Granted Patent B2

US 7,620,394 · App. 11/358,846 · Granted Nov 17, 2009

Abstract

Claims (35)

1. A communications system, comprising:

a first wireless communications system configured to provide wireless communications over short range wireless communications links using a first frequency band;

a second wireless communications system configured to provide wireless communications using at least a portion of the first frequency band;

an inter-system communications link between the first wireless communications system and the second wireless communications system configured to coordinate the use of the first frequency band; and

an interference reducer configured to receive information over the inter-system communications link regarding communications by the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system and to reduce interference between the first wireless communications system and the second wireless communications system using the received information, wherein the information comprises a communications signal transmitted by the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system;

wherein the first wireless communications system is a Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) system that is configured to provide information to/from transportation vehicles and uses 75 MHz of spectrum that has been authorized for intelligent transportation systems uses in the frequency band from 5.850 to 5.925 GHz;

wherein the DSRC system comprises one or more road-side access points configured to exchange information with transceivers that are installed in vehicles such that frequencies used by the DSRC system are used at or near roads/highways by the DSRC system and remain substantially unused by the DSRC system at a distance from the roads/highways;

wherein the second wireless communications system comprises at least one base station that is configured to use at least some frequencies that are also used by the DSRC system; wherein the at least one base station is configured to use the at least some frequencies over areas that are overlapping with the roads/highways; and

wherein an element of the at least one base station is configured to provide a communications priority to the one or more road-side access points in using at least one DSRC system frequency.

2. The communications system of claim 1 , wherein an antenna of the base station is configured to transmit in a direction that does not include transmitters and/or receivers of the first wireless communications system.

3. The communications system of claim 1 , wherein the first wireless communications system employs a first air interface protocol and the second wireless communications system employs a second air interface protocol.

4. The communications system of claim 3 , wherein the first air interface protocol is different compared to the second air interface protocol.

5. The communications system of claim 3 , wherein the first and second air interface protocols are substantially the same.

6. The communications system of claim 3 , wherein the interference reducer is configured to reduce interference in the second wireless communications system.

7. The communications system of claim 3 , wherein the interference reducer is configured to reduce interference in the first and/or second wireless communications system(s).

8. The communications system of claim 3 , wherein the first air interface protocol includes a plurality of resources, and wherein the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system is/are configured to coordinate the use of the resources.

9. The communications system of claim 8 , wherein the resources comprise spreading codes, channels, sub-channels, carriers, sub-carriers, time intervals and/or time slots.

10. The communications system of claim 8 , wherein the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system is/are configured to allocate and/or de-allocate at least one resource of the plurality of resources to the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system, and wherein the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system is/are configured to notify the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system of the allocation and/or de-allocation of the at least one resource.

11. A method of reducing interference between a first wireless communications system and a second wireless communications system, the method comprising:

providing wireless communications from the first wireless communications system using a frequency band;

providing wireless communications from the second wireless communications system using at least a portion of the frequency band;

establishing an inter-system communications link between the first wireless communications system and the second wireless communications system to coordinate the use of the frequency band;

transmitting communications of the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system via the inter-system communications link; and

reducing interference between the first wireless communications system and the second wireless communications system using communications of the first wireless communications system and/or the second wireless communications system that are transmitted via the inter-system communications link;

wherein the first wireless communications system is a Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) system that is configured to provide information to/from transportation vehicles and uses 75 MHz of spectrum that has been authorized for intelligent transportation systems uses in the frequency band from 5.850 to 5.925 GHz;

wherein the DSRC system comprises one or more road-side access points configured to exchange information with transceivers that are installed in vehicles such that frequencies used by the DSRC system are used at or near roads/highways by the DSRC system and remain substantially unused by the DSRC system at a distance from the roads/highways;

wherein the second wireless communications system comprises at least one base station that is configured to use at least some frequencies that are also used by the DSRC system; wherein the at least one base station is configured to use the at least some frequencies over areas that are overlapping with the roads/highways; and

wherein an element of the at least one base station is configured to provide a communications priority to the one or more road-side access points in using at least one DSRC system frequency.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first wireless communications system employs a first air interface protocol and the second wireless communications system employs a second air interface protocol.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first air interface protocol is different compared to the second air interface protocol.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first and second air interface protocols are substantially the same.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first air interface protocol includes a plurality of resources, and wherein the method further comprises coordinating the use of at least one resource of the plurality of resources.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of resources comprise spreading codes, channels, sub-channels, carriers, sub-carriers, time intervals and/or time slots.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising allocating and/or de-allocating at least one resource of the plurality of resources to the first and/or second communications system, and

notifying the first and/or second communications system of the allocation and/or de-allocation of the at least one resource.

Assignments (16)