U.S. patent application number 15/022534 was filed with the patent office on 2017-01-05 for wifi virtual carrier sense for lte/wifi co-channel coordination.
The applicant listed for this patent is INTEL CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Shafi Bashar, Alexei Vladimirovich Davydov, Brent Elliott, Jong-Kae Fwu, Seunghee Han, Vadim Sergeyevich Sergeyev.
Application Number | 20170006632 15/022534 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53182599 |
Filed Date | 2017-01-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170006632 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Elliott; Brent ; et
al. |
January 5, 2017 |
WIFI VIRTUAL CARRIER SENSE FOR LTE/WIFI CO-CHANNEL COORDINATION
Abstract
A wireless cellular device comprises physical layer circuitry
configured to transmit and receive radio frequency electrical
signals to communicate directly with one or more separate wireless
devices using a communication channel of a cellular network and a
WiFi communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum; and
processing circuitry configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi
subframe via the WiFi communication channel to reserve
communication time on the WiFi communication channel for use by the
same or a different cellular device during the reserved
communication time.
Inventors: |
Elliott; Brent; (Hillsboro,
OR) ; Sergeyev; Vadim Sergeyevich; (Nizhny Novgorod,
RU) ; Bashar; Shafi; (Santa Clara, CA) ; Han;
Seunghee; (San Jose, CA) ; Davydov; Alexei
Vladimirovich; (Nizhny Novgorod, RU) ; Fwu;
Jong-Kae; (Sunnyvale, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INTEL CORPORATION |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53182599 |
Appl. No.: |
15/022534 |
Filed: |
September 26, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
September 26, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US2014/057619 |
371 Date: |
March 16, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61909938 |
Nov 27, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 72/0413 20130101;
Y02D 70/24 20180101; Y02D 70/1222 20180101; H04B 7/2621 20130101;
H04L 1/0026 20130101; H04L 69/163 20130101; H04W 84/12 20130101;
Y02D 70/168 20180101; H04W 76/28 20180201; Y02D 70/1242 20180101;
H04W 76/27 20180201; H04W 80/06 20130101; H04W 88/10 20130101; H04W
72/048 20130101; Y02D 70/146 20180101; H04L 5/0051 20130101; H04L
5/0007 20130101; H04W 52/0254 20130101; Y02D 70/1262 20180101; Y02D
70/1226 20180101; H04L 27/2607 20130101; Y02D 30/50 20200801; Y02D
70/21 20180101; H04L 5/14 20130101; H04L 69/326 20130101; Y02D
70/164 20180101; H04W 74/04 20130101; H04W 88/06 20130101; Y02D
30/70 20200801; H04W 72/042 20130101; H04W 72/02 20130101; H04L
69/161 20130101; H04L 69/321 20130101; Y02D 70/1244 20180101; H04W
36/0069 20180801; Y02D 70/166 20180101; H04L 5/0032 20130101; H04W
16/14 20130101; H04W 72/0446 20130101; H04L 47/25 20130101; Y02D
70/144 20180101; Y02D 70/23 20180101; H04L 69/324 20130101; H04W
28/0205 20130101; Y02D 70/1264 20180101; Y02D 70/142 20180101; H04W
72/0453 20130101; Y02D 70/1246 20180101; Y02D 70/22 20180101; H04L
1/1825 20130101; H04L 5/0073 20130101; H04W 36/0083 20130101; H04W
52/0216 20130101; Y02D 70/1224 20180101; H04W 40/30 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 74/04 20060101
H04W074/04; H04W 72/04 20060101 H04W072/04 |
Claims
1-25. (canceled)
26. A wireless cellular device comprising: physical layer circuitry
configured to transmit and receive radio frequency electrical
signals to communicate directly with one or more separate wireless
devices using a communication channel of a cellular network and a
WiFi communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum; and
processing circuitry configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi
subframe via the WiFi communication channel to reserve
communication time on the WiFi communication channel for use by the
same or a different cellular device during the reserved
communication time.
27. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the cellular device
includes at least one of a long term evolution (LTE) cellular
device, an advanced LTE cellular device, and a fifth generation
(5G) LTE cellular device.
28. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of a clear to send
(CTS) message of a WiFi communication protocol to reserve the
communication time on the WiFi communication channel.
29. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of a request to
send (RTS) message of a WiFi communication protocol to reserve the
communication time on the WiFi communication channel.
30. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of a CTS message
of a WiFi communication protocol to reserve the communication time
in response to detecting an RTS message of the WiFi communication
protocol transmitted by a separate cellular device.
31. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi
communication protocol header to reserve the communication time on
the WiFi communication channel.
32. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate a contention free period end
(CF-end) frame of a WiFi protocol to end the reserved communication
time.
33. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to align transmission of a WiFi subframe by
the cellular device according to a sensed WiFi transmission by a
WiFi device.
34. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of a message
according to a WiFi communication protocol, wherein the message
includes a duration field to indicate an amount of time to reserve
the WiFi communication channel.
35. The cellular device of claim 34, including one or more antennas
electrically connected to the physical layer circuitry and
configured to sense communication activity on the WiFi
communication channel, and wherein the processing circuitry is
configured to adjust a value of the duration field according to the
sensed communication activity.
36. The cellular device of claim 26, wherein the processing
circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of a plurality of
messages according to a WiFi communication protocol to reserve
communication time on a plurality of WiFi communication
channels.
