Method and apparatus for collecting and processing interference information

• US 9,214,983 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2015
• Issued: 12/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ISCO International Inc.
• Original Assignee: ISCO International Inc.
• Inventors: Abdelmonem, Amr, Cordone, Sean S., Seskiewicz, Dariusz, Myers, Bill, Komoravolu, Krishna
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LEON VIET Q
• Application Number:
  US14/623,254
• Publication Number:
  US 20150163818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 302 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/709 Correlator structure
• 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 17/00 Monitoring; Testing of line transmission systems H04B3/46; arrangements for monitoring or testing transmission systems employing electromagnetic waves other than radio waves H04B10/07
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/21 for calibration; for correcting measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/26 using historical data, averaging values or statistics
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/327 Received signal code power [RSCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/345 Interference values signal-to-interference ratio [SIR] or carrier-to-interference ratio [CIR] H04B17/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/373 Predicting channel quality or other radio frequency [RF] parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2201/709709 Methods of preventing interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2201/709745 Iterative interference mitigation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2634 for channel frequency control
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/0066 of narrowband interference narrowband interference reduction H04B1/1036
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/069 using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0026 Division using four or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0032 Distributed allocation, i.e. involving a plurality of allocating devices, each making partial allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/006 : Quality of the received signal, e.g. BER, SNR, water filling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0073 : Allocation arrangements that take into account other cell interferences for intercell interference mitigation or co-ordination in orthogonal multiplex systems H04J11/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 : using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 : Arrangements for optimising 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 28/0236 : radio quality, e.g. interference, losses or delay
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/04 : Error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 : using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/16 : based on interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 : TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/14 : Separate analysis of uplink or downlink
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/243 : taking into account interferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 : Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 : with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 : Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 : Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 : based on load
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/54 : based on quality criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 : using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 : using measured or perceived quality

Abstract

A system that incorporates the subject disclosure may perform, for example, a method for receiving interference information from each of the plurality of communication devices detecting interference information in a plurality of segments of a radio frequency spectrum, correlating the interference information of the plurality of communication devices to generate correlated information, and identifying a plurality of interferers according to the correlated information. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system comprising a processor, interference information associated with a plurality of communication devices, wherein the interference information is detected according to at least one adaptive threshold for detecting signal interference in a plurality of resource blocks in a radio frequency spectrum of a wireless communication system;

detecting, by the system, a plurality of interferers according to correlating of the interference information;

determining, by the system, a recurrence of a first interferer of the plurality of interferers according to the interference information; and

identifying, by the system, a source interferer for the first interferer by comparing characteristics of the first interferer with profile characteristics indicated in a profile for the source interferer, wherein the profile is stored in a database of profiles of known interferers, and wherein the comparing is based on determining a threshold amount of similarity between the characteristics and the profile characteristics.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics and the profile characteristics include a spectral shape.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics and the profile characteristics include a frequency of occurrence.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics and the profile characteristics include a time of occurrence.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics and the profile characteristics include an amplitude.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristics and the profile characteristics include a phase.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, by the system, a notification describing the recurrence of the first interferer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the interference information comprises receiving the interference information from the plurality of communication devices.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the system from a first communication device of the plurality of communication devices, spectral data to enable presentation of radio frequency spectral information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication devices comprise a plurality of stationary base stations.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of communication devices comprise a plurality of mobile communication devices.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the profile comprises one of spectral shape, amplitude, phase, time of occurrence, frequency of occurrence, geographic location of occurrence, network traffic levels at a time of detection of the signal interference, or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the first interferer is detected by multiple communication devices of the plurality of communication devices.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an approximate location of the source interferer according to a location of one or more of the plurality of communication devices.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting an interference map according to the determining of the recurrence and the identifying of the source interferer, wherein the interference map indicates temporal recurrences of other interferers.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the interference map depicts location information for the source interferer and the other interferers.

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

receiving interference information associated with a plurality of communication devices, wherein the interference information is based on detecting signal interference in a plurality of segments in a radio frequency spectrum of a wireless communication system;

detecting a plurality of interferers according to correlating of the interference information;

determining a recurrence of a first interferer of the plurality of interferers according to the interference information;

identifying a source interferer for the first interferer by comparing characteristics of the first interferer with profile characteristics indicated in a profile for the source interferer, wherein the profile is stored in a database of profiles of known interferers; and

approximating a location of the source interferer according to location information provided by one or more of the plurality of communication devices.

18. The machine-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the comparing is based on determining a threshold amount of similarity between the characteristics and the profile characteristics, and wherein the receiving of the interference information comprises receiving the interference information from the plurality of communication devices.

19. A system, comprising:

a memory that stores executable instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory and communicatively coupled to a plurality communication devices, wherein execution of the executable instructions by the processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving interference information associated with a plurality of communication devices, wherein the interference information is based on detecting signal interference in a plurality of segments in a radio frequency spectrum of a wireless communication system;

determining a recurrence of a first interferer according to the interference information;

identifying a source interferer for the first interferer by comparing characteristics of the first interferer with profile characteristics indicated in a profile for the source interferer, wherein the profile is stored in a database of profiles of known interferers; and

adjusting an interference map according to the determining of the recurrence and the identifying of the source interferer, wherein the interference map indicates temporal recurrences of other interferers.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the comparing is based on determining a threshold amount of similarity between the characteristics and the profile characteristics, and wherein the receiving of the interference information comprises receiving the interference information from the plurality of communication devices.