Stable low power mode for multicarrier transceivers
View Patent ↗A stable Low Power Mode (LPM) for multicarrier transceivers is described that at least provides transmit power savings while enabling receiver designs that can easily operate without the detrimental effects of fluctuating crosstalk. In one exemplary embodiment, the LPM achieves power savings by reducing the number of used subcarriers without actually performing a power cutback on those subcarriers, thereby allowing a receiver to measure the SNR or noise levels and determine the crosstalk noise on the line regardless of a crosstalking modem being in a LPM or not.
1. A multicarrier communications transceiver having a low power mode, the multicarrier communications transceiver comprising:
a receiver capable of using, in the low power mode, a subset of subcarriers that were transmitted in a full power mode, the subset of subcarriers transmitted in the low power mode having been transmitted at a same power level as when they were transmitted in the full power mode; and
an SNR measurement module capable of measuring a Signal to Noise Ratio of the subset of subcarriers and using the measured Signal to Noise Ratio to estimate one or more of: one or more Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) on a second subset of subcarriers and one or more noise levels on the second set of subcarriers.
2. The transceiver of claim 1 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode and N is a positive integer.
3. The transceiver of claim 1 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as L subcarriers every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode, where N and L are a positive integers.
4. The transceiver of claim 1 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is a list of subcarriers indexes used in the full power mode.
5. The transceiver of claim 1 , further comprising a management interface that is operable to configure the subset of subcarriers used in the low power mode.
6. A multicarrier communications transceiver having a low power mode, the transceiver comprising:
a receiver capable of receiving, in the low power mode, a subset of subcarriers that were received in a full power mode, the subset of subcarriers received in the low power mode having been received at a same power level as when they were received in the full power mode and
an SNR measurement module capable of measuring a Signal to Noise Ratio of the subset of subcarriers and using the measured Signal to Noise Ratio to estimate one or more of: one or more Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) on a second subset of subcarriers and one or more noise levels on the second set of subcarriers.
7. The transceiver of claim 6 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode and N is a positive integer.
8. The transceiver of claim 6 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as L subcarriers every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode, where N and L are a positive integers.
9. The transceiver of claim 6 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is a list of subcarriers indexes used in the full power mode.
10. The transceiver of claim 6 , further comprising a management interface that is used to configure the subset of subcarriers used in the low power mode.
11. A multicarrier communications system comprising a first transceiver having a low power mode and a second transceiver, the first transceiver comprising a transmitter capable of transmitting, in the low power mode, a subset of subcarriers that were transmitted in a full power mode, the subset of subcarriers transmitted in the low power mode being transmitted at a same power level as when they were transmitted in the full power mode, and the second transceiver comprising a receiver capable of measuring a Signal to Noise Ratio of the subset of subcarriers and using the measured Signal to Noise Ratio to estimate one or more of: one or more Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) on a second subset of subcarriers and one or more noise levels on the second set of subcarriers.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode and N is a positive integer.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as L subcarriers every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode, where N and L are a positive integers.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is a list of subcarriers indexes used in the full power mode.
15. The system of claim 11 , further comprising a management interface that is used to configure the subset of subcarriers used in the low power mode.
16. A method, in multicarrier communications transceiver having a low power mode, comprising:
using, by the transceiver, in the low power mode, a subset of subcarriers that were transmitted in a full power mode, the subset of subcarriers transmitted in the low power mode having been transmitted at a same power level as when they were transmitted in the full power mode; and
measuring, in the transceiver, a Signal to Noise Ratio of the subset of subcarriers and using the measured Signal to Noise Ratio to estimate one or more of: one or more Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) on a second subset of subcarriers and one or more noise levels on the second set of subcarriers.
17. The transceiver of claim 16 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode and N is a positive integer.
18. The transceiver of claim 16 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as L subcarriers every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode, where N and L are a positive integers.
19. The transceiver of claim 16 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is a list of subcarriers indexes used in the full power mode.
20. The transceiver of claim 16 , further comprising a management interface that is used to configure the subset of subcarriers used in the low power mode.
21. A method, in a multicarrier communications transceiver having a low power mode, comprising:
receiving, by the transceiver, in the low power mode, a subset of subcarriers that were received in a full power mode, the subset of subcarriers received in the low power mode having been received at a same power level as when they were received in the full power mode; and
measuring, in the transceiver, a Signal to Noise Ratio of the subset of subcarriers and using the measured Signal to Noise Ratio to estimate one or more of: one or more Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) on a second subset of subcarriers and one or more noise levels on the second set of subcarriers.
22. The transceiver of claim 21 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode and N is a positive integer.
23. The transceiver of claim 21 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as L subcarriers every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode, where N and L are a positive integers.
24. The transceiver of claim 21 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is a list of subcarriers indexes used in the full power mode.
25. The transceiver of claim 21 , further comprising a management interface that is used to configure the subset of subcarriers used in the low power mode.
26. A method comprising:
transmitting, by a transceiver to a second transceiver, in a low power mode, a subset of subcarriers that were transmitted in a full power mode, the subset of subcarriers transmitted in the low power mode being transmitted at a same power level as when they were transmitted in the full power mode, and the transmitted subset of subcarriers being usable by the second transceiver for measuring a Signal to Noise Ratio and using the measured Signal to Noise Ratio to estimate one or more of: one or more Signal to Noise Ratios (SNRs) on a second subset of subcarriers and one or more noise levels on the second set of subcarriers.
27. The transceiver of claim 26 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode and N is a positive integer.
28. The transceiver of claim 26 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is defined as L subcarriers every Nth subcarrier from those that were used in the full power mode, where N and L are a positive integers.
29. The transceiver of claim 26 , wherein the subset of subcarriers is a list of subcarriers indexes used in the full power mode.
30. The transceiver of claim 26 , further comprising a management interface that is used to configure the subset of subcarriers used in the low power mode.
31. The transceiver of claim 1 , wherein the estimating is performed in one or more of the low power mode, during an initialization and in Showtime of the transceiver.
32. The transceiver of claim 6 , wherein the estimating is performed in one or more of the low power mode, during an initialization and in Showtime of the transceiver.
33. The transceiver of claim 11 , wherein the estimating is performed in one or more of the low power mode, during an initialization and in Showtime of the transceiver.
34. The method of claim 16 , wherein the estimating is performed in one or more of the low power mode, during an initialization and in Showtime of the transceiver.
35. The method of claim 21 , wherein the estimating is performed in one or more of the low power mode, during an initialization and in Showtime of the transceiver.
36. The method of claim 26 , wherein the estimating is performed in one or more of the low power mode, during an initialization and in Showtime of the transceiver.