Techniques for energy detection level adjustments

• US 9,451,563 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2014
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhou, Yan, Merlin, Simone
• Primary Examiner(s): LY, ANH VU H
• Application Number:
  US14/516,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20160112969A1
• Time in Patent Office: 705 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 52/36 with a discrete range or set of values, e.g. step size, ramping or offsets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0473 the resource being transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices are described for improve network performance, such as throughput and PER, by allowing nodes to adjust energy detection (ED) threshold levels. For example, a method for Wi-Fi wireless communication includes determining, by a first node, an ED threshold level for a second node of a wireless network based at least in part on a metric for the first node. The method may also include signaling, from the first node to the second node, an ED level set element that indicates the determined ED threshold level. In another example, a method includes signaling, by a first node, an ED level adjustment capability of the first node to one or more nodes in a wireless network.

Claims

1. A method for Wi-Fi wireless communication, comprising:

determining, by a first node, an energy detection (ED) threshold level for a second node of a wireless network based at least in part on a metric for the first node;

signaling, from the first node to the second node, a first ED level set element that indicates the determined ED threshold level;

classifying all nodes in a basic service set (BSS) including the second node into at least two groups of nodes;

determining a different ED threshold level for each group of nodes; and

signaling a second ED level set element that indicates the different ED threshold level for each group of nodes to an access point serving the BSS.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

signaling, by at least one of the first node and the second node, an ED level adjustment capability of the at least one of the first node and the second node to one or more nodes in the wireless network.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first ED level set element further comprises a group indicator that identifies the group of nodes that includes the second node.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the ED threshold level for the second node further comprises:

determining, by the first node, the ED threshold level for the second node as an amount of decibel (dB) relative to a received signal strength indication (RSSI) from the first node, wherein the RSSI can be determined by a frame carrying the first ED level set element or any frame from the first node.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a received signal strength indication (RSSI) from one of a frame carrying the first ED level set element or another frame transmitted by the first node,

wherein signaling the first ED level set element further comprises signaling an amount of decibel (dB) relative to the RSSI to instruct the second node to adjust the ED threshold level of the second node by the amount of dB relative to the RSSI.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

signaling a time schedule for executing an ED level adjustment to the determined ED threshold level, wherein the time schedule identifies either a single time window start time and a single time window duration or a periodic time window start time, a periodic time window duration, a period, and a number of periods.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

signaling a range threshold wherein additional nodes that are within the range threshold are instructed to comply with the ED threshold level, wherein the range threshold identifies one or both of;

a geographical radius from the first node, and

a hop count threshold from the first node.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the ED level set element further comprises a broadcast ignoring duration that instructs the second node to ignore the first ED level set element in a broadcast frame for the broadcast ignoring duration responsive to the first ED level set element received in unicast or multicast frames.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

collecting metrics, at the first node, from other nodes in the wireless network, wherein determining the ED threshold level is based at least in part on the metrics collected from the other nodes.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

applying, by the first node, the ED threshold level to the other nodes in the wireless network when a threshold number of the other nodes suffer interference.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

sending, by the first node, the first ED level set element to an access point of the wireless network that instructs the access point to adjust a common ED threshold level for all served nodes of the access point; and

forwarding the first ED level set element, by the access point, to other access points in the wireless network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein classifying all nodes in the BSS including the second node into at least two groups of nodes further comprises:

determining, for each node in the BSS, whether a performance metric of the node exceeds a threshold, wherein the performance metric includes at least one of a throughput of the node, a packet error rate of the node, an access delay, a retry rate, a packet latency, a signal strength between the node and a serving access point;

classifying each node with the performance metric exceeding the threshold into a first group; and

classifying each node with the performance metric below the threshold into a second group.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein classifying all of the nodes in the BSS further comprises:

classifying each nodes in the BSS based on a common agreement across all access points in the wireless network.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allocating dedicated resources to each of the nodes based on the group of the node, wherein the dedicated resources are allocated based on a common agreement across all access points in the wireless network; and

signaling the dedicated resources to the group via an ED level set element for the group.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the first node, interference conditions for neighboring nodes, wherein the interference conditions include whether neighboring nodes are interferers to a receiver of the first node; and

sending, by the first node, the first ED level set element to at least one of the neighboring nodes, to adjust the ED threshold level of the at least one neighboring node to the ED threshold level based at least in part on the interference conditions.

