METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ACQUIRING AVAILABLE CHANNEL INFORMATION IN A WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK SYSTEM

• US 20120165056A1
• Filed: 03/18/2011
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: KIM, Eun Sun, SEOK, Yong Ho
• Granted Patent: US 8,583,129 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/002 Transmission of channel access control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for acquiring/providing available channel information using Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) protocol in a wireless local area network (WLAN) are disclosed. AP (Access Point) station has a capability to acquire information for available channels from a database using a specific protocol related to an operation within the White Space (e.g. Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP)). And, non-AP station can retrieve the information for available channels by transmitting a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) initial request frame to the AP station, wherein the GAS initial request frame comprises an Advertisement Protocol Element whose element ID indicates the specific protocol, and receiving a GAS initial response frame comprising a White Space Map (WSM) the specific protocol. The WSM comprises one or more white space channel units, and each of the white space channel units comprises a channel number field indicating one of the available channels and a power constraint field indicating a maximum allowable power on the indicated channel.

Claims

1. A method for a non-AP (Access Point) station, operating as an unlicensed device in a White Space where the unlicensed device is permitted to operate within available channels not used by a licensed device, to retrieve information for the available channels from an AP station, the method comprising:

transmitting a request frame to the AP station, wherein the request frame comprises an identifier indicating a specific protocol related to an operation within the White Space, wherein the AP station has a capability to acquire the information for the available channels from a database using the specific protocol; and

receiving a response frame comprising a White Space Map (WSM) indicating the information for the available channels using the specific protocol from the AP station, wherein the WSM comprises frequency information for the available channels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the WSM comprises one or more white space channel units, and each of the white space channel units comprises a channel number field indicating one of the available channels and a power constraint field indicating a maximum allowable power on the indicated channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request frame comprises a probe request frame, and the response frame comprises a probe response frame.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the request frame comprises a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) initial request frame, and the response frame comprises a GAS initial response frame, and

wherein the GAS initial request frame comprises an Advertisement Protocol Element whose element ID indicates the specific protocol.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the specific protocol comprises Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP).

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the GAS initial request frame further comprises an ANQP element whose information ID indicates a TV White Space (TVWS) access element.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the GAS initial response frame further comprises an ANQP element whose information ID indicates a TV White Space (TVWS) access element.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the TVWS access element in the GAS initial response frame comprises:

a database access time field indicating when the AP station accessed the database to get the WSM; and

one or more white space channel units corresponding to the WSM.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the GAS initial response frame further comprises information on a location of the AP station, and information on a coverage within which the WSM is valid.

10. A non-AP (Access Point) station, operating as an unlicensed device in a White Space where the unlicensed device is permitted to operate within available channels not used by a licensed device, for receiving information for the available channels from an AP station, the non-AP station comprising:

a transmitter configured for transmitting a request frame to the AP station, wherein the request frame comprises an identifier indicating a specific protocol related to an operation within the White Space, wherein the AP station has a capability to acquire the information for the available channels from a database using the specific protocol; and

a receiver configured for receiving a response frame comprising a White Space Map (WSM) indicating the information for the available channels from the AP station using the specific protocol, wherein the WSM comprises frequency information for the available channels.

11. The non-AP station of claim 10, wherein the WSM comprises one or more white space channel units, and each of the white space channel units comprises a channel number field indicating one of the available channels and a power constraint field indicating a maximum allowable power on the indicated channel.

12. The non-AP station of claim 10, wherein the request frame comprises a probe request frame, and the response frame comprises a probe response frame.

13. The non-AP station of claim 10, wherein the request frame comprises a Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) initial request frame, and the response frame comprises a CAS initial response frame, and

wherein the GAS initial request frame comprises an Advertisement Protocol Element whose element ID indicates the specific protocol.

14. The non-AP station of claim 13, wherein the specific protocol comprises Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP).

15. The non-AP station of claim 14, wherein the GAS initial request frame further comprises an ANQP element whose information ID indicates a TV White Space (TVWS) access element.

16. The non-AP station of claim 14, wherein the GAS initial response frame further comprises an ANQP element whose information ID indicates a TV White Space (TVWS) access element.

17. The non-AP station of claim 16, wherein the TVWS access element in the GAS initial response frame comprises:

a database access time field indicating when the AP station accessed the database to get the WSM; and

one or more white space channel units corresponding to the WSM.

18. The non-AP station of claim 13, wherein the GAS initial response frame further comprises information on a location of the AP station, and information on a coverage within which the WSM is valid.