IP Library Granted Patent US 10,349,332
Granted Patent B2
US 10,349,332 · App. 14/734,667 · Granted Jul 9, 2019

Network communication using selected resources

Inventors: Brian G. Agee (San Jose, CA); Matthew C. Bromberg (Leominster, MA)
Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications, LLC
H04W40/04H04B7/0413H04B7/0417H04B7/0443H04B7/0456H04L5/005H04L5/0007H04L5/0044H04L27/26H04L27/2602H04L27/263H04L27/2605H04L27/2607H04L27/2627H04L27/2646H04W24/02H04W28/06H04W52/241H04W52/265H04W52/42H04W72/04H04W72/042H04W72/044H04W72/0453H04W72/085H04W16/14H04W88/08Y02D70/1222Y02D70/142Y02D70/144Y02D70/146Y02D70/164Y02D70/166Y02D70/22Y02D70/23Y02D70/444
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,349,332
App. No.
14/734,667
Granted
Jul 9, 2019
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods and systems are described for transmitting data using various selected resources. For example, first one or more resources may be selected based at least in part on feedback from a first network node. A second network node may cause first data to be transmitted using the selected one or more resources. The second network node may also cause second data to be transmitted using second one or more resources. The resources may comprise, for example, tones, time slots, time-frequency channels, time resources, and/or frequency resources.

Claims (173)

1. A method comprising:

receiving first feedback from a first node and second feedback from a second node;

selecting, based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, first one or more resources, of a plurality of resources, for transmission of first data associated with the first node, wherein the plurality of resources comprises a plurality of tones and a plurality of time slots;

selecting, based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node, second one or more resources, of the plurality of resources, for transmission of second data associated with the second node; and

causing, by a third node via at least one antenna during at least a first time slot of the plurality of time slots and using the plurality of resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data; using the first one or more resources and of the second data using the second one or more resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first feedback received from the first node comprises a measure of channel quality, and the selecting comprises selecting the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a measure of channel quality based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first feedback received from the first node is based at least in part on a signal wirelessly received by the first node and the second feedback received from the second node is based at least in part on a signal wirelessly received by the second node.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources comprises selecting a first range of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node and a second range of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the causing comprises causing, via the plurality of antennas, the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data as at least one multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

mapping the first data to the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources and mapping the second data to the second one or more resources of the plurality of resources.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

performing, after the mapping, an inverse fast-Fourier transform (iFFT) of the first data and the second data.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the method further comprises mapping the first data and the second data to the plurality of antennas based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node and the second feedback received from the second node.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources comprises selecting a first range of tones of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, and wherein the selecting the second one or more resources of the plurality of resources comprises selecting a second range of tones of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node, the method further comprising:

distributing the first data across the first range of tones; and

distributing the second data across the second range of tones.

11. A method comprising:

receiving feedback from a first node and a second node;

selecting, based at least in part on the feedback received from the first node and the second node, a first subset of a plurality of resources for transmission of first data associated with the first node and a second subset of the plurality of resources for transmission of second data associated with the second node, wherein the plurality of resources comprises a plurality of tones and a plurality of transmission intervals; and

causing, by a third node via at least one antenna during at least a first transmission interval of the plurality of transmission intervals and using the plurality of resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data; using the first subset of the plurality of resources; and of the second data; using the second subset of the plurality of resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the feedback received from the first node and the second node comprises at least one measure of channel quality.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining at least one measure of channel quality based at least in part on the feedback received from the first node and the second node, wherein the selecting comprises selecting the first subset of the plurality of resources and the second subset of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the at least one measure of channel quality.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the selecting comprises selecting at least one range of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the feedback received from the first node and the second node.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the method further comprises mapping the first data and the second data to the plurality of antennas based at least in part on the feedback received from the first node and the second node.

16. A method comprising:

receiving first feedback from a first node and second feedback from a second node;

selecting, based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, first one or more resources, of a plurality of resources, for transmission of first data associated with the first node, wherein the plurality of resources comprises a plurality of time-frequency channels;

selecting, based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node, second one or more resources, of the plurality of resources, for transmission of second data associated with the second node, wherein a time-frequency channel of the second one or more resources shares a time slot with a time-frequency channel of the first one or more resources; and

causing, by a third node via at least one antenna and using the plurality of resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more resources and of the second data using the second one or more resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first feedback received from the first node comprises a measure of channel quality, and the selecting the first one or more resources comprises selecting the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising determining a measure of channel quality based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, wherein the selecting the first one or more resources comprises selecting the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the method further comprises mapping the first data and the second data to the plurality of antennas based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node.

