摘要:
Wireless terminal operation is coordinated to be responsive to dynamic communications frequency spectrum reallocation between infrastructure based communications usage and peer to peer communications usage. Methods and apparatus in which mobile nodes switch between cellular and peer to peer communication modes of operation are described. Broadcast signals, e.g., beacon signals, are monitored and detected by the mobile node to ascertain a current spectrum usage designation, and the mobile node switches operational modes in response to detected changes in the broadcast signals.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus supporting peer to peer communications are discussed. 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 doesn't transmit user data, transmits a sequence of beacon signal bursts, each beacon signal burst including at least one high power beacon symbol.
摘要:
Wireless terminals receive beacon signals from other communication devices and make transmission decisions based on priority information communicated by the beacon signals. Priority information communicated in a beacon signal includes, e.g., one of device priority, user priority and session priority. A wireless terminal compares priority information recovered from received beacon signals with its own current level of priority. A transmission decision based on received priority information includes deciding not to transmit user data when received priority information indicates a higher priority than its own priority level. Another transmission decision based on received priority information includes deciding to transmit user data when the received priority information indicates a lower priority than its own priority level. Other exemplary transmission decisions, performed as a function of priority information from beacon signals, include deciding to perform a transmission power level adjustment and deciding to terminate an ongoing communications session.
摘要:
A wireless terminal determines a desired mode of base station operation with regard to whether the base station is to function as a network access node or is to function in a peer to peer mode with regard to a frequency band, and communicates a change signal to the base station. Some change signals are request signals requesting a base station to dynamically reallocate spectrum usage, while other change signals are command signals ordering the base station to reallocate spectrum usage. Information indicating a level of authority corresponding to the change signals, in some embodiments, corresponds to one of a device identifier, a user identifier, and a priority level indicator. An exemplary command signal comes from a device used by a government agent with the authority to override spectrum usage.
摘要:
A wireless terminal supports both peer to peer communications and access node based communications. The wireless terminal considers and evaluates communications link alternatives and selects between (i) communication using a peer to peer link and (ii) communications using a link with a base station serving as an access node. Received signals corresponding to each of the link alternatives are used in performing link quality determinations. In one example, a received user beacon signal from a peer wireless terminal is the received signal used for the peer to peer link evaluation and a base station beacon signal is the received signal used for the access node link evaluation. A link is selected as a function of quality determination, predicted data throughput, link maintenance energy requirements, and/or least cost routing determination information.
摘要:
Wireless devices, e.g., in a cognitive radio network, discover and use locally available usable spectrum for communication. Beacon signaling facilitates available spectrum discovery, spectrum usage coordination, and device identification. A wireless terminal, which may have entered a new area and powered up, monitors to detect for the presence of beacon signals in a communications band. When the wireless terminal fails to detect a beacon, the wireless terminal assumes that the spectrum is available and transmits its user beacon signal thereby providing notification of its presence in the area to other wireless terminals. The wireless terminal maintains a coordinated timing relationship between its beacon transmit interval and beacon detect interval, which are performed on an ongoing basis. The combination of beacon TX interval and beacon monitoring interval represents a small fraction of total time, allowing for power conservation. The coordinated timing relationship, known to peers, facilitates efficient peer-peer communications session establishment.
摘要:
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 allows the wireless terminals to maintain situational awareness and coordinate peer to peer communications, while keeping power consumption low, since wireless terminal modules can be powered down during predetermined intervals in the coordinated timing structure where the wireless terminal does not need to transmit and/or receive.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus supporting efficient paging in a wireless communications system supporting both access node based communications and peer to peer communications are described. 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, in some embodiments, predetermined, so that both the wireless terminal and base station are synchronized on when a page should be delivered. This synchronization helps reduce the wastage of session time in the peer to peer sessions.
摘要:
Wireless devices, e.g., in a cognitive radio network, discover and use locally available usable spectrum for communication. Beacon signaling facilitates available spectrum discovery and spectrum usage coordination. A wireless terminal, which may have entered a new area and powered up, monitors to detect for the presence of beacon signals in a first communications band. The wireless terminal makes a decision as to whether or not to transmit based on the monitoring result. In addition, when beacon signals are detected, decoded information recovered by the wireless terminal from the received beacon signals is used in making the transmission decision. The decoded information includes, e.g., type information indicating that a second band is allowed to be used for peer-peer communications and/or identification information identifying at least one of a wireless communications device which transmitted the beacon signal and a current user of the wireless communications device which transmitted the beacon signal.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus supporting peer to peer communications are discussed. 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 doesn't transmit user data, transmits a sequence of beacon signal bursts, each beacon signal burst including at least one high power beacon symbol.