Assembly, and associated method, for facilitating channel frequency selection in a communication system utilizing a dynamic frequency selection scheme

• US 6,738,599 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2002
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Vadde, Venkatesh, Gray, Steven, Black, Simon A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Sinh
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, DAVID Q
• Application Number:
  US10/097,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20030050012A1
• Time in Patent Office: 796 Days
• Field of Search: 455/447, 455/450, 455/451, 455/452.1, 455/454, 455/62, 455/423, 455/424, 455/425, 455/226--22, 455/67.11, 455/41.2, 370/338, 370/329, 370/330
• US Class Current: 455/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An assembly, and an associated method, for an ad hoc network, such as an independent basic service set defined in an IEEE 802.11 protocol specification. A channel map is created and maintained at each mobile station of the ad hoc network. The channel map is populated with channel characteristic indicia of channel frequencies that might be available upon which to be used in the ad hoc network to effectuate communications between the mobile stations. Information related to the channel map created and maintained at each of the mobile stations is exchanged, and any of the mobile stations is selectable to form a DFS owner that defines the channel frequency to be used upon which to define a communication channel for communications in the network.

Claims

1. In a radio communication system formed of an ad hoc network of communication stations, communications by the communication stations of the ad hoc network effectuated upon dynamically-selected channel frequencies, an improvement of an assembly for facilitating dynamic frequency selection of a channel frequency used by the communication stations of the ad hoc network to communicate thereon, said assembly comprising:

a channel characteristic supplier formed at least at a first communication station of the ad hoc network, said channel characteristic supplier for collecting channel characteristic indicia associated with a first channel frequency and at least a second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia collected thereat collected by measuring values thereof and by detecting values measured elsewhere and delivered to the at least the first communication station;

at least a first channel map formed at the at least at the first communication station of the ad hoc network at which said at least first channel supplier is formed and adapted to be supplied with representations of the channel characteristic indicia collected by said channel characteristic supplier, the representations supplied by said channel characteristic supplier selectably comprising values measured by said channel characteristic supplier and values measured by said channel characteristic supplier combined with values delivered to the channel characteristic supplier, said first channel map for storing the representations supplied thereto, the representations of the channel characteristic indicia stored thereat selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection of the channel frequency used by the communication stations to communicate thereon.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said first channel characteristic supplier comprises a first channel characteristic measurer, said first channel characteristic measurer for measuring the values of the channel characteristic indicia.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the ad hoc network of communication stations comprises at least a second communication station and wherein said at least the first channel map further comprises at least a second channel map formed at the second communication station, said second channel map also for storing representations of values of channel characteristic indicia associated with the first channel frequency and the at least the second channel frequency, the representations of the channel characteristic indicia stored at said second channel map selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection.

4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein a selected one of the first communication station and the at least the second communication station forms a dynamic-frequency-selection (DFS) owner and wherein the dynamic frequency selection is made responsive to the representations of the channel characteristic indicia stored at a corresponding one of said first and at least second channel maps, respectively, formed at the dynamic-frequency-selection owner.

5. The assembly of claim 3 further comprising a communication mechanism associated with the first and at least second communication stations, said communication mechanism selectably for communicating indications of the communication indicia stored at said first channel map and at said at least second channel map therebetween.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said channel characteristic supplier further comprises a first communication indicia combiner, said first communication indicia combiner selectably for combining values of the communication indicia associated with at least the first channel frequency measured by said channel characteristic supplier together with corresponding values of the communication indicia delivered thereto.

7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the radio communication system operates pursuant to an IEEE-802.11 protocol standard, wherein the ad hoc network of communication stations comprises an Independent Basic Service Set of mobile stations, and wherein said at least the first channel map comprises a separate channel map formed at each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set.

8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein a beacon period is defined in the IEEE-802.11 protocol standard, said assembly further comprising a communication mechanism associated with each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set, said communication mechanism selectably for communicating indications of the communication indicia stored at respective ones of said channel maps formed at corresponding respective ones of the mobile stations of the Independent Basic Service Set.

9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the indications communicated by said communication mechanism are communicated during the beacon period.

10. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the channel frequency selected responsive, selectably, to the representations of the channel characteristic indicia is selected to be used by the communication stations for a selected time period to be communicated thereon and, thereafter, the channel frequency is dynamically reselected.

11. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the channel frequency selected pursuant to the dynamic frequency selection by the communication stations comprises a selected one of the first channel frequency and the at least the second channel frequency, the selected one associated with channel characteristic indicia of preferred values according to a selected selection criteria.

12. In a method of communicating in a radio communication system formed of an ad hoc network of communication stations, communications by the communication stations of the ad hoc network effectuated upon dynamically-selected channel frequencies, an improvement of a method for facilitating dynamic frequency selection of a channel frequency used by the communication stations of the ad hoc network to communicate thereon, said method comprising:

collecting channel characteristic indicia, at least at a first communication station of the ad hoc network, associated with a first channel frequency and at least a second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia collected by measuring values thereof and by detecting values measured elsewhere and delivered to the at least the first communication station;

forming at least a first channel map at least at a first communication station of the ad hoc network by supplying the at least the first channel map with representations of the channel characteristic indicia collected during said operation of collecting, the representations selectably comprising values measured during said operation of collecting and of the values measured during said operation of collecting combined together with values delivered during said operation of collecting;

selectably using values of the channel characteristic indicia to select the channel frequency to be used by the communication stations to communicate thereon.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least the first communication station comprises the first communication station and at least a second communication station, wherein the at least the first channel map formed during said operation of forming comprises the first channel map formed at the first communication station and at least a second channel map formed at the at least the second communication station, said method further comprising the operation of selectably exchanging indications of the channel characteristic indicia between the first and at least second communication stations.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the operation of selecting one of the first and at least second communication stations to be a dynamic frequency selection owner and wherein the selection of the frequency channel to communicate thereon is made responsive to channel characteristic indicia contained at the channel map formed at the dynamic frequency selection owner.

15. In a radio communication system formed of an ad hoc network of communication stations comprising a first communication station and at least a second communication station, communications by the communication stations of the ad hoc network effectuated upon dynamically-selected channel frequencies, an improvement of an assembly for facilitating dynamic frequency selection of a channel frequency used by the communication stations of the ad hoc network to communicate thereon, said assembly comprising:

at least a first channel map formed at the first communication station of the ad hoc network, said first channel map for storing channel characteristic indicia associated with a first channel frequency and at least a second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia stored thereat selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection of the channel frequency used by the communication stations to communicate thereon;

at least a second channel map formed at least at the second communication station, said second channel map also for storing channel characteristic indicia associated with the first channel frequency and the at least the second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia stored at a second channel map selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection,

a communication mechanism associated with the first and at least second communication stations, said communication mechanism selectably for communicating indications of the communication indicia stored at said first channel map and at said at least second channel map therebetween; and

a first communication indicia combiner associated with the first communication station and said first channel map formed thereat, said first communication indicia combiner selectably for combining values of the communication indicia associated with at least the first channel frequency stored at said at least second channel map and communicated by said communication mechanism to the first communication station together with corresponding values of the communication indicia associated with the at least the first channel stored at said first channel map.

16. In a radio communication system formed of an ad hoc network of communication stations operable pursuant to an IEEE 802.11 protocol standard, the communication stations comprising an Independent Basic Service Set of mobile stations, communications by the communication stations of the ad hoc network effectuated upon dynamically-selected channel frequencies, the protocol standard defining a beacon period, an improvement of an assembly for facilitating dynamic frequency selection of a channel frequency used by the mobile stations of the Independent Basic Service Set of the ad hoc network to communicate thereon, said assembly comprising:

a first channel map formed at each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set of the ad hoc network, said first channel map for storing channel characteristic indicia associated with a first channel frequency and at least a second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia stored thereat selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection of the channel frequency used by the mobile stations to communicate thereon;

a comparator coupled at each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set to a corresponding first channel map formed thereat, said comparator map for comparing values of the communication indicia, wherein the channel frequency is selected to be used by the mobile stations for communication; and

a communication mechanism associated with each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set, said communication mechanism selectably for communicating indications of the communication indicia stored at respective ones of said channel maps formed at corresponding respective ones of the mobile stations of the Independent Basic Service Set, the indications communicated by said communication mechanism communicated during the beacon period.