20. A method comprising:

receiving first feedback from a first node and second feedback from a second node;

selecting, based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, first one or more transmission resources, of a plurality of transmission resources, for transmission of first data associated with the first node, wherein the plurality of transmission resources comprises a plurality of frequency resources and a plurality of time resources;

selecting, based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node, second one or more transmission resources, of the plurality of transmission resources, for transmission of second data associated with the second node, wherein the first one or more transmission resources and the second one or more transmission resources comprise at least one common time resource of the plurality of time resources; and

causing, by a third node via at least one antenna and using the plurality of transmission resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more transmission resources and of the second data using the second one or more transmission resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the first feedback received from the first node comprises a measure of channel quality, and the selecting the first one or more transmission resources comprises selecting the first one or more transmission resources of the plurality of transmission resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the selecting the first one or more transmission resources comprises selecting a first portion of the frequency resources for transmission of the first data based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node and the selecting the second one or more transmission resources comprises selecting a second portion of the frequency resources for transmission of the second data based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises causing the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the first data using the first one or more resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the second data using the second one or more resources.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones of the plurality of tones, wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones of the plurality of tones, and wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the second data using the second range of tones.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first one or more resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second one or more resources and a second plurality of weights.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones of the plurality of tones, and wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones of the plurality of tones.

28. The method of claim 2 , wherein the measure of channel quality comprises a measure of interference.

29. The method of claim 11 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises causing the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

30. The method of claim 11 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first transmission interval, of the first data using the first subset of the plurality of resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first transmission interval, of the second data using the second subset of the plurality of resources.

31. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first subset of the plurality of resources comprises a first range of tones of the plurality of tones, wherein the second subset of the plurality of resources comprises a second range of tones of the plurality of tones, and wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first transmission interval, of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first transmission interval, of the second data using the second range of tones.

32. The method of claim 11 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first subset of the plurality of resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second subset of the plurality of resources and a second plurality of weights.

33. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first transmission interval is a time slot.

34. The method of claim 12 , wherein the at least one measure of channel quality comprises a measure of interference.

35. The method of claim 16 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises causing the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

36. The method of claim 16 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second one or more resources.

37. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones, wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones, and wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second range of tones.

38. The method of claim 16 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first one or more resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second one or more resources and a second plurality of weights.

39. The method of claim 16 , wherein the time slot comprises a downlink time slot.

40. The method of claim 17 , wherein the measure of channel quality comprises a measure of interference.

41. The method of claim 20 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises causing the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

42. The method of claim 20 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more transmission resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second one or more transmission resources.

43. The method of claim 20 , wherein the first one or more transmission resources comprises a first range of tones, wherein the second one or more transmission resources comprises a second range of tones, and wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second range of tones.

44. The method of claim 20 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first one or more transmission resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second one or more transmission resources and a second plurality of weights.

45. The method of claim 20 , wherein the at least one common time resource comprises at least one time slot.

46. The method of claim 21 , wherein the measure of channel quality comprises a measure of interference.

47. A method comprising:

receiving a first transmission from a first node and a second transmission from a second node;

selecting, based at least in part on at least one channel characteristic associated with the first transmission received from the first node, first one or more resources, of a plurality of resources, for transmission of first data associated with the first node, wherein the plurality of resources comprises a plurality of time-frequency channels;

selecting, based at least in part on at least one channel characteristic associated with the second transmission received from the second node, second one or more resources, of the plurality of resources, for transmission of second data associated with the second node, wherein a time-frequency channel of the second one or more resources shares a time slot with a time-frequency channel of the first one or more resources; and

causing, by a third node via at least one antenna and using the plurality of resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more resources and of the second data using the second one or more resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

48. The method of claim 47 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises causing the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

49. The method of claim 47 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data together in the same OFDM symbol comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second one or more resources.

50. The method of claim 47 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones, wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones, and wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second range of tones.

51. The method of claim 47 , wherein the causing the OFDM wireless transmission comprises:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first one or more resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second one or more resources and a second plurality of weights.

52. The method of claim 47 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the causing comprises causing, via the plurality of antennas, the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data as at least one multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission.

53. The method of claim 47 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises frequency selectivity.

54. The method of claim 47 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises delay spread.

55. The method of claim 47 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises time selectivity.

56. The method of claim 47 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises Doppler spread.

57. The method of claim 47 , wherein one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises a pilot signal.

58. A system comprising:

a first node configured to transmit first feedback;

a second node configured to transmit second feedback; and

a third node comprising:

at least one antenna; and

circuitry configured to:

select, based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, first one or more resources, of a plurality of resources, for transmission of first data associated with the first node, wherein the plurality of resources comprises a plurality of tones and a plurality of time slots;

select, based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node, second one or more resources, of the plurality of resources, for transmission of second data associated with the second node; and

cause, via at least one antenna during at least a first time slot of the plurality of time slots and using the plurality of resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more resources and of the second data using the second one or more resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

59. The system of claim 58 , wherein the first feedback comprises a measure of channel quality, and the circuitry is configured to select the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

60. The system of claim 59 , wherein the measure of channel quality comprises a measure of interference.

61. The system of claim 58 , wherein the circuitry is configured to determine a measure of channel quality based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node, and to select the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources based at least in part on the measure of channel quality.

