Method and system for channel allocation and bandwidth management in a WiFi device that utilizes full spectrum capture

A WiFi device, which utilizes full spectrum capture, captures signals over a wide spectrum including one or more WiFi frequency bands and extracts one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The AP analyzes the extracted WiFi channels and aggregates a plurality of blocks of WiFi channels to create one or more aggregated WiFi channels based on the analysis. The WiFi frequency bands comprise 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi frequency bands. The AP determines one or more characteristics of the extracted WiFi channels based on the analysis. The determined characteristics comprise noise, interference, fading and blocker information. The AP generates a channel map comprising at least the extracted one or more WiFi channels based on the determined characteristics. The AP dynamically and/or adaptively senses the extracted one or more WiFi channels and updates the determined characteristics of the extracted WiFi channels.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communication. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for channel allocation and bandwidth management in a WiFi device that utilizes full spectrum capture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

WiFi Signals occupy bandwidth in two non-contiguous spectral bands in the 2.4 and 5 GHz regions of the frequency spectrum.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for channel allocation and bandwidth management in a WiFi device that utilizes full spectrum capture, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for channel allocation and bandwidth management in a WiFi access point that utilizes full spectrum capture (FSC). In various aspects of the invention, a WiFi device utilizes full spectrum capture to capture signals over a wide spectrum comprising one or more WiFi frequency bands and extracts one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The blocks of WiFi channels may comprise the extracted one or more WiFi channels and/or other WiFi channels. The WiFi device may be operable to analyze the extracted full spectrum capture WiFi channels and aggregate a plurality of blocks of the one or more WiFi channels to create one or more aggregated WiFi channels based on the analysis. Aggregating also comprises capturing and aggregating WiFi channels from a plurality of non-contiguous WiFi frequency bands and keeping the resulting aggregated WiFI channels as separate logical channels. For example, the single FSC WiFi receiver may be operable to capture a plurality of non-contiguous 100 MHz bands and aggregate them as separate logical WiFi channels. The one or more WiFi frequency bands may comprise, for example, a 2.4 GHz WiFi frequency band and a 5 GHz WiFi frequency band. The various aspects and embodiments of the invention are not limited to the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands and may be utilized with other frequency bands without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the invention. The WiFi device may be operable to determine one or more characteristics of the extracted one or more WiFi channels based on the analysis. The determined characteristics may comprise noise, interference, fading and blocker information. The access point may be operable to generate a channel map comprising at least the extracted one or more WiFi channels based on the determined characteristics.

The WiFi device may be operable to dynamically and/or adaptively sense or monitor the extracted one or more WiFi channels and update the determined characteristics of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map. The WiFi device may be operable to update a status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map based on the updated determined characteristics. The WiFi device may be operable to receive the extracted one or more WiFI channels and channel characteristics information from one or more WiFi communication devices utilizing the one or more WiFI channels, and update the status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map based on the received channel characteristics information. The WiFi device may be operable to assign one or more aggregated WiFi channels based on a status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map. The WiFi device may be operable to assign the one or more aggregated WiFi channels to one or more WiFi enabled communication devices based a class of service (CoS), a quality of service (QoS) and/or a type of traffic associated data being communicated by the one or more WiFi enabled communication devices. WiFi is short for wireless fidelity and refers to any wireless local area network device, which is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard.

FIG. 1Ais a block diagram of an exemplary system that comprises WiFi devices that communicate utilizing full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 1A, there is shown a wireless local area network (WLAN)106, an Internet service provide (ISP) network108, a wireless wide area network (WWAN)110and the Internet116. Also shown are WiFi hotspot networks112and114.FIG. 1Aalso illustrates a plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices comprising tablets107a,111a,113a,115a, Smartphones107b,111b,113b,115band laptops107c,111c,113c,115c.FIG. 1Aalso illustrates a WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106a.

The tablet107a, the Smartphone107band the laptop107cmay be communicatively coupled to the WLAN106. The tablet107a, the Smartphone107band the laptop107cmay be collectively referenced as WiFi enabled communication devices107. Each of the WiFi enabled communication devices107may comprise a suitable logic, circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate utilizing WiFi. In this regard, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices107may comprise a single transceiver device that may be operable to capture signals over a very wide spectrum from different WiFi spectral bands utilizing full spectrum capture.

The tablet111a, the Smartphone111band the laptop111cmay be communicatively coupled to the WWAN110. The tablet111a, the Smartphone111band the laptop111cmay be collectively referenced as WiFi enabled communication devices111. Each of the WiFi enabled communication devices111may comprise a suitable logic, circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate utilizing WiFi. In this regard, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices111may comprise a single transceiver device that may be operable to capture signals over a very wide spectrum from different WiFi spectral bands utilizing full spectrum capture.

The tablet113amay comprise a WiFi hotspot112. The tablet113a, the Smartphone113band the laptop113cmay be communicatively coupled to the WiFi hotspot112. The tablet113a, the Smartphone113band the laptop113cmay be collectively referenced as WiFi enabled communication devices113. Each of the WiFi enabled communication devices113may comprise a suitable logic, circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate utilizing WiFi. In this regard, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices113may comprise a single transceiver device that may be operable to capture signals over a very wide spectrum from different WiFi spectral bands utilizing full spectrum capture. While tablet113ais shown as comprising the WiFi hotspot112, any one of the WiFi enabled communication devices113(or alternatively an access point or a router) may be used to establish a WiFi hotspot112.

The tablet115amay comprise a WiFi hotspot114. The tablet115a, the Smartphone115band the laptop115cmay be communicatively coupled to the WiFi hotspot114. The tablet115a, the Smartphone115band the laptop115cmay be collectively referenced as WiFi enabled communication devices115. Each of the WiFi enabled communication devices115may comprise a suitable logic, circuitry interfaces and/or code that may be operable to communicate utilizing WiFi. In this regard, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices115may comprise a single transceiver device that may be operable to capture signals over a very wide spectrum from different WiFi spectral bands utilizing full spectrum capture. While tablet115ais shown as comprising the WiFi hotspot114, any one of the WiFi enabled communication devices115(or alternatively an access point or a router) may be used to establish the WiFi hotspot114.

The WLAN106may comprise suitable devices and/or interfaces that may be utilized by the plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices107to access the Internet116via the ISP network108. For example, the WLAN106may comprise the WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106athat is operable to provide broadband connectivity to the ISP108and WLAN connectivity to each of the WiFi enabled communication devices107. The broadband connectivity may be provided by, at least in part, cable, satellite and digital subscriber line (DSL) services, for example. The WLAN106may also enable the WiFi enabled communication devices107to communicate with each other.

The WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106amay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide broadband connectivity to the ISP network108and WiFi connectivity to each of the WiFi enabled communication devices107. In this regard, the WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106aenables each of the tablet107a, the Smartphone107band the laptop107cto communicate utilizing WiFi to access the services and/or data on the Internet116via the ISP network108and the WLAN106.

