Method for Operating a Station in a White Space, and Apparatus for Same

• US 20130109403A1
• Filed: 04/27/2011
• Published: 05/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Eunsun, Seok, Yongho
• Granted Patent: US 9,681,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/454
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus, in which a station (STA) which operates in an available channel that is not used by a licensed device, detects a signal (hereinafter, referred to as ‘primary signal’) of the licensed device in a white space band, and operates in the available channel. According to the present description, the station receives white space map (WSM) information which contains available channel identification information from a device having database information; acquires the result of measurement for detecting the presence of the primary signal in a specific band range; and transmits, to another station, the WSM which is updated to contain information on the band in which the primary signal is detected, wherein the updated WSM further contains information which indicates whether each available channel in the updated WSM is based on the database information or based on the result of measurement.

Claims

1. A method for operating a station (STA) in a white space band, in which the station operating as an unlicensed device with permission to operate in an available channel that is not used by a licensed device operates in the white space band by detecting a primary signal of the licensed device, the method comprising:

receiving white space map (WSM) information including identification information of an available channel from a device having database information;

obtaining a measurement result indicating detection of the presence or absence of the primary signal in a specific band range; and

transmitting an updated WSM including information of the band in which the primary signal was detected to another station,

wherein the updated WSM further includes specific information indicating whether each available channel belonging to the updated WSM is based on either the database information or the measurement result.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the station is an access point (AP), and

the measurement result indicating detection of the presence or absence of the primary signal is obtained either through measurement of the access point (AP) or by receiving a measurement result report of another station provided with the access point (AP).

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the station is a station but not an access point (AP),

the measurement result indicating detection of the presence or absence of the primary signal is obtained through station measurement but not access point (AP) measurement, and

the station but not the access point (AP) transmits the updated WSM to an access point (AP) configured to transmit a service to the station but not the access point (AP).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the updated WSM includes specific information indicating (1) whether each available channel belonging to the updated WSM is indicated as an available channel by both the database information and the measurement result, (2) whether each available channel is indicated as an available channel by the database information but the primary signal for the measurement result is detected, and (3) whether each available channel is not indicated as an available channel by the database information and the primary signal for the measurement result is not detected.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the WSM and the updated WSM further include maximum transmit (Tx) power information allowed in an available channel identified by the available channel identification information, and

the updated WSM is indicated as an available channel by the database information, and represents maximum power information, that is allowed in the channel in which the primary signal for the measurement result was detected, as a specific value.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the another station having received the updated WSM is configured to scan channels indicated by available channels in the updated WSM.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the another station having received the updated WSM is indicated as an available channel by the database information in the updated WSM, and is configured to scan even a specific channel in which the primary signal for the measurement result was detected.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an enablement signal from a specific access point (AP); and

transmitting a dynamic station enablement (DSE) request message to the specific access point (AP),

wherein the DSE request message includes information regarding the band in which the primary signal was detected.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the DSE request message, if the primary signal is detected in a channel indicated by the enablement signal, includes a reason result code having a predetermined code value indicating that the primary signal was detected in the channel indicated by the enablement signal, so that the reason result code is transmitted to the specific access point (AP).

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a message indicating switching to another channel through an extended channel switching announcement frame from the specific access point (AP); and

performing channel switching to a channel indicated by the extended channel switching announcement frame.

11. A method for operating a station (STA) in a white space band, in which the station operating as an unlicensed device with permission to operate in an available channel that is not used by a licensed device operates in the white space band by detecting a primary signal of the licensed device, the method comprising:

receiving an enablement signal from a specific access point (AP);

obtaining a measurement result indicating detection of the presence or absence of the primary signal in a specific band range; and

transmitting a dynamic station enablement (DSE) request message to the specific access point (AP),

wherein the DSE request message includes information regarding the band in which the primary signal was detected.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the DSE request message, if the primary signal is detected in a channel indicated by the enablement signal, includes a reason result code having a predetermined code value indicating that the primary signal was detected in the channel indicated by the enablement signal, so that the reason result code is transmitted to the specific access point (AP).

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a message indicating switching to another channel through an extended channel switching announcement frame from the specific access point (AP); and

performing channel switching to a channel indicated by the extended channel switching announcement frame.

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

receiving white space map (WSM) information including identification (ID) information of an available channel from a device having database information; and

transmitting an updated WSM including information regarding the band in which the primary signal was detected to another station,

wherein the updated WSM further includes specific information indicating whether each available channel belonging to the updated WSM is based on either the database information or the measurement result.

15. A station (STA) for operating as an unlicensed device with permission to operate in an available channel that is not used by a licensed device operating in the white space band, the station (STA) comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive white space map (WSM) information including identification information of an available channel from a device having database information; and

a processor functionally connected to the transceiver, which obtains a measurement result indicating detection of the presence or absence of the primary signal in a specific band range, updates white space map (WSM) information to include information regarding the band in which the primary signal was detected, and controls the transceiver to transmit the updated WSM to another station,

wherein the updated WSM further includes specific information indicating whether each available channel belonging to the updated WSM is based on either the database information or the measurement result.