ADAPTIVE WIRELESS COVERAGE CONFIGURATIONS

• US 20170064567A1
• Filed: 08/24/2015
• Published: 03/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Art2Wave Inc.
• Inventors: Ponnuswamy, Subbu
• Granted Patent: US 10,129,765 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/22 Traffic simulation tools or models
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition

Abstract

A system and method of determining adaptive wireless coverage configurations is disclosed. One or more network devices receive wireless signals from a wireless device at respective signal strength values that are above a minimum threshold. The network devices are identified as a first subset of network devices. Additionally or alternatively, one or more network devices transmit wireless signals that are received by the wireless device at respective signal strength values that are above a minimum threshold. The network devices are identified as a second subset of network devices. Based on the number of network devices in the first subset of network devices and/or the number of network devices in the second subset of network devices, a wireless coverage configuration corresponding to a location associated with the wireless device is modified.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, causes performance of operations comprising:

receiving, from a first wireless device by a subset of one or more network devices in a plurality of network devices, one or more wireless signals at respective signal strength values that are above a minimum threshold;

determining a number of network devices in the subset of network devices that receive the wireless signals at respective signal strength values that are above the minimum threshold; and

based at least on the number of network devices in the subset of network devices, modifying a wireless coverage configuration corresponding to a location associated with the first wireless device.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein the minimum threshold is at least one of (a) a minimum signal strength threshold, and (b) a minimum signal-to-noise ratio threshold.

3. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a transmit power of one or more network devices associated with the location.

4. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a receive sensitivity of one or more network devices associated with the location.

5. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a wireless communication cell size of one or more network devices associated with the location.

6. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

adding a network device for providing wireless coverage to the location.

7. The medium of claim 6, wherein the operation of adding the network device for providing wireless coverage is responsive at least to determining that a cell size, of one or more network devices associated with the location, is at a maximum value.

8. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration comprises:

modifying at least one of (a) a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) and (b) a physical layer (PHY) rate, configured for one or more network devices associated with the location.

9. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration comprises modifying one or more of:

a first threshold signal strength value used for determining whether or not to respond to a probe request; and

a second threshold signal strength value used for determining whether or not to disconnect from a client device.

10. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a radio frequency (RF) channel of one or more network devices associated with the location.

11. The medium of claim 1, wherein the location associated with the first wireless device is determined based at least on a first physical location of the first wireless device and a second physical location of a second wireless device.

12. The medium of claim 1, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location associated with the first wireless device is further responsive to determining that the location is not at an edge of a wireless coverage area corresponding the plurality of network devices.

13. The medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, by each of the plurality of network devices, one or more wireless signals;

identifying a second subset of network devices, in the plurality of network devices, that transmitted a subset of the wireless signals received by the first wireless device at respective signal strength values that are above a second minimum threshold;

determining a number of network devices in the second subset of network devices that transmitted a subset of the wireless signals received by the first wireless device at respective signal strength values that are above the second minimum threshold; and

wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location associated with the first wireless device is further based on the number of network devices in the second subset of network devices.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a first wireless device by a subset of one or more network devices in a plurality of network devices, one or more wireless signals at respective signal strength values that are above a minimum threshold;

determining a number of network devices in the subset of network devices that receive the wireless signals at respective signal strength values that are above the minimum threshold; and

based at least on the number of network devices in the subset of network devices, modifying a wireless coverage configuration corresponding to a location associated with the first wireless device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a transmit power of one or more network devices associated with the location.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a receive sensitivity of one or more network devices associated with the location.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a wireless communication cell size of one or more network devices associated with the location.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more hardware processors, causes performance of operations comprising:

transmitting, by each of a plurality of network devices, one or more wireless signals;

identifying a subset of network devices, in the plurality of network devices, that transmitted a subset of the wireless signals received by a first wireless device at respective signal strength values that are above a minimum threshold;

determining a number of network devices in the subset of network devices that transmitted a subset of the wireless signals received by the first wireless device at respective signal strength values that are above the minimum threshold; and

based at least on the number of network devices in the subset of network devices, modifying a wireless coverage configuration corresponding to a location associated with the first wireless device.

19. The medium of claim 18, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a transmit power of one or more network devices associated with the location.

20. The medium of claim 18, wherein modifying the wireless coverage configuration corresponding to the location comprises:

modifying a receive sensitivity of one or more network devices associated with the location.