Patent Application
20160337061
Aspects of this disclosure relate generally to telecommunications, and more particularly to co-existence between wireless Radio Access Technologies (RATs) and the like.
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, data, multimedia, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems are multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, and others. These systems are often deployed in conformity with specifications such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) provided by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) provided by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), 802.11 provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), etc.
In cellular networks, “macro cell” access points provide connectivity and coverage to a large number of users over a certain geographical area. A macro network deployment is carefully planned, designed, and implemented to offer good coverage over the geographical region. To improve indoor or other specific geographic coverage, such as for residential homes and office buildings, additional “small cell,” typically low-power access points have recently begun to be deployed to supplement conventional macro networks. Small cell access points may also provide incremental capacity growth, richer user experience, and so on.
Recently, small cell LTE operations, for example, have been extended into the unlicensed frequency band such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies. This extension of small cell LTE operation is designed to increase spectral efficiency and hence capacity of the LTE system. However, it may also encroach on the operations of other Radio Access Technologies (RATs) that typically utilize the same unlicensed bands, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “WiFi.”
Techniques for adaptive transmission and related operations in shared spectrum are disclosed.
In one example, an apparatus for managing communication in accordance with a second RAT on a channel shared with a first RAT is disclosed. The apparatus may include, for example, a first transceiver configured to operate in accordance with a first radio access technology and monitor the medium for first RAT signaling, a medium utilization analyzer configured to determine a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium by the first RAT signaling, a timing module configured to determine whether absolute timing information is available, an operating mode controller configured to set one or more parameters of a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) communication pattern based on the utilization metric and the availability of the absolute timing information, and a second transceiver configured to operate in accordance with a second RAT and to cycle between activated periods and deactivated periods of communication over the medium in accordance with the TDM communication pattern.
In another example, a method for managing communication in accordance with a second RAT on a channel shared with a first RAT is disclosed is disclosed. The method may comprise, for example, operating in accordance with a first radio access technology and monitoring the medium for first RAT signaling, determining a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium by the first RAT signaling, determining whether absolute timing information is available, setting one or more parameters of a TDM communication pattern based on the utilization metric and the availability of the absolute timing information, and operating in accordance with a second RAT and cycling between activated periods and deactivated periods of communication over the medium in accordance with the TDM communication pattern.
In another example, another apparatus for managing communication in accordance with a second RAT on a channel shared with a first RAT is disclosed. The apparatus may comprise, for example, means for operating in accordance with a first radio access technology and monitoring the medium for first RAT signaling, means for determining a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium by the first RAT signaling, means for determining whether absolute timing information is available means for setting one or more parameters of a TDM communication pattern based on the utilization metric and the availability of the absolute timing information, and means for operating in accordance with a second RAT and cycling between activated periods and deactivated periods of communication over the medium in accordance with the TDM communication pattern.
In another example, a computer-readable medium comprising at least one instruction for causing a processor to perform processes for managing communication in accordance with a second RAT on a channel shared with a first RAT is disclosed. The computer-readable medium comprising at least one instruction may comprise, for example, code for operating in accordance with a first radio access technology and monitoring the medium for first RAT signaling, code for determining a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium by the first RAT signaling, code for determining whether absolute timing information is available, code for setting one or more parameters of a TDM communication pattern based on the utilization metric and the availability of the absolute timing information, and code for operating in accordance with a second RAT and cycling between activated periods and deactivated periods of communication over the medium in accordance with the TDM communication pattern.
The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.
The present disclosure relates generally to an example long-term Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) communication scheme referred to herein as Carrier Sense Adaptive Transmission (CSAT). Access points implementing CSAT may be configured to synchronize various communication patterns and related measurement periods (e.g., for access terminal measurements, other-RAT scanning, neighbor list scanning, medium utilization scanning, etc.) with timing patterns of the host Radio Access Technology (RAT). In some implementations, synchronization may be achieved based on absolute timing information (e.g., a Coordinated Universal Time, or “UTC”, acquired using a Global Positioning System (GPS) signal). In other implementations, synchronization may be achieved by adopting system timing, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) System Frame Number (SFN) numerology (e.g., by performing a Network Listen (NL)). The two synchronization techniques are associated with different timing patterns. Both timing patterns include an Always-On-State (AOS) period, in which an access point can transmit freely, and access terminals from the surrounding wireless environment are given an opportunity to conduct measurements. However, the duration and periodicity of the AOS periods changes based on which synchronization technique is used.