The ISP network108may comprise suitable devices and/or interfaces that may be coupled to the Internet116and provide access to the Internet116for various communication devices. The ISP network108may comprise, for example, a cable service provider network, a satellite service provider network and a DSL service provider network. In this regard, the ISP network108provides access to the Internet116for the WiFi enabled communication devices107. For example, the ISP network108provides access to the services and/or data on the Internet116for each of the tablet107a, the Smartphone107band the laptop107cvia the WLAN106.

The wireless wide area network110may comprise suitable devices and/or interfaces that may be coupled to the Internet116and provide access to the Internet116for various communication devices. The wireless wide area network110may comprise, for example, a cellular service provider (e.g., LTE) and/or a broadband service provider such as, for example, a WiMax (802.16) or WiFi service provider. In this regard, the wireless wide area network110provides access to the Internet116for the WiFi enabled communication devices111. For example, the wireless wide area network110provides access to the services and/or data on the Internet116for each of the tablet111a, the Smartphone111band the laptop111c.

The Internet116may comprise suitable devices and/or interfaces that may comprise a plurality of servers, which store and serve various data and hosts various Internet services. The ISP108may be utilized by the WiFi enabled communication devices107to access the Internet services and/or data via the WLAN106. The WWAN110may be utilized by the WiFi enabled communication devices111to access the Internet services and/or data. The Internet116is also accessible to the WiFi enabled communication devices113via the WiFi hotspot112and the WWAN110. Similarly, Internet116is also accessible to the WiFi enabled communication devices115via the WiFi hotspot114and the WWAN110.

In operation, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices107,111,113and115and the WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106aare operable to utilize a single WiFi radio to capture WiFi signals over a wide spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi frequency bands. Instead of having different radios to handle the different WiFi frequency bands, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices107,111,113and115and WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106aare operable to utilize a single full spectrum capture receiver that is operable to capture a very large bandwidth comprising the different WiFi frequency bands. In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the different WiFi frequency bands may be contiguous WiFi frequency bands or non-contiguous WiFi frequency bands. For example, the WiFi signals may occupy a 2.4 GHz band ranging from approximately 2.4-2.9 GHz and a 5 GHz band ranging from approximately 4.9-5.9 GHz. Accordingly, although the WiFi frequency bands are non-contiguous, the single WiFi receiver is utilized to capture the WiFi signals from the corresponding WiFi frequency bands.

FIG. 1Bis a high-level block diagram of an exemplary full spectrum capture transceiver device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 1B, there is shown a full spectrum capture transceiver device140. The full spectrum capture transceiver device140comprises a plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124n, a baseband processor142, a full spectrum capture receiver and transmitter front end144and an antenna interface146. The full spectrum capture receiver and transmitter front end144comprises a full spectrum capture receiver front end144aand a transmitter front end144b. The full spectrum transceiver device140may be referred to as a WiFi device. Exemplary WiFi devices may comprise a WiFI access point, and/or a WiFi router, an integrated WiFi modem (e.g., cable or DSL), a WiFi hotspot, a WiFi enabled client device, WiFi aircard, and so on.

The plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124nmay comprise a plurality of antennas that are utilized to capture a plurality of wireless signals over a wide portion of the spectrum that is allocated for WiFi. The resulting captured plurality of wireless signals are communicated via the antenna interface146to the full spectrum capture receiver and transmitter front end144for processing. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124nmay comprise a diversity antenna system, such as, for example, plurality of phased array antennas. U.S. application Ser. No. 13/857,776, which was filed on Apr. 5, 2013, discloses a plurality of phased array antennas and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The antenna interface146may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control and/or configure operation of the plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124n.

The full spectrum capture receiver front end144amay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive and process WiFi signals utilizing full spectrum capture. In this regard, the full spectrum capture receiver front end144amay be operable to capture signals over a wide spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi frequency bands and extract WiFI signals for one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The full spectrum capture receiver front end144amay be operable to capture signals over the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz WiFi frequency bands and extract one or more WiFi channels.

The transmitter front end144bmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to transmit WiFi signals in accordance with the one or more WLAN protocols. The transmitter front end144bmay be operable to synthesize signals over a wide spectrum comprising one or more WiFi freq. bands.

The baseband processor142may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide baseband processing of the WiFi signals that are demodulated by the full spectrum capture receiver front end144a. The baseband processor142may also be operable to process information for transmission. The processed information may be communicated to the transmitter front end, where it is modulated and transmitted via the one or more the plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124n. The baseband processor142may also be operable to control operation of the full spectrum capture transceiver device140. In this regard the baseband processor142may be operable to control operation of the plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124n, the antenna interface146, and the full spectrum capture receiver front end144aand a transmitter front end144b, which includes the full spectrum capture receiver front end144aand the transmitter front end144b. The baseband processor may be operable to process digitized data for each of the N WiFi channels, which may be handled by the full spectrum capture receiver and transmitter front end144.

In operation, the antenna interface146may be operable to control and/or configure operation of the plurality of antennas124a, . . . ,124nfor capturing the signals over a wide spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi frequency bands.

The full spectrum capture receiver front end144amay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to receive and process WiFi signals utilizing full spectrum capture. In this regard, the full spectrum capture receiver front end144amay be operable to capture signals over a wide spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi frequency bands and extract WIFI signals for one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The full spectrum capture receiver front end144amay be operable to concurrently capture WiFi signals over the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz WiFi frequency bands and extract one or more WiFi channels from the corresponding captured WiFi signals.

The full spectrum capture transceiver device140may be operable to aggregate or bond a plurality of WiFi channels in order to produce a high data rate WiFi channel. In various embodiment of the invention, a single frequency may be assigned or allocated to each WiFi enabled communication device. In this regard, a single FSC WiFi access point may appear as if it were multiple WiFi access points. The client device, namely, the WiFi enabled communication device, does not need to be modified to benefit from this increased capacity. There may be instances when both the client device and the AP are FSC enabled and are operable to bond a plurality of channels and transmit on the bonded channels. In this regard, transmission may occur in a duty cycle mode utilizing burst mode and sleep mode to optimize power consumption. The FSC WiFi devices may transmit bursts then go to sleep between bursts.

