Client device characterization of other client device transmissions and reporting of signal qualities to access point(s)

• US 8,170,546 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2007
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bennett, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, TIMOTHY X
• Application Number:
  US11/751,032
• Publication Number:
  US 20070249386A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,808 Days
• Field of Search: 455/424, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/24 with feedback of measurements to the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/309 Measuring or estimating channel quality parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/336 Signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/382 for resource allocation, admission control or handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A wireless network in a communication infrastructure has a packet switched backbone network and includes a plurality of access points and services at least one client device. The access points communicatively couple to the packet switched backbone network and each include access point processing circuitry and access point wireless transceiver circuitry. Each client device has client processing circuitry and client wireless transceiver circuitry. The client devices receive transmissions from other client devices serviced by the plurality of access points and characterize the received transmissions to determine signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions received from the other client devices. The client devices then report the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of access points. The access points may forward the signal qualities to other access points, to other client devices, and may alter operation of the wireless network based upon the signal qualities.

Claims

1. A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in a communication infrastructure having a packet switched backbone network, the WLAN comprising:

a plurality of WLAN access points communicatively coupled to the packet switched backbone network and each having access point processing circuitry and access point wireless transceiver circuitry;

a WLAN client device, having client processing circuitry and client wireless transceiver circuitry; and

the client processing circuitry, using the client wireless transceiver circuitry;

receiving transmissions from other WLAN client devices serviced by the plurality of WLAN access points;

characterizing the received transmissions to determine signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions received from the other WLAN client devices; and

reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points of the WLAN.

2. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receiving the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

relaying the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to access point circuitry of another WLAN access point of the plurality of access points.

3. The WLAN of claim 2, wherein the access point circuitry relays the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to the access point circuitry of the another WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points via the packet switched backbone network.

4. The WLAN of claim 2, wherein the access point circuitry relays the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to the access point circuitry of the another WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points via the access point wireless transceiver circuitry.

5. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

relays the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to other serviced WLAN client devices.

6. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

makes WLAN client device handoff decisions based upon the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

7. The WLAN of claim 6, wherein in making WLAN client device handoff decisions based upon the signal qualities of the transmissions, the access point circuitry further considers WLAN access point loadings.

8. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

makes WLAN client device attachment decisions based upon the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

9. The WLAN of claim 8, wherein in making WLAN client device attachment decisions based upon the signal qualities of the transmissions, the access point circuitry further considers WLAN access point loadings.

10. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the signal qualities comprise received signal strengths.

11. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the signal qualities comprise signal to noise/interference ratios.

12. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points comprises:

reporting the signal qualities to a currently servicing WLAN access point; and

reporting the signal qualities to a non-servicing WLAN access point.

13. The WLAN of claim 1, the client processing circuitry, using the client wireless transceiver circuitry further reports the signal qualities to at least one other WLAN client device.

14. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

controls operation of at least one directional antenna based upon the signal qualities.

15. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

initiates relaying of communications with the WLAN client device by another WLAN access point based upon the signal qualities.

16. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry; and

initiates relaying of communications with the WLAN client device by another WLAN client device based upon the signal qualities.

17. The WLAN of claim 1, wherein the access point circuitry of at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points:

receives the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client processing circuitry via a first radio; and

initiates servicing of communications with the WLAN client device via a second radio.

18. A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) client device for operating within a WLAN in a communication infrastructure having a plurality of WLAN access points communicatively coupled to a packet switched backbone network, the WLAN client device comprising:

client processing circuitry;

client wireless transceiver circuitry coupled to the client processing circuitry; and

the client processing circuitry, using the client wireless transceiver circuitry;

receiving a plurality of transmissions from other WLAN client devices serviced by the plurality of WLAN access points wireless local area network;

characterizing the plurality of transmissions received from the other WLAN client devices to determine signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions; and

reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points.

19. The client device of claim 18, the client processing circuitry, using the client wireless transceiver circuitry receiving a handoff direction from a WLAN access point based upon the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

20. The client device of claim 18, the client processing circuitry, using the client wireless transceiver circuitry receiving a WLAN access point attachment direction that is based upon the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

21. The client device of claim 18, wherein the signal qualities comprise received signal strengths.

22. The client device of claim 18, wherein the signal qualities comprise signal to noise/interference ratios.

23. The client device of claim 18, wherein reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points comprises:

reporting the signal qualities to a currently servicing WLAN access point; and

reporting the signal qualities to a non-servicing WLAN access point.

24. The client device of claim 18, the client processing circuitry, using the client wireless transceiver circuitry further reporting the signal qualities to at least one other WLAN client device.

25. An Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point of a plurality of WLAN access points of a WLAN coupled to a packet switched backbone network and that service a plurality of WLAN client devices, the WLAN access point comprising:

access point processing circuitry;

access point wireless transceiver circuitry;

the access point processing circuitry, using the access point wireless transceiver circuitry receiving signal quality characterizations from a reporting WLAN client device of the plurality of WLAN client devices; and

each signal quality characterization received from a reporting WLAN client device including signal quality information regarding transmissions received by the reporting WLAN client device from other WLAN client devices of the plurality of WLAN client devices.

26. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the WLAN access point processing circuitry relaying the signal quality characterization to another WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points.

27. The WLAN access point of claim 26, wherein the access point processing circuitry relays the signal quality information to the access point circuitry of the another WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points via the packet switched backbone network.

28. The WLAN access point of claim 26, wherein the access point processing circuitry relays the signal quality information to the access point circuitry of the another WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points via the access point wireless transceiver circuitry.

29. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the access point processing circuitry, using the access point wireless transceiver circuitry relaying the signal quality information to other serviced WLAN client devices.

30. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the access point processing circuitry making WLAN client device handoff decisions based upon the signal quality information.

31. The WLAN access point of claim 30, further comprising the access point processing circuitry considering WLAN access point loadings in making handoff decisions.

32. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the access point processing circuitry making WLAN client device attachment decisions based upon the signal quality information.

33. The WLAN access point of claim 32, further comprising the access point processing circuitry considering access point loadings in making the WLAN client device attachment decisions.

34. The WLAN access point of claim 25, wherein the signal quality information comprises received signal strengths.

35. The WLAN access point of claim 25, wherein the signal quality information comprises signal to noise/interference ratios.

36. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the access point processing circuitry controlling operation of at least one directional antenna based upon the signal quality information.

37. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the access point processing circuitry initiating relaying of communications between WLAN client devices based upon the signal quality information.

38. The WLAN access point of claim 25, further comprising the access point processing circuitry:

receiving the signal quality information from the client device circuitry via a first radio; and

initiating servicing of communications with the client device via a second radio.

39. A method for operating a wireless local area network (WLAN) having a plurality of WLAN access points communicatively coupled to a packet switched backbone network and that service a plurality of WLAN client devices, the method comprising:

a WLAN client device receiving transmissions from other WLAN client devices serviced by the plurality of WLAN access points of the WLAN;

the client device characterizing the received transmissions to determine signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions received from the other WLAN client devices; and

the WLAN client device reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

a WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points receiving the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the WLAN client device; and

the WLAN access point relaying the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one other WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the WLAN access point relays the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to the at least one other WLAN access point via the packet switched backbone network.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the WLAN access point relays the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to the at least one other WLAN access point via a wireless link.

43. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

a WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points receiving the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client device; and

the WLAN access point relaying the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to other serviced WLAN client devices.

44. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

a WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points receiving the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the client device; and

the WLAN access point making client device handoff decisions based upon the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

45. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

a WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points receiving the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions from the WLAN client device; and

the WLAN access point making WLAN client device attachment decisions based upon the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

46. The method of claim 39, wherein the signal qualities comprise received signal strengths.

47. The method of claim 39, wherein the signal qualities comprise signal to noise/interference ratios.

48. A method for operating a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) client device within a WLAN having a plurality of WLAN access points communicatively coupled to a packet switched backbone network, the method comprising:

receiving transmissions from other WLAN client devices serviced by the plurality of WLAN access points of the WLAN;

characterizing the received transmissions to determine signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions received from the other WLAN client devices; and

reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points of the WLAN.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising receiving a handoff direction from a WLAN access point based upon the reported signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

50. The method of claim 48, further comprising receiving a WLAN access point attachment direction that is based upon the reported signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions.

51. The method of claim 48, wherein the signal qualities comprise received signal strengths.

52. The method of claim 48, wherein the signal qualities comprise signal to noise/interference ratios.

53. The method of claim 48, wherein reporting the signal qualities of the plurality of transmissions to at least one of the plurality of WLAN access points comprises:

reporting the signal qualities to a currently servicing access point; and

reporting the signal qualities to a non-servicing access point.

54. The method of claim 48, further comprising reporting the signal qualities to at least one other WLAN client device.

55. A method for operating an Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access point of a WLAN having a plurality of WLAN access points communicatively coupled to the packet switched backbone network, the method comprising:

receiving a signal quality characterization from a WLAN client device of a plurality of WLAN client devices serviced by the WLAN, the signal quality characterization based upon transmissions received by the serviced WLAN client device from other WLAN client devices of the plurality of WLAN client device; and

relaying the signal quality information to another WLAN access point of the plurality of WLAN access points of the WLAN.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein relaying the signal quality information to another WLAN access point occurs via the packet switched backbone network.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein relaying the signal quality information to another WLAN access point occurs wirelessly.

58. The method of claim 55, further comprising relaying the signal quality information to at least one other WLAN serviced client device.

59. The method of claim 55, further comprising making WLAN client device handoff decisions based upon the signal quality information.

60. The method of claim 55, further comprising making WLAN client device attachment decisions based upon the signal quality information.

61. The method of claim 55, wherein the signal quality information comprises received signal strengths.

62. The method of claim 55, wherein the signal quality information comprises signal to noise/interference ratios.

63. The method of claim 55, further comprising controlling operation of at least one directional antenna based upon the signal quality information.

64. The method of claim 55, further comprising initiating relaying of communications between WLAN client devices based upon the signal quality information.

65. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

receiving the signal quality information from the client device circuitry via a first radio; and

initiating servicing of communications with the WLAN client device via a second radio.