Transmission coordination within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications

• US 9,379,858 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2010
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Erceg, Vinko, Lauer, Joseph Paul, Fischer, Matthew James, Amini, Peiman, Kim, Joonsuk
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi, Eunsook
• Application Number:
  US12/794,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20100309848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,216 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0065 Serial concatenated codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0068 by puncturing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0071 Use of interleaving interleaving per se H03M13/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0618 Space-time coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2602 Signal structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2603 Signal structure ensuring backward compatibility with legacy system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Transmission coordination within multiple user, multiple access, and/or MIMO wireless communications. Within wireless communication systems, there can be various wireless communication devices therein that are not all compliant with a common capability set, communication protocol, communication standard, recommended practice, etc. For example, some communication systems may have some wireless communication devices characterized as ‘legacy’ wireless communication devices, and other wireless communication devices therein may be newer and compliant with newer capability sets, communication protocols, communication standards, recommended practices, etc. In such instances, coordination of transmissions among the various wireless communication devices may be made, when performing simultaneous transmissions, by ensuring that transmissions of devices on different channels is made when aligned on a common boundary of an OFDM symbol. Alternatively, such simultaneous transmissions may be made when offset by some multiple of OFDM symbol duration. When performing non-simultaneous transmissions, transmissions may be made based on channel availability.

Claims

1. A method for execution by a wireless communication device, the method comprising:

operating a plurality of antennae for supporting communications with a first of a plurality of wireless communication devices and a second of the plurality of wireless communication devices; and

simultaneously transmitting;

a first signal to the first of the plurality of wireless communication devices using a first subset of a plurality of channels; and

at least a portion of a second signal to the second of the plurality of wireless communication devices using a second subset of the plurality of channels, wherein the first signal and the second signal are offset with respect to one another by an integer multiple of OFDM symbol durations, the integer multiple being greater than or equal to one.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a first capability;

and

the second of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a second capability.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

simultaneously transmitting the first signal via a first subset of the plurality of antennae and at least a portion of the second signal via a second subset of the plurality of antennae.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

simultaneously transmitting the first signal via a first subset of the plurality of antennae and the at least a portion of second signal via a second subset of the plurality of antennae; and

operating the first subset of the plurality of antennae independently and in parallel with respect to the second subset of the plurality of antennae when the first signal and the second signal each being aligned on a common orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol boundary.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

turning off a first plurality of OFDM tones, within the first subset of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the first signal when the first subset of the plurality of channels detected as being occupied; and

turning off a second plurality of OFDM tones, within the second of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the second signal when the second of the plurality of channels detected as being occupied.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

turning on a first plurality of OFDM tones, within the first subset of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the first signal when the first subset of the plurality of channels detected as being idle; and

turning on a second plurality of OFDM tones, within the second of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the second signal when the second of the plurality of channels detected as being idle.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

adaptively turning off and turning on a first plurality of OFDM tones, within the first of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the first signal when the first of the plurality of channels detected as being occupied and idle, respectively; and

adaptively turning off and turning on a second plurality of OFDM tones, within the second of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the second signal when the second of the plurality of channels detected as being occupied and idle, respectively.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

monitoring the plurality of channels for identifying when the first subset of the plurality of channels and the second subset of the plurality of channels becoming available; and

beginning transmitting the first signal and the second signal when both the first subset of the plurality of channels and the second subset of the plurality of channels becoming available.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

employing the first subset of the plurality of channels for use by a first subset of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a first capability; and

employing the second subset of the plurality of channels for use by a second subset of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a second capability.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device includes an access point (AP), and the plurality of wireless communication devices includes a plurality of wireless stations (STAs).

11. A method for execution by a wireless communication device, the method comprising:

operating a plurality of antennae for supporting communications with a first of a plurality of wireless communication devices having a first capability and a second of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a second capability;

monitoring a plurality of channels for identifying when a first subset of the plurality of channels and a second subset of the plurality of channels becoming available; and

when the first subset of the plurality of channels and the second subset of the plurality of channels becoming available, transmitting;

a first signal, via a first subset of the plurality of antennae, to the first of the plurality of wireless communication devices using a first subset of the plurality of channels; and

a second signal, via a second subset of the plurality of antennae, to the second of the plurality of wireless communication devices using a second subset of the plurality of channels.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first signal and the second signal are offset with respect to one another by an integer multiple of OFDM symbol durations, the integer multiple being greater than or equal to one.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

simultaneously transmitting the first signal via a first subset of the plurality of antennae and at least a portion of the second signal via a second subset of the plurality of antennae when both the first subset of the plurality of channels and the second subset of the plurality of channels becoming available.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

beginning transmitting the first signal when the first subset of the plurality of channels becoming available; and

beginning transmitting the second signal when the second subset of the plurality of channels becoming available.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

transmitting the first signal via a first subset of the plurality of antennae and the second signal via a second subset of the plurality of antennae.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the wireless communication device includes an access point (AP), and the plurality of wireless communication devices includes a plurality of wireless stations (STAs).

17. A wireless communication device comprising:

a processor configured to generate a first signal corresponding to a first of a plurality of wireless communication devices and a second signal corresponding to a second of the plurality of wireless communication devices; and

a plurality of antennae configured to support communications with the first of the plurality of wireless communication devices and the second of the plurality of wireless communication devices, wherein the plurality of antennae are further configured to transmit the first signal to the first of the plurality of wireless communication devices using a first subset of a plurality of channels and simultaneously to transmit at least a portion of the second signal to the second of the plurality of wireless communication devices using a second subset of the plurality of channels such that the first signal and the second signal are offset with respect to one another by an integer multiple of OFDM symbol durations, the integer multiple being greater than or equal to one.

18. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein the first of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a first capability, and a second of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a second capability.

19. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of antennae are further configured to transmit:

the first signal via a first subset of the plurality of antennae; and

the second signal via a second subset of the plurality of antennae.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein the wireless communication device is further configured to:

turn on and turn off a first plurality of OFDM tones, within the first subset of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the first signal when the first subset of the plurality of channels detected as being occupied and idle, respectively; and

turn on and turn off a second plurality of OFDM tones, within the second subset of the plurality of channels, employed in transmitting the second signal when the second subset of the plurality of channels detected as being occupied and idle, respectively.

21. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein the first subset of the plurality of channels being use for communications with a first subset of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a first capability;

and

the second subset of the plurality of channels being use for communications with a second subset of the plurality of wireless communication devices having a second capability.

22. The wireless communication device of claim 17 further comprising:

an access point (AP), wherein the plurality of wireless communication devices includes a plurality of wireless stations (STAs).