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.

Description

PRIORITY APPLICATION

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

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

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

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;

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an example of a method of operating a wireless cellular device network in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wireless cellular device in accordance with some embodiments in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified example of operating a cellular device to reserve time on a WiFi communication channel in accordance with some embodiments;

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

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;

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 (μs) 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.

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 μs).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

These non-limiting examples can be combined in any permutation or combination.

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.

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.

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.

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.