阅读说明：本技术 用于lte许可辅助接入动态频率选择的长脉冲雷达啁啾检测器的系统和方法 (System and method for long pulse radar chirp detector for LTE licensed assisted access dynamic frequency selection ) 是由 D·奥托松 V·阿杜鲁 于 2019-03-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：根据某些实施例,一种由网络节点用于线性啁啾检测的方法包括获得信号的第一数量N个样本。将样本划分成至少第一组和第二组,其中所述第一组包括所述信号的第二数量D个样本,所述第二组包括所述信号的第三数量N-D个样本。在第一组样本和第二组样本之间执行互相关以生成所述信号的结果样本组。在结果样本组内,标识频域中的峰值。基于与所述峰值相关联的至少一个特性,确定所述信号内是否存在线性啁啾。(According to certain embodiments, a method for linear chirp detection by a network node comprises obtaining a first number, N, of samples of a signal. Dividing the samples into at least a first group and a second group, wherein the first group comprises a second number D of samples of the signal and the second group comprises a third number N-D of samples of the signal. Performing a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal. Within the set of result samples, a peak in the frequency domain is identified. Determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.)

1. A method for linear chirp detection by a network node, the method comprising:

obtaining a first number N of samples of a signal;

dividing the samples into at least a first group and a second group, the first group comprising a second number, D, of samples of the signal, the second group comprising a third number, N-D, of samples of the signal;

performing a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal,

identifying peaks in a frequency domain within the set of result samples; and

determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether a linear chirp is present within the signal based on the at least one characteristic associated with the peak comprises:

comparing the peak value to a threshold value;

determining that there is a linear chirp in the signal if the peak value is greater than or equal to the threshold; and

determining that the linear chirp is not present within the signal if the peak value is not greater than or equal to the threshold value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether a linear chirp is present within the signal based on the at least one characteristic associated with the peak comprises:

identifying the peak comprises calculating a peak to noise floor ratio and comparing the peak to noise floor ratio to a threshold;

if the peak value to noise-floor ratio is larger than or equal to the threshold value, determining that the signal memory has linear chirp; and

determining that no linear chirp is present within the signal if the peak to noise floor ratio is not greater than or equal to the threshold.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the at least one peak value comprises a peak value, an absolute value, or a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the result sample set represents a change in phase between the first set of samples and the second set of samples after a duration.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the duration is D divided by a sampling rate.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

prior to identifying the peaks within the set of result samples, performing a discrete fourier transform, DFT, or a fast fourier transform, FFT, on the set of result samples to find the peaks.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein performing the cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples comprises: multiplying the second number of D samples with the conjugate of the third number of N-D samples.

9. The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein performing the cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples comprises: performing an element-by-element complex multiplication of a second number D of samples with the third number N-D of samples to generate the result sample set.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the number of samples in the result set is M, and M equals D.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising padding the result sample set to the nearest second power such that the number of samples in the result sample set is M and M is greater than or equal to D.

12. The method of any of claims 1-11, wherein the linear chirp is determined to be present within the signal, and wherein the width of the linear chirp is twice the frequency corresponding to the peak.

13. The method of any of claims 1-12, further comprising determining that the linear chirp is associated with a radar signal and relinquishing transmission on a channel associated with the radar signal for a radar duration.

14. The method of any of claims 1-11, wherein the absence of the linear chirp within the signal is determined, and the method further comprises:

transmitting on a channel associated with the signal in response to determining that the linear chirp is not present within the signal.

15. The method of any of claims 1-14, wherein obtaining the first number N of samples of the signal comprises: energy is repeatedly detected for a sample duration, followed by a silent period in which the energy is not detected.

16. The method of any of claims 1-14, wherein obtaining the first number N of samples of the signal comprises selecting the first number N of samples from a larger group of nxz samples, wherein every z-th sample is selected in selecting the first number N of samples.

17. A network node for linear chirp detection, the network node comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

processing circuitry operable to execute the instructions to cause the network node to:

obtaining a first number N of samples of a signal;

dividing the samples into at least a first group and a second group, the first group comprising a second number, D, of samples of the signal, the second group comprising a third number, N-D, of samples of the signal;

performing a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal,

identifying peaks in a frequency domain within the set of result samples; and

determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.

18. The network node of claim 17, wherein, in determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on the at least one characteristic associated with the peak, the processing circuit is operable to execute the instructions to:

comparing the peak value to a threshold value;

determining that there is a linear chirp in the signal if the peak value is greater than or equal to the threshold; and

determining that the linear chirp is not present within the signal if the peak value is not greater than or equal to the threshold value.

19. The network node of claim 17, wherein, in determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on the at least one characteristic associated with the peak, the processing circuit is operable to execute the instructions to:

identifying the peak comprises calculating a peak to noise floor ratio and comparing the peak to noise floor ratio to a threshold;

if the peak value to noise-floor ratio is larger than or equal to the threshold value, determining that the signal memory has linear chirp; and

determining that no linear chirp is present within the signal if the peak to noise floor ratio is not greater than or equal to the threshold.

20. The network node of any of claims 17 to 19, wherein the at least one peak value comprises a peak value, an absolute value, or a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

21. The network node of any of claims 17 to 20, wherein the result sample set represents a change in phase between the first set of samples and the second set of samples after a duration.

22. The network node of claim 21, wherein the duration comprises D divided by a sampling rate.

23. The network node of any of claims 17 to 22, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to execute the instructions to:

prior to identifying the peaks within the set of result samples, performing a discrete fourier transform, DFT, or a fast fourier transform, FFT, on the set of result samples to find the peaks.

24. The network node of any of claims 17 to 23, wherein in performing the cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples, the processing circuitry is operable to execute the instructions to multiply the second number of D samples with conjugates of the third number of N-D samples.

25. The network node of any of claims 17 to 23, wherein in performing the cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples, the processing circuitry is operable to execute the instructions to perform an element-by-element complex multiplication of a second number D of samples with the third number N-D of samples to generate the result sample set.

26. The network node of claim 25, wherein the number of samples in the result set is M, and M is equal to D.

27. The network node of any of claims 17 to 26, wherein the processing circuit is operable to pad the result sample set to the nearest second power such that the number of samples in the result sample set is M and M is greater than or equal to D.

28. The network node of any of claims 17 to 27, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to determine that the linear chirp is present within the signal, and wherein the width of the linear chirp is twice the frequency corresponding to the peak.

29. The network node of any of claims 17 to 28, wherein the processing circuitry is operable to execute the instructions to determine that the linear chirp is associated with a radar signal and to forgo transmission on a channel associated with the radar signal for a radar duration.

30. The network node of any of claims 17 to 29, wherein the processing circuit is operable to execute the instructions to:

transmitting on a channel associated with the signal in response to determining that the linear chirp is not present within the signal.

31. The network node of any of claims 17 to 30, wherein, in obtaining the first number N of samples of the signal, the processing circuit is operable to execute the instructions to repeatedly detect energy for a sample duration followed by a silent period in which the energy is not detected.

32. The network node of any of claims 17 to 31, wherein, in obtaining the first number N of samples of the signal, the processing circuitry is operable to execute the instructions to select the first number N of samples from a larger set of nxz samples, wherein, in selecting the first number N of samples, every z-th sample is selected.

33. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions operable to be executed by a processor to cause the processor to:

obtaining a first number N of samples of a signal;

dividing the samples into at least a first group and a second group, the first group comprising a second number, D, of samples of the signal, the second group comprising a third number, N-D, of samples of the signal;

performing a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal,

identifying peaks in a frequency domain within the set of result samples; and

determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.

Background

As the 2.4 GHz band becomes more crowded, many users choose to use the 5 GHz band. This not only provides more frequency spectrum, but the 5 GHz band is not widely used by WiFi and many appliances, including items such as microwave ovens.

