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

• US 9,894,662 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2015
• Issued: 02/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ISCO International Inc.
• Original Assignee: ISCO International Inc.
• Inventors: Jagger, Charles E., Willetts, Mark N., Tobia, Micolino
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh
• Application Number:
  US14/682,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20150214998A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• 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 process for detecting power levels of signals of a group of signals that lie within a wideband channel, wherein the detecting of the power levels is according to an analysis order for the group of channels, determining an adaptive threshold based on power levels of at least some of the signals, and detecting interference associated with a channel of the group of channels based on the adaptive threshold. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a memory to store instructions; and

a circuit coupled to the memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the circuit causes the circuit to perform operations comprising;

detecting power levels of signals received in a group of channels that are within a wideband channel, to obtain detected power levels, wherein the detecting of the power levels is according to an analysis order for the group of channels, wherein the analysis order is non-sequential;

determining an average wideband power level from less than all of the detected power levels, wherein the less than all of the power levels of the signals received in the group of channels corresponds to a number of high power levels; and

detecting interference associated with a channel of the group of channels based on the average wideband power level, to obtain a detected interference.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise initiating an interference mitigation strategy according to the detected interference, wherein the initiating of the interference mitigation strategy comprises configuring a filter according to the detected interference to suppress at least a first portion of signals of the channel.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the power levels of the signals includes performing signal strength compensation for a guard band.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the detecting of the power levels of the signals and the signal strength compensation for the guard band comprises performing frequency shifting for the guard band to generate received signal strength indicator measurements for the guard band.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise reporting spectral information relating to the guard band to a remote device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining the analysis order based on probabilities of the channels of the group of channels having interference.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the probabilities of the channels having interference is determined based on historical interference patterns.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein the probabilities of the channels having interference is determined based on interference data accessed by the circuit, wherein the analysis order prioritizes channels of the group of channels having probabilities of interference greater than other channels of the group of channels.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is part of a cellular base station.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the number of high power levels corresponds to a number of notch modules selected from among a plurality of notch modules to be employed by a filter utilized in initiating an interference mitigation strategy according to the detected interference.

11. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a system including a processor, power levels of signals received in a group of channels that are within a wide band channel, wherein the detecting of the power levels is according to an analysis order for a group of channels, wherein the analysis order is non-sequential;

determining an adaptive threshold based on power levels of at least some of the signals, wherein the at least some of the signals received in the group of channels corresponds to a number of high power levels; and

detecting interference associated with a channel of the group of channels based on the adaptive threshold.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising, initiating, by the system, an interference mitigation strategy according to the detecting of the interference.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the detecting of the power levels of the signals comprises performing signal strength compensation for a guard band.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the performing of the signal strength compensation for the guard band comprises performing frequency shifting for the guard band to generate received signal strength indicator measurements for the guard band.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining, by the system, the analysis order based on probabilities of channels of the group of channels having interference, wherein the analysis order prioritizes channels of the group of channels having probabilities of interference greater than other channels of the group of channels.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the probabilities of the channels having interference is determined based on historical interference patterns.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the probabilities of channels having interference is determined based on interference data observed by the processor, and wherein the determining of the adaptive threshold excludes a number of high power levels.

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

detecting power levels of signals received in a group of channels of a wide frequency band, wherein the detecting of the power levels of the signals comprises scanning a first channel of the group of channels having a higher probability of having interference before scanning a second channel of the group of channels having a lower probability of having interference;

determining an adaptive threshold based on power levels of at least some of the signals wherein the at least some of the signals received in the group of channels corresponds to a number of high power levels;

detecting interference associated with a channel of the group of channels based on the adaptive threshold; and

initiating an interference mitigation strategy according to the detecting of the interference.

19. The machine-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the probability of having interference is determined based on at least one of historical interference patterns or interference data observed by the circuit, and wherein the operations further comprise one of adjusting channels scanned for interference, changing the adaptive threshold, adjusting a hang time, adjusting an attack time or a combination thereof.

20. The machine-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the number of high power levels includes highest signal levels of the power levels.