37. The cellular device of claim 26, including one or more antennas
electrically connected to the physical layer circuitry and
configured to sense communication activity on the WiFi
communication channel, and wherein the controller is configured to
adjust a transmission time of the WiFi communication protocol
message according to the sensed communication activity.
38. The cellular device of claim 26, including one or more antennas
electrically connected to the physical layer circuitry and
configured to sense communication activity on the cellular network,
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to initiate
transmission of a number of messages to reserve a number of
communication time slots on the WiFi communication channel and to
adjust the number of messages according to the determined
communication activity on the cellular network.
39. A method of operating a wireless cellular device network, the
method comprising: transmitting a WiFi subframe via a WiFi
communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum using a
first cellular device to reserve communication time on the WiFi
communication channel; and communicating information via the WiFi
communication channel using the first cellular device or a separate
cellular device during the reserved communication time.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein transmitting a WiFi subframe
includes transmitting an RTS message of a WiFi communication
protocol to reserve the communication time on the WiFi
communication channel.
41. The method of claim 39, wherein transmitting a WiFi subframe
includes transmitting a CTS message of a WiFi communication
protocol to reserve the communication time on the WiFi
communication channel.
42. The method of claim 39, wherein transmitting a WiFi subframe
includes transmitting a WiFi communication protocol header to
reserve the communication time on the WiFi communication
channel.
43. The method of claim 39, wherein transmitting a WiFi subframe
includes transmitting a WiFi communication protocol message having
a duration field to indicate an amount of time to reserve the WiFi
communication channel.
44. The method of claim 43, including sensing communication
activity on a WiFi network using the first cellular device, and
adjusting a value of the duration field according to the sensed
communication activity.
45. A computer readable storage medium including instructions that
when executed by hardware processing circuitry of a wireless
cellular device cause the cellular device to: transmit a WiFi
subframe via a WiFi communication channel of a WiFi communication
spectrum using a first cellular device to reserve communication
time on the WiFi communication channel; and communicate information
via the WiFi communication channel using the first cellular device
or a separate cellular device during the reserved communication
time.
46. The computer readable storage medium of claim 45, including
instructions that when executed by the cellular device cause the
cellular device to transmit at least one of a WiFi protocol header,
a RTS message or a CTS message of a WiFi communication protocol to
reserve communication time for the cellular device on the WiFi
communication channel.
47. The computer readable storage medium of claim 45, including
instructions that when executed by the cellular device cause the
cellular device to: transmit a WiFi communication protocol message
having a duration field to indicate an amount of time to reserve
the communication channel of the WiFi communication channel; sense
communication activity on a WiFi communication channel; and adjust
a value of the duration field according to the sensed communication
activity.
48. A wireless communication system comprising: a first cellular
device comprising: physical layer circuitry configured to transmit
and receive radio frequency electrical signals to communicate
directly with one or more separate wireless devices using a
communication channel of a cellular network and a WiFi
communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum; one or more
antennas electrically connected to the physical layer circuitry;
and processing circuitry configured to initiate transmission of a
WiFi subframe via the WiFi communication channel to reserve
communication time on the WiFi communication channel for use by the
same or a different cellular device during the reserved
communication time.
49. The wireless communication system of claim 48, wherein the
first cellular device includes at least one of a cellular network
node device or a cellular UE device.
50. The wireless communication system of claim 48, wherein the
processing circuitry is configured to initiate transmission of at
least one of a WiFi communication protocol header, an RTS packet or
a CTS packet of a WiFi communication protocol to reserve the
communication time on the WiFi communication channel.
Description
PRIORITY APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/909,938, filed Nov. 27, 2013,
which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] Embodiments pertain to transmitting packetized data using
radio access networks. Some embodiments relate to communicating
cellular device information using a communication spectrum
unlicensed to the type of cellular device used to communicate the
information.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Radio access networks are used for delivering one or more of
data communications, voice communications, and video communications
to user equipment such as a cellular telephone or a smart phone.
Some radio networks are packet switched networks and packetize
information such as voice and video data when it is sent over the
network. As the demand for communicating voice and video increases,
quality of service can deteriorate as the radio access networks
approach their peak capacity. Thus, there are general needs for
devices, systems and methods that provide a robust protocol for
communication with user equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 shows an example of a portion of an end-to-end
network architecture of an LTE network with various components of
the network in accordance with some embodiments;
[0005] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an example of a method of
operating a wireless cellular device network in accordance with
some embodiments;
[0006] FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wireless
cellular device in accordance with some embodiments in accordance
with some embodiments;
[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified example of operating a
cellular device to reserve time on a WiFi communication channel in
accordance with some embodiments;
[0008] FIG. 5 shows a timing diagram of an example of a message
sent by a cellular device to reserve time on a WiFi communication
channel in accordance with some embodiments; and
[0009] FIG. 6 shows a timing diagram of another example of a
message sent by a cellular device to reserve time on a WiFi
communication channel in accordance with some embodiments;
[0010] FIG. 7 shows a timing diagram of yet another example of a
message sent by a cellular device to reserve time on a WiFi
communication channel in accordance with some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] The following description and the drawings sufficiently
illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art
to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural,
logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and
features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted
for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the
claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.