A “Type I” AOS timing pattern is associated with AOS periods having a relatively long duration (the time between the beginning of a given AOS period and the end of the given AOS period) and a relatively long periodicity (the time between the beginning of a given AOS period and the beginning of the subsequent AOS period). A Type I AOS timing pattern must be aligned using absolute timing information. A “Type II” AOS timing pattern, by contrast, is associated with AOS periods having a relatively short duration and a relatively short periodicity, and need not be aligned using absolute timing information. In certain scenarios, an access point may prefer to implement a Type I AOS timing pattern, but may be prevented from doing so because it lacks absolute timing information. In accordance with the present disclosure, the access point may attempt to directly acquire absolute timing information. If these attempts fail, the access point may attempt to indirectly obtain absolute timing information by listening to the network. If absolute timing information cannot be obtained using either technique, then the access point may adopt a Type II AOS timing pattern while continuing to seek out absolute timing information.
More specific aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description and related drawings directed to various examples provided for illustration purposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known aspects of the disclosure may not be described in detail or may be omitted so as not to obscure more relevant details.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending in part on the particular application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc.
Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be recognized that various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be implemented as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the described action.
In the example of
Turning to the illustrated communication in more detail, the access terminal 120 may transmit and receive messages via a wireless link 130 with the access point 110, the message including information related to various types of communication (e.g., voice, data, multimedia services, associated control signaling, etc.). The wireless link 130 may operate over a communication medium of interest, shown by way of example in
As a particular example, the medium 132 may correspond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band shared with other RATs. In general, the access point 110 and the access terminal 120 may operate via the wireless link 130 according to one or more RATs depending on the network in which they are deployed. These networks may include, for example, different variants of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, and so on. Although different licensed frequency bands have been reserved for such communications (e.g., by a government entity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States), certain communication networks, in particular those employing small cell access points, have extended operation into unlicensed frequency bands such as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band used by Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technologies, most notably IEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “WiFi.”
In the example of
The RAT A transceiver 140 and the RAT B transceiver 142 may provide different functionalities and may be used for different purposes. As an example, the RAT A transceiver 140 may operate in accordance with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to provide communication with the access terminal 120 on the wireless link 130, while the RAT B transceiver 142 may operate in accordance with WiFi technology to monitor WiFi signaling on the medium 132 that may interfere with or be interfered with by the LTE communications. The communication device 122 of the access terminal 120 may, in some designs, include similar RAT A transceiver and/or RAT B transceiver functionality, as desired. The communication device 112 optionally includes an absolute time sensor 150.
As will be discussed in more detail below, the communication controller 114 of the access point 110 may include a medium utilization analyzer 144, a timing module 146, and an operating mode controller 148, which may operate in conjunction with the RAT A transceiver 140 and/or the RAT B transceiver 142 to manage operation on the medium 132.
As shown, a TDM communication pattern 200 may comprise a CSAT enabled period 202 and a CSAT disabled period 210. During a CSAT enabled period 202, operation of RAT A may be cycled over time between activated periods 204 (CSAT ON) and deactivated periods 206 (CSAT OFF). A given activated period 204/deactivated period 206 pair may constitute a CSAT cycle 208 (having a period TCSAT). During a period of time TON associated with each activated period 204, RAT A transmission on the medium 132 may proceed at a normal, relatively high transmission power. During a period of time TOFF associated with each deactivated period 206, however, RAT A transmission on the medium 132 is reduced or even fully disabled to yield the medium 132 to neighboring devices operating according to RAT B. By contrast, during a CSAT disabled period 210, the cycling may be disabled.