In many countries regulatory requirements may limit the number of available 5 GHz channels or impose additional restrictions on their use, as the spectrum is shared with other technologies and services. For example, for portions of the frequency band 46, there are regional requirements that aim to protect radar from other users of the spectrum.

DFS (dynamic frequency selection) is a mechanism that allows devices to coexist with radar systems. The DFS automatically selects frequencies that do not interfere with the radar system. DFS allows you to use more channels. DFS includes radar detection and frequency selection without the need for radar.

Since coexistence between LTE and radar applications of the same frequency band has recently been achieved through Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), technical applications as a plug-in for detecting radar in the LTE system are limited. For LTE, such a plug-in must be incorporated in the radio base station between the radio unit and the Medium Access Control (MAC) control layer, with high requirements on processing efficiency and accuracy. Since the frequency characteristics of the chirp (chirp) signal are preferably analyzed by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), the chirp detection algorithm will utilize the same FFT accelerators as conventional traffic utilizes in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, such as LTE. It is therefore important to reduce the processing performed in the frequency domain while still maintaining good detection performance.

Disclosure of Invention

To address the above-mentioned problems of existing solutions, systems and methods are disclosed that provide a tunable detector for detecting a linearly chirped radar signal in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) based system.

According to certain embodiments, a method for linear chirp detection by a network node comprises obtaining a first number, N, of samples of a signal. Dividing the samples into at least a first group and a second group, wherein the first group comprises a second number D of samples of the signal and the second group comprises a third number N-D of samples of the signal. Performing a cross-correlation (correlation) between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resulting set of samples (resultants) of the signal. Within the set of result samples, a peak in the frequency domain is identified. Determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.

According to certain embodiments, a network node for linear chirp detection comprises a memory storing instructions and processing circuitry operable to execute the instructions to cause the network node to obtain a first number, N, of samples of a signal. The network node divides the samples into at least a first group and a second group, wherein the first group comprises a second number D of samples of the signal and the second group comprises a third number N-D of samples of the signal. The network node performs a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resulting set of samples of the signal. Within the set of result samples, a peak in the frequency domain is identified. Based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak, a network node determines whether linear chirp is present within the signal.

According to certain embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions is operable to be executed by a processor to cause the processor to obtain a first number, N, of samples of a signal. The samples are divided into at least a first group and a second group, the first group comprising a second number D of samples of the signal and the second group comprising a third number N-D of samples of the signal. Performing a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal. Within the set of result samples, a peak in the frequency domain is identified. Determining whether linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or more technical advantages. For example, certain embodiments may provide efficient utilization of unlicensed frequency bands, which is a critical task in modern communications.

Radar detection plays a major role in the selection of the frequency band required for DFS. Another advantage may be that certain embodiments detect the presence of linear chirp in a received baseband signal. By analyzing the chirp-like nature of the received radio signal, the chirp-like transmitted radar signal can be distinguished from WiFi traffic and thus avoid false alarms with dominant WiFi interference scenarios.

Yet another advantage may be that certain embodiments use cross-correlation and frequency analysis to detect chirp characteristics.

Yet another advantage may be that certain embodiments provide an approximate bandwidth of chirp.

Other advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Some embodiments may have none, some, or all of the described advantages.

Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and features and advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 illustrates an example context for a DFS (dynamic frequency selection) algorithm in a Radio Access Technology (RAT) receiver, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a graph demonstrating an example time characteristic of a radar signal, in accordance with certain embodiments;

fig. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a linear chirp detection method in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example graph of a time domain of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example graph of the instantaneous phase of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments;

figure 6 illustrates an example graph of instantaneous frequency of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments;

figure 7 illustrates an example graph of instantaneous frequency differences in a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example mathematical view of linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example conceptual diagram of discrete-time chirp detection according to some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example conceptual diagram of discrete-time chirp detection according to some embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example graph of time-domain cross-correlation between two halves of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example frequency domain plot of cross-correlation between two halves of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments;

fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary network for linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments;

figure 14 illustrates an example network node for linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments;

fig. 15 illustrates an example wireless device for linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 16 illustrates an example user device according to some embodiments;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example virtualized environment, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 18 illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 19 illustrates a generalized block diagram of a host computer in communication with user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection in accordance with certain embodiments;

fig. 20 illustrates a method implemented in a communication system, according to one embodiment;

fig. 21 illustrates another method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment;

fig. 22 illustrates another method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment;

fig. 23 illustrates another method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment;

fig. 24 illustrates an example method for linear chirp detection by a network node in accordance with certain embodiments; and

fig. 25 illustrates an example virtual computing device for linear chirp detection, in accordance with certain embodiments.

Detailed Description

Particular embodiments of the present invention may provide a solution for providing a tunable detector for detecting linearly chirped radar signals in an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) based system. In particular, since there is no chirp signal characteristic in the OFDMA-based device, the optimal chirp detection algorithm effectively filters out all chirp signals similar to signal devices (e.g., radars) from the OFDM-based device in a frequency band in which two systems should coexist without interfering with each other.

According to certain embodiments described herein, a method is provided to facilitate an easy tunable detection algorithm for estimation and detection of linear chirp, where the computational complexity in the algorithm is scalable and thus can be more efficient compared to existing market solutions. The latter is made possible by decimating the received time-domain linear chirp samples and by requiring only one Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to detect and estimate the linear chirp characteristics. In contrast, in current market solutions, several DFTs are utilized and performed at sampling frequencies that cover the entire maximum bandwidth of the chirp. However, the methods and techniques described herein use correlation along with one DFT for frequency analysis, replacing multiple DFTs with one operation in the time domain. This provides a more efficient Digital Signal Processor (DSP) implementation because it consists of a complex multiplication followed by a DFT operation.

According to some embodiments, the time domain operation may reduce the bandwidth of the chirp, such that the sampling period may be reduced, thereby reducing the computational complexity in the previous computational steps in the algorithm. The described time domain operation can also effectively filter out the bandwidth of the chirp compared to existing market solutions where several DFT operations are followed by an estimation block where the DFT is analyzed to detect if there is a linear increase in frequency.

Specific embodiments are illustrated in fig. 1-25 of the drawings, like numerals being used for like and corresponding parts of the various drawings. Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary context 100 for a Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) algorithm in a Radio Access Technology (RAT) digital unit 110, in accordance with certain embodiments. In a particular embodiment, the RAT digital unit 110 is a RAT transceiver.

Radar detector 115 performs the components of the DFS algorithm that will be implemented in the RAT transceiver along with the native RAT channel estimation, modulator/demodulator, and encoding/decoding modules. The radar detector operates on digitized complex Radio Frequency (RF) samples received from the RF unit 120 over a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) or fiber optic link. According to certain embodiments described herein, a detector is provided that detects whether an intercepted linear chirp is present in an RF sample. Preceding the detector 125 is a pulse detection block 130 that detects that energy has been detected for a short duration. A silence period, followed by a short duration of energy that characterizes potentially intercepted radar signals in the RF samples, is then repeated itself.

Fig. 2 is a graph 200 demonstrating an example time characteristic of a radar signal, in accordance with certain embodiments. As depicted, the radar signal includes a burst 210 of pulses of pulse width 215 that repeats according to a pulse repetition interval 220.

If the pulse width 210 is near the length of the transmission in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, the pulse detection block cannot distinguish whether the burst origin is from a TDD system such as WiFi or from a radar source. But for long pulse radar, the pulse is modulated by a linear chirp characterizing the source. If chirp is detected, it can be used as a condition for judging the type of the interception source. According to certain embodiments, a linear chirp detector as disclosed herein provides a detector that can be easily implemented and efficient to avoid false triggering of sources other than radar. This is critical because the radar source of false detection causes the Radio Access Controller (RAC) portion of the DFS algorithm to turn off the operating carrier for thirty minutes according to FCC rules.