[0012] FIG. 1 shows an example of a portion of an end-to-end
network architecture of a long term evolution (LTE) network with
various components of the network in accordance with some
embodiments. The network 100 comprises a radio access network (RAN)
(e.g., as depicted, the E-UTRAN or evolved universal terrestrial
radio access network) 101 and the core network 120 (e.g., shown as
an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together through an S1
interface 115. For convenience and brevity, only a portion of the
core network 120, as well as the RAN 101, is shown in the
example.
[0013] The core network 120 includes mobility management entity
(MME) 122, serving gateway (serving GW) 124, and packet data
network gateway (PDN GW) 126. The RAN includes enhanced node B's
(eNBs) 104 (which may operate as base stations) for communicating
with user equipment (UE) 102. The eNBs 104 may include macro eNBs
and low power (LP) eNBs.
[0014] The MME 122 is similar in function to the control plane of
legacy Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME manages mobility
aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list
management. The serving GW 124 terminates the interface toward the
RAN 101, and routes data packets between the RAN 101 and the core
network 120. In addition, it may be a local mobility anchor point
for inter-eNB handovers and also may provide an anchor for
inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful
intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement. The serving GW
124 and the MME 122 may be implemented in one physical node or
separate physical nodes. The PDN GW 126 terminates an SGi interface
toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW 126 routes data
packets between the EPC 120 and the external PDN, and may be a key
node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. It may
also provide an anchor point for mobility with non-LTE accesses.
The external PDN can be any kind of IP network, as well as an IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domain. The PDN GW 126 and the serving
GW 124 may be implemented in one physical node or separated
physical nodes.
[0015] The eNBs 104 (macro and micro) terminate the air interface
protocol and may be the first point of contact for a UE 102. In
some embodiments, an eNB 104 may fulfill various logical functions
for the RAN 101 including but not limited to RNC (radio network
controller functions) such as radio bearer management, uplink and
downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet
scheduling, and mobility management. In accordance with
embodiments, UEs 102 may be configured to communicate OFDM
communication signals with an eNB 104 over a multicarrier
communication channel in accordance with an OFDMA communication
technique. The OFDM signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonal
subcarriers.
[0016] The S1 interface 115 is the interface that separates the RAN
101 and the EPC 120. It is split into two parts: the S1-U, which
carries traffic data between the eNBs 104 and the serving GW 124,
and the S1-MME, which is a signaling interface between the eNBs 104
and the MME 122. The X2 interface is the interface between eNBs
104. The X2 interface comprises two parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The
X2-C is the control plane interface between the eNBs 104, while the
X2-U is the user plane interface between the eNBs 104.
[0017] With cellular networks, LP cells are typically used to
extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach
well, or to add network capacity in areas with very dense phone
usage, such as train stations. As used herein, the term low power
(LP) eNB refers to any suitable relatively low power eNB for
implementing a narrower cell (narrower than a macro cell) such as a
femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Femtocell eNBs are typically
provided by a mobile network operator to its residential or
enterprise customers. A femtocell is typically the size of a
residential gateway or smaller and generally connects to the user's
broadband line. Once plugged in, the femtocell connects to the
mobile operator's mobile network and provides extra coverage in a
range of typically 30 to 50 meters for residential femtocells.
Thus, a LP eNB might be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through
the PDN GW 126. Similarly, a picocell is a wireless communication
system typically covering a small area, such as in-building
(offices, shopping malls, train stations, etc.), or more recently
in-aircraft. A picocell eNB can generally connect through the X2
link to another eNB such as a macro eNB through its base station
controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNB may be implemented
with a picocell eNB since it is coupled to a macro eNB via an X2
interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs may incorporate some or
all functionality of a macro eNB. In some cases, this may be
referred to as an access point base station or enterprise
femtocell.
[0018] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used
for downlink transmissions from an eNB to a UE. The grid may be a
time-frequency grid, called a resource grid, which is the physical
resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane
representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes
it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each
row of the resource grid correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM
subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the
time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest
time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource
element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks,
which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource
elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource
elements and in the frequency domain; this represents the smallest
quanta of resources that currently can be allocated. There are
several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed
using such resource blocks. Two of these physical downlink channels
are the physical downlink shared channel and the physical down link
control channel.
[0019] The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user
data and higher-layer signaling to a UE 102 (FIG. 1). The physical
downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries information about the
transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH
channel, among other things. It also informs the UE about the
transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ information
related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink
scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to
UEs within a cell) is performed at the eNB based on channel quality
information fed back from the UEs to the eNB, and then the downlink
resource assignment information is sent to a UE on the control
channel (PDCCH) used for (assigned to) the UE.
[0020] As explained previously, the demand for communicating one or
both of voice data and video data continues to increase. A RAN 101
may experience heavy communication traffic which can lead to
adverse network effects such as communication latency for example.
As shown in FIG. 1, a RAN can include UE devices and eNB devices
such as LP eNBs and/or macro eNBs. To alleviate network traffic,
network capacity can be added by providing communication capability
to the RAN devices from networks that operate using a communication
spectrum not licensed for use by the cellular network devices.
