Dynamic spectrum sharing for wireless local area networks

• US 9,668,088 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2014
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Quinn, Liam B., Prendergast, Liam
• Primary Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Minjung
• Application Number:
  US14/263,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20150312891A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

A method in a wireless dock includes querying a first wireless networking database to identify a first set of available channels, querying a second wireless networking database to identify a second set of available channels, and sending location and device attributes. The method also includes receiving a list of permissible frequencies and power levels, sending to a client device at least a portion of the list of the permissible frequencies and the power levels for use of selected channels selected from the first set of the available channels and the second set of the available channels, and communicating with the client device using selected frequencies and power levels selected from the at least the portion of the list of the permissible frequencies and the power levels.

Claims

1. A method in a wireless dock, comprising:

querying, by the wireless dock, a first wireless networking database to identify a first set of available channels;

querying, by the wireless dock, a second wireless networking database to identify a second set of available channels;

receiving, by the wireless dock, an indoor position associated with a client device, the indoor position based on wireless networking signals sent from the client device;

determining, by the wireless dock, overlapping wireless coverage areas that serve the client device based on the indoor position, the overlapping wireless coverage areas broadcast by multiple access points;

selecting, by the wireless dock, an unlicensed channel associated with a frequency band;

receiving, by the wireless dock, a list of permissible frequencies and power levels determined from the overlapping wireless coverage areas based on the indoor position associated with the client device;

sending, from the wireless dock, a message via the unlicensed channel to the client device, the message specifying use of an available channel, the available channel different from the unlicensed channel, and the available channel corresponding to a single coverage area of the overlapping coverage areas, the single coverage area broadcast by a single access point of the multiple access points;

creating, by the wireless dock, a wireless dock domain that clusters client devices comprising the client device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) group;

switching, by the wireless dock, from the unlicensed channel to the available channel that corresponds to the single coverage area broadcast by the single access point; and

communicating, by the wireless device, with the client device using the available channel based on the indoor position, wherein the client device makes a P2P connection with the wireless dock.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising distributing the available channel to other wireless docks.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing a wireless dock inter-domain coordination function, wireless communication load balancing, and wireless communication scheduler updates.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless networking database is a television white space (TVWS) database, and the first set of available channels is a first set of available TVWS channels.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second wireless networking database is a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) database, and the second set of available channels is a second set of available WLAN AP channels.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the available from channel from at least one of the first set of available channels and the second set of available channels.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting the indoor location of the client device using geographically diverse sensors, the geographically diverse sensors monitoring wireless networking signals emanating from the client device.

8. An information handling system, comprising:

a wireless dock for providing wireless communication with a client device, the wireless dock comprising;

a first wireless networking transceiver utilizing unused frequencies associated with television white space;

a second wireless networking transceiver utilizing other frequencies associated with wireless local area networking; and

a control circuit, the control circuit coupled to the first wireless networking transceiver and to the second wireless networking transceiver, the control circuit executing code that causes the control circuit to perform operations, the operations including;

querying a first wireless networking database to identify a first set of available channels utilizing the unused frequencies associated with the television white space;

querying a second wireless networking database to identify a second set of available channels utilizing the other frequencies associated with the wireless local area networking;

determining an indoor position associated with the client device, the indoor position based on wireless networking signals emanating from the client device;

determining overlapping wireless coverage areas that serve the client device based on the indoor position, the overlapping wireless coverage areas broadcast by multiple access points;

selecting a channel associated with the other frequencies associated with the wireless local area networking;

receiving a list of permissible frequencies and power levels determined from the overlapping wireless coverage areas based on the indoor position associated with the client device;

sending a message to the client device via the channel associated with the other frequencies associated with the wireless local area networking, the message assigning an unused channel broadcast by a single access point utilizing the unused frequencies associated with the television white space;

creating a wireless dock domain that clusters client devices comprising the client device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) group;

switching from the channel associated with the wireless local area networking to the unused channel associated with the television white space that corresponds to a single coverage area; and

communicating with the client device via the unused channel associated with the television white space utilizing the first wireless networking transceiver, wherein the client device makes a P2P connection with the wireless dock.

9. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise distributing the unused channel associated with the television white space to other wireless docks.

10. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise performing a wireless dock inter-domain coordination function, wireless communication load balancing, and wireless communication scheduler updates.

11. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the first wireless networking database is a television white space (TVWS) database, and the first set of available channels is a first set of available TVWS channels.

12. The information handling system of claim 11, wherein the second wireless networking database is a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) database, and the second set of available channels is a second set of available WLAN AP channels.

13. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise selecting the unused channel from.

14. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the control circuit is further configured to obtain the indoor location associated with the client device using geographically diverse sensors, the geographically diverse sensors monitoring the wireless networking signals emanating from the client device.