Medium sensing histogram for WLAN resource reporting

• US 7,394,797 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2004
• Issued: 07/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Laboratories of America Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kowalski, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid; Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): MITCHELL, NATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US10/933,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20060046688A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 370/349, 370/442, 370/448, 370/458, 370/459, 370/474, 370/475, 370/476, 370/336, 370/338
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/087 Jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

The admissibility of periodic traffic to a wireless medium can be estimated using a measurement report format that includes a field indicating the number of bins for a predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were busy during a measurement period, and a field indicating the number of bins for the predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were idle during the measurement period. Additionally, the measurement report format includes a field indicating the granularity in multiples of slot times of the wireless medium and a plurality of Bin Density fields, such that one Bin Density field indicates a density of medium time that the wireless medium is busy, and at least one other Bin Density field indicates a distribution of idle time after the wireless medium was busy for time 0 slots.

Claims

1. A method for formatting a measurement report for a wireless medium, the method comprising:

indicating, by a first field, a number of bins for a predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were busy during a measurement period;

indicating, by a second field, a number of bins for the predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were idle during the measurement period;

combining the first field and the second field to provide a probability measurement that indicates the probability that the wireless medium is idle after the medium is busy; and

providing a plurality of bin density fields, one bin density field indicating a density of medium time that the wireless medium is busy, and at least one other bin density field indicating a distribution of idle time after the wireless medium was busy for time 0 slots.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first field indicating the number of bins for the predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were busy during the measurement period is one octet in length, and

wherein the second field indicating the number of bins for the predetermined channel of the wireless medium that were idle during the measurement period is one octet in length.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a third field indicating a granularity in multiples of slot times of the wireless medium.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the third field indicating the granularity in multiples of slot times of the wireless medium is one octet in length.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein each bin density field is two octets in length.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a measurement sensing subtype field indicating a Joint Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) Idle/Busy Time Histogram.