Method for sharing bandwidth using reduced duty cycle signals

• US 7,499,442 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2004
• Issued: 03/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: North Star Innovations Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Welborn, Matthew L., Shvodian, William M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Duong, Frank
• Application Number:
  US10/998,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20060114879A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 370328-339, 370/347
• US Class Current: 370/347
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/71632 Signal aspects H04B1/7172 and H04B1/7176 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1647 Subrate or multislot multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/02 Amplitude-modulated carrier systems, e.g. using on-off keying; Single sideband or vestigial sideband modulation H04L27/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1263 Mapping of traffic onto schedule, e.g. scheduled allocation or multiplexing of flows

Abstract

A method is provided for transmitting data. A first device (121) generates a first signal (320) having a first duty cycle, comprising a first gated-on portion (323) and a first gated-off portion (363) in a time slot (260); and a second device (125) generates a second signal (330) having second duty cycle, comprising a second gated-on portion (333) and a second gated-off portion (363) in the same time slot (260). The first gated-on portion (323) is generated during a first segment of the time slot (260) and the first gated-off portion (363) is generated during a second segment of the time slot (260), while the second gated-on portion (333) is generated during the second segment and the second gated-off portion (363) is generated during the first segment. The first and second duty cycles are individually below 100%, and the sum of the first and second duty cycles is below 100%.

Claims

1. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, comprising:

dividing an available transmission channel into a plurality of nominal time slots;

assigning a first device to generate a first reduced duty cycle signal comprising a first gated-on portion and a first gated-off portion in a first nominal time slot selected from the plurality of nominal time slots, such that the first gated-on portion is generated during a first segment of the first nominal time slot and that the first gated-off portion is generated during a second segment of the first nominal time slot; and

assigning a second device to generate a second reduced duty cycle signal comprising a second gated-on portion and a second gated-off portion in the first nominal time slot such that the second gated-on portion is generated during the second segment of the first nominal time slot and that the second gated-off portion is generated during a first segment of the first nominal time slot,

wherein the first reduced duty cycle signal has a first duty cycle below 100%,

wherein the second reduced duty cycle signal has a second duty cycle below 100%,

wherein the sum of the first and second duty cycles is less than or equal to 100%,

wherein a first total transmit power for the first reduced duty cycle signal divided by a length of the first nominal time slot is below a regulatory power threshold,

wherein a second total transmit power for the second reduced duty cycle signal divided by the length of the first nominal time slot is below the regulatory power threshold, and

wherein at least a one of the first total transmit power divided by a length of the first segment of the first nominal time slot, or the second total transmit power divided by a length of the second segment of the first nominal time slot is greater than the regulatory power threshold.

2. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a third device to generate a third reduced duty cycle signal comprising a third gated-on portion and a third gated-off portion in the first nominal time slot such that the third gated-on portion is generated during a third segment of the first nominal time slot and that the third gated-off portion is generated during the first and second segments of the first nominal time slot,

wherein the third reduced duty cycle signal has a third duty cycle below 100%,

wherein the sum of the first, second, and third duty cycles is less than or equal to 100%, and

wherein a third total transmit power for the third reduced duty cycle signal divided by the length of the first nominal time slot is below the regulatory power threshold, and

wherein at least a one of the first total transmit power divided by a length of the first segment of the first nominal time slot, the second total transmit power divided by a length of the second segment of the first nominal time slot is greater than the regulatory power threshold, or the third total transmit power divided by a length of the third segment of the first nominal time slot is greater than the regulatory power threshold.

3. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second gated-on portions are separated by a guard band.

4. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 3, wherein the guard band is between 30 nanoseconds and 10 microseconds.

5. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the nominal time slot has a length between 1 microsecond and 2 milliseconds.

6. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second duty cycles are equal.

7. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second duty cycles are different.

8. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second devices have one of the following relationships:

the first and second devices are in the same network, the first device is in a parent network and the second device is in a child network; and

the first and second devices are in neighboring networks.

9. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in an integrated circuit.

10. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in an ultrawide bandwidth device.

11. A method of coordinating the transmission of data:

dividing an available transmission channel into a plurality of nominal time slots;

assigning first through N^th devices to generate first through N^th reduced duty cycle signals, respectively, in a first nominal time slot selected from the plurality of nominal time slots, the first through N^th reduced duty cycle signals comprising a first through N^th gated-on portions and first though N^th gated-off portions, respectively,

wherein the first through N_th reduced duty cycle signals have first through N^th duty cycles,

wherein the first through N^th duty cycles are all below 100%,

wherein the sum of the first through N^th duty cycles is less than or equal to 100%,

wherein each of the first through N^th reduced duty cycle signals are instructed to be transmitted such that none of the first through N^th gated-on portions overlap,

wherein N is an integer greater than 1,

wherein first though N^th total transmit power values for the first through N^th reduced duty cycle signals divided by a length of the first nominal time slot are each below a regulatory power threshold, and

wherein at least a one of the N^th total transmit power divided by a length of a corresponding N^th gated-on portion is greater than the regulatory power threshold.

12. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 11, wherein N is between 3 and 12.

13. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 11, wherein the first through N^th gated-on portions are each separated by a guard band.

14. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 12, wherein the guard band is between 30 nanoseconds and 10 microseconds.

15. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 11, wherein the nominal time slot has a length between 1 microsecond and 2 milliseconds.

16. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 11, wherein the first through N^th duty cycles are of equal length.

17. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 11, wherein the method is implemented in an integrated circuit.

18. A method of coordinating the transmission of data, as recited in claim 11, wherein the method is implemented in an ultrawide bandwidth device.

19. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, comprising:

receiving control information from a remote device, the control information indicating a nominal time slot assigned to the local device, and a first segment of the nominal time slot assigned to the local device;

generating a signal having a duty cycle lower than 100% within the nominal time slot, the signal including a gated-on portion and a gated-off portion;

transmitting the signal such that the gated-on portion is transmitted in the first segment of the nominal time slot,

wherein the signal meets a regulatory peak-to-average threshold criteria across a length of the nominal time slot,

wherein the signal meets a regulatory average power criteria across the length of the nominal time slot, and

wherein the signal does not meet at the regulatory average power criteria across a length of the gated-on portion.

20. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, as recited in claim 19, wherein the peak-to-average threshold criteria is met if the peak-to-average power of the signal is below 0 dBm/50MHz.

21. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, as recited in claim 19, wherein the average power criteria is met if the average power of the signal is below −

41.3 dBm/MHz.

22. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, as recited in claim 19, wherein the duty cycle is 50% or lower.

23. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, as recited in claim 19, wherein the nominal time slot has a length between 1 microsecond and 2 milliseconds.

24. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, as recited in claim 19, wherein the method is implemented in an integrated circuit.

25. A method of transmitting a signal at a local device, as recited in claim 19, wherein the method is implemented in an ultrawide bandwidth device.