Method and Apparatus for Transmitting and Receiving a White Space Map Information in a Wireless Local Area Network System

• US 20110268095A1
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: KIM, Byoung Hoon, SEOK, Yong Ho, KIM, Eun Sun
• Granted Patent: US 8,792,466 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]

Abstract

A method and an apparatus transmitting and receiving a White Space Map information between two stations in a wireless local area network system are disclosed. For transmitting a white space map information from a first station to a second station in a regulatory domain where a licensed device and an unlicensed device are permitted to operate in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprises: obtaining, at the first station, a list of available channels with a first channel granularity and maximum allowed transmission powers of the available channels from a regulatory database; and transmitting, from the first station, one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame and a white space map announcement frame comprising a white space map (WSM) element to the second station such that the second station operates as the unlicensed device using one or more channels having a second channel granularity and located only within the available channels identified by the WSM element, wherein the WSM element comprises a channel number field and a maximum power level field, wherein the channel number field indicates the list of available channels with the first channel granularity and the maximum power level field indicates maximum allowed transmission powers of the available channels.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting a white space map information from a first station to a second station in a regulatory domain where a licensed device and an unlicensed device are permitted to operate together in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the method comprising:

obtaining, at the first station, a list of available channels with a first channel granularity and maximum allowed transmission powers of the available channels from a regulatory database; and

transmitting, from the first station, one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame and a white space map announcement frame comprising a white space map (WSM) element to the second station such that the second station operates as the unlicensed device using one or more channels having a second channel granularity and located only within the available channels identified by the WSM element,

wherein the WSM element comprises a channel number field and a maximum power level field,

wherein the channel number field indicates the list of available channels with the first channel granularity and the maximum power level field indicates maximum allowed transmission powers of the available channels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first station is an enabling station determining the available channels at its location using its own geographic location identification and a regulatory database access capability.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second station is a dependent station receiving the available channel list from the enabling station or a dependent AP (Access Point) station that enables the operation of the dependent station.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel number field indicates the list of available TV channels.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first channel granularity is 6 MHz, and the second channel granularity is one or more of 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz and 40 MHz.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein both of the first station and the second station operate using a channel having the second channel granularity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second station, receiving the WSM element, performs scanning for an existing BSS (Basic Service Set) on the available channels identified by the channel number field with a transmission power within the maximum allowed transmission power identified by the maximum power level field.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the WSM element comprises a TV band white space map (WSM), and

wherein the WSM element further comprises a WSM type field indicating whether the WSM element is the TV band WSM.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the WSM element further comprises a length field indicating a length of the WSM element, and

wherein the number of pairs of the channel number field and the maximum power level field is multiple as determined by the length field.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first station updates the WSM element when the first station performed a measurement or received a measurement report in which a primary service signal is measured on a channel identified as available by the WSM element, and

wherein the WSM element further comprises a map version field having a value circularly incremented by 1 by the first station when the first station updates the WSM element.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the type of the TV band WSM includes a first TV band white space map for a partial channel list for the available channels and a second TV band white space map for a full channel list for the available channels.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the TV band WSM further comprises a type field indicating whether the TV band WSM is the first TV band white space map or the second TV band white space map, and a map version field indicating a version the TV band WSM.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second station, receiving multiple WSMs with the same value of the map version fields and the type fields indicating the first TV band white space map, constructs a whole channel list using the received multiple WSMs.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the WSM element comprises a TV band WSM,

wherein the TV band WSM consists of (a) a map ID field consists of a type field and a map version field, (b) the channel number field, and (c) the maximum power level field,

wherein the type field indicates whether the TV band WSM is a first TV band white space map for a partial channel list for the available channels or a second TV band white space map for a full channel list for the available channels, and

wherein the map version field indicates a version of the TV band WSM.

15. An apparatus for transmitting a white space map information to a station in a regulatory domain where a licensed device and an unlicensed device are permitted to operate together in a wireless local area network (WLAN), the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver configured to transmit one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame and a white space map announcement frame to the station; and

a processor configured to obtain a list of available channels with a first channel granularity and maximum allowed transmission powers of the available channels from a regulatory database, to generate one of the beacon frame, the probe response frame and the white space map announcement frame including a white space map (WSM) element, and to control the transceiver to transmit one of the beacon frame, the probe response frame and the white space map announcement frame comprising the WSM element to the station such that the station operates as the unlicensed device using one or more channels having a second channel granularity and located only within the available channels identified by the WSM element

wherein the WSM element comprises a channel number field and a maximum power level field,

wherein the channel number field indicates the list of available channels with the first channel granularity and the maximum power level field indicates maximum allowed transmission powers of the available channels.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus is configured as an enabling station determining the available channels at its location using its own geographic location identification and a regulatory database access capability.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the station is a dependent station receiving the available channel list from the enabling station or a dependent AP (Access Point) station that enables the operation of the dependent station.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the channel number field indicates the list of available TV channels.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first channel granularity is 6 MHz, and the second channel granularity is one or more of 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz and 40 MHz.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein both of the apparatus and the station operate using a channel having the second channel granularity.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the station, receiving the white space map element, performs scanning for an existing BSS (Basic Service Set) on the available channels identified by the channel number field with a transmission power within the maximum allowed transmission power identified by the maximum power level field.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the WSM element comprises a TV band white space map (WSM), and

wherein the WSM element further comprises a WSM type field indicating whether the WSM element is the TV band WSM.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the WSM element further comprises a length field indicating a length of the WSM element, and

wherein the number of pairs of the channel number field and the maximum power level field is multiple as determined by the length field.

24. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to update the WSM element when the processor performed a measurement or received, via the transceiver, a measurement report in which a primary service signal is measured on a channel identified as available by the WSM element, and

wherein the WSM element further comprises a map version field having a value circularly incremented by 1 by the processor when the processor updates the WSM element.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the type of the TV band WSM includes a first TV band white space map for a partial channel list for the available channels and a second TV band white space map for a full channel list for the available channels.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the TV band WSM further comprises a type field indicating whether the TV band WSM is the first TV band white space map or the second TV band white space map, and a map version field indicating a version the TV band WSM.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein a processor of the station, receiving multiple WSMs with the same value of the map version fields and the type fields indicating the first TV band white space map, constructs a whole channel list using the received multiple WSMs.

28. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the WSM element comprises a TV band WSM,

wherein the TV band WSM consists of (a) a map ID field consists of a type field and a map version field, (b) the channel number field, and (c) the maximum power level field,

wherein the type field indicates whether the TV band WSM is a first TV band white space map for a partial channel list for the available channels or a second TV band white space map for a full channel list for the available channels, and

wherein the map version field indicates a version of the TV band WSM.