For example, as shown in fig. 1, the complex RF samples are received and stored for further processing by a digital unit 110 in the RAT transceiver. According to some embodiments, the received complex signals, which may be complete radar pulses or portions of radar pulses, are divided into at least two groups of signals. In a particular embodiment, each of the at least two groups of signals may have the same duration and length. In another embodiment, the at least two sets of signals may have different durations. In this case, the resulting set of samples may be equal to the set with the shortest duration, such that M-min (N-D, D).

In the case of a multi-antenna configuration, chirp detection may be performed on the antenna combination samples in a particular embodiment. In other words, samples received on different antennas may be combined. The combined sample may then be used for further processing, according to some particular embodiments. This may be done in DUs and the combined samples may be fed to radar detection. However, it should be appreciated that such antenna combining is not a mandatory optional step.

Although the steps for pulse detection performed by the pulse detector 125 are not described in detail, the pulse detector 125 may detect a pulse by comparing the intercepted signal power with a threshold value and use it as a trigger for the linear chirp detector 130 once the pulse is found. The pulse detector 125 then delivers samples of the received pulse to the chirp detector 130.

The chirp detector 130 may then determine the phase change by performing a cross-correlation. For example, in a particular embodiment in which the sample groups include at least a first sample group and a second sample group, the phase change may be determined by performing an element-by-element complex multiplication between the conjugates of the first sample group and the second sample group. In the case of linear chirp, the rate of change of phase is constant between at least two sets of samples, which forms a sine wave in which half of the frequency change in the linear chips is truncated.

One way to detect linear chirped radar is to identify the linearity of the frequency variation in the intercepted signal. According to some embodiments, a method of digitizing time domain samples using a chirp signal is provided. Fig. 3 illustrates an example block diagram 300 of a linear chirp detection method in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, the method includes the following steps in the chirp detection process:

1. buffering includes N complex/real samples of the chirp signal.

2. The buffered IQ data is divided into at least two groups of samples having a certain duration, which may be D samples divided by the sample rate.

3. Find the cross-correlation of the at least two sets of samples.

4. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to find the relevant frequency characteristics. Optionally, non-coherent combining of the FFTs may be performed to improve noise.

5. The peaks observed in the FFT are compared and compared to a threshold to declare chirp and chirp width.

The linear chirp signal in the time domain is defined as a complex signal having a linearly increasing frequency as shown in equation 1:

as shown in equation 2, the phase of the chirp signal isWherein its frequency is given by:

by defining in equation 3:

whereinf _c Is the starting frequency, β is the linear chirp width, T is the linear chirp duration, and the frequency will be a linear function of T as shown in equation 4:

from equation 4, it can be concluded that during the chirp duration T, the frequency is fromf _c Scan tof _c +β。

Fig. 4 illustrates an example graph 400 of the time domain of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments. In particular, FIG. 4 shows a starting frequency of 1MHzf _c And a linear chirp signal of chirp duration of 15 microseconds.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example plot 500 of the instantaneous phase of a linear chirp, and fig. 6 illustrates an example plot 600 of the instantaneous frequency of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments. The instantaneous frequency starts at 1MHz and ends at 6MHz, since the chirp width is 5 MHz.

Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary graph 700 of instantaneous frequency differences in linear chirps according to some embodiments. More specifically, fig. 7 shows the instantaneous frequency difference between two halves of a linear chirp. As the frequency increases linearly, the frequency difference between any two times by the same time is constant. The frequency between the two points differs by half the chip duration and is constant, equal to half the chirp width of 2.5 MHz.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example mathematical view 800 of linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments. As shown in fig. 8, element-by-element conjugate multiplication is performed between D segments of chirp samples of length T, the result is passed through the FFT, and the estimated chirp width is derived from the output FFT spectrum.

The operation between h (t) and g x (t) in fig. 8 can be shown to correspond to convolution in the frequency domain by using the convolution theorem in equation 5 below:

the right side can be identified as the operation performed in fig. 8, as shown in equations 6 and 7 below, where:

wherein T is_sIs the sampling time/duration.

The corresponding fourier transform would be, as shown in equations 8 and 9 below:

recall the chirpThe definition of chirp, in equation 10 according toRewriting and recording medium：

For in equation 11And inserting:

the convolution in equation 12 is defined as:

replacing equation 12 using equation 8 and equation 11Andthe convolution between dirac functions is equal to equation 13:

as can be seen,only for. As shown in equation 14 forUse ofTo solve for the corresponding ω:

the relationship in equation 14 will apply to anyWherein t is₀Is the start time of the chirp. The continuous input signal of the FFT block in fig. 8 can then be written as equation 15:

wherein the content of the first and second substances,。

the time domain function is then passed through the FFT in equation 16:

where w is the window function for the received linear chirp signal.

Assuming that W (t) is rectangular, its spectrum W (ω) will be given by a sinc function. Thus, the output from the FFT will be atWherein the first intersection of the frequency axes is at. The model in equation 16 can be used to derive the desired detection performance for arbitrary amplitudes a and lengths T, and usedThe selected window function W is a design choice in equation 17:

P _detection = f (A,W,T)

where A is the magnitude of y, which has been set to one in the conceptual overview for simplicity.

As described above, fig. 8 shows a discrete time domain. In a particular embodiment, the bandwidth of the chirp after time domain processing is shown by equation 15 as reducing D. The sampling rate in the algorithm can be decimated by D. In this way, according to some embodiments, parameter D helps to adjust the computational complexity in the algorithm based on the available DSP resources of the selected hardware platform. In a particular embodiment, a decimation factor of two may be used.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example conceptual diagram 900 of discrete-time chirp detection according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of complex multiplication 1000 in the time domain in accordance with certain embodiments. Specifically, digitized complex or real data is stored in a buffer for use in the linear chirp detection process. Consider a linear chirp with N samples. The buffer may contain all or part of the linearly chirped radar pulse.

As shown in fig. 10, the linear chip data buffer may be divided into at least two groups of samples. For example, the first group may include a first number D of samples of the linear chirp, while the second group may include the remaining N-D samples of the linear chirp. The correlation between at least two groups of samples is performed by complex multiplication of the samples. For example, an element-by-element complex multiplication of the conjugates of the D samples in the first sample group and the N-D samples in the second sample group may be performed. The resulting set of samples are M samples, which are stored in another buffer. The result is a phase change between at least two sets of samples after a (D/sample rate) duration.

In a particular embodiment, the length of the buffer is equal to M, and M is equal to D or the nearest power of two. If M is greater than D, the (M-D) values are suffixed with zero, as shown in FIG. 10. In particular embodiments, if more of the two sample groups have different durations, the shortest duration may be used to determine the number of samples to add suffixes.

In a particular embodiment, an FFT is performed on the correlation data to find the frequency characteristic. A peak search may then be performed on the FFT output. The peak to noise floor (floor) ratio is calculated and this value is compared to a threshold to avoid false alarms. If the peak-to-noise-floor ratio is greater than the threshold, then linear chirp finding and chirp width is declared to be twice the frequency corresponding to the peak.

According to some embodiments, the method is tunable for different sampling rates and different FFT sizes. If the load on the processor is critical, the proposed algorithm can be run at a reduced sampling rate by selecting one sample for every D samples from the digitized sample buffer. In particular embodiments, the length of the FFT may also be configurable. For example, in a particular embodiment, the length of the FFT may be inversely proportional to the accuracy of the detected chirp width.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example graph 1100 of a time-domain correlation between two halves of a linear chirp, in accordance with certain embodiments.