Communication peaks may occur locally and the RAN serving the
locality may experience peak demand. The locality may include a
WiFi network for computing devices such as laptop computers and
computer tablets, but the wireless cellular devices are not
licensed to operate in the WiFi communication spectrum (e.g.,
communication channels of 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) or 5 GHz). According
to some embodiments, the wireless cellular devices of a RAN reserve
communication time on the WiFi communication channel and
communicate information using the WiFi communication spectrum.
[0021] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an example of a method 200 of
operating a wireless cellular device network. The cellular device
network may include one or more eNBs and UEs. The cellular device
network may be, among other things, an LTE cellular network, an
LTE-Advanced cellular network, or a fifth generation (5G) LTE
cellular network. To mitigate possible interference to WiFi devices
caused by the cellular device transmissions on WiFi channels, the
cellular devices use a time reserving message to inform the WiFi
devices of transmissions by one or more cellular devices. This
reduces the amount of collisions between devices that may otherwise
occur, and promotes an acceptable level of use of WiFi
communication channels by both the cellular devices and the WiFi
devices. It also provides for lower-overhead communication among
multiple cellular devices through the central scheduling of one or
both of cellular downlink and uplink transmissions.
[0022] At block 205, a WiFi subframe is transmitted via a WiFi
communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum using a
cellular device. The WiFi communication channel may be established
by a WiFi network implemented under one of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers 802.11 standards, such as the
IEEE 802.11-2012 standard published Mar. 29, 2012.
[0023] The WiFi subframe may include a message that reserves
communication time on the WiFi communication channel. The WiFi
subframe may be included in a WiFi frame or a cellular network
frame. Any WiFi device monitoring the WiFi communication channel
that is capable of decoding the message will consider the channel
unavailable and will defer any transmission and may defer countdown
of its contention window until after the duration of the reserved
time has elapsed.
[0024] At block 210, the reserved time is used by a cellular device
to communicate information with another cellular device via the
WiFi communication channel. The reserved time can be used by the
cellular device that transmitted the message or can be used by a
separate cellular device. The reserved time can be used for
communication between a cellular network node device (e.g., an eNB)
and a cellular UE device (e.g., a smart phone), between two UE
devices, or between two network node devices.
[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wireless
cellular device in accordance with some embodiments. The cellular
device 300 may be any of the UEs 102 illustrated in FIG. 1, or the
cellular device may be any of the eNBs 104 of FIG. 1. The cellular
device 300 may include physical layer (PHY) circuitry 302 for
transmitting and receiving radio frequency electrical signals using
one or more antennas 301 electrically connected to the PHY
circuitry. The PHY circuitry 302 may include circuitry for
modulation/demodulation, upconversion/downconversion, filtering,
amplification, etc. Cellular device 300 may also include medium
access control layer (MAC) circuitry 304 for controlling access to
the wireless medium and to configure frames or packets for
communicating over the wireless medium. Cellular device 300 may
also include processing circuitry 306 and memory 308 arranged to
configure the various elements of the cellular device to perform
the operations described herein. The memory 308 may be used to
store information for configuring the processing circuitry 306 to
perform the operations.
[0026] In some embodiments, the cellular device 300 may be a UE and
be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a
personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer
with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless
telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant
messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television,
a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure
monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit
information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the cellular device
300 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, a
non-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor,
an application processor, speakers, and other mobile device
elements. The display may be an LCD screen including a touch
screen.
[0027] The one or more antennas 301 utilized by the cellular device
300 may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional
antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole
antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or
other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In
some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna
with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each
aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some
multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may
be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and
different channel characteristics that may result between each of
the antennas of a receiving station and each of the antennas of a
transmitting station. In some MIMO embodiments, the antennas may be
separated by up to 1/10 of a wavelength or more.
[0028] Although the cellular device 300 is illustrated as having
several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional
elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of
software-configured elements, such as processing elements including
digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements.
For example, some elements may comprise one or more
microprocessors, DSPs, application specific integrated circuits
(ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), and
combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing
at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the
functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on
one or more processing elements.
[0029] The embodiments described may be implemented in one or a
combination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may
also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable
storage medium, which may be read and executed by at least one
processor to perform the operations described herein. A
computer-readable storage medium may include any non-transitory
mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine
(e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage medium
may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),
magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory
devices, and other storage devices and media. In these embodiments,
one or more processors may be configured with the instructions to
perform the operations described herein.
[0030] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 306 may be
configured to receive OFDM communication signals over a
multicarrier communication channel in accordance with an OFDMA
communication technique. The OFDM signals may comprise a plurality
of orthogonal subcarriers. In some broadband multicarrier
embodiments, the cellular device 300 may operate as part of a
broadband wireless access (BWA) network communication network, such
as a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)
communication network or a 3rd Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP) Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) or a
Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) communication network or an LTE-Advanced
communication network or a fifth generation (5G) LTE communication
network or a high speed downlink/uplink access (HSDPA/HSUPA)
communication network, although the scope of the invention is not
limited in this respect.
[0031] The PHY circuitry 302 may also be configured to transmit and
receive radio frequency electrical signals to communicate directly
with one or more separate wireless devices using a WiFi
communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum. The MAC
circuitry 304 may be configured to prepare frames or packets for
communicating according to a WiFi standard such as an IEEE 802.11
standard for example. The processing circuitry 306 may be
configured (e.g., by one or a combination of hardware, firmware and
software) to initiate transmission of a WiFi subframe via the WiFi
communication channel to reserve communication time on the WiFi
communication channel for use by the same or a different cellular
device during the reserved communication time.
[0032] FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified example of operating a
cellular device to reserve time on a WiFi communication channel.
The upper part of the Figure shows communication timing windows or
time slots for a four device LTE network that includes LTE eNB 404,
and LTE UEs 402a,b,c. The lower part of the Figure shows
communication timing windows for a four device WiFi network that
includes WiFi AP 434, and WiFi UEs 432a,b,c. Time slot 441 and time
slot 443 represent communication using the WiFi network by WiFi AP
434 and WiFi UE 432c, respectively. At time slot 445, the LTE eNB
404 transmits a WiFi subframe on a WiFi Communication channel to
reserve time on the WiFi communication channel. The subframe may
include a header or may include a message. In response to the
subframe, the WiFi devices defer their transmissions. Box 447
represents an amount of time reserved for communication by the LTE
devices using the WiFi communication channel. The time slots 449
represent communications using the WiFi communication channel by
the LTE devices during the reserved time.
[0033] In cellular systems the communications of both the eNB and
the UE are scheduled by the eNB. The eNB inherently knows what
needs to be transmitted based on its buffers. In some cases,
persistent allocations (like reserve time to send a voice packet on
uplink every 20 ms) are known ahead of time by the eNB due to the
setup of the dedicated bearer, and the subsequent teardown of the
bearer ends the recurring allocations. In other cases, the UE
notifies the eNB of its desire to transmit via various bandwidth
request mechanisms. The eNB knows what needs to be transmitted in
the near future, and the eNB may generate a map that is sent to all
UEs and the map indicates what portions of spectrum are used when
and by which subscribers for both downlink and uplink
communications. The map may communicate the reserved time to a UE
and the UE communicates accordingly. Thus, an eNB may not transmit
using the WiFi communication channel during the time reserved for
communication by the LTE devices. Although the example of FIG. 4
shows LTE eNB 404 transmitting a message to reserve the
communication time, any of the LTE network devices may transmit the
message that reserves the communication time. After expiration of
the reserved time (box 447), the WiFi devices communicate using the
WiFi network represented by time slots 451. Box 453 represents a
second communication time on the WiFi network reserved by the LTE
devices.
[0034] As explained above, the processing circuitry 306 initiates
transmission of a subframe of a WiFi communication protocol to
reserve time on a WiFi communication channel. FIG. 5 shows a timing
diagram of an example of a time reserving message sent by a
cellular device. The message includes a WiFi communication protocol
header and is followed by one or more subframes of a cellular
network protocol. The header spoofs a physical layer of a WiFi
device to reserve the WiFi communication channel. The example in
FIG. 5 shows the message including a physical layer convergence
protocol (PLCP) header 561, and the PLCP header is followed by one
or more unlicensed LTE downlink (LTE-U DL) subframes 563. The PLCP
header 561 includes a LENGTH and RATE parameter in the signal
field. These parameters can be used to indicate the duration for
which the WiFi channel is reserved. In an example intended to be
illustrative, the RATE parameter may be set to the minimum RATE
value to indicate binary phase shift key (BPSK) modulation and a
data rate of 6 megabits per second (6 Mbps). The LENGTH parameter
may be calculated as the desired duration expressed in seconds
divided by the RATE in Mbps and further divided by 8 to convert the
resulting value from bits to bytes. The result may be rounded up to
the next integer value to determine the value of the LENGTH
parameter. In certain embodiments, the physical layer spoofing
approach can allow reserving the channel for approximately 5
milliseconds (5 ms) and may allow transmission of up to five LTE-U
DL subframes.
[0035] FIG. 6 shows a timing diagram of another example of a time
reserving message sent by a cellular device. The message takes
advantage of the Virtual Carrier Sense feature of a WiFi
communication protocol to reserve time on a WiFi communication
channel. The Virtual Carrier Sense is a mechanism that includes
transmitting an IEE802.11 frame that includes a duration field. The
duration field contains a value for which the WiFi communication
channel should be considered busy. Prior to sending cellular
communications, a cellular device sends a subframe that includes a
Request-to-Send (RTS) packet of a WiFi communication protocol or a
subframe that includes a Clear-to-Send (CTS) packet (sometimes
referred to as a CTS-to-self packet). The RTS, CTS, or CTS-to-self
packet 665 includes a duration parameter provided by the MAC layer
circuitry. In certain embodiments, the duration parameter is the
number of microseconds (.mu.s) that the channel will be reserved.
When the WiFi devices decode the RTS, CTS, or CTS-to-self packet
665 and the duration parameter value, the WiFi devices set their
network allocation vector (NAV) accordingly, and the cellular
device may send one or more cellular transmissions 663. The WiFi
devices use the NAV to set a counter. Virtual Carrier Sense assumes
that the WiFi network is busy while the counter is nonzero and the
WiFi devices will therefore wait for the reserved time. In certain
embodiments, this approach may reserve the WiFi communication
channel for up to 65 ms, which allows for fully functional LTE
frames to be communicated during the reserved time. After
expiration of the duration, the WiFi devices return to normal
operation. Operation on the WiFi spectrum by a cellular device may
be delayed until the next WiFi communication channel reservation
message.
