MIXED-MODE MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL (MAC) ON A SHARED COMMUNICATION MEDIUM

• US 20160128130A1
• Filed: 10/29/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: SADEK, Ahmed Kamel, KADOUS, Tamer Adel, VALLIAPPAN, Nachiappan
• Application Number:
  US14/926,389
• Publication Number:
  US 20160128130A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

Techniques for co-existence on a shared communication medium are disclosed. To foster co-existence, operation of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) may be cycled between active periods and inactive periods of transmission, on a communication medium shared with a second RAT, in accordance with a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) communication pattern. An identifier may be selected for association with the first RAT. A channel reservation message associated with the second RAT may then be transmitted, over the communication medium, to reserve the communication medium for one of the active periods, the channel reservation message including the identifier.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising:

cycling operation of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) between active periods and inactive periods of transmission, on a communication medium shared with a second RAT, in accordance with a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) communication pattern;

selecting an identifier for association with the first RAT; and

transmitting, over the communication medium, a channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for one of the active periods, the channel reservation message including the identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, the channel reservation message comprising at least one of a Clear-to-Send-to-Self (CTS2S) message defined by the second RAT, a Request-to-Send (RTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Clear-to-Send (CTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) header defined by the second RAT, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, the identifier comprising a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Receiver Address (RA) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a range of duration values selected to indicate first RAT operation, a duration threshold selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Physical (PHY) header scrambler seed selected to indicate first RAT operation, a PHY header user identifier selected to indicate first RAT operation, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, the identifier being coordinated among at least two access points.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining the identifier from backhaul signaling;

determining the identifier from an operator identifier;

or

a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second channel reservation message;

identifying the second channel reservation message as including the identifier; and

excluding, based on the identifying, the second channel reservation message from (i) one or more medium access control calculations, (ii) one or more Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings associated with the second RAT, or (iii) a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring the communication medium for first RAT signaling and second RAT signaling prior to a target active period of the DTX communication pattern; and

commencing the target active period of the DTX communication pattern at a floating time following a preceding inactive period of the DTX communication pattern based on the monitoring.

8. The method of claim 7:

the monitoring comprising measuring a signaling energy on the communication medium; and

the commencing comprising delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the signaling energy exceeding a threshold.

9. The method of claim 7:

the monitoring comprising decoding the first RAT signaling, the second RAT signaling, or both; and

the commencing comprising delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the decoded signaling indicating a channel reservation.

10. The method of claim 7, the transmitting comprising transmitting, over the communication medium, the channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for the target active period based on a triggering condition.

11. The method of claim 10, the triggering condition comprising a degradation of first RAT signaling, a degradation of second RAT signaling, a detection of one or more hidden second RAT nodes, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band.

13. The method of claim 1:

the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band;

the first RAT comprising Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology; and

the second RAT comprising Wi-Fi technology.

14. A communication apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being configured to;

cycle operation of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) between active periods and inactive periods of transmission, on a communication medium shared with a second RAT, in accordance with a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) communication pattern, and

select an identifier for association with the first RAT; and

a transceiver configured to transmit, over the communication medium, a channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for one of the active periods, the channel reservation message including the identifier.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, the channel reservation message comprising at least one of a Clear-to-Send-to-Self (CTS2S) message defined by the second RAT, a Request-to-Send (RTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Clear-to-Send (CTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) header defined by the second RAT, or a combination thereof.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, the identifier comprising a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Receiver Address (RA) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a range of duration values selected to indicate first RAT operation, a duration threshold selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Physical (PHY) header scrambler seed selected to indicate first RAT operation, a PHY header user identifier selected to indicate first RAT operation, or a combination thereof.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, the identifier being coordinated among at least two access points.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, the at least one processor and the at least one memory being further configured to:

determine the identifier from backhaul signaling;

determine the identifier from an operator identifier;

or

a combination thereof.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, the transceiver being further configured to receive a second channel reservation message;

and

the at least one processor and the at least one memory being further configured to identify the second channel reservation message as including the identifier, and to exclude, based on the identifying, the second channel reservation message from (i) one or more medium access control calculations, (ii) one or more Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings associated with the second RAT, or (iii) a combination thereof.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, the transceiver being further configured to monitor the communication medium for first RAT signaling and second RAT signaling prior to a target active period of the DTX communication pattern;

and

the at least one processor and the at least one memory being further configured to commence the target active period of the DTX communication pattern at a floating time following a preceding inactive period of the DTX communication pattern based on the monitoring.

21. The apparatus of claim 20:

the transceiver being configured to monitor the communication medium by measuring a signaling energy on the communication medium; and

the at least one processor and the at least one memory being configured to commence the target active period by delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the signaling energy exceeding a threshold.

22. The apparatus of claim 20:

the transceiver being configured to monitor the communication medium by decoding the first RAT signaling, the second RAT signaling, or both; and

the at least one processor and the at least one memory being configured to commence the target active period by delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the decoded signaling indicating a channel reservation.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, the transceiver being configured to transmit the channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for the target active period based on a triggering condition.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, the triggering condition comprising a degradation of first RAT signaling, a degradation of second RAT signaling, a detection of one or more hidden second RAT nodes, or a combination thereof.