In the case of a sinusoidal signal, β has a value of zero and its constant phase difference is. Frequency of sinusoidal signalDetection may be performed using DFT. P will be suffixed with zero before FFT if needed. An FFT of p (m) is given in fig. 12, which illustrates an example frequency domain plot 1200 of the cross-correlation between two halves of a linear chirp, in accordance with some embodiments. The frequency of the sinusoidal signal is estimated by finding the peak power and its corresponding frequency. In fig. 12, the frequency component of the maximum power is 2.52 MHz. The accuracy of the frequency depends on the number of FFT points used. The detected frequency of 2.52MHz is approximately equal to the frequency difference observed between the two halves in fig. 12 (2.496MHz), and false alarms can be avoided by giving a threshold for the difference between the peak power and the noise floor.

As described in equation 16 and shown in fig. 12, the presence of chirp may be a clear peak at half the chirp width in the DFT spectrum. Detection criterion in DFT post-processing is based on SINR of spectral peaks

1）

Wherein f is_peakiIs the index of the peak in the spectrum, f_noiseiIs the index of every other sample except the index of the peak in the spectrum, and Th is a constant design value.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram of a wireless network 1300 for linear chirp detection according to some embodiments. Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described with respect to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in fig. 13. For simplicity, the wireless network of fig. 13 depicts only network 1306, network nodes 1360 and 1360b, and WDs 1310, 1310b, and 1310 c. In practice, the wireless network may further comprise any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, service provider or any other network node or end device. In the illustrated components, the network node 1360 and the Wireless Device (WD) 1310 are depicted with additional detail. A wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices in accessing and/or using the services provided by or via the wireless network.

The wireless network may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, and/or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network may be configured to operate according to certain standards or other types of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of the wireless network may implement communication standards such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard; and/or any other suitable wireless communication standard, such as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), bluetooth, Z-Wave, and/or ZigBee standards.

Network 1306 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, Wide Area Networks (WAN), Local Area Networks (LAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), wireline networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communication between devices.

Network node 1360 and WD 1310 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connectivity in a wireless network. In different embodiments, a wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals via wired or wireless connections.

Fig. 14 illustrates an example network node 1360 for linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device and/or perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, an Access Point (AP) (e.g., a radio access point), a Base Station (BS) (e.g., a radio base station, a node B, an evolved node B (enb), and a NR NodeB (gNB)). Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power levels) and may then also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. The base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling the relay. The network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and/or a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a Remote Radio Head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an integrated antenna radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS). Still further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) devices, such as MSR BSs, network controllers, such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or Base Station Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and/or MDTs. As another example, the network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. More generally, however, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to enable and/or provide wireless devices with access to a wireless network or to provide some service to wireless devices that have access to a wireless network.

In fig. 14, the network node 1360 includes processing circuitry 1370, device-readable media 1380, interfaces 1390, auxiliary devices 1384, power supplies 1386, power circuitry 1387, and an antenna 1362. Although the network node 1360 shown in the example wireless network of fig. 13 may represent a device including a combination of hardware components as illustrated, other embodiments may include network nodes having different combinations of components. It is to be understood that the network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and/or software necessary to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Further, while the components of network node 1360 are depicted as a single block, either within a larger block or nested within multiple blocks, in practice, a network node may include multiple different physical components making up a single illustrated component (e.g., device-readable media 1380 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

Similarly, network node 1360 may be comprised of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In some cases where network node 1360 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple nodebs. In this case, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single, separate network node in some instances. In some embodiments, the network node 1360 may be configured to support multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable storage media 1380 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., RATs may share the same antenna 1362). The network node 1060 may also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for different wireless technologies (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 1360. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1360.

The processing circuit 1370 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operations (e.g., certain obtaining operations) described herein as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by the processing circuit 1370 may include processing information obtained by the processing circuit 1370, for example, by: converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained or converted information with information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained or converted information, and making the determination as a result of the processing.

The processing circuit 1370 may include one or more combinations of microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, central processing units, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide the functionality of the network node 1360, alone or in combination with other network node 1360 components (such as the device-readable medium 1380). For example, the processing circuit 1370 may execute instructions stored in the device-readable medium 1380 or in a memory within the processing circuit 1370. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1370 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1370 may include one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1372 and baseband processing circuitry 1374. In some embodiments, the Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1372 and the baseband processing circuitry 1374 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1372 and the baseband processing circuitry 1374 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by the processing circuitry 1370 executing instructions stored in memory within the processing circuitry 1370 or on the device-readable medium 1380. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuit 1370, such as in a hardwired fashion, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium. In any of those embodiments, the processing circuit 1370 can be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuit 1370 alone or other components of the network node 1360, but rather are enjoyed by the network node 1360 as a whole, and/or by end users and wireless networks in general.

The device-readable medium 1380 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, permanent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, Random Access Memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., a hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., a flash drive, Compact Disc (CD), or Digital Video Disc (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and/or instructions usable by the processing circuit 1370. The device-readable medium 1380 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuit 1370 and utilized by the network node 1360. The device-readable medium 1380 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1370 and/or any data received via the interface 1390. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1370 and the device-readable medium 1380 may be considered integrated.

Interface 1390 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network node 1360, network 1306, and/or WD 1310. As shown, interface 1390 includes port (s)/terminal(s) 1394 to transmit data to and receive data from network 1306, for example, over a wired connection. Interface 1390 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1392, which may be coupled to antenna 1362 or, in some embodiments, be part of antenna 1362. The radio front-end circuit 1392 includes a filter 1398 and an amplifier 1396. The radio front-end circuitry 1392 may be connected to the antenna 1362 and the processing circuitry 1370. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1362 and the processing circuitry 1370. The radio front-end circuitry 1392 may receive digital data to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1392 may convert digital data to a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1398 and/or amplifiers 1396. The radio signal may then be transmitted via an antenna 1362. Similarly, when data is received, the antenna 1362 may collect radio signals that are then converted to digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1392. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1370. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1360 may not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1092, and instead the processing circuitry 1370 may include radio front-end circuitry, and may be connected to the antenna 1362 without separate radio front-end circuitry 1392. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 1372 may be considered to be part of interface 1390. In still other embodiments, interface 1390 may include one or more ports or terminals 1394, radio front-end circuitry 1392, and RF transceiver circuitry 1372 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and interface 1390 may communicate with baseband processing circuitry 1374, baseband processing circuitry 1374 being part of a digital unit (not shown).

The antennas 1362 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1362 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1390 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and/or signals. In some embodiments, antennas 1362 may include one or more omni-directional, sector, or patch antennas operable to transmit/receive radio signals between, for example, 2GHz and 66 GHz. An omni-directional antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals in any direction, a sector antenna may be used to transmit/receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and a panel antenna may be a line-of-sight antenna used to transmit/receive radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some instances, using more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, the antenna 1362 may be separate from the network node 1360 and may be connectable to the network node 1360 through an interface or port.

The antenna 1362, the interface 1390, and/or the processing circuitry 1370 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and/or signals may be received from the wireless device, another network node, and/or any other network device. Similarly, the antenna 1362, the interface 1390, and/or the processing circuit 1370 may be configured to perform any transmit operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and/or signals may be communicated to the wireless device, another network node, and/or any other network device.

Power circuitry 1387 may include or be coupled to power management circuitry and configured to supply power to components of network node 1360 for performing the functionality described herein. The power circuit 1387 may receive power from a power supply 1386. Power supply 1386 and/or power circuitry 1387 may be configured to provide power to the various components of network node 1360 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each respective component). Power supply 1386 may be included in power circuit 1387 and/or network node 1360 or external to power circuit 1387 and/or network node 1360. For example, the network node 1360 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface (such as a cable), whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuitry 1387. As a further example, the power supply 1386 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack that is connected to the power circuit 1387 or integrated within the power circuit 1387. The battery may provide a backup power source if the external power source fails. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

Alternative embodiments of network node 1360 may include additional components beyond those shown in fig. 13, which may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node 1360 may include user interface devices to allow information to be input into network node 1360 and to allow information to be output from network node 1360. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions on the network node 1360.

