Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of operating a base station in a sectorized cell in wireless communications systems employing multi-sector base stations and wireless terminals with multiple antennas.SOLUTION: Timing synchronization is maintained across the base station sectors, and adjacent sectors form sector pairs. In a sector boundary region, which is a high interference region, a wireless terminal is set to a sector pair state and operated in a MIMO mode of operation, communicating with two adjacent base station antenna faces of the same base station concurrently.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide systems and methodologies for transmission and reception in a single signal by independently encoding and decoding at least two different types of information.SOLUTION: The method comprises: facilitating transmission of a set of broadcast information bits using a predetermined set of bandwidth degrees of freedom (1400); generating a subset of broadcast information bits (1402); partitioning a predetermined bandwidth degrees of freedom into two or more subsets (1404); choosing at least two or more subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom of broadcast information bits (1406); selecting bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset (1408); and transmitting a beacon signal within the selected subset bandwidth degree of freedom (1410).
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide novel and improved method for detecting spectrum availability in a wireless network.SOLUTION: A method of operating a wireless communications device comprises: monitoring during a first period of time to detect at least a portion of a beacon signal including at least one beacon symbol in a first communications band, and making a decision of whether or not to transmit a first signal based on the result of the monitoring, the first signal including at least one of a beacon symbol and user data. Upon detection of the beacon signal, transmission is determined by using decoded information recovered by the wireless communication device from the received beacon signal. The decoded information includes, e.g. type information indicating that a second band is allowed to be used for peer to peer communications.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide methods and apparatus suited for peer to peer communications systems operated in a half-duplex mode.SOLUTION: A first type of symbol 220 is used for control signaling including conveying transmission request signals and/or transmission request response signals. A second type of symbol 222 is used for conveying user data, e.g., traffic signals. The symbol period for a first type symbol is larger than the symbol period for a second type symbol. The tone spacing for a first type symbol is larger than the tone spacing for a second type symbol.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide improved ways for synchronization of terminals in a system in which a network infrastructure is not available.SOLUTION: Peer to peer communication timing, e.g., for an ad hoc network, is referenced with respect to an external broadcast signal from a terrestrial or satellite based transmitter. Wireless terminals, seeking to communicate via peer to peer communications, receive the reference broadcast signal, and set their internal timing structure with respect to the reference signal. This facilitates peer to peer timing coordination. A wireless terminal transmits a signal, e.g., a user beacon signal identifying its presence, during a time interval during which another wireless terminal is expected to be monitoring. Reference signal based coordinated timing and use of user beacon signals allow the wireless terminals to maintain situational awareness and coordinate peer to peer communications, while keeping power consumption low.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide methods and apparatus for supporting efficient paging in a wireless communications system supporting both access node based communications and peer to peer communications.SOLUTION: Paging timing intervals are set aside in the timing structure such that multi-mode wireless terminals can monitor, e.g., in an infrastructure band, for pages from a base station whether the wireless terminal is operating in a base station attachment point mode or is operating in a peer to peer communications mode. Wireless terminals operating in a peer to peer mode, e.g., using a non-infrastructure band, suspends peer to peer communications during the paging intervals. The time periods in which the wireless terminal checks pages are predetermined, so that both the wireless terminal and the base station are synchronized when a page is delivered. This synchronization helps reduce the wastage of session time in the peer to peer sessions.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide systems and methodologies that enable identification of peers based upon encoded signals during peer discovery in a peer-to-peer network.SOLUTION: Direct signaling that partitions a time-frequency resource into a number of segments is utilized to communicate an identifier within a peer discovery interval. A particular segment selected for transmission can signal a portion of the identifier, while the remainder can be signaled based upon tones communicated within the selected segment. Moreover, a subset of symbols within the resource is reserved (e.g., unused) to enable identification and/or correction of a timing offset (1002).
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus supporting peer to peer communications.SOLUTION: A base station, serving as an access node for wireless terminals also communicates information supporting peer to peer communications. A base station transmits a beacon signal conveying information about a peer to peer frequency band and also receives user data from a plurality of wireless terminals using the base station as a current point of network attachment. In some embodiments, the beacon signal is transmitted into the same frequency band being used for access node based communications and identifies a different frequency band which is to be used as a peer to peer frequency band. Alternatively, or in addition, in support of peer to peer communications, a beacon signal transmission apparatus, a free standing device which does not transmit user data, transmits a sequence of beacon signal bursts, each beacon signal burst including at least one high power beacon symbol.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide methods and apparatus related to peer to peer communications.SOLUTION: A first peer to peer wireless device, having transmitted a request to a second peer to peer device to transmit traffic data using a corresponding air link resource, monitors a response from the second device and responses from other devices during a monitoring period. The first device makes a decision whether or not to transmit as a function of the received power of the received response signals. The first device, although authorized to transmit by the second device, may decide not to transmit and yield the traffic air link resource. The second device monitors reception of transmission requests, determines a power level of a request from the first device to transmit to the second device and a request to transmit to a third device, and determines whether or not to authorize the first device to transmit.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide efficient management of air link resources and interference control in peer to peer communication networks.SOLUTION: A first peer to peer wireless communications device, having determined to transmit traffic data signals to a second peer to peer wireless communications device, (i) transmits a pilot signal to the second device, (ii) receives a corresponding rate information signal from the second device, and (iii) transmits traffic data to the second device at a rate and/or power level determined on the basis of the received signal. The second device, subsequently having received traffic signals from the first device, (i) receives a peer to peer pilot signal, performs a rate determination as a function of the received signal, (iii) generates a rate information signal providing information to be used by the first device in determining a maximum permitted data traffic transmission rate, and (iv) transmits the generated signal to the first device.