LTE operation in white spaces

• US 9,204,459 B2
• Filed: 02/15/2013
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Deutschland GmbH (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Mueck, Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): CAI, WAYNE HUU
• Application Number:
  US13/768,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20130150110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/451, 455/453, 455/454, 4554521-4522, 370/328, 370/338, 370/341
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/0006 Assessment of spectral gaps suitable for allocating digitally modulated signals, e.g. for carrier allocation in cognitive radio for spectrum sharing between different networks H04W16/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/00 Arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0039 Frequency-contiguous, i.e. with no allocation of frequencies for one user or terminal between the frequencies allocated to another
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0041 Frequency-non-contiguous
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 Error control
• 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 72/56 based on priority criteria

Abstract

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for efficient reassignment of a secondary communication channel (having a first priority) within a white space, upon arrival of a conflicting primary user signal (having a second priority higher than the first priority). In particular, the method comprises reassigning a secondary communication channel to unused portions of one or more white spaces remaining after the arrival of one or more primary users. For example, in one embodiment wherein one or more secondary communication channels are operated at contiguous secondary frequency ranges within a white space, a primary/incumbent user may arrive at a frequency range that conflicts with the secondary frequency range and that generates unused frequency portions of the white space(s). The secondary communication channel may be reassigned to the unused frequency portions of the white space (e.g., forming a non-contiguous secondary communication channel, forming a secondary communication channel having a reduced bandwidth).

Claims

1. A method for reassigning a secondary communication channel, comprising:

operating one or more secondary communication channels having a first priority at a secondary frequency range within a white space having a continuous frequency range;

detecting an arrival of one or more primary user signals within the white spaces, wherein the primary user signals have a higher priority than the first priority and wherein the primary user signals have a primary frequency range that conflicts with the secondary frequency ranges and that provide for one or more unused sections of the white spaces; and

reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels from the white space to at least one of the one or more unused sections of the white space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels, comprises:

reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels to one or more non-contiguous secondary communication channels comprising non-contiguous frequency spectrums within the unused sections of the white space.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels, comprises:

reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels to unused sections of the white space having a contiguous bandwidth smaller than the one or more contiguous secondary communication channels.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more secondary communication channels comprise Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication channels, International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-Advanced bands, military bands, public safety bands, or wireless medical telemetry bands.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating with a data base comprising predefined usage of the white space frequency; and

reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels to the one or more non-contiguous secondary communication channels based upon the predefined usage of the white space.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the predefined usage of the white space frequency corresponds to temporal and geographic frequency usage.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more white spaces are located in a frequency band having a range of between approximately 2.3 GHz and approximately 2.4 GHz.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

forming the one or more secondary communication channels in International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-advanced frequency bands subject to compliance to national or international radio regulations in the IMT-advanced frequency bands.

9. A method for constructing a non-contiguous secondary communication channel, comprising:

operating one or more secondary communication channels having a first priority at a secondary frequency range within a white space having a continuous frequency range;

detecting an arrival of a primary user signal within the white space, wherein the primary user signal has a higher priority than the first priority and wherein the primary user signal has a primary frequency range that conflicts with the secondary frequency range and that provides for unused sections of the white space; and

reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels from the white space to one or more non-contiguous secondary communication channels comprising non-contiguous frequency spectrums within the unused sections of the white space.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more secondary communication channels comprise a low secondary communication channel located adjacent to a high secondary communication channel, wherein the low secondary communication channel has a lower frequency range than the high secondary communication channel.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the low and high secondary communication channel comprises Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication channels, and wherein the white space comprises a TV white space.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising filtering the low and high secondary communication channels to enable the formation of the non-contiguous secondary communication channel for any frequency range the primary user occupies within the TV white space.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

downconverting the low secondary communication channel to a frequency range that enables filtering to form the non-contiguous frequency spectrum; and

downconverting the high secondary communication channel to a frequency range that enables filtering to form the non-contiguous frequency spectrum.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein upon arrival of the primary user signal within the white space one of the secondary communication channels is reassigned to a frequency range outside of the white space, while the remaining one of the secondary communication channels is provided to a plurality of filters configured to generate the non-contiguous secondary communication channel from the unused sections of the white space.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

communicating with a data base comprising predefined usage of the white space frequency; and

reassigning the one or more secondary communication channels to the one or more non-contiguous secondary communication channels based upon the predefined usage of the white space.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the predefined usage of the white space frequency corresponds to temporal and geographic frequency usage.

17. A communication circuit, comprising:

a frequency reassignment circuit configured, upon arrival of a primary user signal within a white space having a continuous frequency range, to reassign a secondary communication channel, operating within the white space, to a non-contiguous secondary communication channel having a non-contiguous frequency spectrum within the white space;

wherein the primary user signal has a first priority and the secondary communication channel has a second priority less than the first priority, and

wherein the non-contiguous secondary communication channel is assigned to have frequencies that are different than a frequency range of the primary user signal.

18. The circuit of claim 17, wherein the frequency reassignment circuit comprises:

a filter array comprising a plurality of filters configured to generate the non-contiguous secondary communication channel; and

a routing logic circuit configured, upon arrival of the primary user signal within the white space, to selectively re-route the secondary communication channel to one or more of the plurality of filters within the filter array.

19. The circuit of claim 18, wherein the plurality of filters comprise digital filters.

20. The circuit of claim 18, wherein the white space comprises a low secondary communication channel located adjacent to a high secondary communication channel, wherein the low secondary communication channel has a lower frequency range than the high secondary communication channel, and

wherein the secondary communication channel comprises either the low or high secondary communication channel.

21. The circuit of claim 20, wherein upon arrival of the primary user signal within the white space one of the secondary communication channels is moved to a frequency range outside of the white space, while the remaining one of the secondary communication channels is provided to the plurality of filters configured to generate the non-contiguous secondary communication channel from unused sections of the white space.

22. The circuit of claim 20, wherein the low channel comprises a low LTE channel, wherein the high channel comprises a high LTE channel, and wherein the white space comprises a TV white space.

23. The circuit of claim 22, wherein the plurality of filters are configured to enable the formation of a non-contiguous secondary communication channel for any frequency range the primary user occupies within the TV white space.

24. The circuit of claim 20, wherein the routing logic comprises a plurality of multiplexors configured to provide the low communication channel to one or more selected filters in response to one or more control signals and further configured to provide the high communication channel to one or more selected filters in response to one or more control signals.

25. The circuit of claim 24, wherein the routing logic is configured to provide the input signal to a combination of the plurality of filters, thereby realizing an aggregate filtering function based upon the combination.

26. The circuit of claim 20, further comprising:

a first down converter configured to down convert the low channel to a frequency range that enables the plurality of filters to form a non-contiguous signal that avoids the primary user signal frequency; and

a second down converter configured to down convert the high channel to a frequency range that enables the plurality of filters to form a non-contiguous signal that avoids the primary user signal frequency.

27. The communication circuit of claim 17, further comprising:

a data base configured to store a predefined usage of the white space frequency, wherein the frequency reassignment circuit is configured to reassign the secondary communication channel to the non-contiguous secondary communication channel based upon the predefined usage of the white space frequency stored in the database.

28. The communication circuit of claim 27, wherein the predefined usage of the white space frequency corresponds to temporal and geographic frequency usage.