SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SCHEDULING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN WIRELESS DEVICES TO REDUCE INTERFERENCE ASSOCIATED WITH FULL DUPLEX COMMUNICATION IN MULTI-CELL NETWORKS

• US 20160029404A1
• Filed: 09/26/2014
• Published: 01/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ehsan Aryafar
• Inventors: Talwar, Shilpa, ARYAFAR, EHSAN, Doostnejad, Roya
• Granted Patent: US 9,491,776 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0073 Allocation arrangements that take into account other cell interferences for intercell interference mitigation or co-ordination in orthogonal multiplex systems H04J11/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/046 the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality

Abstract

Certain embodiments herein relate to scheduling interference between wireless devices in a manner that reduced interference associated with full duplex communication. Signal strength and interference information associated with communication between wireless devices may be collected and forwarded to a processing device, such as a central controller. The central controller may utilize such information to generate a conflict graph that depicts interference relationships between the wireless devices. Using the conflict graph, the central controller may determine whether requested communications may be scheduled along with concurrently scheduled communications without resulting in interference affecting the communications. In one embodiment, a requested communication may be scheduled with other concurrently scheduled communications if the aggregated throughput is increased with the addition of the requested communication.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to;

send, to one or more access points, a respective message comprising an instruction that causes the one or more access points to send frames in a plurality of beam directions to one or more user devices;

receive, from the one or more access points, signal strength and interference measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions;

generate a conflict graph comprising interference relationships between the one or more access points and the one or more user devices, wherein the interference relationships are based at least in part on the received signal strength and interference measurements;

receive a plurality of transmission requests for scheduling communication between the one or more access points and the one or more user devices; and

schedule, along with one or more previously scheduled transmission requests, a beam direction associated with a transmission request of the plurality of transmission requests, wherein the scheduling is based at least in part on a throughput associated with the beam direction increasing an aggregated throughput of the one or more previously scheduled transmission requests.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the message comprises a first message, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

send a second message to an access point of the one or more access points associated with the transmission request, wherein the second message causes the access point to perform the transmission request with a user device of the one or more user devices at a time indicated in the message.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the beam direction comprises a first beam direction, and wherein the transmission request comprises requests to simultaneously (i) download information from the access point to the user device in the beam direction and (ii) receive information from the user device to the access point in a second beam direction.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the transmission request comprises a request to download information from the access point to the user device.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the transmission request comprises a request to upload information form the user device to the access point.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the beam direction comprises a first beam direction, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine that a second beam direction associated with the transmission request should not be scheduled based at least in part on a throughput associated with the second beam direction not increasing the aggregated throughput.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein interference projected onto the beam direction associated with the transmission request is less than a threshold level.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the conflict graph indicates that an amount of interference projected onto a beam direction that is not scheduled is greater than a threshold level of interference.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine an order associated with the plurality of transmission requests; and

accessing the plurality of transmission requests in the determined order to determine whether to schedule the plurality of transmission request with the previously scheduled transmission requests.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beam directions correspond to a plurality of respective antennas associated with the access point, the device further comprising a modulator for modulating one or more signals comprising the data in the plurality of beam directions.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the interference measurements are associated with (i) at least one neighboring access point of the one or more access points and (ii) at least one neighboring user device of the one or more user devices.

12. A method comprising:

sending, by a central controller comprising at least one processor, to one or more access points, a respective message comprising an instruction that causes the one or more access points to send frames in a plurality of beam directions to one or more user devices;

receiving, by the central controller from the one or more access points, signal strength and interference measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions;

generating, by the central controller, a conflict graph comprising interference relationships between the one or more access points and the one or more user devices, the interference relationships based at least in part on the received signal strength and interference measurements; and

scheduling, by the central controller, a beam direction associated with a transmission request, along with one or more previously scheduled transmission requests, based at least in part on the conflict graph.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, by the central controller, a plurality of transmission requests for scheduling communication between the one or more access points and the one or more user devices.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the message comprises a first message, and wherein the method further comprises:

sending, by the central controller, a second message to an access point of the one or more access points associated with the transmission request, wherein the second message causes the access point to perform the transmission request with a user device of the one or more user devices at a time indicated in the message.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the beam direction comprises a first beam direction, and wherein the transmission request comprises requests to simultaneously (i) download information from the access point to the user device in the beam direction and (ii) receive information from the user device to the access point in a second beam direction.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the beam direction comprises a first beam direction, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the central controller, that a second beam direction associated with the transmission request should not be scheduled based at least in part on a throughput associated with the second beam direction not increasing the aggregated throughput.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the conflict graph indicates that an amount of interference projected onto a beam direction that is not scheduled is greater than a threshold level of interference.

18. A system comprising:

at least one memory comprising computer-executable instructions; and

at least one processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to;

send, to one or more access points, a respective message comprising an instruction that causes the one or more access points to send frames in a plurality of respective beam directions to one or more user devices, the plurality of respective beams directions associate with the plurality of antennas;

receive, from the one or more access points, signal strength and interference measurements associated with the plurality of beam directions;

generate a conflict graph comprising interference relationships between the one or more access points and the one or more user devices, the interference relationships based at least in part on the received signal strength and interference measurements; and

schedule a beam direction associated with a transmission request, along with one or more previously scheduled transmission requests, based at least in part on the conflict graph.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a plurality of antennas, the plurality of antennas comprising at least one transmit antenna for sending information associated with the transmission request, and at least one receive antenna for receiving information associated with the transmission request.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the message comprises a first message, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

send a second message to an access point of the one or more access points associated with the transmission request, wherein the second message causes the access point to perform the transmission request with a user device of the one or more user devices at a time indicated in the message.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the beam direction comprises a first beam direction, and wherein the transmission request comprises requests to simultaneously (i) download information from the access point to the user device in the beam direction and (ii) receive information from the user device to the access point in a second beam direction.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the transmission request comprises a request to download information from the access point to a user device using a transmit antenna of the plurality of antennas, the transmit antenna oriented in the beam direction.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the transmission request comprises a request to upload information from the user device to the access point using a receive antenna of the plurality of antennas, the receive antenna oriented in the beam direction.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein performing the transmission request comprises the access point receiving information from the user device in the beam direction.

25. The system of claim 18, wherein the beam direction comprises a first beam direction, and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine that a second beam direction associated with the transmission request should not be scheduled based at least in part on a throughput associated with the second beam direction not increasing the aggregated throughput.