[0036] FIG. 7 shows a timing diagram of another example of a time
reserving message sent by cellular devices. This approach uses the
RTS-CTS packet exchange of the WiFi communication protocol between
two devices. A first cellular device (either a UE or eNB) may send
the RTS message. In response to detecting the RTS message, a second
cellular device (again either a UE or eNB) may transmit the CTS
message to reserve the communication time. The duration parameters
of the RTS frame 765 and CTS frame 767 are set to the time to
reserve the channel (e.g., expressed in .mu.s).
[0037] As for the approach in the example of FIG. 6, the approach
in the example of FIG. 7 may reserve the WiFi communication channel
for up to 65 ms in certain embodiments. An advantage of the
approach in the example of FIG. 7 is that the complete RTS-CTS
exchange results in WiFi devices in the proximity of both cellular
devices performing the RTS-CTS exchange deferring their
transmissions. In some embodiments, the duration parameter of the
WiFi frames in the examples of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 can be set to an
arbitrary (e.g., maximum) length to reserve the communication
channel. A cellular device may transmit a contention free period
end (CF-end) frame of the WiFi protocol to end the reserved
communication time.
[0038] The radio frequency (RF) signals involved in a WiFi network
are different from the RF signals involved in a cellular network.
For example, the signal properties may differ in sample rate,
subcarrier spacing, etc. It may be necessary to align the WiFi
transmission by a cellular device to a time slot of the WiFi
network. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 306 of FIG. 3
aligns transmission of a WiFi subframe by the cellular device
according to a sensed WiFi transmission by a WiFi device (e.g., he
last sensed transmission by a WiFi device). Additionally, the
different signal properties between the two types of networks may
require the cellular devices to implement complex control systems
or processing steps to rapidly change the signal properties of
their communications. In some embodiments, the messages that
reserve time on the WiFi communication channel can be pre-recorded.
In certain embodiments, the messages can be recorded in the time
domain, re-sampled in the frequency supported by the cellular
devices, and stored in the cellular devices. A pre-recorded message
may then simply be retrieved from memory and transmitted by playing
it back when it is desired to reserve communication time.
[0039] To provide for an acceptable level of performance by both
the cellular devices and the WiFi devices, it may be desirable to
promote fairness in the access to the WiFi spectrum among the
devices. One approach to promote fairness is to limit the maximum
time that the cellular devices can reserve WiFi communication time.
In some embodiments, a cellular device (e.g., the eNB of FIG. 4)
reserves communication time of a fixed time duration. For example,
a Virtual Carrier Sense frame may always include the same value in
the duration field. When the duration expires, there is a fixed
waiting period before a cellular device is able to again transmit a
time reserving message. The WiFi device operates using the WiFi
communication channel during the fixed waiting period. The value of
the duration field may be optimized according to the needs of a
specific network. If the duration is too short, the reserving of
time may result in excessive overhead leading to inefficient use of
the WiFi and cellular networks. If the duration is too long, the
level of quality of the WiFi network may become unacceptable.
[0040] In some embodiments, the periodicity with which a cellular
device reserves communication time changes, but the amount of
reserved time is for a fixed period. In some embodiments, the
frequency with which reserving requests are transmitted may change
according to utilization of the cellular network; with more
reserving messages sent when the cellular network experiences high
traffic. The one or more antennas 301 may be used to sense traffic
on the cellular network. The processing circuitry 306 may initiate
transmission of a number of messages to reserve a number of
communication time slots on the WiFi communication channel, and may
adjust the number of reserving messages sent according to the
determined communication activity on the cellular network. In some
embodiments, the one or more antennas 301 may be used to sense
traffic on the WiFi spectrum and adjust the number of reserving
messages sent according to the determined communication activity on
the WiFi spectrum.
[0041] Another approach is to allow the duration time to be a
dynamic value that changes according to one or both of the traffic
in the WiFi spectrum and the traffic in the cellular spectrum. In
some embodiments, the one or more antennas 301 may be used to sense
communication activity on the WiFi communication channel. The
processing circuitry 306 may adjust the value of the duration field
(e.g., in one or both of a RTS message and a CTS message) according
to the sensed communication activity. In some embodiments, the
processing circuitry 306 adjusts the transmission time of a
message, by moving the transmission earlier or later. This allows
the cellular device to take advantage of a determined lull in the
WiFi network or delay the transmission when the WiFi spectrum is
experiencing high traffic. In certain embodiments, the WiFi
communication channel is continuously monitored to detect
transmissions by WiFi devices.
[0042] The several embodiments discussed have sometimes been
described in terms of reserving time on a WiFi communication
channel of a WiFi spectrum. The concepts can be expanded to reserve
time on multiple WiFi communication channels. The cellular device
300 may transmit multiple messages according to a WiFi
communication protocol to reserve communication time on a multiple
of WiFi communication channels. For example, the processing
circuitry may initiate RTS or CTS messages on multiple WiFi
channels and the cellular transmissions may be multiplexed among
the reserved channels.
[0043] In some embodiments, a short time duration can be provided
during or after transmission of the Virtual Carrier Sense frame to
sense any WiFi transmissions initiated more or less in unison with
the Virtual Carrier Sense frame. When a WiFi transmission is sensed
that overlaps the Virtual Carrier Sense frame a new Virtual Sense
frame could be transmitted at the conclusion of the sensed WiFi
transmission to re-request the reserving of time on the WiFi
communication channel. This provides a way for the cellular device
to handle collisions on the WiFi communication channel.
