Mechanism for interference mitigation in short-range communication PICO networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9380491-B2
Application number	US-201114074978-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 10, 2011
Priority date	May 10, 2011
Publication date	Jun 28, 2016
Grant date	Jun 28, 2016

Abstract

There is provided an interference mitigation or frequency channel collision mitigation scheme usable for a short range communication network where a network element of a cellular network is used as a coordinator or controller for the collision mitigation. Communication information regarding a communication in the short range communication network and concerning a frequency selection for a communication are processed so as to determine collision mitigation data for reducing interference in the communication in the short range communication network. The collision mitigation data regarding the communication in the short range communication network are sent to a communication network element such as a UE acting as a master node of the short range communication network.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
circuitry configured to
communicate in a second network of a second communication technology type,
receive, from at least one communication network element, communication information regarding a communication of the at least one communication network element in a first network of a first communication technology type different from the second technology type, the communication information being for frequency selection for communication in the first network,
process the received communication information to determine collision mitigation data comprising a sequence transform function which is applied to a frequency hopping sequence of the first network for reducing an interference in the communication in the first network, and
forward the sequence transform function as the collision mitigation data to the at least one communication network element, whose communication in the first network is determined to be interfered.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:
predict one or more improper frequency channels for communication in the first network based on the received communication information, the improper frequency channel being a frequency channel where an interference in a communication in the first network occurs,
determine a channel index information element based on the result of the improper frequency channel prediction processing, the channel index information element indicating at least one frequency channel that is improper for a communication in the first network, and
forward the channel index information element as the collision mitigation data to the at least one communication network element whose communication in the first network is determined to be interfered.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to
determine whether a number of first networks in a specific area exceeds a predetermined number, and if the determination is positive,
calculate frequency hopping sequences for each of the first networks determined in the specific area based on communication information received, and
obtain a collision probability for communications in each of the first networks determined in the specific area and for each frequency channel by determining a frequency hopping map of each of the first networks determined in the specific area, compare the determined frequency hopping maps with each other to achieve a collision probability of frequency channels.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to
determine whether the collision probability of frequency channels is higher than a preset threshold, and if the determination is positive,
find a frequency channel having a highest collision probability,
assign the found frequency channel as an improper frequency channel for the related first networks, and
repeat the processing for calculating the frequency hopping sequences for each of the first networks determined in the specific area, obtaining a collision probability for communications in each of the first networks determined in the specific area and for each frequency channel, without the found channel, and determining whether the collision probability of the frequency channels is higher than the preset threshold.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to
determine whether a number of first networks in a specific area exceeds a predetermined number, and if the determination is positive,
calculate frequency hopping sequences for each of the first networks determined in the specific area based on communication information received, and
obtain a collision probability for communications in each of the first networks determined in the specific area by determining a frequency hopping map of each of the first networks determined in the specific area, compare the determined frequency hopping maps with each other, and achieve a collision probability of frequency channels on the basis of the comparison.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to
determine whether the collision probability of first networks determined in the specific area is higher than a preset threshold, and if the determination is positive,
select one or more of the first networks determined in the specific area having a highest collision probability,
apply at least one type of sequence transform function to the frequency hopping sequences of the selected first networks, and
detect a degree of interference reduction caused by a modification of the frequency hopping sequences of the selected first networks with the applied sequence transform function.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the circuitry is further configured,
if the degree of interference reduction satisfies a preset minimum reduction, forward the applied sequence transform function as the collision mitigation data, or
if the degree of interference reduction does not satisfy the preset minimum reduction, apply another type of sequence transform function to the frequency hopping sequences of the selected first networks, and detect a new degree of interference reduction caused by the modification of the frequency hopping sequences of the selected first networks with the other applied sequence transform function.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first network includes at least one pico network based and the second network includes a cellular communication network, wherein the apparatus is comprised in a communication network control element of the second network, the communication network element is operating as a gateway element between the first network and the second network, and the network element of the first network is a slave node.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the communication network control element of the second network is a base station.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the pico network uses a predetermined short-range communication protocol.

11. A method comprising:
communicating, with circuitry, in a second network of a second communication technology type;
receiving, with the circuitry and from at least one communication network element, communication information regarding a communication of the at least one communication network element in a first network of a first communication technology type different from the second technology type, the communication information being for frequency selection for communication in the first network;
processing, with the circuitry, the received communication information to determine collision mitigation data comprising a sequence transform function which is applied to a frequency hopping sequence of the first network for reducing an interference in the communication in the first network; and
forwarding, with the circuitry, the sequence transform function as the collision mitigation data to the at least one communication network element, whose communication in the first network is determined to be interfered.

12. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising:
predicting, with the circuitry, one or more improper frequency channels for communication in the first network based on the received communication information, the improper frequency channel being a frequency channel where an interference in a communication in the first network occurs;
determining, with the circuitry, a channel index information element based on the result of the improper frequency channel prediction processing, the channel index information element indicating at leas

Assignees

• Li Zhenhong
• Wang Haifeng
• Hu Ying
• Zhang Jian
• Hu Honglin
• Broadcom Corp

Inventors

• Li Zhenhong
• Wang Haifeng
• Hu Ying
• Zhang Jian
• Hu Honglin

Classifications

• H04W74/0858 Primary

  collision detection · CPC title

• H04W16/14

  Spectrum sharing arrangements {between different networks} · CPC title

• H04W28/042 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W84/18

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title

• H04W28/048

  Electricity · mapped topic