Fig. 15 illustrates a Wireless Device (WD) for linear chirp detection in accordance with certain embodiments. As used herein, a Wireless Device (WD) refers to a device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise indicated, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with User Equipment (UE). Wireless communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over the air. In some embodiments, the WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the WD may be designed to transmit information to the network on a predetermined schedule, triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network. Examples of WDs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable end devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop installed devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client devices (CPEs), in-vehicle wireless end devices, and so forth. WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case WD may be referred to as D2D communication device. As yet another particular example, in an internet of things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and communicates the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or network node. In this case, the WD may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As one particular example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (such as power meters), industrial machinery or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other cases, WD may represent a vehicle or other device capable of monitoring and/or reporting its operational status or other functionality associated with its operation. WD as described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, the WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or mobile terminal.

As shown, wireless device 1310 includes an antenna 1311, an interface 1314, processing circuitry 1320, a device readable medium 1330, a user interface device 1332, an auxiliary device 1334, a power supply 1336, and power circuitry 1337. WD 1310 may include multiple sets of one or more illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 1310, such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as other components within WD 1310.

The antenna 1311 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals, and is connected to the interface 1314. In certain alternative embodiments, the antenna 1311 may be separate from the WD 1310 and may be connected to the WD 1310 through an interface or port. The antenna 1311, the interface 1314, and/or the processing circuit 1320 may be configured to perform any receive or transmit operations described herein as being performed by the WD. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from the network node and/or another WD. In some embodiments, the radio front-end circuitry and/or antenna 1311 may be considered an interface.

As shown, the interface 1314 includes radio front-end circuitry 1312 and an antenna 1311. The radio front-end circuit 1312 includes one or more filters 1318 and an amplifier 1016. The radio front-end circuit 1314 is connected to the antenna 1311 and the processing circuit 1320, and is configured to condition signals passing between the antenna 1311 and the processing circuit 1320. The radio front-end circuit 1312 may be coupled to the antenna 1311 or be part of the antenna 1311. In some embodiments, WD 1310 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 1312; conversely, the processing circuit 1320 may include radio front-end circuitry and may be connected to the antenna 1311. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1322 may be considered part of interface 1314. The radio front-end circuit 1312 may receive digital data to be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1312 may use a combination of filters 1318 and/or amplifiers 1316 to convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1311. Similarly, as data is received, the antenna 1311 may collect radio signals, which are then converted to digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1312. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1320. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and/or different combinations of components.

The processing circuit 1320 may include a combination of one or more microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, central processing units, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and/or encoded logic operable to provide WD 1310 functionality alone or in combination with other WD 1310 components (such as device readable medium 1330). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 1320 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 1330 or in a memory within the processing circuit 1320 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

As shown, processing circuitry 1320 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuitry 1322, baseband processing circuitry 1324, and application processing circuitry 1326. In other embodiments, the processing circuitry may include different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain embodiments, the processing circuitry 1320 of the WD 1310 may include an SOC. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1322, baseband processing circuitry 1324, and application processing circuitry 1326 may be on separate chips or chip sets. In alternative embodiments, some or all of baseband processing circuitry 1324 and application processing circuitry 1326 may be combined into one chip or chipset, and RF transceiver circuitry 1322 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In still other alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1322 and baseband processing circuitry 1324 may be on the same chip or chipset, and application processing circuitry 1326 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In yet other alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1322, baseband processing circuitry 1324, and application processing circuitry 1326 may be combined on the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 1322 may be part of interface 1314. RF transceiver circuitry 1322 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 1320.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by the processing circuit 1320 executing instructions stored on the device-readable medium 1330, which in certain embodiments, the device-readable medium 1330 may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuit 1320, such as in a hardwired fashion, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of those particular embodiments, the processing circuit 1320 can be configured to perform the described functionality, whether or not executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry 1320 alone or other components of the WD 1310, but rather are enjoyed by the WD 1310 as a whole and/or typically by the end user and the wireless network.

The processing circuit 1320 may be configured to perform any of the determination, calculation, or similar operations described herein as being performed by the WD (e.g., certain obtaining operations). These operations performed by processing circuitry 1320 may include processing information obtained by processing circuitry 1320, for example, by: convert the obtained information into other information, compare the obtained or converted information with information stored by WD 1310, and/or perform one or more operations based on the obtained or converted information, and make the determination as a result of the processing.

Device-readable medium 1330 may be operable to store computer programs, software, applications comprising one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and/or other instructions executable by processing circuit 1320. Device-readable medium 1330 may include computer memory (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM) or Read Only Memory (ROM)), a mass storage medium (e.g., a hard disk), a removable storage medium (e.g., a Compact Disc (CD) or Digital Video Disc (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and/or instructions usable by processing circuit 1320. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1320 and the device-readable medium 1330 may be considered integrated.

User interface device 1332 may provide components that allow a human user to interact with WD 1310. Such interaction may take a variety of forms, such as visual, audible, tactile, and the like. User interface device 1332 may be operable to produce output to a user and allow the user to provide input to WD 1310. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 1332 installed in WD 1310. For example, if WD 1310 is a smartphone, the interaction may be via a touchscreen; if WD 1310 is a smart meter, interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alert (e.g., if smoke is detected). User interface device 1332 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuits, and output interfaces, devices, and circuits. User interface device 1332 is configured to allow information to be input into WD 1310, and is connected to processing circuitry 1320 to allow processing circuitry 1320 to process the input information. User interface device 1332 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensor, keys/buttons, touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuitry. User interface device 1332 is also configured to allow information to be output from WD 1310, and to allow processing circuitry 1320 to output information from WD 1310. User interface device 1332 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuitry. WD 1310 may communicate with end users and/or wireless networks using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of user interface device 1332 and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

The auxiliary device 1334 may be operable to provide more specific functionality that may not typically be performed by the WD. This may include dedicated sensors for making measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication. The inclusion and type of components of the auxiliary device 1334 may vary according to embodiments and/or circumstances.

In some embodiments, power supply 1336 may take the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell. WD 1310 may further include power circuitry 1337 to deliver power from power source 1336 to various portions of WD 1310 that require power from power source 1336 to perform any of the functionality described or indicated herein. In certain embodiments, the power circuitry 1337 may include power management circuitry. Power circuit 1337 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source; in this case, WD 1310 may be connectable to an external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface (such as a power cable). In certain embodiments, power circuit 1337 may also be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power supply 1336. This may be used, for example, for charging of power supply 1336. Power circuitry 1337 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification to the power from power supply 1336 to adapt the power to the respective components of WD 1310 being supplied with power.

Fig. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant equipment. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device intended for sale to or operated by a human user, but which may not or may not initially be associated with a particular human user (e.g., an intelligent sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart meter) that is not intended for sale to or operation by the end user, but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of the user. UE 16200 may be any UE identified by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) including NB-IoT UEs, Machine Type Communication (MTC) UEs, and/or enhanced MTC (emtc) UEs. The UE 1600 as illustrated in fig. 11 is one example of a WD configured to communicate in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP), such as the GSM, UMTS, LTE, and/or 5G standards of the 3 GPP. As previously mentioned, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Thus, while fig. 11 is a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a WD, and vice versa.

