METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATIONS USING VISIBLE LIGHT COMMUNICATIONS SIGNALING IN COMBINATION WITH WIRELESS RADIO SIGNALING
First Claim
1. A method of operating a gateway comprising:
- receiving a signal from a user equipment (UE) device indicating that the UE device is in a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area; and
configuring a visible light communications access point controlled by said gateway as a supplemental wireless cell which supports downlink communications.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Various exemplary methods and apparatus are directed to using Visible Light Communication (VLC) in a downlink, e.g., a supplemental downlink, in combination with a wireless radio downlink/ uplink pair. A gateway is coupled, via a wireline link, to a VLC access point. In some embodiments, the gateway includes a wireless radio base station. A user equipment device detects a visible light signal from the VLC access point, and transmits a radio signal to a communications device, e.g., a gateway including a base station or a macro base station, indicating that the UE device is in a VLC coverage area. The gateway configures the VLC access point to serve as a supplemental wireless cell which supports downlink communications. The gateway sends traffic signals to the VLC access point, via the wireline, which are converted by the VLC access point into VLC signals which are transmitted. The UE device receives VLC downlink traffic signals and transmits a corresponding acknowledgment signal via an uplink radio channel.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of operating a gateway comprising:
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receiving a signal from a user equipment (UE) device indicating that the UE device is in a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area; and configuring a visible light communications access point controlled by said gateway as a supplemental wireless cell which supports downlink communications. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A gateway comprising:
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means for receiving a signal from a user equipment (UE) device indicating that the UE device is in a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area; and means for configuring a visible light communications access point controlled by said gateway as a supplemental wireless cell which supports downlink communications. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer program product for use in a gateway, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising; code for causing at least one computer to receive a signal from a user equipment (UE) device indicating that the UE device is in an a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area; and code for causing said at least one computer to configure a visible light communications access point controlled by said gateway as a supplemental wireless cell which supports downlink communications.
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12. A gateway comprising:
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at least one processor configured to; receive a signal from a user equipment (UE) device indicating that the UE device is in a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area; and configure a visible light communications access point controlled by said gateway as a supplemental wireless cell which supports downlink communications; and memory coupled to said at least one processor. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of operating user equipment (UE) device comprising:
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detecting a light signal from a visible light communications (VLC) access point; and transmitting a radio signal to a communications device indicating that the UE device is in a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area, wherein said communications device is one of a gateway or a macro base station. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A user equipment (UE) device comprising:
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means for detecting a light signal from a visible light communications (VLC) access point; and means for transmitting a radio signal to a communications device indicating that the UE device is in an a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area, wherein said communications device is one of a gateway or a macro base station. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A computer program product for use in a user equipment (UE) device, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising; code for causing at least one computer to detecting a light signal from a visible light communications (VLC) access point; and code for causing said at least one computer to transmit a radio signal to a communications device indicating that the UE device is in a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area, wherein said communications device is one of a gateway or a macro base station.
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27. A user equipment (UE) device comprising:
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at least one processor configured to; detect a light signal from a visible light communications (VLC) access point; and transmit a radio signal to a communications device indicating that the UE device is in an a visible light communications (VLC) coverage area, wherein said communications device is one of a gateway or a macro base station; and memory coupled to said at least one processor. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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Specification