Collision detection and bitwise arbitration in multicarrier wireless networks

A method for detecting collisions in a multicarrier wireless network, comprising:

• selecting a random number from a range of values;
• and
• translating the random number to a binary codeword comprised of k bits, where k is a number of subcarrier frequencies in a data channel, a bit value of one correlates to a signal magnitude greater than zero and a bit value of zero correlates to a signal magnitude of zero;
• mapping each bit of the binary codeword to a different subcarrier frequency of the data channel, where the data channel is divided into k subcarrier frequencies;
• modulating signals in each of the subcarriers frequencies of the data channel using a bit value from the mapped bit of the binary codeword;
• transmitting the modulated signals over the data channel by a first communication device;
• receiving, concurrently with the transmission of the modulating signals, an incoming signal from a second communication device, the incoming signal received via the data channel by the first communication device;
• and
• identifying, by the first communication device, a collision on the data channel based on presence of a signal on a subcarrier frequency of the incoming signal whose corresponding bit value is zero.

A channel access method for devices in a multicarrier wireless network, comprising:

• transmitting, using a first antenna of a first communication device, a collision probe over a data channel, where the data channel is divided into a plurality of subcarrier frequencies and the collision probe is derived from a binary codeword comprised of k bits and each bit of the binary codeword is transmitted using a different subcarrier frequency of the data channel;
• listening, using a second antenna of the first communication device, for a signal on the data channel concurrently with the transmission of the collision probe;
• comparing, by the first communication device, a collision probe received on the data channel from another communication device with the collision probe transmitted on the data channel by the first communication device;
• detecting, by the first communication device, a collision on the data channel based on the comparison step;
• and
• arbitrating, by the first communication device, access to the data channel upon detecting a collision on the data channel, wherein detecting the collision on the data channel includes
• demodulating each of the subcarrier frequencies of an incoming signal received by the second antenna into a bit value of a binary codeword;
• comparing each of the bit values from the incoming signal to the bit values of the collision probe transmitted on the data channel;
• and
• identifying a collision on the data channel when a bit value from the incoming signal is one and the corresponding bit value of the collision probe transmitted on the data channel is zero.