In fig. 16, the UE 1600 includes processing circuitry 1601 operatively coupled to an input/output interface 1605, a Radio Frequency (RF) interface 1609, a network connection interface 1611, memory 1615 including Random Access Memory (RAM) 1617, Read Only Memory (ROM) 1619, and storage medium 1621, etc., a communications subsystem 1631, a power supply 1633, and/or any other component or any combination thereof. Storage media 1621 includes operating system 1623, application programs 1625, and data 1627. In other embodiments, storage medium 1621 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may utilize all of the components shown in fig. 16, or only a subset of the components. The degree of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. Additionally, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, and so forth.

In fig. 16, processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processing circuitry 1601 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic along with appropriate firmware; one or more stored programs, a general purpose processor such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1601 may include two Central Processing Units (CPUs). The data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

In the depicted embodiment, the input/output interface 1605 may be configured to provide a communication interface to input devices, output devices, or both. UE 1600 may be configured to use an output device via input/output interface 1405. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, USB ports may be used to provide input to UE 1600 and output from UE 1600. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. UE 1600 may be configured to use an input device via input/output interface 1605 to allow a user to capture information into UE 1600. Input devices may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, and so forth. Presence-sensitive displays may include capacitive or resistive touch sensors to sense input from a user. For example, the sensor may be an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input devices may be accelerometers, magnetometers, digital cameras, microphones and light sensors.

In fig. 16, RF interface 1609 may be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers, and antennas. The network connection interface 1611 may be configured to provide a communication interface to a network 1643 a. The network 1643a may encompass a wired and/or wireless network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, network 1643a may comprise a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 1611 may be configured to include a receiver and transmitter interface for communicating with one or more other devices over a communication network according to one or more communication protocols (such as ethernet, TCP/IP, SONET, ATM, etc.). The network connection interface 1611 may implement receiver and transmitter functionality appropriate for a communication network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

The RAM 1617 may be configured to interface with the processing circuitry 1601 via the bus 1602 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during execution of software programs, such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 1619 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 1601. For example, ROM 1619 may be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions, such as basic input and output (I/O), starting or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard, stored in non-volatile memory. Storage medium 1621 may be configured to include memory, such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a removable cartridge, or a flash drive. In one example, storage media 1621 may be configured to include an operating system 1623, application programs 1625 (such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application), and data files 1627. Storage medium 1621 may store any of a variety or combination of operating systems for use by UE 1600.

Storage medium 1621 may be configured to include a plurality of physical drive units, such as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard disk drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical disk drive, an internal hard disk drive, a blu-ray disk drive, a Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disk drive, an external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory (such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM/RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. Storage media 1121 may allow UE 1600 to access computer-executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on transitory or non-transitory storage media to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as with a communications system, may be tangibly embodied in storage medium 1621, which storage medium 1621 may include a device-readable medium.

In fig. 16, the processing circuit 1601 may be configured to communicate with a network 1643b using a communication subsystem 1631. The network 1143a and the network 1143b may be the same network or networks or different networks. Communication subsystem 1631 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with network 1643 b. For example, the communication subsystem 1631 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication, such as another WD, a UE, or a base station of a Radio Access Network (RAN), according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE 802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1633 and/or a receiver 1635 to implement transmitter or receiver functionality, respectively, appropriate for the RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 1633 and receiver 1635 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively may be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 1631 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication such as using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, communication subsystem 1631 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 1643b can include a wired and/or wireless network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1643b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and/or a near-field network. The power supply 1613 may be configured to provide Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC) power to the components of the UE 1600.

The features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of the UE 1600, or divided across multiple components of the UE 1600. Additionally, the features, benefits, and/or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, communication subsystem 1631 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Additionally, the processing circuit 1601 may be configured to communicate with any such components over the bus 1602. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in memory that, when executed by the processing circuit 1601, perform the corresponding functions described herein. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be divided between the processing circuitry 1601 and the communication subsystem 1631. In another example, the non-compute intensive functionality of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and the compute intensive functionality may be implemented in hardware.

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1700 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a device or a virtual version of a device, which may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization may apply to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or component thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executing on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks) is implemented as one or more virtual components.

In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1700 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes 1730. In addition, in embodiments where the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be fully virtualized.

These functions may be implemented by one or more applications 1720 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual devices, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operable to implement some features, functions and/or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. The application 1720 runs in a virtualized environment 1700, the virtualized environment 1700 providing hardware 1730 including processing circuitry 1760 and memory 1790. The memory 1790 contains instructions 1795 executable by the processing circuitry 1760 whereby the application 1720 is operable to provide one or more of the features, benefits and/or functions disclosed herein.

The virtualized environment 1700 includes a general purpose or special purpose network hardware device 1730 that includes a set of one or more processors or processing circuitry 1760, which may be a commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) processor, a specialized Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or any other type of processing circuitry, including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may include a memory 1790-1, which memory 1790-1 may be a volatile memory for temporarily storing software or instructions 1795 for execution by the processing circuitry 1760. Each hardware device may include one or more Network Interface Controllers (NICs) 1770, also referred to as network interface cards, that include a physical network interface 1780. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium 1790-2 having stored therein instructions and/or software 1795 executable by the processing circuitry 1760. Software 1795 may include any type of software, including software to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1750 (also referred to as hypervisors), software to execute virtual machines 1740, and software that allows them to perform the functions, features, and/or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein.

Virtual machine 1740 includes virtual processes, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1750 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual device 1720 may be implemented on one or more of the virtual machines 1740 and the implementation may be done in different ways.

During operation, the processing circuit 1760 executes software 1795 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 1750, which may sometimes be referred to as a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1750 can present virtual operating platform to virtual machine 1740 that looks like networking hardware.

As shown in fig. 17, hardware 1730 may be a stand-alone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 1730 may include antennas 1725 and may implement some functionality via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1230 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 1710, which management and orchestration (MANO) 1710 further oversees lifecycle management of applications 1720.

Hardware virtualization is referred to in some contexts as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to integrate many network device types onto industry standard mass server hardware, physical switching devices, and physical storage devices, which may be located in data centers and client devices.

In the context of NFV, virtual machines 1740 may be software implementations of physical machines running programs as if they were executing on physical, non-virtualized machines. Each of the virtual machines 1740, as well as the portion of hardware 1730 executing that virtual machine, forms a separate Virtual Network Element (VNE) if it is hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and/or hardware shared by that virtual machine with other virtual machines 1740.

Still in the context of NFV, a Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines 1740 atop hardware networking infrastructure 1730, and corresponds to application 1720 in fig. 17.

In some embodiments, one or more radio units 1720, each comprising one or more transmitters 1722 and one or more receivers 1721, may be coupled to one or more antennas 1725. The radio unit 1720 may communicate directly with the hardware node 1730 via one or more suitable network interfaces and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to a virtual node, such as a radio access node or a base station.

In some embodiments, some signaling may be implemented using control system 17230, which control system 17230 may alternatively be used for communication between hardware node 1730 and radio 17200.

FIG. 18 illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network, in accordance with some embodiments. In particular, with reference to fig. 18, according to an embodiment, the communication system comprises a telecommunications network 1810, such as a 3 GPP-type cellular network, comprising an access network 1811 (such as a radio access network) and a core network 1814. The access network 1811 includes multiple base stations 1812a, 1812b, 1812c, such as an NB, eNB, gNB, or other type of wireless access point, each defining a corresponding coverage area 1813a, 1813b, 1813 c. Each base station 1812a, 1812b, 1812c may be connected to the core network 1814 by a wired or wireless connection 1815. A first UE 1891 located in the coverage area 1813c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, a corresponding base station 1812 c. A second UE 1892 in the coverage area 1813a may be wirelessly connected to a corresponding base station 1812 a. Although multiple UEs 1891, 1892 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable where only one UE is in the coverage area or is connecting to a corresponding base station 1812.

