, service provider, number of users, and spectrum availability.

43. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to optimize capacity usage based on one or more criteria.

44. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on capacity and quality of service.

45. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a first scheduling function for a first frequency band mode and based on a second scheduling function for a second frequency band mode.

46. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping.

47. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping, and wherein a first frequency band can be a subset and/or a superset of a second frequency band.

48. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping, wherein a first frequency band can be a subset and/or a superset of a second frequency band, and wherein the first frequency band is OFDM and the second frequency band is non-OFDM.

49. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping, wherein power levels with acceptable interferences are assigned.

50. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping, wherein access allocation varies over time.

51. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping, wherein a first frequency band can be a subset and/or a superset of a second frequency band, and wherein the first frequency band is OFDM and the second frequency band is OFDM.

52. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates to access for communication using at least two frequency bands, wherein the at least two frequency bands are overlapping, wherein a first frequency band can be a subset and/or a superset of a second frequency band, and wherein the first frequency band is non-OFDM and the second frequency band is non-OFDM.

53. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a multi-mode modem, wherein the multi-mode modem communicates in a first mode using a first protocol in an unlicensed frequency band and communicates in a second mode using the first protocol in a licensed frequency band.

54. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a multi-mode modem, wherein the multi-mode modem communicates in a first mode using a first protocol in an unlicensed frequency band and communicates in a second mode using the first protocol in a licensed frequency band, and wherein the unlicensed frequency band is not allocated.

55. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a multi-mode modem, wherein the multi-mode modem communicates in a first mode using a first protocol in an unlicensed frequency band and communicates in a second mode using the first protocol in a licensed frequency band, wherein the unlicensed frequency band is not allocated, and wherein the first protocol includes one or more of the following;

LTE, CDMA, OFDM, GSM, WiMax, LTE-A, HDSPA, HSUPA, HSPA, HSPA+, CDMA2000, EDGE, TDMA, 1×

EVDO, iDEN, TD-CDMA.

56. The system recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a first multi-mode modem, wherein the first multi-mode modem communicates in a first mode using a first protocol in an unlicensed frequency band; and

a second multi-mode modem, and wherein the second multi-mode modem communicates in a second mode using the first protocol in a licensed frequency band.

57. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system is a 2-tier multi-mode base station system, wherein the multi-mode communication unit operates using a first air-interface standard and a second air-interface standard.

58. The system recited in claim 1, wherein the system includes a repeater, and wherein the repeater operates as a terminal and as a base station.

59. A system, comprising:

a processor configured to;

a multi-mode communication unit, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two modes; and

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions.

60. A system, comprising:

a processor configured to;

a multi-mode communication unit, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two modes; and

a communication interface coupled to the processor and configured to provide the communication interface with instructions.

61. A method, comprising:

executing a multi-mode communication unit, wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using at least two modes, and wherein the multi-mode communication unit allocates access for communication using the at least two modes based on a scheduling function to coordinate transmissions using a multi-mode modem; and

executing radio resource manager, wherein the radio resource manager performs at least in part the allocation of access to the multi-mode modem for communication using at least two modes.

62. A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

to executing a multi-mode communication function, wherein the multi-mode communication function allocates access for communication using the at least two modes;

executing radio resource manager, wherein the radio resource manager performs at least in part the allocation of access for communication using at least two modes; and

a protocol management unit, wherein the protocol management unit perform at least in part the allocation of access for communication using at least two modes.