[0044] As explained previously, the network example of FIG. 4 shows
a simple cellular network and a simple WiFi network. In actual
networks, a cellular service provider may co-locate many eNBs. In
some embodiments, the transmission of Virtual Carrier Sense frames
are synchronized among the eNBs to maximize efficient use of the
WiFi spectrum by ensuring that neighboring eNBs are operating in
cellular-only or WiFi-only modes. In these cases, the duration of
the reserve time may have to be extended so that reservation of
WiFi channels can be coordinated with completion of WiFi
transmissions. This extending of the reservation time may also be
useful when multiple eNBs are co-located by different service
providers.
[0045] The several examples provided describe cellular devices
accessing unlicensed radio access network resources in order to
increase capacity of the cellular device network. Mechanisms to
promote fairness in use of the unlicensed resources can promote
acceptable quality of service of both the cellular network and the
unlicensed radio access network.
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND EXAMPLES
[0046] Example 1 can include subject matter (such as a wireless
cellular device) comprising physical layer circuitry configured to
transmit and receive radio frequency electrical signals to
communicate directly with one or more separate wireless devices
using a communication channel of a cellular network and a WiFi
communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum; and
processing circuitry configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi
subframe via the WiFi communication channel to reserve
communication time on the WiFi communication channel for use by the
same or a different cellular device during the reserved
communication time.
[0047] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 can optionally
include at least one of a long term evolution (LTE) cellular
device, an advanced LTE cellular device, and a fifth generation
(5G) LTE cellular device.
[0048] In Example 3, the subject matter of one or the combination
of Examples 1-2 optionally includes processing circuitry configured
to initiate transmission of a clear to send (CTS) packet of a WiFi
communication protocol to reserve the communication time on the
WiFi communication channel.
[0049] In Example 4, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-3 optionally includes processing circuitry configured
to initiate transmission of a request to send (RTS) packet of a
WiFi communication protocol to reserve the communication time on
the WiFi communication channel.
[0050] In Example 5, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-4 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of a CTS packet of a WiFi
communication protocol to reserve the communication time in
response to detecting an RTS packet of the WiFi communication
protocol transmitted by a separate cellular device.
[0051] In Example 6, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-5 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi communication
protocol header to reserve the communication time on the WiFi
communication channel.
[0052] In Example 7, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-6 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate a contention free period end (CF-end)
message of a WiFi protocol to end the reserved communication
time.
[0053] In Example 8, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-7 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to align transmission of a WiFi subframe by the cellular
device according to a sensed WiFi transmission by a WiFi
device.
[0054] In Example 9, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-8 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of a message according to a
WiFi communication protocol, wherein the message includes a
duration field to indicate an amount of time to reserve the WiFi
communication channel.
[0055] In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9 can
optionally include one or more antennas electrically connected to
the physical layer circuitry and configured to sense communication
activity on the WiFi communication channel, and wherein the
processing circuitry is configured to adjust a value of the
duration field according to the sensed communication activity.
[0056] In Example 11, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-10 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of a plurality of messages
according to a WiFi communication protocol to reserve communication
time on a plurality of WiFi communication channels.
[0057] In Example 12, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-11 can optionally include one or more antennas
electrically connected to the physical layer circuitry and
configured to sense communication activity on the WiFi
communication channel, and wherein the controller is configured to
adjust a transmission time of the WiFi communication protocol
message according to the sensed communication activity.
[0058] In Example 13, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 1-12 can optionally include one or more antennas
electrically connected to the physical layer circuitry and
configured to sense communication activity on the cellular network,
wherein the processing circuitry is configured to initiate
transmission of a number of messages to reserve a number of
communication time slots on the WiFi communication channel and to
adjust the number of messages according to the determined
communication activity on the cellular network.
[0059] Example 14 can include subject matter (such as a method, a
means for performing acts, or a machine-readable medium including
instructions that, when performed by the machine, cause the machine
to perform acts), or can optionally be combined with the subject
matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-13 to include such
subject matter comprising transmitting a WiFi subframe via a WiFi
communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum using a
first cellular device to reserve communication time on the WiFi
communication channel, and communicating information via the WiFi
communication channel using the first cellular device or a separate
cellular device during the reserved communication time.
[0060] In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 can
optionally include transmitting an RTS message of a WiFi
communication protocol to reserve the communication time on the
WiFi communication channel.
[0061] In Example 16, the subject matter of one or the combination
of Examples 14 and 15 can optionally include transmitting a CTS
message of a WiFi communication protocol to reserve the
communication time on the WiFi communication channel.
[0062] In Example 17, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-16 can optionally include a first cellular device
transmitting a RTS message of the WiFi communication protocol and a
second cellular device transmitting a CTS message of the WiFi
communication protocol to reserve the communication time on the
WiFi communication channel.
[0063] In Example 18, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-17 can optionally include transmitting a WiFi
communication protocol header to reserve the communication time on
the WiFi communication channel.
[0064] In Example 19, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-18 can optionally include transmitting a CF-end
message of a WiFi communication protocol to terminate the reserved
communication time on the WiFi communication channel.