Each of the associated CSAT parameters, including, for example, CSAT cycle boundary, CSAT cycle periodicity, duty cycle (i.e., TON/TCSAT) and transmission power, may be adapted based on the current signaling conditions on the medium 132 to dynamically optimize the CSAT communication scheme. For example, the RAT B transceiver 142 configured to operate in accordance with RAT B (e.g., WiFi) may be further configured to monitor the medium 132 for RAT B signaling (transmitted by, for example, neighboring nodes), which may interfere with or be interfered with by RAT A communications over the medium 132. The medium utilization analyzer 144 may be configured to determine a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium 132 by the RAT B signaling. Based on the utilization metric, one or more CSAT parameters may be set by the operating mode controller 148 and the RAT A transceiver 140 may be further configured to cycle between activated periods 204 and deactivated periods 206. As an example, if the utilization metric is high (e.g., above a utilization threshold), one or more of the parameters may be adjusted such that usage of the medium 132 by the RAT A transceiver 140 is reduced (e.g., via a decrease in the duty cycle or transmission power). Conversely, if the utilization metric is low (e.g., below a utilization threshold), one or more of the parameters may be adjusted such that usage of the medium 132 by the RAT A transceiver 140 is increased (e.g., via an increase in the duty cycle or transmission power).
The short CSAT pattern 320 has a short CSAT cycle with compact but more frequent deactivated periods. The short CSAT pattern 320 may have, for example, a period TCSAT of 80 milliseconds and a duty cycle of 0.5 (in which TON=TOFF=40 milliseconds). The long CSAT pattern 330 has a long CSAT cycle (relative to the CSAT cycle of short CSAT pattern 320) with extended but less frequent deactivated periods. The long CSAT pattern 330 may have, for example, a period TCSAT of 640 milliseconds and a duty cycle of 0.5 (in which TON=TOFF=320 milliseconds). In general, the long CSAT pattern 330 may be better suited to accommodate neighboring impacted nodes such as nearby Wi-Fi APs. Conversely, the short CSAT pattern 320 may be better suited to accommodate hidden impacted nodes such as hidden Wi-Fi STAs. The CSAT disabled pattern 340 is devoid of deactivated periods and is best suited for RAT A operations on clean channels. Because the CSAT disabled pattern 340 is devoid of deactivated periods, it has a duty cycle of 1.
Although
During the AOS periods, the access point can freely operate on RAT A. These operations are similar to the access point operations on RAT A during, for example, the activated periods 204 of
Returning to
Each of the example AOS-modified CSAT communication patterns 400, 450 is associated with a series of SFN cycles (labeled in
Once an underlying CSAT pattern is adopted, it may be overlaid with, for example, either what is referred to herein as a “Type I” AOS timing pattern or a “Type II” AOS timing pattern. In a Type I AOS timing pattern, the AOS periods 410 have a relatively long duration and a relatively long periodicity. In a Type II AOS timing pattern, by contrast, the AOS periods 460 have a relatively short duration and a relatively short periodicity. According to one particular implementation, an AOS period is a long-duration AOS period if its duration exceeds a duration threshold, and the AOS period is a short-duration AOS period if its duration does not exceed that duration threshold. Similarly, in one particular implementation, an AOS timing pattern is a Type I AOS timing pattern if the periodicity of its AOS periods exceeds a periodicity threshold, and the AOS timing pattern is a Type II AOS timing pattern if the periodicity of its AOS periods does not exceed a periodicity threshold.
In
In one particular implementation, the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 includes long-duration AOS periods 410, each of which is 1.28 seconds long (not drawn to scale). Moreover, the long-duration AOS periods 410 are repeated at the beginning of every sixth SFN cycle. In other words, the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 is repeated every six SFN cycles. The first SFN cycle begins with a long-duration AOS period 410 (in which the access point operates freely on RAT A) and is followed by the underlying CSAT pattern (in which the access point operates on RAT A in accordance with the relevant CSAT parameters, for example, duty cycle, etc.). The underlying CSAT pattern continues throughout the remainder of the first SFN cycle and throughout the entireties of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth SFN cycles. Upon completing the sixth SFN cycle, the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 repeats, beginning with a long-duration AOS period 410 (as noted above). In implementations where a single SFN cycle has a period of 10.24 seconds, the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 repeats every 64 seconds (approximately).
Importantly, the parameters of the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 are set so that the first long-duration AOS period 410 (or a future long-duration AOS period 410) begins at the same time as a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) hour 420. In order to ensure that the timing of the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 aligns with the beginning of a UTC hour 420, the access point must obtain absolute timing information. The absolute timing information may be obtained by, for example, the timing module 146 illustrated in
In one particular implementation, the second AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 450 includes intermittent short-duration AOS periods 460, each of which is 320 milliseconds long (not drawn to scale). Moreover, the short-duration AOS period 460 is repeated at the beginning of every SFN cycle. In implementations where a single SFN cycle has a period of 10.24 seconds, a new short-duration AOS period 460 will begin every 10.24 seconds. In contrast to the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400, the second AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 450 is not deliberately aligned with the UTC hour 420. Accordingly, the access point can operate in accordance with the second AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 450 without obtaining absolute timing information. Instead, the access point performs network listening in order to ascertain the SFN cycles being observed in the surrounding wireless environment. The beginning of each short-duration AOS period 460 aligns with the beginning of an SFN cycle. The SFN cycles may be ascertained by, for example, the timing module 146 illustrated in
In both the first AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 400 and the second AOS-modified CSAT communication pattern 450 illustrated in
The operating mode controller 148 may also determine whether the Type I AOS timing pattern (having long-duration AOS periods 410) or the Type II AOS timing pattern (having short-duration AOS periods 460) will overlay the underlying CSAT communication pattern. The resulting TDM communication pattern is then used by the RAT A transceiver 140 to determine when it may freely operate (e.g., during activated periods such as activated period 204, long-duration AOS period 410, and short-duration AOS period 460) and when it may not (e.g., during deactivated periods such as deactivated period 206).
A consistent cycle-to-cycle timing for the AOS period is beneficial because it enables coordination of access terminal measurement opportunities across multiple access points in a given wireless environment. Generally, an access point that can directly obtain absolute timing information (using, e.g., the optional absolute time sensor 150) will adopt a system-independent Type I AOS timing pattern. Every access point in the wireless environment that can obtain absolute timing information will naturally adopt the same Type I AOS timing pattern and as a result, these access points will be mutually synchronized. An access point that cannot obtain absolute timing information will rely on network listening to discern the SFN cycle being used by a neighboring node. If the neighboring node is using a system-specific Type II AOS timing pattern, the access point will recognize and adopt the timing of the neighboring node's SFN cycles.
However, under some circumstances, the short-duration AOS period 460 of the Type II AOS timing pattern is not sufficient to, for example, complete performance of inter-frequency measurements by access terminals in the wireless environment. As a result, the access terminals must rely on best-effort attempts. In some implementations, the inter-frequency measurements must be rescheduled for the next short-duration AOS period 460, resulting in additional radio resource control (RRC) overhead. A long-duration AOS period 410, by contrast, may permit completion of inter-frequency measurements. Accordingly, the access point may prefer to overlay a Type I AOS timing pattern having long-duration AOS periods 410.
First, the access point 110 determines whether absolute timing information is available (block 510). For example, the timing module 146 may determine whether the access point 110 is equipped with an absolute time sensor 150 and whether the absolute time sensor 150 is able to receive absolute timing information. In one particular implementation, the absolute time sensor 150 is a GPS sensor that receives an indication of the timing of a UTC hour. If the absolute time sensor 150 is able to receive the absolute timing information, then the timing module 146 may use the absolute timing information to determine when the next UTC hour will begin.
If the access point has direct access to absolute timing information (‘yes’ at block 510), then the access point 110 will align the beginning (or “boundary”) of a long-duration AOS period 410 with the indicated UTC hour (block 520). After alignment is complete, the process 500 will adopt a Type I AOS timing pattern that includes the aligned long-duration AOS period 410 (block 590). The alignment of the long-duration AOS period 410 (block 520) and the adoption of the Type I AOS timing pattern may be performed by, for example, the operating mode controller 148. The operating mode controller 148 may also select an underlying CSAT pattern (such as, for example, TDM communication pattern 200, 320, 330, or 340) in accordance with any technique set forth in the present disclosure and align the selected CSAT pattern in the same manner as the Type I AOS timing pattern.
If the access point 110 does not have direct access to absolute timing information (‘no’ at block 510), then the access point 110 will perform a network listen (block 530). In some implementations, the access point 110 can determine (at block 510) that absolute timing information is not available by determining that the access point 110 is not equipped with an absolute time sensor 150. In other implementation, the access point 110 may in fact be equipped with an absolute time sensor 150, but may determine (at block 510) that valid absolute timing information cannot be obtained from the absolute time sensor 150 (e.g., because the absolute time sensor 150 is malfunctioning, an absolute time signal received by the absolute time sensor 150 is lost, etc.).
During the network listen, the access point 110 may monitor the RAT A communications of neighboring nodes to discern the communication patterns of the neighboring nodes. The network listening may be performed by, for example, the RAT A transceiver 140 and/or the RAT B transceiver 142. If a neighboring node is utilizing a Type I AOS timing pattern, the access point 110 will detect communications from the neighboring node that are consistent with a Type I AOS timing pattern (block 540). For example, the access point 110 may recognize a Type I AOS timing pattern based on a duration of a detected AOS period, a length of time between detected AOS periods, or both.
The detection (at block 540) may be performed by, for example, the timing module 146, in tandem with the RAT A transceiver 140 and/or the RAT B transceiver 142. According to one particular implementation, the timing module 146 attempts to distinguish a Type I AOS timing pattern (having long-duration AOS periods 410 with a duration of 1.24 seconds) from a Type II AOS timing pattern (having short-duration AOS periods 460 with a duration of 320 milliseconds). It will be understood that the timing module 146 may be able to recognize a long-duration AOS period 410 by comparing the duration of the detected AOS period to a duration threshold. For example, the duration threshold may be equal to 320 milliseconds (which is the maximum duration of the short-duration AOS period 460), 1.24 seconds (which is the minimum duration of the long-duration AOS period 410), or some value in between (for example, the halfway point of 780 milliseconds). It will be further understood that the timing module 146 may (additionally or alternatively) be able to recognize a Type I AOS timing pattern by comparing the periodicity of the detected AOS periods to a periodicity threshold. For example, the periodicity threshold may be equal to 10.24 seconds (which is the maximum periodicity of the Type II AOS timing pattern), 64 seconds (which is the minimum periodicity of the Type I AOS timing pattern), or some value in between (for example, the halfway point of approximately 37 seconds).
If the access point 110 determines that a neighboring node is using a Type I AOS timing pattern (‘yes’ at block 540), then the access point 110 will identify that neighboring node as an anchor node. As used herein, an anchor node refers to a node that serves as a reference for other nodes with respect to AOS period timing. The access point 110 will then align the beginning of a long-duration AOS period 410 with the detected beginning of the anchor node's Type I AOS timing pattern (block 550). It will be understood that the detected beginning of the anchor node's AOS timing pattern is presumably based on absolute timing information, and that the access point 110 can indirectly obtain the absolute timing information simply by detecting the beginning of the anchor node's Type I AOS timing pattern. After alignment is complete (at block 550), the access point 110 will adopt a Type I AOS timing pattern that includes the beginning boundary of the aligned long-duration AOS period 410 as a starting point (block 590). The alignment of the long-duration AOS period 410 (block 550) and the adoption of the Type I AOS timing pattern may be performed by, for example, the operating mode controller 148. The operating mode controller 148 may also select an underlying CSAT pattern (such as, for example, TDM communication pattern 200, 320, 330, or 340) in accordance with any technique set forth in the present disclosure and align the selected CSAT pattern in the same manner as the Type I AOS timing pattern.