25. The apparatus of claim 14, the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band.

26. The apparatus of claim 14:

the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band;

the first RAT comprising Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology; and

the second RAT comprising Wi-Fi technology.

27. A communication apparatus, comprising:

means for cycling operation of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) between active periods and inactive periods of transmission, on a communication medium shared with a second RAT, in accordance with a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) communication pattern;

means for selecting an identifier for association with the first RAT; and

means for transmitting, over the communication medium, a channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for one of the active periods, the channel reservation message including the identifier.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, the channel reservation message comprising at least one of a Clear-to-Send-to-Self (CTS2S) message defined by the second RAT, a Request-to-Send (RTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Clear-to-Send (CTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) header defined by the second RAT, or a combination thereof.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, the identifier comprising a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Receiver Address (RA) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a range of duration values selected to indicate first RAT operation, a duration threshold selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Physical (PHY) header scrambler seed selected to indicate first RAT operation, a PHY header user identifier selected to indicate first RAT operation, or a combination thereof.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, the identifier being coordinated among at least two access points.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

means for determining the identifier from backhaul signaling;

means for determining the identifier from an operator identifier;

or

a combination thereof.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

means for receiving a second channel reservation message;

means for identifying the second channel reservation message as including the identifier; and

means for excluding, based on the identifying, the second channel reservation message from (i) one or more medium access control calculations, (ii) one or more Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings associated with the second RAT, or (iii) a combination thereof.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

means for monitoring the communication medium for first RAT signaling and second RAT signaling prior to a target active period of the DTX communication pattern; and

means for commencing the target active period of the DTX communication pattern at a floating time following a preceding inactive period of the DTX communication pattern based on the monitoring.

34. The apparatus of claim 33:

the means for monitoring comprising means for measuring a signaling energy on the communication medium; and

the means for commencing comprising means for delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the signaling energy exceeding a threshold.

35. The apparatus of claim 33:

the means for monitoring comprising means for decoding the first RAT signaling, the second RAT signaling, or both; and

the means for commencing comprising means for delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the decoded signaling indicating a channel reservation.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, the means for transmitting comprising means for transmitting, over the communication medium, the channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for the target active period based on a triggering condition.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, the triggering condition comprising a degradation of first RAT signaling, a degradation of second RAT signaling, a detection of one or more hidden second RAT nodes, or a combination thereof.

38. The apparatus of claim 27, the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band.

39. The apparatus of claim 27:

the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band;

the first RAT comprising Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology; and

the second RAT comprising Wi-Fi technology.

40. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:

code for cycling operation of a first Radio Access Technology (RAT) between active periods and inactive periods of transmission, on a communication medium shared with a second RAT, in accordance with a Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) communication pattern;

code for selecting an identifier for association with the first RAT; and

code for transmitting, over the communication medium, a channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for one of the active periods, the channel reservation message including the identifier.

41. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, the channel reservation message comprising at least one of a Clear-to-Send-to-Self (CTS2S) message defined by the second RAT, a Request-to-Send (RTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Clear-to-Send (CTS) message defined by the second RAT, a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) header defined by the second RAT, or a combination thereof.

42. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, the identifier comprising a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Receiver Address (RA) selected to indicate first RAT operation, a range of duration values selected to indicate first RAT operation, a duration threshold selected to indicate first RAT operation, a Physical (PHY) header scrambler seed selected to indicate first RAT operation, a PHY header user identifier selected to indicate first RAT operation, or a combination thereof.

43. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, the identifier being coordinated among at least two access points.

44. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 43, further comprising:

code for determining the identifier from backhaul signaling;

code for determining the identifier from an operator identifier;

or

a combination thereof.

45. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, further comprising:

code for receiving a second channel reservation message;

code for identifying the second channel reservation message as including the identifier; and

code for excluding, based on the identifying, the second channel reservation message from (i) one or more medium access control calculations, (ii) one or more Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings associated with the second RAT, or (iii) a combination thereof.

46. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, further comprising:

code for monitoring the communication medium for first RAT signaling and second RAT signaling prior to a target active period of the DTX communication pattern; and

code for commencing the target active period of the DTX communication pattern at a floating time following a preceding inactive period of the DTX communication pattern based on the monitoring.

47. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 46:

the code for monitoring comprising code for measuring a signaling energy on the communication medium; and

the code for commencing comprising code for delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the signaling energy exceeding a threshold.

48. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 46:

the code for monitoring comprising code for decoding the first RAT signaling, the second RAT signaling, or both; and

the code for commencing comprising code for delaying the target active period in relation to the preceding inactive period in response to the decoded signaling indicating a channel reservation.

49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 46, the code for transmitting comprising code for transmitting, over the communication medium, the channel reservation message associated with the second RAT to reserve the communication medium for the target active period based on a triggering condition.

50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 49, the triggering condition comprising a degradation of first RAT signaling, a degradation of second RAT signaling, a detection of one or more hidden second RAT nodes, or a combination thereof.

51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band.

52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40:

the communication medium comprising one or more time, frequency, or space resources on an unlicensed radio frequency band;

the first RAT comprising Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology; and

the second RAT comprising Wi-Fi technology.