The telecommunications network 1810 is itself connected to a host computer 1830, which may be embodied in hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 1830 may be under the ownership or control of the service provider or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 1821 and 1822 between the telecommunications network 1810 and the host computer 1830 may extend directly from the core network 1814 to the host computer 1830, or may be via an optional intermediate network 1820. Intermediate network 1820 may be one or a combination of more than one of a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network 1820, which may be a backbone network or the internet, if any; in particular, the intermediate network 1820 may include two or more subnets (not shown).

The communication system of fig. 18 as a whole enables connectivity between connected UEs 1891, 1892 and a host computer 1830. This connectivity may be described as over-the-top (OTT) connection 1850. The host computer 1830 and connected UEs 1891, 1892 are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection 1850 using the access network 1811, the core network 1814, any intermediate networks 1820, and possibly additional infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1850 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1850 passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1812 may or may not need to be informed of past routes of incoming downlink communications where data originating from the host computer 1830 is to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 1891. Similarly, base station 1812 need not know the future route of outgoing uplink communications originating from UE 1891 toward host computer 1830.

Figure 19 illustrates a host computer communicating with user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. According to an embodiment, an example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to fig. 19. In the communication system 1900, the host computer 1910 includes hardware 1915, the hardware 1915 including a communication interface 1916 configured to set up and maintain wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1900. The host computer 1910 further includes processing circuitry 1918, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuitry 1918 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 1910 further includes software 1911, the software 1911 being stored in the host computer 1910 or accessible by the host computer 1910 and executable by the processing circuitry 1918. Software 1911 includes host application 1912. The host application 1912 may be operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1930 connected via an OTT connection 1950 terminating at the UE 1930 and a host computer 1910. In providing services to remote users, the host application 1912 may provide user data that is transferred using the OTT connection 1950.

The communication system 1900 further comprises a base station 1920, which base station 1920 is provided in a telecommunication system and comprises hardware 1925 enabling it to communicate with a host computer 1910 and a UE 1930. The hardware 1925 may include a communication interface 1926 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1900, and a radio interface 1927 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1970 with a UE 1930 located in a coverage area (not shown in fig. 19) served by the base station 1920. Communication interface 1926 may be configured to facilitate connection 1960 to host computer 1910. The connection 1960 may be direct or it may be through the core network of the telecommunications system (not shown in fig. 19) and/or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1925 of the base station 1920 further includes processing circuitry 1928, which processing circuitry 1928 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The base station 1920 further has software 1921 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

The communication system 1900 also includes the UE 1930 already mentioned. Its hardware 1935 may include a radio interface 1937 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1970 with a base station serving the coverage area in which the UE 1930 is currently located. The hardware 1935 of the UE 1930 can also include processing circuitry 1938, which can include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 1930 also includes software 1931 that is stored in the UE 1930 or accessible by the UE 1930 and executable by the processing circuitry 1938. Software 1931 includes client application 1932. Client applications 1932 may be operable to provide services to human or non-human users via UEs 1930, with the support of host computer 1910. In the host computer 1910, the executing host applications 1912 may communicate with the executing client applications 1932 via an OTT connection 1950 that terminates at the UE 1930 and the host computer 1910. In providing services to a user, client application 1932 may receive request data from host application 1912 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 1950 may pass both request data and user data. Client application 1932 may interact with a user to generate user data that it provides.

Note that the host computer 1910, base station 1920, and UE 1930 shown in fig. 19 may be similar or identical to the host computer 1830, one of the base stations 1812a, 1812b, 1812c, and one of the UEs 1891, 1892, respectively, of fig. 18. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be as shown in fig. 19, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of fig. 18.

In fig. 19, OTT connection 1950 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between host computer 1910 and UE 1930 via base station 1920 without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine a route, which can be configured to hide the route from the UE 1930 or a service provider operating the host computer 1910, or both. When OTT connection 1950 is active, the network infrastructure may further make decisions by which it dynamically changes routing (e.g., based on network reconfiguration or load balancing considerations).

A wireless connection 1970 between the UE 1930 and the base station 1920 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1930 using OTT connection 1950, where wireless connection 1970 forms the last segment. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments may improve data rate, latency, and/or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user latency, relaxed limitations on file size, better response, and/or extended battery life.

The measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, time delays, and other factors of one or more embodiment improvements. There may also be optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1950 between the host computer 1910 and the UE 1930 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and/or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1950 may be implemented in the software 1911 and hardware 1915 of the host computer 1910 or in the software 1931 and hardware 1935 of the UE 1930 or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be disposed in or associated with the communication device through which OTT connection 1950 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or by providing values of other physical quantities from which the software 1911, 1931 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of OTT connection 1950 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguration need not affect the base station 1920 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1920. Such procedures and functionality may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling, facilitating measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by host computer 1910. The measurement can be achieved by: the software 1911 and 1931, while it monitors propagation time, errors, etc., uses the OTT connection 1950 to cause the transfer of messages, particularly null messages or "fake" messages.

Fig. 20 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 18 and 19. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 20 will be included in this section. At step 2010, the host computer provides user data. At sub-step 2011 of step 2010 (which may be optional), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. At step 2020, the host computer initiates a transmission to carry user data to the UE. At step 2030 (which may be optional), the base station transmits user data carried in host computer initiated transmissions to the UE according to the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2040 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with a host application executed by a host computer.

Fig. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 18 and 19. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 21 will be included in this section. At 2110 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. At step 2120, the host computer initiates a transmission that carries user data to the UE. According to the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may be through a base station. In step 2130 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

Fig. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 18 and 19. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 22 will be included in this section. In step 2210 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, the UE provides user data in step 2220. In sub-step 2221 of step 2220 (which may be optional), the UE provides the user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 2211 of step 2210 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application that provides user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. The executed client application may further consider user input received from the user when providing the user data. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data is provided, at sub-step 2230 (which may be optional), the UE initiates transmission of the user data to the host computer. At step 2240 of the method, the host computer receives user data transmitted from the UE in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

Fig. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating a method implemented in a communication system in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which may be those described with reference to fig. 18 and 19. To simplify the present disclosure, only the drawing reference to fig. 23 will be included in this section. At step 2310 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of embodiments described throughout this disclosure. At step 2320 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. At step 2330 (which may be optional), the host computer receives user data carried in transmissions initiated by the base station.

Fig. 24 depicts a method 2400 for linear chirp detection by a network node 1360 in accordance with certain embodiments. The method begins at step 2410, when network node 1360 obtains a first number, N, of samples of a signal. In particular embodiments, for example, the network node 1360 may repeatedly detect energy for a sample duration, followed by a silent period in which the energy is not detected. In another particular embodiment, the network node 1360 may select the first number N of samples from a larger set of N × z samples, wherein every z-th sample is selected in selecting the first number N of samples.

At step 2420, the network node 1360 divides the samples into at least a first group and a second group. The first group includes a second number, D, of samples of the signal, and the second group includes a third number, N-D, of samples of the signal.

At step 2430, the network node 1360 performs a cross-correlation between the first and second sets of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal. In a particular embodiment, the set of result samples may represent a change in phase between the first set of samples and the second set of samples after a duration. In another particular embodiment, the duration is D divided by the sampling rate.

In a particular embodiment, performing the cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples may include: multiplying the second number of D samples with the conjugate of the third number of N-D samples.

In another particular embodiment, performing the cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples may include: performing an element-by-element complex multiplication of a second number D of samples with the third number N-D of samples to generate the result sample set. In a particular embodiment, the number of samples in the result set is M, and M equals D. In another particular embodiment, the method may further include padding the result sample set to the nearest second power such that a number of samples in the result sample set is M and M is greater than or equal to D.

At step 2440, the network node 1360 identifies peaks in the frequency domain within the set of result samples.