16. A device for Wi-Fi wireless communication, comprising:

an energy detection (ED) level decision unit to determine an ED threshold level for a first node of a wireless network based at least in part on a metric of the first node, classify all nodes in a basic service set (BSS) including the first node into at least two groups, and determine a different ED threshold level for each group; and

a transmitter to signal a first ED level set element that indicates the determined ED threshold level and a second ED level set element that indicates the different ED threshold level for each group to an access point serving the BSS.

17. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

the transmitter to signal an ED level adjustment capability of the first node to one or more nodes in the wireless network.

18. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

the transmitter to signal the ED level set element that further comprises a group indicator that identifies one of the groups of nodes.

19. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

a scheduler to determine a time schedule for executing an ED level adjustment to the determined ED threshold level, wherein the time schedule identifies either a single time window start time and a single time window duration or a periodic time window start time, a periodic time window duration, a period, and a number of periods; and

the transmitter to signal the time schedule.

20. The device of claim 16, further comprising:

a range detector to determine one of a geographical radius from the first node and a hop count threshold from the first node, wherein additional nodes that are within the range threshold are instructed to comply with the ED threshold level;

a scheduler to determine a broadcast ignoring duration that instructs the first node to ignore the ED level set element in a broadcast frame for the broadcast ignoring duration responsive to the ED level set element received in unicast or multicast frames;

the transmitter to transmit the broadcast ignoring duration and the range threshold;

a metrics analyzer to collect metrics from other nodes in the wireless network, analyze the metrics, and provide the metrics to the ED level decision unit; and

the ED level decision unit to further determine the ED threshold level based at least in part on the metrics.

21. An apparatus for Wi-Fi wireless communication, comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor and instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to;

determine an energy detection (ED) threshold level for a node of a wireless network based at least in part on a metric of another node of the wireless network, classify all nodes in a basic service set (BSS) including the other node into at least two groups, and determine a different ED threshold level for each group; and

signal a first ED level set element that indicates the determined ED threshold level and a second ED level set element that indicates the different ED threshold level for each group to an access point serving the BSS.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

signal an ED level adjustment capability to one or more nodes in the wireless network.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

signal a range threshold wherein additional nodes that are within the range threshold are instructed to comply with the ED threshold level, wherein the range threshold identifies one or both of;

a geographical radius from a first node, and

a hop count threshold from the first node.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

signal the first ED level set element to an access point of the wireless network that instructs the access point to adjust a common ED threshold level for all served nodes of the access point.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

signal a time schedule for executing an ED level adjustment to the determined ED threshold level, wherein the time schedule identifies either a single time window start time and a single time window duration or a periodic time window start time, a periodic time window duration, a period, and a number of periods.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second ED level set element further comprises a broadcast ignoring duration that instructs the other node to ignore the first ED level set element in a broadcast frame for the broadcast ignoring duration responsive to the first ED level set element received in unicast or multicast frames.

27. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

collect metrics from other nodes in the wireless network, wherein determining the ED threshold level is based at least in part on the metrics collected from the other nodes; and

apply the ED threshold level to the other nodes in the wireless network when a threshold number of the other nodes suffer interference.

28. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the instructions executable by the processor to classify all nodes in the BSS including the other node into at least two groups further comprises:

determine, for each node in the BSS, whether a performance metric of the node exceeds a threshold, wherein the performance metric includes at least one of a throughput of the node, a packet error rate of the node, an access delay, a retry rate, a packet latency, a signal strength between the node and a serving access point;

classify each node with the performance metric exceeding the threshold into a first group; and

classify each node with the performance metric below the threshold into a second group.

29. An apparatus for Wi-Fi wireless communication, comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor and instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to;

signal, by a first node, an energy detection (ED) level adjustment capability of the first node to one or more nodes in a wireless network;

receive, by the first node, a first ED level set element that identifies a common ED threshold level; and

adjust, by the first node, an ED threshold level to the common ED threshold level; and

determine a broadcast ignoring duration from the first ED level set element, wherein the broadcast ignoring duration instructs the first node to ignore a second ED level set element in a broadcast frame that is received at the first node during the broadcast ignoring duration.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

determine a range threshold within which the common ED threshold level applies; and

determine whether the first node is within the range threshold,

wherein adjusting the ED threshold level to the common ED threshold level is based on the determination that the first node is within the range threshold.