62. The system of claim 58 , wherein:

the first node comprises circuitry configured to generate the first feedback based at least in part on a signal wirelessly received by the first node; and

the second node comprises circuitry configured to generate the second feedback based at least in part on a signal wirelessly received by the second node.

63. The system of claim 58 , wherein the circuitry is configured to select the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources by selecting a first range of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node and a second range of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node.

64. The system of claim 58 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the circuitry is configured to cause, via the plurality of antennas, the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data as at least one multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission.

65. The system of claim 58 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

map the first data to the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources and map the second data to the second one or more resources of the plurality of resources.

66. The system of claim 65 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

perform an inverse fast-Fourier transform (iFFT) of the first data and the second data.

67. The system of claim 58 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the circuitry is further configured to map the first data and the second data to the plurality of antennas based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node and the second feedback received from the second node.

68. The system of claim 58 , wherein the circuitry is configured to:

select the first one or more resources of the plurality of resources by selecting a first range of tones of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the first feedback received from the first node;

select the second one or more resources of the plurality of resources by selecting a second range of tones of the plurality of tones based at least in part on the second feedback received from the second node;

distribute the first data across the first range of tones; and

distribute the second data across the second range of tones.

69. The system of claim 58 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

70. The system of claim 59 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission by:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the first data using the first one or more resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the second data using the second one or more resources.

71. The system of claim 59 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones of the plurality of tones, wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones of the plurality of tones, and wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission by:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission, during at least the first time slot, of the second data using the second range of tones.

72. The system of claim 58 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission by:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first one or more resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second one or more resources and a second plurality of weights.

73. The system of claim 58 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones of the plurality of tones, and wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones of the plurality of tones.

74. A system comprising:

a first node configured to transmit a first transmission;

a second node configured to transmit a second transmission; and

a third node comprising:

at least one antenna; and

circuitry configured to:

select, based at least in part on at least one channel characteristic associated with the first transmission received from the first node, first one or more resources, of a plurality of resources, for transmission of first data associated with the first node, wherein the plurality of resources comprises a plurality of time-frequency channels;

select, based at least in part on at least one channel characteristic associated with the second transmission received from the second node, second one or more resources, of the plurality of resources, for transmission of second data associated with the second node, wherein a time-frequency channel of the second one or more resources shares a time slot with a time-frequency channel of the first one or more resources; and

cause, via the at least one antenna and using the plurality of resources, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless transmission of the first data, using the first one or more resources and of the second data using the second one or more resources, together in a same OFDM symbol.

75. The system of claim 74 , wherein circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data using a multiple access scheme.

76. The system of claim 74 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data together in the same OFDM symbol by:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first one or more resources; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second one or more resources.

77. The system of claim 74 , wherein the first one or more resources comprises a first range of tones, wherein the second one or more resources comprises a second range of tones, and wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission by:

causing a first beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the first data using the first range of tones; and

causing a second beamformed OFDM wireless transmission of the second data using the second range of tones.

78. The system of claim 74 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause the OFDM wireless transmission by:

causing the first data to be transmitted using the first one or more resources and a first plurality of weights; and

causing the second data to be transmitted using the second one or more resources and a second plurality of weights.

79. The system of claim 74 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas, and the circuitry is configured to cause, via the plurality of antennas, the OFDM wireless transmission of the first data and the second data as at least one multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission.

80. The system of claim 74 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises frequency selectivity.

81. The system of claim 74 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises delay spread.

82. The system of claim 74 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises time selectivity.

83. The system of claim 74 , wherein the at least one channel characteristic associated with one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises Doppler spread.

84. The system of claim 74 , wherein one or both of the first transmission or the second transmission comprises a pilot signal.

Assignments (4)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 11, 2016
From: CPU CONSULTANTS, INC.
To: BOETHIAN TECHNOLOGY, LLC
Reel/Frame 037957/0121 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 11, 2016
From: BOETHIAN TECHNOLOGY, LLC
To: ALOFT MEDIA, LLC
Reel/Frame 037957/0134 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 11, 2016
From: ALOFT MEDIA, LLC
To: COMCAST CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Reel/Frame 037957/0164 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 11, 2016
From: AGEE, BRIAN G.; BROMBERG, MATTHEW C.
To: CPU CONSULTANTS, INC.
Reel/Frame 038074/0307 →
Continuity (8)
Continuation 14480535 · Sep 8, 2014
Continuation 14309332 · Jun 19, 2014
Continuation 13010629 · Jan 20, 2011
Continuation 11880825 · Jul 23, 2007
Continuation In Part 09878789 · Jun 10, 2001
Provisional Application 60243831 · Oct 27, 2000
Provisional Application 60211462 · Jun 13, 2000
Related Publication 20150271004A1 · Sep 24, 2015
Cited By (1)
US 12,490,251