[0065] In Example 20, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-19 can optionally include transmitting a WiFi
communication protocol message having a duration field to indicate
an amount of time to reserve the WiFi communication channel.
[0066] In Example 21, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-20 can optionally include sensing communication
activity on a WiFi network using the first cellular device, and
adjusting a value of the duration field according to the sensed
communication activity.
[0067] In Example 22, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-21 can optionally include sensing communication
activity on the WiFi network using the first cellular device, and
adjusting a transmission time of the WiFi subframe according to the
sensed communication activity.
[0068] In Example 23, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-22 can optionally include transmitting a number of
WiFi messages via the WiFi communication channel to reserve a
number of communication time slots on the WiFi communication
channel, and wherein the method further includes determining
communication activity on the cellular device network using the at
least one of a cellular network node device or a UE device, and
adjusting the number of WiFi messages according to the determined
communication activity on the cellular device network.
[0069] In Example 24, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 14-23 can optionally include aligning transmission of a
WiFi subframe by the cellular device according to a sensed WiFi
transmission by a WiFi device.
[0070] Example 25 can include subject matter, or can optionally be
combined with the subject matter of one or any combination of
Examples 1-24 to include such subject matter, such as a computer
readable storage medium including instructions that when performed
by hardware processing circuitry of a wireless communication device
cause the wireless communication device to transmit a WiFi subframe
via a WiFi communication channel of a WiFi communication spectrum
using a first cellular device to reserve communication time on the
WiFi communication channel, and communicate information via the
WiFi communication channel using the first cellular device or a
separate cellular device during the reserved communication
time.
[0071] In Example 26, the subject matter of Example 25 can
optionally include instructions that when executed by the hardware
processing circuitry cause the wireless communication device to
transmit at least one of a RTS message or a CTS message of a WiFi
communication protocol to reserve communication time for the
cellular device on the WiFi communication channel.
[0072] In Example 27, the subject matter of one or the combination
of Examples 25-26 can optionally include instructions that when
executed by the hardware processing circuitry cause the wireless
communication device to transmit a WiFi communication protocol
header to reserve the communication time.
[0073] In Example 28, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 25-27 can optionally include instructions that when
executed by the hardware processing circuitry cause the wireless
communication device to transmit a WiFi communication protocol
message having a duration field to indicate an amount of time to
reserve the communication channel of the WiFi communication
channel; sense communication activity on a WiFi communication
channel; and adjust a value of the duration field according to the
sensed communication activity.
[0074] Example 29 can include subject matter (such as a wireless
communication system), or can optionally be combined with the
subject matter of one or any combination of Examples 1-28 to
include such subject matter, comprising a first cellular device
comprising physical layer circuitry configured to transmit and
receive radio frequency electrical signals to communicate directly
with one or more separate wireless devices using a communication
channel of a cellular network and a WiFi communication channel of a
WiFi communication spectrum; one or more antennas electrically
connected to the physical layer circuitry; and processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi subframe via the WiFi
communication channel to reserve communication time on the WiFi
communication channel for use by the same or a different cellular
device during the reserved communication time.
[0075] In Example 30, the subject matter of Example 29 can
optionally include at least one of a cellular network node device
or a cellular UE device.
[0076] In Example 31, the subject matter of one or the combination
of Examples 29-30 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of at least one of an RTS
packet or a CTS packet of a WiFi communication protocol to reserve
the communication time on the WiFi communication channel.
[0077] In Example 32, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 29-31 can optionally include a second cellular device,
wherein the processing circuitry of the first cellular device is
configured to initiate transmission of a CTS packet of a WiFi
communication protocol in response to detecting a RTS packet of the
WiFi communication protocol transmitted by the second cellular
device.
[0078] In Example 33, the subject matter of one or any combination
of Examples 29-32 can optionally include processing circuitry
configured to initiate transmission of a WiFi communication
protocol header to reserve communication time for the cellular
device on the WiFi communication channel.
[0079] These non-limiting examples can be combined in any
permutation or combination.
[0080] The above detailed description includes references to the
accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed
description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific
embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. These
embodiments are also referred to herein as "examples." All
publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this
document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as
though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of
inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so
incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated
reference(s) should be considered supplementary to that of this
document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this
document controls.
[0081] Method examples described herein can be machine or
computer-implemented at least in part. Some examples can include a
computer-readable storage medium or machine-readable storage medium
encoded with instructions operable to configure an electronic
device to perform methods as described in the above examples. An
implementation of such methods can include code, such as microcode,
assembly language code, a higher-level language code, or the like.
Such code can include computer readable instructions for performing
various methods. The code may form portions of computer program
products. The code can be tangibly stored on one or more volatile,
non-transitory, or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media,
such as during execution or at other times. Examples of these
tangible computer-readable storage media can include, but are not
limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable optical
disks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic
cassettes, memory cards or sticks, random access memories (RAMs),
read only memories (ROMs), and the like.
[0082] The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section
1.72(b) requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to
ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is
submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to limit
or interpret the scope or meaning of the claims. The following
claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with
each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. Also, in
the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are
open-ended, that is, a system, device, article, or process that
includes elements in addition to those listed after such a term in
a claim are still deemed to fall within the scope of that claim.
Moreover, in the following claims, the terms "first," "second," and
"third," etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to
impose numerical requirements on their objects.
* * * * *