Systems and methods for a cognitive radio having adaptable characteristics
AssigneeShared Spectrum Company
InventorsDmitry DAIN, Igor Bazarov, Jevgenijs Livsics, Mark A. McHenry
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Abstract
Systems and methods for configuring a network of radios for dynamic spectrum access are described. A network radio can include hardware and/or software modules for detecting a radio environment and negotiating common communications channels with a plurality of other radios in the network. Network radio behavior can be defined by a plurality of predefined policies which are used in combination with the information about the radio environment to select common operating parameters.
Claims48
A radio apparatus for communicating at a dynamically selected radio frequency, comprising:
- a policy manager for storing at least one communications policy parameter;
- a detector for detecting an environmental radio frequency condition;
- and
- a spectrum manager in communication with the policy manager and the detector and configured to select a communication frequency based on the detected radio frequency condition and the at least one policy parameter.
A method of communicating on a dynamically-selected communication channel, the method comprising:
- determining the availability of at least one channel considered available for use based on a use of the channel by a cooperative node, a use of the channel by a non-cooperative node, an absence of a signal in the channel, or a combination thereof;
- selecting an initial communication channel from a candidate channel list, the candidate channel list identifying the at least one channel considered available;
- and
- transmitting a packet to at least one cooperative node over the initial communication channel.
A method of communicating on a dynamically-selected communication channel, the method comprising:
- identifying an initial communication channel used by a first cooperative node;
- transmitting a synchronize packet to the first cooperative node over the initial communication channel, the synchronize packet including channel usage information detected by a second cooperative node;
- and
- receiving an acknowledgement packet from the first cooperative node.
A method of dynamically changing a communication channel, the method comprising:
- during an active communication link with at least one cooperative node over an initial channel, detecting an environmental frequency condition on the initial channel;
- transmitting an advertise request to the at least one cooperative node;
- receiving at least one advertise reply during a predetermined time frame, the at least one advertising reply providing information from an associated cooperative node regarding channel availability as determined by the associated cooperative node;
- identifying an available channel as a new communication channel;
- transmitting a channel-switch request to the at least one cooperative node, the request identifying the new communication channel;
- and
- communicating with the at least one cooperative node on the new channel.
A method of dynamically changing a communication channel, the method comprising:
- during communication with a first cooperative node over an initial channel, detecting an environmental frequency condition on the initial channel;
- responsive to detecting the environmental frequency condition, transmitting a reset request to the first cooperative node;
- receiving an advertise request from the first cooperative node;
- sending an advertise reply to the first cooperative node, the advertise reply providing information regarding channel availability as determined by a second cooperative node;
- receiving a channel-switch request from the first cooperative node, the request identifying the new communication channel;
- and
- communicating with the first cooperative node on the new channel.
A method of identifying usable communication channels comprising:
- receiving output from a radio frequency detector, the output providing usage information for a plurality of communication channels;
- categorizing each of the plurality of communication channels according to the presence of a signal corresponding to use of the channel by a non-cooperative transmitter, the presence of a signal corresponding to use of the channel by a cooperative transmitter, the absence of a signal, or a combination thereof;
- and
- generating a list of candidate channels, the list including each channel not having a signal indicating use of the channel by a non-cooperative transmitter.
A method of determining availability of a plurality of communication channels for use by a dynamic spectrum allocation system, the method comprising:
- for each of the plurality of communication channels, dividing the channel into a plurality of bins;
- measuring the power level of radio-frequency energy in each bin;
- for each channel having at least a predetermined portion of bins with a detected power greater than a first predetermined threshold, identifying the channel as containing a cooperative signal;
- and
- for each channel not identified as containing a cooperative signal but having at least one bin with a detected power greater than the first threshold, identifying the channel as containing a non-cooperative channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.