If the access point 110 determines that there are no neighboring nodes using a Type I AOS timing pattern (‘no’ at block 540), then the access point 110 will perform a network listen (block 560). The network listening may be performed by, for example, the RAT A transceiver 140. If a neighboring node is using a Type II AOS timing pattern, then the access point 110 will identify the beginning of the neighboring node's SFN cycles. The access point 110 will then align the beginning of a short-duration AOS period 460 with the detected beginning of the neighboring node's SFN cycle (block 570). It will be understood that the detected beginning of the neighboring node's SFN cycle coincides with the beginning of the neighboring node's Type II AOS timing pattern. After alignment is complete, the access point 110 will adopt a Type II AOS timing pattern that includes the aligned short-duration AOS period 460 (block 580).
It will be understood from
As shown, the access point 110 may operate in accordance with a first RAT and monitor the medium for first RAT signaling (block 610). The operating and monitoring may be performed by, for example, the RAT B transceiver 142 or the like. The access point 110 may further determine a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium by the first RAT signaling (block 620). The determining may be performed by for example, the medium utilization analyzer 144 or the like. The access point 110 may further determine whether absolute timing information is available (block 630). The determining may be performed by for example, the timing module 146 or the like. The access point 110 may further set one or more parameters of a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) communication pattern (400, 450) based on the utilization metric and the availability of the absolute timing information (block 640). The setting may be performed by for example, the operating mode controller 148 or the like. The access point 110 may further operate in accordance with a second RAT and cycle between activated periods and deactivated periods of communication over the medium in accordance with the TDM communication pattern (block 650). The operating and cycling may be performed by for example, the RAT A transceiver 140 or the like.
For convenience, the access point 110 and the access terminal 120 are shown in
The functionality of the modules of
In addition, the components and functions represented by
It should be understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements may be employed there or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner. Also, unless stated otherwise a set of elements may comprise one or more elements. In addition, terminology of the form “at least one of A, B, or C” or “one or more of A, B, or C” or “at least one of the group consisting of A, B, and C” used in the description or the claims means “A or B or C or any combination of these elements.” For example, this terminology may include A, or B, or C, or A and B, or A and C, or A and B and C, or 2A, or 2B, or 2C, and so on.
In view of the descriptions and explanations above, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated, for example, that an apparatus or any component of an apparatus may be configured to (or made operable to or adapted to) provide functionality as taught herein. This may be achieved, for example: by manufacturing (e.g., fabricating) the apparatus or component so that it will provide the functionality; by programming the apparatus or component so that it will provide the functionality; or through the use of some other suitable implementation technique. As one example, an integrated circuit may be fabricated to provide the requisite functionality. As another example, an integrated circuit may be fabricated to support the requisite functionality and then configured (e.g., via programming) to provide the requisite functionality. As yet another example, a processor circuit may execute code to provide the requisite functionality.
Moreover, the methods, sequences, and/or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in Random-Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read-only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art, transitory or non-transitory. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor (e.g., cache memory).
Accordingly, it will also be appreciated, for example, that certain aspects of the disclosure can include a transitory or non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a method for communication management between RATs sharing operating spectrum in an unlicensed band of radio frequencies. As an example, such a computer-readable medium may include code for operating in accordance with a first RAT and monitoring the medium for first RAT signaling, code for determining a utilization metric associated with utilization of the medium by the first RAT signaling, code for determining whether absolute timing information is available, code for setting one or more parameters of a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) communication pattern based on the utilization metric and the availability of the absolute timing information, and code for operating in accordance with a second RAT and cycling between activated periods and deactivated periods of communication over the medium in accordance with the TDM communication pattern.
While the foregoing disclosure shows various illustrative aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications may be made to the illustrated examples without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specifically illustrated examples alone. For example, unless otherwise noted, the functions, steps, and/or actions of the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosure described herein need not be performed in any particular order. Furthermore, although certain aspects may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.
