Method and device for maintaining the performance quality of a communication system in the presence of narrow band interference

• US 9,025,571 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2014
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ISCO International Inc.
• Original Assignee: ISCO International Inc.
• Inventors: Jagger, Charles E., Willetts, Mark N., Tobia, Micolino
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamza, Faruk
• Assistant Examiner(s): LO, DIANE LEE
• Application Number:
  US14/264,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20140233418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/335
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/10 Means associated with receiver for limiting or suppressing noise or interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1036 with automatic suppression of narrow band noise or interference, e.g. by using tuneable notch filters H04B1/123 takes precedence; filter circuits H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/71 the interference being narrowband interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7103 the interference being multiple access interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 15/00 Suppression or limitation of noise or interference by means associated with receiver H04B1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/1063 using a notch filter
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2201/709709 Methods of preventing interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2201/709718 Determine interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/005 Control of transmission; Equalising
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/245 taking into account received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 : using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 : using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 : Access point devices

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method for scanning wireless signals in a wide frequency band, measuring power levels in narrow frequency bands from the wireless signals, determining a threshold according to an average wideband power level or at least a portion of the power levels in the narrow frequency bands, detecting from the wireless signals a narrow band interferer based on the threshold, and initiating a strategy for responding to interference in the wide frequency band caused by the detected narrow band interferer. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

analyzing, by a system comprising a processor, a wide frequency band with respect to signal power levels in specified narrow frequency bands;

detecting, by the system, narrow band signal power levels received in the specified narrow frequency bands;

determining, by the system, an adaptive threshold based on at least some of the narrow band signal power levels;

detecting, by the system, a narrow band interferer according to the adaptive threshold, to obtain a detected narrow band interferer;

responsive to a detection of the narrow band interferer, obtaining, by the system, identification information for a source of the narrow band interferer; and

initiating, by the system, a strategy for responding to interference in the wide frequency band caused by the detected narrow band interferer, wherein the initiating of the strategy is according to the identification information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the adaptive threshold is based on a subset of the narrow band signal power levels that excludes highest power levels.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the source transmits the identification information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the strategy comprises selectively filtering the narrow band interferer according to the strategy.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising selecting, by the system, a subset of notch modules from among a total number of available notch modules for the filtering of the narrow band interferer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating of the strategy comprises submitting to another system the identification information for the source of the narrow band interferer enabling the system to determine the strategy according to the identification information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating of the strategy comprises submitting information to another system about the detected narrow band interferer enabling the another system to determine the strategy according to the information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the another system causes a network element of the system to perform the strategy.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network element is a base station, wherein the narrow band interferer is a communication device wirelessly coupled to the base station, and wherein the base station causes the communication device to adjust operations of a wireless transmitter of the communication device according to the strategy.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the communication device performs one of adjusting operations of the wireless transmitter by causing the wireless transmitter to use a new transmission frequency, adjusting operations of the wireless transmitter by ceasing wireless transmissions to the base station, or both.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating of the strategy comprises:

providing a request to another system to perform re-tasking of the source, wherein the another system is identified based on the identification information; and

selectively filtering the narrow band interferer according to the strategy.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the system, from the identification information of the narrow band interferer a type of interferer, wherein the identification information comprises an electronic serial number for the source; and

generating, by the system, a list of channels having interferers.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating of the strategy comprises:

detecting, by the system, a type of communication activity initiated by the narrow band interferer, to obtain a detected type of communication activity; and

allowing, by the system, the narrow band interferer to continue to use a portion of the wide frequency band based on the detected type of communication activity.

14. A machine-readable storage device, comprising instructions, which when executed by a circuit, cause the circuit to perform operations comprising:

scanning wireless signals in a wide frequency band;

measuring, from the wireless signals, power levels in narrow frequency bands;

determining an adaptive threshold according to at least some of the power levels measured in the narrow frequency bands;

detecting, from the wireless signals, a narrow band interferer based on the adaptive threshold to obtain a detected narrow band interferer;

responsive to a detection of the narrow band interferer, obtaining identification information for a source of the narrow band interferer; and

initiating a strategy for responding to interference in the wide frequency band caused by the detected narrow band interferer, wherein the initiating of the strategy is according to the identification information.

15. The machine-readable storage device of claim 14, wherein the determining of the adaptive threshold is according to a subset of the power levels that excludes highest power levels.

16. The machine-readable storage device of claim 14, wherein the source transmits the identification information.

17. The machine-readable storage device of claim 14, wherein the initiating of the strategy comprises submitting the identification information to a system about the detected narrow band interferer enabling the system to determine the strategy according to the identification information.

18. The machine-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the system causes a network element of the system to perform the strategy.

19. A system, comprising:

a receiver that receives wireless signals;

a memory storing instructions; and

a circuit coupled to the receiver and the memory, wherein responsive to executing the instructions, the circuit performs operations comprising;

causing the receiver to scan a wide frequency band;

receiving wireless signals from the receiver, the signals associated with the wide frequency band;

measuring power levels in narrow frequency bands from the wireless signals;

determining an adaptive threshold from at least some of the power levels measured in the narrow frequency bands;

detecting from the wireless signals a narrow band interferer based on the threshold, to obtain a detected narrow band interferer;

responsive to a detection of the narrow band interferer, identifying a base station providing communication services to a source of the narrow band interferer; and

providing a request to the base station to initiate a strategy for responding to interference in the wide frequency band caused by the detected narrow band interferer.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise intercepting identification information for the source of the narrow band interferer, wherein the source transmits the identification information, wherein the identifying of the base station providing the communication services to the source is according to the identification information, and wherein the strategy comprises one of instructing the source to reduce a transmit power, changing a transmit frequency for the source or both.