In an exemplary embodiment, a WiFi enabled communication device that is a client device, needs to know the transmit pattern/times of the WiFi AP. The client device is operable to notify the AP that it has data to transmit. The notification may occur in an acknowledgement (ACK) packet. The AP and the client device may be operable to agree on a transmit schedule. In this regard, the AP and client device, namely the WiFi enabled communication device, may agree on when the beacon frames will occur since the beacon frames are utilized for timing. In addition (or alternatively), the AP may transmit beacons at periodic times known to the client device, and the client device synchronizes to receive each beacon frame or some subset of beacon frames (every other, every third, etc.). Alternatively, a beaconless embodiment may be employed. In any event, the AP and client device may operate in accordance with one or more essential or non-essential sections or aspects of the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Aspects of full spectrum capture may be found in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/485,003 filed May 31, 2012, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/336,451 filed on Dec. 23, 2011 and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/607,916 filed Sep. 10, 2012. Each of these applications is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. application Ser. No. 13/356,265, which was filed on Jan. 23, 2012 disclosures operation of an exemplary full spectrum receiver and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 1Cis a diagram of an exemplary full spectrum capture Access point and/or router that is operable to concurrently handle WiFi signals from a plurality of WiFi frequency bands, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 1C, there is shown a full spectrum capture access point (AP) and/or router150. The full spectrum capture AP or router150may comprise a full spectrum capture transceiver module154, a baseband processor module160, a supervisor module162and a routing module170. The full spectrum capture transceiver module154may comprise a full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156, an I/Q RF transmit (Tx) chain module157and a channelizer module158. The baseband processor module160may comprise a plurality of baseband processors160-1, . . . ,160-N. The supervisor module162may comprise a per user spectral map module164, a QoS configuration per user module166, and a processor synchronization module168. The full spectrum capture Access point and/or router also comprises a plurality of antennas152a, . . . ,152n.

The full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156is part of the full spectrum capture transceiver module154and may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to capture signals over a wide spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi frequency bands and demodulate them. In this regard, the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156may comprise a plurality of receive processing chains that may be operable to demodulate different portion of the signals in the captured WiFi frequency bands. The captured spectrum may comprise WiFi signals and non-WiFi signals. The full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156may be operable to discriminate between the WiFi signals and non-WiFi signals and accordingly, filter out the unwanted or undesirable non-WiFi signals. The resulting filtered signals may be digitized and channelized into a corresponding plurality of frequency bins.

The I/Q RF transmit (Tx) chain module157may be part of the full spectrum capture transceiver module154and may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle modulation of signals that are to be transmitted.

The channelizer module158is part of the full spectrum capture transceiver module154and may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle the channelization of signals for a plurality of each of the processing chains in the full spectrum capture transceiver module154. In this regard, during reception, the channelizer module158may be operable to channelize digitized data from each of the corresponding plurality of full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chains in the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156into a plurality of frequency bins. During transmission, the channelizer module158may be operable to channelize digital data for transmission into a plurality of frequency bins for each of the corresponding I/Q RF transmit (Tx) chains in the I/Q RF transmit (Tx) chain module157.

The baseband processor module160may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to process the demodulated baseband WiFi signals that generated from the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156. The baseband processor160may also be operable to process information for transmission. In this regard, the processed information may be communicated to the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156, where it is modulated and transmitted via the one or more plurality of antennas152a, . . . ,152n. The baseband processor160may also be operable to manage and control operation of the full spectrum capture AP or router150. In this regard the baseband processor160may be operable to manage and control operation of the plurality of antennas152a, . . . ,152n, full spectrum capture transceiver module154including the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156, the I/Q RF transmit (Tx) chain module157and the channelizer module158, the supervisor module162and the routing module170. The baseband processor160may be operable to handle the processing of digitized data for each of the N WiFi channels that may be handled by the full spectrum capture transceiver module154. The baseband processor160may be substantially similar to the baseband processor142as illustrated inFIG. 1B.

The supervisor module162may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to manage the operation of the full spectrum capture AP or router150on a per user basis. In this regard, the supervisor module162may be operable to control bandwidth allocation and/or channel management for the full spectrum capture access point (AP) and/or router150. For example, the supervisor module162may be operable to handle the routing and QoS for packets for particular users.

The per user spectral map module164is part of the supervisor module162and may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to create a spectral map comprising the quality of various WiFi channels over the different WiFi frequency bands.

The quality of service (QoS) configuration per user module166is part of the supervisor module162and may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control the quality of service that may be provided to each user.

The processor synchronization module168is part of the supervisor module162and may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle synchronization of sample rate and symbol timing across various WiFi channels and/or WiFi frequency bands that are utilized for communicating information by one or more users or WiFi enabled user devices. Since a common oscillator may be utilized to handle the different WiFi channels and the different WiFi frequency bands, this may simplify the task of dealing with a plurality of different sample rates, frequency offsets and other timing information. The processor synchronization module168may be operable to store frequency and/or timing offset information for a plurality of WiFi enabled user devices and utilize the stored frequency and/or timing offset information to synchronize the WiFi enabled user devices. The processor synchronization module168may be operable to handle the timing for a plurality of WiFi channels that may be aggregated to provide a desired bandwidth for communicating data.

The routing module170may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle the routing of ingress and egress packets that are handled by the full spectrum capture AP or router150.

In operation, the full spectrum capture AP or router150may be operable to capture WiFi signals over a very large bandwidth and flexibly reconfigure the captured bandwidth in order to achieve a desired bandwidth. In this regard, the full spectrum capture AP or router150is operable to capture a plurality of WiFi channels and flexibly aggregate the channel to provide a desired bandwidth. The spectrum resulting from the aggregated channels may be referred to as a virtual spectrum. One or more resulting aggregated WiFi channels may be referred to as high bandwidth WiFi channels. The full spectrum capture AP or router150is operable to capture and aggregate contiguous and non-contiguous blocks of spectrum within a single WiFi frequency band and/or contiguous and non-contiguous blocks of spectrum within a plurality of WiFi frequency bands. For example, the full spectrum capture AP or router150may be operable to capture and aggregate contiguous and non-contiguous blocks of spectrum within the 2.4 GHz band, contiguous and non-contiguous blocks of spectrum within the 5 GHz band or contiguous and non-contiguous blocks of spectrum within the 2.4 GHz band and also within the 5 GHz band. The resulting aggregated spectrum may appear as if it were a contiguous block of spectrum. The aggregated spectrum may be assigned to one or more users or user devices. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an aggregated block of WiFi spectrum may be shared among the mobile communication devices107. In instances where the tablet107amay require more bandwidth than the Smartphone107band the laptop107cmay not require any bandwidth, the WiFi enabled broadband access point and/or router106amay be operable to proportionately allocate the bandwidth for the aggregated block of WiFi spectrum between the tablet107aand the Smartphone107b.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, based on the number of channels that are being utilized to capture and aggregate the blocks of spectrum in the WiFi frequency band, various components in the full spectrum capture AP or router150may operate in a duty cycle mode. For example, a portion of the I/Q RF receive (Rx) chains in the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156, corresponding channelizers in the channelizer module158as well as corresponding baseband processors160-1, . . . ,160-N in the baseband processor module160may be power cycled on when they are needed and power cycled off when they are not needed. The cycling of the power on and off to handle communication of data whenever needed may be referred to as time division power management.

