Assembly, and associated method, for facilitating channel frequency selection in a communication system utilizing a dynamic frequency selection scheme

• US 20030050012A1
• Filed: 03/14/2002
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Gray, Steven, Black, Simon A., Vadde, Venkatesh
• Granted Patent: US 6,738,599 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An assembly, and an associated method, for an ad hoc network, such as an independent basic service set defined in an IEEE 802.11 protocol specification. A channel map is created and maintained at each mobile station of the ad hoc network. The channel map is populated with channel characteristic indicia of channel frequencies that might be available upon which to be used in the ad hoc network to effectuate communications between the mobile stations. Information related to the channel map created and maintained at each of the mobile stations is exchanged, and any of the mobile stations is selectable to form a DFS owner that defines the channel frequency to be used upon which to define a communication channel for communications in the network.

Claims

1. In a radio communication system formed of an ad hoc network of communication stations, communications by the communication stations of the ad hoc network effectuated upon dynamically-selected channel frequencies, an improvement of an assembly for facilitating dynamic frequency selection of a channel frequency used by the communication stations of the ad hoc network to communicate thereon, said assembly comprising:

at least a first channel map formed at least at a first communication station of the ad hoc network, said first channel map for storing channel characteristic indicia associated with a first channel frequency and at least a second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia stored thereat selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection of the channel frequency used by the communication stations to communicate thereon.

2. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising at least a first channel characteristic supplier coupled to said at least the first channel map, said first channel characteristic supplier for populating said first channel map with values of the channel characteristic indicia.

3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein said first channel characteristic supplier is coupled to receive indications of the channel characteristic indicia.

4. The assembly of claim 2 wherein said first channel characteristic supplier comprises a first channel characteristic measurer, said first channel characteristic measurer for measuring the indications of the channel characteristic indicia.

5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the ad hoc network of communication stations comprises at least a second communication station and wherein said at least the first channel map further comprises at least a second channel map formed at the second communication station, said second channel map also for storing channel characteristic indicia associated with the first channel frequency and the at least the second channel frequency, the channel characteristic indicia stored at said second channel map selectably used in the dynamic frequency selection.

6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein a selected one of the first communication station and the at least the second communication station forms a dynamic-frequency-selection (DFS) owner and wherein the dynamic frequency selection is made responsive to the channel characteristic indicia stored at a corresponding one of said first and at least second channel maps, respectively, formed at the dynamic-frequency-selection owner.

7. The assembly of claim 5 further comprising a communication mechanism associated with the first and at least second communication stations, said communication mechanism selectably for communicating indications of the communication indicia stored at said first channel map and at said at least second channel map therebetween.

8. The assembly of claim 7 further comprising a first communication indicia combiner associated with the first communication station and said first channel map formed thereat, said first communication indicia combiner selectably for combining values of the communication indicia associated with at least the first channel frequency stored at said at least second channel map and communicated by said communication mechanism to the first communication station together with corresponding values of the communication indicia associated with the at least the first channel stored at said first channel map.

9. The assembly of claim 8 further comprising at least a second communication indicia combiner associated with the at least the second communication station and said at least the first channel map formed thereat, said second communication indicia combiner selectably for combining values of the communication indicia associated with the at least the first channel frequency stored at said first channel map and communicated by said communication mechanism to the at least the second communication station together with corresponding values of the communication indicia associated with the at least the first channel stored at said second channel map.

10. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising a comparator coupled to said at least the first channel map, said comparator for comparing values of the channel characteristic indicia, the channel frequency selected to be used by the communication stations to communicate thereon selected responsive to the comparisons made by said comparator.

11. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the radio communication system operates pursuant to an IEEE-802.11 protocol standard, wherein the ad hoc network of communication stations comprises an Independent Basic Service Set of mobile stations, and wherein said at least the first channel map comprises a separate channel map formed at each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set.

12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein a beacon period is defined in the IEEE-802.11 protocol standard, said assembly further comprising a communication mechanism associated with each mobile station of the Independent Basic Service Set, said communication mechanism selectably for communicating indications of the communication indicia stored at respective ones of said channel maps formed at corresponding respective ones of the mobile stations of the Independent Basic Service Set.

13. The assembly of claim 12 wherein the indications communicated by said communication mechanism are communicated during the beacon period.

14. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the channel frequency selected responsive, selectably, to the channel characteristic indicia is selected to be used by the communication stations for a selected time period to be communicated thereon and, thereafter, the channel frequency is dynamically reselected.

15. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the channel frequency and by the communication stations comprises a selected one of the first channel frequency and the at least the second channel frequency, the selected one associated with channel characteristic indicia of preferred values according to a selected selection criteria.

16. In a method of communicating in a radio communication system formed of an ad hoc network of communication stations, communications by the communication stations of the ad hoc network effectuated upon dynamically-selected channel frequencies, an improvement of a method for facilitating dynamic frequency selection of a channel frequency used by the communication stations of the ad hoc network to communicate thereon, said method comprising:

forming at least a first channel map at least at a first communication station of the ad hoc network, the first channel map for storing channel characteristic indicia associated with a first channel frequency and at least a second channel frequency;

populating the at least the first channel map with the channel characteristics indicia; and

selectably using values of the channel characteristic indicia to select the channel frequency to be used by the communication stations to communicate thereon.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the at least the first communication station comprises the first communication station and at least a second communication station, wherein the at least the first channel map formed during said operation of forming comprises the first channel map formed at the first communication station and at least a second channel map formed at the at least the second communication station, said method further comprising the operation of selectably exchanging indications of the channel characteristic indicia between the first and at least second communication stations.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the operation of selecting one of the first and at least second communication stations to be a dynamic frequency selection owner and wherein the selection of the frequency channel to communicate thereon is made responsive to channel characteristic indicia populated at the channel map formed at the dynamic frequency selection owner.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein said operation of populating further comprises the operation of selectably repopulating the at least the first channel map with the channel characteristic indicia.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein selections made of the channel frequency through said operation of selectably using are reselected responsive to said operation of selectably repopulating.