MULTI-CHANNEL, MULTI-MODULATION, MULTI-RATE COMMUNICATION WITH A RADIO TRANSCEIVER

• US 20130121263A1
• Filed: 02/06/2012
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron Global Sarl (Itron, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Inventors: Nguyen, Viet-Hung, Bartier, Jerome, Mainaud, Bastien, Monier, Fabrice, Popa, Daniel, Van Wyk, Hartman
• Granted Patent: US 8,995,361 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management

Abstract

Techniques for communicating via a control channel, determining a particular data channel based on the communicating, and transferring data via the particular data channel are described. One or more messages are communicated via the control channel between first and second nodes. The one or more messages may indicate a particular data channel from multiple data channels that may be utilized to transfer data between the first and second nodes. The one or more messages may also indicate a modulation technique and/or data rate that may be implemented on the particular data channel. The one or more messages may be utilized to determine the particular data channel that will be utilized to transfer the data. The first and second nodes may switch to the particular data channel based on the determination and transfer the data via the particular data channel.

Claims

1. A method of transferring data, comprising:

specifying a control channel and multiple data channels from a plurality of channels;

receiving, via the control channel and from a node, a first message protocol data unit (PDU) indicating a request to send a data PDU, the data PDU being greater in size than the first message PDU;

determining, based at least in part on the first message PDU, a particular data channel of the multiple data channels, a modulation technique to be utilized on the particular data channel, and a data rate of the particular data channel, the data rate of the particular data channel being greater than or equal to a data rate of the control channel;

sending, via the control channel and to the node, a second message PDU indicating to send the data PDU;

switching to the particular data channel;

receiving, via the particular data channel, the data PDU from the node based at least in part on the determined modulation technique and data rate;

sending an acknowledgement PDU to the node indicating that the data PDU has been received; and

switching to the control channel in response to sending the acknowledgement PDU.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented by a single radio transceiver.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the specifying includes specifying the control channel and the multiple data channels by a media access control sub-layer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message PDU sent to the node indicates the particular data channel to be utilized during the receiving of the data PDU from the node.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

frequency hopping the control channel over the plurality of channels based on a hopping sequence.

6. A method of transferring data, comprising:

communicating one or more messages via a control channel;

determining, based at least in part on the communicating the one or more messages, a particular data channel from multiple data channels and a modulation technique to be utilized on the particular data channel, the control channel and the multiple data channels being channels on a same network;

switching to the particular data channel based at least in part on the determining the particular data channel;

sending or receiving data via the particular data channel based at least in part on the modulation technique; and

switching to the control channel upon completion of sending or receiving the data via the particular data channel.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more messages identify the particular data channel, the modulation technique, a data rate of the particular data channel, and a number of data units that will be sent via the particular data channel.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

sending or receiving an acknowledgment indicating that the data was received,

wherein the switching to the control channel includes switching to the control channel in response to sending or receiving the acknowledgement.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the communicating the one or more messages includes sending a message indicating a request to send the data to a node, and

the sending or receiving includes sending the data to the node via the particular data channel.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the communicating the one or more messages includes receiving a message indicating a request to send the data to a node, and

the sending or receiving includes receiving the data at the node via the particular data channel.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the sending or receiving includes sending or receiving the data via the particular data channel between first and second nodes while other data is transferred between third and fourth nodes via another data channel of the multiple data channels.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the method is implemented by a first node in communication with a second node, and

the determining includes determining the modulation technique to be utilized on the particular data channel based at least in part on capabilities of the first and second nodes.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the method is implemented by a first node in communication with a second node, and

the determining includes determining the modulation technique to be utilized during the sending or receiving of the data based at least in part on a distance from the first node to the second node.

14. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

frequency hopping the control channel over the plurality of channels based on a frequency hopping sequence.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more messages communicated via the control channel are each smaller in data size than the data sent or received via the particular data channel.

16. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the communicating the one or more messages includes communicating the one or more messages via the control channel at a first data rate, and

the sending or receiving the data includes sending or receiving the data via the particular data channel at a second data rate which is greater than the first data rate.

17. A transceiver, comprising:

an antenna to receive and/or transmit signals;

one or more processors; and

memory storing operational logic which when executed causes the one or more processors to perform acts including;

causing a first message to be sent or received via a control channel,

determining, based at least in part on the first message, a particular data channel from multiple data channels and a modulation technique to be utilized on the particular data channel, the control channel and the multiple data channels being channels on a same network,

causing switching to the particular data channel based at least in part on the determining the particular data channel,

causing data to be transferred via the particular data channel based at least in part on the modulation technique, and

causing switching to the control channel after the data has been transferred.

18. The transceiver of claim 17, wherein the transceiver comprises a multiprotocol transceiver configured to send and/or receive multiple different types of modulated signals.

19. The transceiver of claim 17, wherein the causing the first message to be sent or received includes,

causing the first message to be sent a first time via the control channel based at least in part on a first modulation technique, and

causing the first message to be sent a second time via the control channel based at least in part on a second modulation technique when a response to the first message sent the first time is not received at the transceiver within a predetermined time period, the second modulation technique being different than the first modulation technique.

20. The transceiver of claim 19, wherein the second modulation technique provides a greater distance of communication than the first modulation technique.