Based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak, the network node 1360 determines whether a linear chirp is present within the signal.

In particular embodiments, for example, determining whether a linear chirp is present within the signal may comprise: the peak is compared to a threshold. If the peak value is greater than or equal to the threshold, network node 1360 may determine that there is a linear chirp within the signal. Conversely, if the peak value is not greater than or equal to the threshold value, network node 1360 may determine that the linear chirp is not present within the signal.

In another particular embodiment, determining whether a linear chirp is present within the signal may include: a peak to noise floor ratio is calculated and compared to a threshold. If the peak-to-noise-floor ratio is greater than or equal to the threshold, network node 1360 may determine that the signal memory is linearly chirped. Conversely, if the peak-to-noise-floor ratio is not greater than or equal to the threshold, network node 1360 may determine that no linear chirp is present within the signal.

In particular embodiments, the at least one peak value comprises a peak value, an absolute value, or a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

In a particular embodiment, the method may further include performing a DFT or FFT on the set of result samples to find the peak.

In a particular embodiment, network node 1360 may determine that the linear chirp is present within the signal, and the width of the linear chirp may be twice the frequency corresponding to the peak.

In a particular embodiment, network node 1360 may determine that a linear chirp is associated with a radar signal, and network node 1360 may forgo transmitting on a channel associated with the radar signal for a radar duration. Conversely, in another embodiment, network node 1360 may determine that the linear chirp is not present within the signal. In response to determining that the linear chirp is not present within the signal, network node 1360 may transmit on a channel associated with the signal.

Fig. 25 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a virtual device 2500 in a wireless network (e.g., the wireless network shown in fig. 13). The device may be implemented in a wireless device or a network node (e.g., wireless device 1310 or network node 1360 shown in fig. 13). The device 2500 is operable to perform the example method described with reference to fig. 24, as well as any other processes or methods that may be disclosed herein. It should also be understood that the method of fig. 24 need not be performed solely by device 2500. At least some of the operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual device 2500 may include processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, or the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as Read Only Memory (ROM), random access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, and so forth. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for performing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for performing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the obtaining module 2510, the dividing module 2520, the executing module 2530, the identifying module 2540, the determining module 2550, and any other suitable unit of the device 2500 to perform corresponding functions in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to some embodiments, the acquisition module 210 may perform a particular acquisition function of the device 2500. For example, the obtaining module 2510 may obtain a first number N of samples of the signal.

The partitioning module 2520 may perform certain partitioning functions of the device 2500, according to some embodiments. For example, the partitioning module 2520 may partition the samples into at least a first set of samples and a second set of samples.

According to some embodiments, the execution module 2530 may perform certain execution functions of the device 2500. For example, execution module 2530 may perform a cross-correlation between the first set of samples and the second set of samples to generate a resultant set of samples of the signal.

According to some embodiments, the identification module 2540 may perform a specific identification function of the device 2500. For example, the identification module 2540 may identify a peak in the frequency domain within the set of result samples.

According to some embodiments, the determination module 2550 may perform a particular identification function of the device 2500. For example, the determination module 2550 may determine whether a linear chirp is present within the signal based on at least one characteristic associated with the peak.

The term "unit" has a conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid-state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, procedures, calculations, output and/or display functions, etc., such as those described herein.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and devices described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The components of the system and apparatus may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Further, the operations of the systems and devices may be performed using any suitable logic comprising software, hardware, and/or other logic. As used in this document, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The method may include more, fewer, or other steps. Further, the steps may be performed in any suitable order.

While the present disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description of embodiments does not limit the present disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, as defined by the following claims.

At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in the present disclosure. If there is inconsistency between abbreviations, the above usage should be prioritized. If listed multiple times below, the first list should be prioritized over any subsequent list:

1x RTT CDMA 20001 x wireless transmission technology

3GPP third generation partnership project

5G fifth generation

5GS 5G system

5QI 5G QoS identifier

ABS almost blank subframe

AN access network

AN access node

ARQ automatic repeat request

AS access layer

AWGN additive white Gaussian noise

BCCH broadcast control channel

BCH broadcast channel

CA carrier aggregation

CC carrier component

CCCH SDU common control channel SDU

CDMA code division multiplexing access

CGI cell global identifier

CIR channel impulse response

CN core network

CP Cyclic Prefix

CPICH common pilot channel

CPICH Ec/No CPICH energy received per chip divided by power density in the band

Common public radio interface for CPRI

CQI channel quality information

C-RNTI cell RNTI

CSI channel state information

DCCH dedicated control channel

DFS dynamic frequency selection

DFT discrete Fourier transform

DL downlink

DM demodulation

DMRS demodulation reference signals

DRX discontinuous reception

DTX discontinuous transmission

DTCH dedicated traffic channel

DUT device under test

E-CID enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

E-SMLC evolution-service mobile location center

ECGI evolution CGI

eMB enhanced mobile broadband

eNB E-UTRAN NodeB

ePDCCH enhanced physical downlink control channel

EPS evolution grouping system

E-SMLC evolution service mobile positioning center

E-UTRA evolved UTRA

E-UTRAN evolved universal terrestrial radio access network

FDD frequency division duplex

FFS to be further studied

FFT fast Fourier transform

GERAN GSM EDGE radio access network

gNB gNode B (base station in NR; node B supporting connection of NR and NGC)

GNSS global navigation satellite system

GSM global mobile communication system

HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request

HO handover

HSPA high speed packet access

HRPD high rate packet data

LAA permissions to facilitate access

LOS line of sight

LPP LTE positioning protocol

LTE Long term evolution

MAC medium access control

MBMS multimedia broadcast multicast service

MBSFN multimedia broadcast multicast service single frequency network

MBSFN ABS MBSFN almost blank subframes

MDT minimization of drive tests

MIB Master information Block

MME mobility management entity

MSC mobile switching center

NGC next generation core

NPDCCH narrowband physical downlink control channel

NR New air interface

OCNG OFDMA channel noise generator

OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

OFDMA orthogonal frequency division multiple access

OSS operation support system

OTDOA observed time difference of arrival

O & M operation and maintenance

PBCH physical broadcast channel

P-CCPCH primary common control physical channel

PCell primary cell

PCFICH physical control Format indicator channel

Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)

PDP power delay profile

Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)

PGW packet gateway

PHICH physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel

PLMN public land mobile network

PMI precoder matrix indicator

Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)

PRS positioning reference signal

PS packet switching

PSS primary synchronization signal

PUCCH physical uplink control channel

PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel)

RACH random access channel

QAM Quadrature amplitude modulation

RAB radio access bearer

RAC radio access controller

RAN radio access network

RANAP radio Access network application part

RAT radio access technology

RF radio frequency

RLM radio link management

RNC radio network controller

RNTI radio network temporary identifier

RRC radio resource control

RRM radio resource management

RS reference signal

RSCP received signal code power

RSRP reference symbol received power or reference signal received power

RSRQ reference signal or reference symbol received quality

RSSI received signal strength indicator

RSTD reference signal time difference

RWR Release through redirection

SCH synchronous channel

SCell secondary cell

SCS subcarrier spacing

SDU service data unit

SFN system frame number

SGW service gateway

SI system information

SIB system information block

SNR signal-to-noise ratio

S-NSSAI Single-Net slice selection Assistant information

SON self-optimizing network

SS synchronization signal

SSS secondary synchronization signal

TBS transport block size

TDD time division duplex

TDOA time difference of arrival

TOA time of arrival

Ts sample time/duration

TSS three-level synchronization signal

TTI Transmission time Interval

UE user equipment

UL uplink

UMTS universal mobile telecommunications system

USIM universal subscriber identity module

UTDOA uplink time difference of arrival

UTRA universal terrestrial radio access

UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network

WCDMA wideband CDMA

WLAN wide area network