In another embodiment of the invention, a portion of the I/Q RF receive (Rx) chains in the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156, corresponding channelizers in the channelizer module158as well as corresponding baseband processors160-1, . . . ,160-N in the baseband processor module160may be designated as broadcast lanes to handle broadcast traffic. The remaining portion of the I/Q RF receive (Rx) chains in the full spectrum capture I/Q RF receive (Rx) chain module156, corresponding channelizers in the channelizer module158as well as corresponding baseband processors160-1, . . . ,160-N in the baseband processor module160may be designated as common lanes. Based on the type of traffic, the lanes may be duty cycled on or off to handle the transfer of data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the broadcast lanes may be utilized for burst communication of traffic. The full spectrum capture AP or router150may be operable to wakeup from a sleep mode and burst a large amount of data over one or more broadcast lanes. At the end of the data burst, the full spectrum capture AP or router150may be operable to enter a sleep mode. During sleep mode, the full spectrum capture AP or router150may be operable to monitor one or more common lanes. The common lanes may be utilized for management and control functions as well as communicating smaller amounts of data traffic. During sleep mode, the broadcast lanes may be shut down to save power.

FIG. 2is a block diagram of an exemplary diversity WiFi receiver that utilizes full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 2, there is shown a diversity WiFi receiver200. The diversity WiFi receiver200may comprise antennas202a, . . . ,202n, antenna interface204, variable gain amplifiers205a,205b, multiplexers206a,206b, I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208b, local oscillator generator (LOGEN)209, channelizers210a,210b, maximum ratio combiner212and a baseband processor214. The variable gain amplifier205a, the multiplexer206a, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module208a, and the channelizer210amay be operable to handle the processing of signals received via the antennas202a, . . . ,202n. The variable gain amplifier205b, the multiplexer206b, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module208b, and the channelizer210bmay be operable to handle the processing of signals received via the antenna202b.

The antennas202a, . . . ,202nmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or interfaces that are operable to receive WiFi signals. The characteristics of the antennas202(e.g., coil) may be such that they may perform filtering functions and, in those instances, transmit and/or receive filters may not be needed.

The antenna interface204may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to interface with the antennas202a, . . . ,202nwith the corresponding processing paths in the diversity WiFi receiver200.

The variable gain amplifiers205a,205bmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to variably adjust a corresponding gain of the input signal from antenna interface204. For example, the variable gain amplifiers205amay be operable to amplify and/or buffer the signal received via the antennas202a, . . . ,202nfrom the antenna interface204. The variable gain amplifiers205a,205bmay operate in different modes that enable capturing of different size bandwidths. For example, the variable gain amplifiers205a,205bmay be configured to capture narrowband signals or broadband signals.

The multiplexers206a,206bmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to select from among a plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208b, respectively, where n is an integer. For example, the multiplexers206amay be operable to select which of the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains within the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208aare to be utilized for demodulation of the signal output from the multiplexer206a. Similarly, the multiplexers206bmay be operable to select which of the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains within the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208bare to be utilized for demodulation of the signal output from the multiplexer206b. The baseband processor214may be operable to control which of the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the n I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208bmay be selected.

The I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208bmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer206a,206b, respectively. Each of the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208bmay comprise a plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains. The baseband processor214may be operable to select which of the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208bare to be utilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexers206a,206b. For example, the I/Q RF receive processing chain module208amay be utilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer206a, while the I/Q RF receive processing chain module208bmay be utilized to demodulate the signals that are output from the multiplexer206b.

The LOGEN209may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to drive one or more oscillators within the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208b. The LO generator209may comprise, for example, one or more crystals, one or more direct digital synthesizers, and/or one or more phase-locked loops.

The channelizers210a,210bmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to channelize the demodulated signals that are output from the n I/Q RF receive processing chain208a,208b, respectively. The channelizers210a,210bmay be operable to separate each of the corresponding channels into a plurality of frequency bins. The output of the channelizers210a,210bmay be combined by a combiner. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the channelization may be achieved via one or more digital filtering algorithms and/or other digital signal processing algorithms. Each of the channelizers210a,210bmay comprise a plurality of band selection filters that are operable to process the corresponding output from the plurality of n processing RF receive (RX) chains in the n I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208bin order to recover a corresponding one of the a plurality of selected frequency bands or frequency bins. The granularity of the channelizers210a,210bmay be programmable. In this regard, the channelizers210a,210bmay be programmed to handle channels of varying bandwidth. For example, the channelizers210a,210bmay be programmed to handle 20 MHz and/or 40 MHz channels.

The maximum ratio combiner212may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to combine the channels that are output from the channelizers210a,210b. For example, maximum ratio combiner212may be operable to utilize, for example, a coarse FFT processing that employs a low complexity diversity using coarse FFT and subband-wise combining. The coarse FFT processing may optimally combine the signals from a plurality of frequency bins for multiple antennas and accordingly, generate an improved maximum ratio combined (MRC) co-phased signals.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,070, (application Ser. No. 12/247,908), which issued on Aug. 30, 2011, discloses exemplary Low-Complexity Diversity Using Coarse FFT and Coarse Sub-band-wise Combining, and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The maximum ratio combiner212may also be operable to utilize channel stacking and/or band stacking of the plurality of frequency bins. In this regard, in one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of WiFi frequency bands or WiFi frequency sub-bands may be stacked utilizing band stacking. In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of WiFi channels in one or more WiFi frequency bands may be stacked utilizing channel stacking. For example, a plurality of WiFi channels in the 2.4 GHz WiFi band and/or in the 5 GHz WiFi frequency band may be stacked utilizing channel stacking. In other embodiments of the invention, a hybrid or flexible stacking scheme may also be utilized. Additional details regarding stacking may be found in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/762,939, filed on Feb. 8, 2013, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The baseband processor214may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to provide baseband processing on the channels that are generated from the maximum ratio combiner212. The baseband processor214may also be operable to function as a controller for the diversity WiFi receiver200. In this regard, the baseband processor214may be operable to control, configure and/or manage operation of one or more of the antenna interface204, the variable gain amplifiers205a,205b, the multiplexers206a,206b, the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208b, the local oscillator generator (LOGEN)209, the channelizers210a,210b, and the maximum ratio combiner212. The baseband processor214may be operable to control, configure and/or manage operation of one or more of the components in the I/Q RF receive processing chain modules208a,208bsuch as mixers, filters and/or analog to digital controllers (ADCs).

Although the maximum ratio combiner212and the baseband processor214are illustrated as separate entities, the maximum ratio combiner212may be integrated as part of the baseband processor214.

Although only two antennas202a, . . . ,202nare shown for diversity, the invention is not limited in this regard. Accordingly, more than two antennas may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The addition of more than two antennas utilizes additional processing paths in the diversity WiFi receiver200.

Although a diversity WiFi receiver is illustrated, the invention is not limited to the use of the diversity WiFi receiver. Accordingly, various embodiments of the invention may utilize a non-diversity receiver without departing from the spirit and scope of the various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3is a block diagram of an exemplary I/Q RF receive processing chain module of a diversity WiFi receiver that utilizes full spectrum capture, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 3, there is shown an I/Q RF receive processing chain module300. The I/Q RF receive processing chain module300comprises a plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains, where n is an integer. The plurality of n I/Q RF receive processing chains are referenced as3061,3062, . . . ,306n. Each of the n I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nare substantially similar.

The I/Q RF receive processing chains3061comprises an in-phase (I) path and a quadrature (Q) path. The in-phase path of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061comprises a mixer308I, a filter310I, and an analog to digital converter (ADC)312I. The quadrature path of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061comprises a mixer308Q, a filter310Q, and an analog to digital converter (ADC)312Q.

Each of the mixers308I,308Qmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to mix the corresponding signal3021with a local oscillator signal (not shown) to generate the signal309I,309Q, respectively. The mixers308I,308Qare operable to mix the signal3021with a pair of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) local oscillator signals, respectively, to generate the corresponding pair of in-phase and quadrature signals309I,309Q.

In some embodiments of the invention, the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains may be operable to function with similar characteristics, and, in other embodiments of the invention, the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains may be operable to function with different characteristics. For example, the mixers308I,308Qmay be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain3062. Similarly, the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain3062may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain306n, and the mixers308I,308Q, which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain306n.

The phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals (not shown), which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306n, may be controlled via one or more signals from the baseband processor214, which is illustrated inFIG. 2. In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306n, may be controlled by the baseband processor214based on which one or more WiFi channels and/or WiFi frequency bands are to be captured by the diversity WiFi receiver200. The phase and/or frequency of the local oscillator signals, which are input to the mixers in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306n, may be generated from the LOGEN209, which is illustrated inFIG. 2.

The filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to filter out undesired frequencies/channels from the corresponding signals that are output from the oscillators in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306n. For example, each of the filters310I,310Qin the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061may be operable to filter out undesired frequencies from the signals309I,309Qto generate the corresponding analog signals311I,311Q.

In some embodiments of the invention, the filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nmay be operable to function with similar characteristics, and, in other embodiments of the invention, the filters in each of the I/O RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nmay be operable to function with different characteristics. For example, the filters310I,310Q, which are within the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061, may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the filters (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain3062. Similarly, the filters (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain3062may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the mixers (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain306n, and the mixers310I,310Q, which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain306n.

The ADCs in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nmay comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to convert the analog signals from the corresponding signals that are output from the filters in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306n. For example, each of the ADC312I,312Qin the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061may be operable to convert the analog signals311I,311Qto the corresponding digital signals313I,313Q. The ADCs may be preceded by a frequency conversion step and filtering to shift a higher frequency band to a lower frequency or baseband, where it is easier to design wideband data converters.

In some embodiments of the invention, the ADCs in each of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nmay be operable to function with similar characteristics, and, in other embodiments of the invention, the ADCs in each of the I/O RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nmay be operable to function with different characteristics. For example, the ADCs312I,312Q, which are within the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061, may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the ADCs (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain3062. Similarly, the ADCs (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain3062may be configured to operate with a higher bandwidth than the ADCs (not shown), which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain306n, and the ADC310I,310Q, which may be within the I/Q RF receive processing chain306n.

In operation, the diversity WiFi receiver200may be configured to capture a specified number of WiFi channels. In this regard, the baseband processor214may be operable to configure the multiplexer that feeds the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nto select and enable a corresponding number of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306n, which are to be utilized to handle reception and demodulation of the specified number of WiFi channels. In some embodiments of the invention, only those I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nwhich are selected by the processor are powered and any remaining ones of the I/Q RF receive processing chains3061,3062, . . . ,306nthat are not selected are powered down.

FIG. 4Ais a block diagram of an exemplary baseband processor comprising a supervisor module, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 4A, there is shown a baseband processor400. The baseband processor400may comprise a MRC module402, a beamforming module406, a MIMO module408, a demodulator module410, a decoder412, a beamforming module416, a MIMO module418, a modulator module420, a encoder422, a processor424, memory426and a supervisor module428. The baseband processor400may be substantially similar to the baseband processor200, which is illustrated and described with respect toFIG. 2. The MRC module402, the beamforming module406, the MIMO module408, the demodulator module410and the decoder412may comprise a demodulation path413. The beamforming module416, the MIMO module418, the modulator module420, the encoder422may comprise a modulation path423.

The MRC module402may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to channels that are output from the channelizers210a,210b. For example, maximum ratio combiner212may be operable to utilize, for example, a coarse FFT processing that employs a low complexity diversity using coarse FFT and subband-wise combining. The coarse FFT processing may optimally combine the signals from a plurality of frequency bins for multiple antennas and accordingly, generate an improved maximum ratio combined (MRC) co-phased signals. The maximum ratio combiner402may also be operable to utilize channel stacking and/or band stacking for the plurality of frequency bins.

The beamforming module406may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize one or more beamforming algorithms to process signals from the plurality of antennas202a, . . . ,202n.

The MIMO module408may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize one or more MIMO algorithms (e.g., as defined or supported by 802.11n or 802.11ac) to process signals from the beamforming module406for plurality of antennas202a, . . . ,202n.

The demodulator module410may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to demodulate the signals from the MIMO module408.

The decoder412may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to decode the resulting demodulated signals from the demodulator module410.

The encoder422may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to encode data to be transmitted utilizing one or more encoding algorithms.

The modulator module420may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to may be utilized to modulate the resulting encoded output from the encoder422.

The MIMO module418may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize one or more MIMO algorithms to process signals for transmission via the plurality of antennas202a, . . . ,202n.

The beamforming module416may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to utilize one or more beamforming algorithms to process signals from the MIMO module418for transmission via the plurality of antennas202a, . . . ,202n.

The processor424may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control operation of the FSC WiFi receiver200. In this regard, the processor424may be operable to control the components within the FSC receiver module and the baseband processor.

The memory426may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to store operating code, operating data and configuration settings. The memory426may be operable to store information that may be utilized to control operation of one or more of the components in the FSC receiver module and the baseband processor of the FSC WiFi receiver.

The supervisor module426may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control bandwidth allocation and/or channel management for the full spectrum capture access point and/or router150. The supervisor module426is substantially similar to the supervisor module162, which is shown in and described with respect toFIG. 1C. The supervisor module426may comprise, for example, a firmware layer within the baseband processor200and/or a software layer which may run on the processor214. The software layer and the firmware layer may coordinate in order to control and manage various channel and bandwidth related functions. For example, the supervisor module426may be operable to handle various functions that deal with the assessment, interference avoidance, aggregation, allocation and assignment of WiFi channels for the WiFi enabled mobile communication devices. The software layer and the firmware layer are operable to coordinate communication between the WiFi enabled mobile communication devices and one or more WiFI access points. For example, the software layer and the firmware layer may be utilized to notify the WiFi enabled mobile communication devices about what channels to utilize and when to switch to these channels. The software layer and the firmware layer be operable to configure the full spectrum capture receiver front end to monitor and/or scan one or more WiFi frequency bands and evaluate the channel condition for each WiFi for a particular WiFi enabled wireless communication device. Based on the scanning or monitoring, the resulting information may be utilized to control handoff from one WiFi access point to another WiFi access point as the WiFi enabled communication devices moves. Various medium access control (MAC) layer mechanisms comprising synchronization of symbols, frequency and beacon frames and other MAC related timing may also be handled by this layer. Additionally, various physical (PHY) layer mechanisms may also be utilized to control and manage synchronization and timing amongst the one or more WiFI access points and/or one or more WiFI enabled communication devices.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, in order to dynamically allocate and reallocate bandwidth based on user/device needs, each channel may be assigned its own SSID. Accordingly, choosing a channel may be analogous to choosing a WiFi network. Hence, for example, for eight channels at an access point, it would appear as if there are 8 different access points. For example, a user who may be surfing the Internet on a tablet in the kitchen may walk out to the yard. Once in the yard, the tablet may be exposed to interference and the current channel that is being utilized may no longer be good. Accordingly, full spectrum capture and the services provided by the software layer and the physical layer may be operable to seamlessly switch to a better channel. The channels may be synchronous to enable handoff. The full spectrum capture WiFi access point and/or router may be operable to store timing offset information for each of the WiFi enabled communication devices in order to provide multi-channel synchronicity, which enables seamless switching between channels.

Quality of service (QoS) may also be managed across all the channels for one or more WiFi enabled communication devices. There may be different types of QoS. For example, QoS may be based on latency, service tier, type of traffic, class of traffic, class of service, and so on. QoS may be mapped across the frequencies and if a blocker or interference occurs, then WiFi channels/frequencies may be dynamically reassigned to maintain a particular QoS. Synchronicity of the channels may enable fast switching between channels since there is no need to reestablish timing or relocking. Beacon structures may be shared to enable synchronicity. The frame times and symbol times may be interlocked.

For handoff, a prioritized list of channels that is dynamically updated may be maintained. When it becomes necessary to switch channels, the list or the channel map may be accessed in order to determine what frequencies/channels may be utilized. The list or channel map may be kept up-to-date so no additional time may be needed to determine what channel or channel should be switched to.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, there may be instances when one or more of the WiFI enabled communication devices may be able to detect interferers and instances when one or more of the APs may be able to detect interferers. Accordingly, the access points and/or the WiFI enabled communication devices may be operable to share frequency or spectral quality information. A protocol may be utilized to establish beamforming on the channels in order to determine the quality of the MIMO/beamformed channel. In this regard, the protocol may be utilized to control and/or manage operation of the MIMO module418and the beamforming module416. This may be utilized to map the channels in real-time. In this regard, the protocol may be utilized to dynamically update channel information in the channel map.

In operation, the signals received by the full spectrum capture transceiver140are channelized and the MIMO module408is operable to synthesize MIMO channels from all the captured WiFi channels. The architecture of the full spectrum capture transceiver140enables, for example, one of the WiFi channels to be pulled out and all of the bandwidth for those particular WiFi channels may be assigned to a particular WiFi enabled communication device. In other words, in instances where there are a plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices, the full spectrum capture transceiver140may be operable to assign each of the plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices its own dedicated WiFi channel. In this regard, there is no need for a plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices to share a particular WiFi AP channel. The number of WiFi enabled communication devices to which the channels may be assigned may be dependent on or limited by the number of demodulators that are available, for example, in the full spectrum capture transceiver140.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, based on the architecture of the full spectrum capture transceiver140, in order to double the capacity, twice the number of channels may be channelized by the full spectrum capture transceiver140and assigned to the client WiFi enabled communication devices. Accordingly, there is no need to modify the architecture of the client WiFi enabled communication devices. In other words, only the access point/router needs to be modified. The full spectrum capture transceiver140provides a flexible and scalable architecture to increase capacity without having to modify the WiFi enabled communication devices or having to add complexity to the Access point and/or router.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, certain traffic may be assigned to certain channels based on various criteria. For example, a user of a client WiFi enabled communication device that is surfing the Web may be assigned to one channel, and another user of a client WiFi enabled communication device that may be a watching HD video content may be assigned to another channel, and so on. Different bandwidth channels may be assigned to different client WiFi enabled communication devices based on bandwidth requirements. In conventional WiFi APs, in order for a user to get dedicated WiFi channels, that user would have to upgrade the AP to an 802.11ac compliant WiFi AP. However, the full spectrum capture transceiver140is operable to provide dedicated channel usage and channels may be assigned based on the type of traffic or class of traffic that is being handled. In effect, the full spectrum capture transceiver140is operable to provide 802.11 ac capabilities without the need to actually utilize an 802.11ac communication device. The full spectrum capture transceiver140allows adaptive and dynamic sensing of the channels to determine which ones are being utilized or are unusable or impaired due to fading, interference or noise, and those channels can be avoided or marked as bad. Those channels that are usable or are not impaired and may therefore be selected and allocated for use. Accordingly, the full spectrum capture transceiver140may be referred to as a WiFi Turbocharger.

One major advantage of utilizing full spectrum capture with WiFi is that only the APs need to be upgraded and not the client WiFi enabled communication mobile devices. This is a win situation for consumers in that they do not need to upgrade their WiFi enabled laptops or other client WiFi enabled communication devices to take full advantage of the various features and functions provided by FSC with WiFi. Accordingly, network providers may upgrade the network infrastructure without having to worry about end-users upgrading their WiFi enabled communication devices.

The use of multiple WiFi channels by the full spectrum capture transceiver140may provide power savings. Duty cycling across a plurality of WiFi channels may provide power savings as opposed to sending a significant amount of data across a single WiFi channel. The full spectrum capture transceiver140may be operable to transmit data in a burst mode, after which, the full spectrum capture transceiver140goes to sleep. The sleep and wake modes may be dependent on, for example, WiFi beacon timing. The WiFi enabled communication devices may burst data, for example, in a round-robin time division manner across a plurality of WiFi channels assigned by the full spectrum capture transceiver140. The full spectrum capture transceiver140may configure and assign multiple channels and the WiFi enabled communication devices may be operable to burst data across the assigned WiFi channels in a synchronous manner. The WiFi receivers may be shut down or enter a low power mode in instances when the WiFi transmitter is not bursting data or when the WiFi receivers may be consuming content that was previously received in a burst. In one example, a WiFi enabled communication device's transceiver circuit may enter a low power mode when it is not communicating video and the device's transceiver circuit may enter a sleep mode when it is consuming received content. In another example, the WiFi enabled communication device may receive 2 seconds worth of video and send acknowledgements and then shut down the RF front-end circuits in the FSC WiFi receiver when the FSC WiFi receiver is consuming the 2 seconds worth of video.

FIG. 4Bis a high-level block diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and firmware layers in a full spectrum capture WiFi device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 4B, there is shown a baseband processor452and a software layer462. The baseband processor452may comprise hardware modules454, processor456, memory458and firmware layer460. The baseband processor452may be substantially similar to the baseband processor400, which is shown and described with respect toFIG. 4A.

The hardware modules454may comprise the MRC402and the components in the demodulation path413, which may comprise the MRC module402, the beamforming module406, the MIMO module408, the demodulator module410and the decoder412. The hardware modules454may also comprise the components in the demodulation path413, which may comprise the beamforming module416, the MIMO module418, the modulator module420and the encoder422.

The processor456and the memory458may be substantially similar to the processor424and the memory426, respectively, which are shown in and described with respect toFIG. 4A. The memory458may be operable to store operating code, configuration information and/or data for one or more applications, functions and/or algorithms. A channel map and/or one or more channel lists may be stored in the memory458.

The firmware layer460may comprise code that may be operable to control operation of one or more components in the full spectrum capture WiFi device. In this regard, the firmware layer460may be operable to control operation of one or more components in the baseband processor400and the full spectrum transceiver front module154. The firmware layer460may be operable to communicate with the software layer462. The supervisor module428may be part of the firmware layer460.

The software layer462may comprise suitable logic, interfaces and/or code that may be operable communicate with the firmware layer460via one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) and/or drivers. In this regard, the software layer462may be operable to control operation of one or more of the hardware modules454in the full spectrum capture WiFi device via the APIs and/or drivers. The software layer462may comprise one or more applications, functions and/or algorithms, which may be execute by the processor456. The operating code and/or data for the one or more applications, functions and/or algorithms may be stored in the memory458. The supervisor module428may be part of the software layer462.

In operation, the firmware layer460and the software layer462may be operable to control the full spectrum capture operations for the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device, which may comprise controlling capturing of signals over a wide spectrum comprising one or more WiFi frequency bands. The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to run an analysis on the captured spectrum and may extract one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The analysis may determine one or more characteristics of the extracted WiFi channels. Based on the determined characteristics, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may aggregate a plurality of blocks of the one or more WiFi channels to create one or more aggregated WiFi channels. The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to generate a channel map of the extracted WiFi channels based on the determined characteristics, which may comprise, for example, noise, interference, fading and/or blocker information. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to acquire current and/or past channel characteristics information from one or more WiFi enabled communication devices that have utilized the WiFi channels. This acquired information may be aggregated with other channel information and may be utilized to update the status of the WiFI channels in the channel map.

The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to configure the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device to utilize full spectrum capture to periodically or aperiodically monitor and/or scan the entire WiFi spectrum and update one or more channels maps. The channel map of the extracted WiFi channels may be periodically or aperiodically updated based on the determined WiFi channel characteristics. The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to update the status of the WiFi channel in the channel map and accordingly mark which ones of the WiFi channels may be good or bad.

The channel information in the channel map may be utilized to control handoff of the WiFi enabled communication devices from one WiFi access point to another WiFi access point. The channel information in the channel map may also be utilized to configure one or more lanes or physical channels in the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device to take advantage of the captured spectrum in order to accommodate or facilitate QoS, various types and classes of traffics and so on. In some embodiments of the invention, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to assign one or more lanes as a common lane for handling certain kinds of traffic and one or more lanes as dedicated or broadcast lanes for handling certain kinds of traffic. The information in the channel map may be utilized to prioritize and/or rank channels base on various characteristics such as availability, noise, interference, fading and blocker information as well as other characteristics. Exemplary parameters that may be utilized to specify the characteristics for a channel may comprise, SNR, SINR, CINR, signal strength indicator (SSI), packet rate, bit error rate and so on. The WiFi device may comprise, for example, an WiFI access point, a WiFi router, an integrated WiFi modem (e.g., cable or DSL), a WiFi hotspot, a WiFi enabled client device, and so on.

The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may also be operable to aggregate and assign one or more of the aggregated WiFi channels to one or more WiFi enabled communication devices based on a status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map. The assignment of the one or more aggregated WiFi channels to one or more WiFi enabled communication devices may be based a class of service (CoS), a quality of service (QoS) and/or a type of traffic associated data the is to be communicated by the one or more WiFi enabled communication devices. In some instances, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may assign an aggregated channel to a first WiFi enabled communication device and if there is excess bandwidth remaining, the remaining excess bandwidth may be assigned to as second WiFi enabled communication device.

The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may also be operable to control power management in the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device. For example, based on the channel analysis, channel monitoring, and/or on the channel information acquired from one or more of the WiFi enabled communication devices, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable to disable or power down, or place in a sleep mode or low power mode, various components within the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150. For example, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may determine that data may be bursted over one or more high bandwidth channels rather than utilizing several channels to communicate the data. In this regard, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may configure one or more lanes for bursting traffic and turn off other circuits within the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device that are not being utilized. The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may also be operable to utilize duty cycling of communication within the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device in order to save power. The firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may also be operable to shutdown broadcast lanes when they are not being utilized, and configure the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device to monitor only the common lanes.

FIG. 4Cis a diagram that illustrates snapshots of an exemplary per-user channel map at different time instances, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 4C, there is shown a per user channel map at time t1, which is referenced as480and a per user channel map at time t2, which is referenced as482, where t2is greater than t1. Both the per user channel map at time t1480, and the per user channel map at time t2482illustrates the status of the channel1through channel n for devices1through device m.

For device1, in the per user channel map at time t1480, the channels1,23,6,7and9are marked as good and channels4and5are marked as bad. For device1, in the per user channel map at time t2482, the channels1,23,5,6,7and9are marked as good and channels4is marked as bad. Accordingly, over time, channel4remains bad and channel5has improved from bad to good for device1.

For device2, in the per user channel map at time t1480, all the channels are marked as good. For device2, in the per user channel map at time t2482, the channels1,23,5,6,7and9are marked as good and channel4is marked as bad. Accordingly, over time, channel4remains bad. For device1and device2, the status of channel4is bad. This may possibly indicate a problem with channel4in the proximity of where device1is located and the proximity of where device2is located since device m has a status of good for channel4at time instances t1480and t2482.

For device m, in the per user channel map at time t1480, the channels1,23,4,5,6,7and9are marked as good and channel8is marked as bad. For device m, in the per user channel map at time t2482, the channels1,23,4,5,6,7and9are marked as good and channel8is marked as bad. Accordingly, over time, channel8remains bad for device m. For device1and device2, the status of channel8is good. This may possibly indicate a problem with channel8in the proximity of where the device m is located since device1and device2has a status of good for channel8at time instances t1and t2.

Based on the information in the per user channel map at time t1480and the per user channel map at time t2482, the firmware layer460and/or the software layer462may be operable manage and/or control bandwidth, channels and/or power for the full spectrum capture WiFi AP and/or router150device.

FIG. 5is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for receiving and processing WiFi signals utilizing a full spectrum capture WiFi device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 5, there is shown exemplary steps502through510. In step502, an FSC WiFi access point is configured to capture spectrum in one or more WiFi frequency bands. In step504, the FSC WIFI access point captures the spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi channels. In step506, the WiFi access point discriminates between the WiFi signals and non-WiFi signals in the captured spectrum and discard non-WiFi signals. In step508, the FSC WiFi access point is operable to aggregate a plurality of the WiFi channels, which correspond to the WiFi signals, and/or one or more other WiFi channels to generate an aggregated WiFi channel. In step510, the FSC WiFi access point may be operable to assign one or more users to at least a portion of the aggregated WiFi channel.

FIG. 6is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for receiving and processing WiFi signals utilizing a full spectrum capture WiFi device (e.g. an access point), in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 6, there is shown exemplary steps604through612. In step604, a FSC WIFI access point captures the spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi channels. In step606, the WiFi access point filters the captured spectrum and keeps the WiFi signals and discards the non-WiFi signals. In step608, the FSC WiFi access point is operable to aggregate a plurality of the WiFi channels corresponding to the WiFi signals to generate plurality of aggregated WiFi channels. In step610, the FSC WiFi access point may be operable to assign each of the plurality of aggregated WiFi channels as a dedicated WiFi channel to a corresponding one of a plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices. In step612, FSC WiFi access point may be operable to Burst data to each of the plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices over their corresponding dedicated WiFi channel.

While the discussion with respect toFIG. 5andFIG. 6specifically reference an access point, the functionality described can be employed by any WiFi enabled communication device (such as, for example, a client device providing WiFi connectivity to other client devices).

FIG. 7is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for receiving and processing WiFi signals utilizing a full spectrum capture WiFi device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 7, there is shown exemplary steps702through714. In step702, the baseband processor configures the FSC WiFi receiver to capture spectrum in or more WiFi frequency bands. In step704, the FSC WiFi receiver captures spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi channels. In step706, FSC WiFi receiver filters captures spectrum and discards non-WiFi signals and keeps WiFi signals. In step708, the baseband processor combines or bonds a plurality of the WiFi channels corresponding to the WiFi signals to generate a plurality of aggregated WiFi channels. In step710, the baseband processor assigns each of a plurality of WiFi enabled communication devices to dedicated ones of the plurality of aggregated WiFi channels. In step712, each of the WiFi enabled communication devices is operable to communicate via its assigned dedicated aggregated WiFi channel. In step714, the router module handles routing of traffic for the WiFi enabled communication devices.

FIG. 8is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for receiving and processing WiFi signals utilizing a full spectrum capture WiFi device, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 8, there is shown exemplary steps802through812. In step802, the supervisor module may be operable to configure components in the FSC WiFi device to capture spectrum in one or more WiFi frequency bands. In step804, the FSC WiFi device captures spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi channels. In step806, the supervisor module may analyze the channels and generate and/or update a WiFi channel map based on the analysis. In step808, the supervisor module may acquire channel information from one or more WiFi enabled communication devices. In step810, the supervisor may aggregate the acquired channel information with information that the FSC WiFi device already has for the channels and update the WiFi channel map. In step812, the supervisor may control assignment of channel, management of bandwidth and/or management of power based on information in the channel map.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, a single FSC WiFi receiver140is operable to utilize full spectrum capture to capture signals over a wide spectrum comprising a plurality of WiFi frequency bands, extract one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals and aggregate a plurality of blocks of the WiFi channels to create one or more aggregated WiFi channels. The WiFi frequency bands may comprise a 2.4 GHz WiFi frequency band and a 5 GHz WiFi frequency band. The single FSC WiFi receiver140is operable to aggregate a plurality of blocks of the WiFi channels from contiguous blocks of spectrum and/or non-contiguous blocks of spectrum in one or more of the plurality of WiFi frequency bands, for example, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The single FSC WiFi receiver is operable to filter out one or more non-WiFi channels from the captured signals to leave only the WiFi channels. The single FSC WiFi receiver is operable to assign one or more aggregated WiFi channels to one or more WiFi enabled communication devices. At least a portion of the one or more aggregated WiFi channels may be dynamically assigned to one or more other WiFi enabled communication devices.

The single FSC WiFi receiver140is also operable to dynamically adjust a bandwidth of one or more processing lanes in order to handle channels of varying bandwidth. The single FSC WiFi receiver140may also duty cycle operation of one or more processing lanes within the single receiver. A plurality of processing lanes within the single receiver may be assigned as a broadcast lane for handling high bandwidth traffic. One or more processing lanes within the single FSC WiFi receiver140may be assigned as a common lane for handling low bandwidth traffic and/or control traffic.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, a WiFi access point/router150includes a receive radio frequency (RF) front end154and a baseband processor160that controls operation of the receive RF front end154. The RF front end154captures signals over a wide spectrum that includes a plurality of WiFi frequency bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and channelizes one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The baseband processor160combines a plurality of blocks of the WiFi channels to create one or more aggregated WiFi channels. The receive RF front end154may be integrated on a first integrated circuit178and the baseband processor may be integrated on a second integrated circuit177. The first and second integrated circuits178,177may be integrated on a single package176. The RF front end154and the baseband processor160may be integrated on a single integrated circuit.173

The WiFi access point comprises a routing module170that is communicatively coupled to the baseband processor160. The baseband processor160may diversity process the channelized one or more WiFi channels and duty cycle communication traffic across a plurality of the aggregated WiFi channels. The baseband processor160may assign one of the aggregated WiFi channels as a dedicated channel for handling traffic for a WiFi enabled communication device. The baseband processor160may dynamically reassign the assigned one of the aggregated WiFi channels as a dedicated channel for handling traffic for another WiFi enabled communication device.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, a full spectrum capture WiFi device such as the FSC WiFi transceiver140, utilizes full spectrum capture to capture signals over a wide spectrum comprising one or more WiFi frequency bands and extracts one or more WiFi channels from the captured signals. The full spectrum capture WiFi transceiver140may be operable to analyze the extracted full spectrum capture WiFi channels and aggregate a plurality of blocks of WiFi channels to create one or more aggregated WiFi channels based on the analysis. The blocks of WiFi channels may comprise the extracted one or more WiFi channels and/or other WiFi channels. The one or more WiFi frequency bands may comprise a 2.4 GHz WiFi frequency band and a 5 GHz WiFi frequency band. The full spectrum capture WiFi WiFi transceiver140may be operable to determine one or more characteristics of the extracted one or more WiFi channels based on the analysis. The determined characteristics may comprise noise, interference, fading and blocker information. The full spectrum capture WiFi WiFi transceiver140may be operable to generate a channel map comprising at least the extracted one or more WiFi channels based on the determined characteristics. The full spectrum capture WiFi transceiver140may be operable to dynamically and/or adaptively sense the extracted one or more WiFi channels and update the determined characteristics of the extracted one or more WiFi channels.

The full spectrum capture WiFi transceiver140may be operable to update a status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map based on the updated determined characteristics. The full spectrum capture WiFi transceiver140may be operable to receive channel characteristics information from one or more WiFi communication devices utilizing the one or more WiFI channels and update the status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map based on the received channel characteristics information. The full spectrum capture WiFi transceiver140may be operable to assign one or more aggregated WiFi channels based on a status of the extracted one or more WiFi channels in the channel map. The full spectrum capture WiFi transceiver140may be operable to assign the one or more aggregated WiFi channels to one or more WiFi enabled communication devices based a class of service (CoS), a quality of service (QoS) and/or a type of traffic associated data being communicated by the one or more WiFi enabled communication devices.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a computer readable device and/or a non-transitory computer readable medium, and/or a machine readable device and/or a non-transitory machine readable medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for channel allocation and bandwidth management in a WiFi device that utilizes full spectrum capture.