Channel-adaptive radio modem
First Claim
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1. A channel-adaptive wireless modem for transmitting and receiving data, said radio modem-comprising:
- a broadband propagation path sensor for performing radio channel propagation characterization;
a memory for storing information regarding communication channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics;
at least one elemental transmitter and at least one elemental receiver for transmitting and receiving data;
a frequency controller for controlling the communication channel utilized by said at least one elemental transmitter and at least one elemental receiver, the frequency controller controlling data transmission by said at least one elemental transmitter to utilize at least one communication channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics as determined by said broadband propagation path sensor, information regarding said the at least one communication channel being stored in said memory.
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Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus for and method of determining the nature of the wireless environment which is in use and dynamically selecting appropriate frequency channels for data transmissions which are more likely to accommodate sustained data transmission at high speeds.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A channel-adaptive wireless modem for transmitting and receiving data, said radio modem-comprising:
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a broadband propagation path sensor for performing radio channel propagation characterization;
a memory for storing information regarding communication channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics;
at least one elemental transmitter and at least one elemental receiver for transmitting and receiving data;
a frequency controller for controlling the communication channel utilized by said at least one elemental transmitter and at least one elemental receiver, the frequency controller controlling data transmission by said at least one elemental transmitter to utilize at least one communication channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics as determined by said broadband propagation path sensor, information regarding said the at least one communication channel being stored in said memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
a channel sounding elemental transmitter associated with a first radio modem, the channel sounding elemental transmitter transmitting a predetermined spread spectrum data signal;
a channel sounding elemental receiver associated with a second radio modem for receiving spread spectrum data radio signals;
a comparator for correlating signals received by the channel sounding elemental receiver with the predetermined spread spectrum data signal;
a frequency domain analyzer for analyzing the correlated signals to convert the correlated signals into frequency domain information;
a processor responsive to the frequency domain information generated by the frequency domain analyzer for updating said memory of said first radio modem and for updating said memory of said second radio modem with information indicative of at least one communication channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics between said first radio modem and said second radio modem.
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3. The channel-adaptive wireless modem of claim 2 wherein the first radio modem includes a plurality of elemental transmitters and a plurality of elemental receivers for transmitting and receiving data, the elemental transmitters of said plurality of elemental transmitters being controlled, during communications with said second radio modem, to utilize a different communication channel selected from a group of communication channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics between said first radio modem and said second radio modem.
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4. A radio modem transmitter for transmitting and receiving data communications comprising:
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a. a channel sounding transmitter for transmitting a relatively wide band signal for testing the radio environment;
b. at least one elemental transmitter, said at least one elemental transmitter transmitting a relatively narrow band signal at a transmission frequency modulated with signals representing the at least some of the data communications to be transmitted;
c. a frequency selection unit for controlling the transmission frequency of each elemental transmitter;
d. at least one elemental receiver for (i) receiving data communications and (ii) receiving information regarding radio channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics;
e. a frequency band selection unit for controlling the transmission frequency of the at least one elemental transmitter, the frequency band selection unit including a memory for storing the received information regarding radio channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics and controlling the transmission frequency of the at least one elemental transmitter so that it corresponds with at least one channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A radio modem for receiving and transmitting data communications comprising:
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a. a channel sounding receiver for receiving a relatively wide band signal for testing the radio environment;
b. a frequency selection processor for determining radio frequency channels having acceptable propagation characteristics;
c. at least one elemental transmitter, said at least one elemental transmitter transmitting a relatively narrow band signal at a transmission frequency modulated with signals representing (i) the at least some of the data communications to be transmitted and (ii) information regarding radio channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics as determined by said frequency selection processor;
d. at least one elemental receiver for receiving data communications;
e. said frequency band selection processor controlling the transmission frequency of the at least one elemental receiver, the frequency band selection processor including an associated memory for storing the received information regarding radio channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics and controlling the transmission frequency of the at least one elemental transmitter so that it corresponds with at least one channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of transmitting data communications by radio, said method comprising the steps of:
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a. transmitting a spread spectrum signal at a first location;
b. receiving the spread spectrum signal at a remote location;
c. analyzing the received spread spectrum signal using frequency domain analysis to distinguish frequency channels having relatively good radio propagation characteristics from channels having relatively poor radio frequency propagation characteristics between the first location and the remote location; and
d. transmitting the data communications using one or more channels having relatively good radio propagation characteristics and avoiding using channels having relatively poor radio propagation characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A channel-adaptive radio apparatus for transmitting and receiving data, said radio apparatus comprising:
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a broadband propagation path sensor for performing radio channel propagation characterization of multiple communication channels;
a memory for storing information regarding communication channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics;
at least one elemental transmitter for transmitting at least data;
at least one elemental receiver for receiving at least data; and
a frequency controller for controlling the communication channel utilized by said at least one elemental transmitter and at least one elemental receiver, the frequency controller controlling data transmission by said at least one elemental transmitter to utilize at least one communication channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics as determined by said broadband propagation path sensor, information regarding said the at least one communication channel being stored in said memory. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
a channel sounding elemental transmitter associated with a first radio modem, the channel sounding elemental transmitter transmitting a predetermined broadband spread spectrum data signal;
a channel sounding elemental receiver associated with a second radio modem for receiving spread spectrum data radio signals;
a comparator for correlating signals received by the channel sounding elemental receiver with the predetermined spread spectrum data signal;
a frequency domain analyzer for analyzing the correlated signals to convert the correlated signals into frequency domain information;
a processor responsive to the frequency domain information generated by the frequency domain analyzer for updating said memory of said first radio modem and for updating said memory of said second radio modem with information indicative of at least one communication channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics between said first radio modem and said second radio modem.
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28. The channel-adaptive radio apparatus of claim 27 wherein the first radio modem includes a plurality of elemental transmitters and a plurality of elemental receivers for transmitting and receiving data, the elemental transmitters of said plurality of elemental transmitters being controlled, during communications with said second radio modem, to utilize a different communication channel selected from a group of communication channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics between said first radio modem and said second radio modem.
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29. A radio for transmitting and receiving data communications comprising:
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a. a channel sounding transmitter for transmitting a relatively wideband signal for testing the radio environment;
b. at least one elemental transmitter, said at least one elemental transmitter transmitting a relatively narrow band signal at a transmission frequency modulated with signals representing the at least some of the data communications to be transmitted;
c. a frequency selection unit for controlling the transmission frequency of each elemental transmitter;
d. at least one elemental receiver for (i) receiving data communications and (ii) receiving information regarding radio channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics;
e. a frequency band selection unit for controlling the transmission frequency of the at least one elemental transmitter, the frequency band selection unit including a memory for storing the received information regarding radio channels having acceptable radio propagation characteristics and controlling the transmission frequency of the at least one elemental transmitter so that it transmission occur in said at least one channel having acceptable radio propagation characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification