Patent ID: 8780828

Claim:
A detector module operable in a cognitive radio device for determining channel occupancy, comprising: a sensor for sensing incumbent signals at a variable sensing threshold, wherein the sensor generates a first occupancy indication having at least a first state and a second state, wherein the first state of the first occupancy indication indicates that a particular channel includes an incumbent signal having a sensing metric above the variable sensing threshold and the second state of the first occupancy indication indicates that the particular channel does not include the incumbent signal having the sensing metric above the variable sensing threshold; a geo-location unit for generating a second occupancy indication having at least a first state and a second state, said second occupancy indication being based on a location of the detector module with respect to a contour of the particular channel, wherein the first state of the second occupancy indication indicates that the detector module is located inside the contour of the particular channel and the second state of the second occupancy indication indicates that the detector module is located outside the contour of the particular channel; and a decision unit for generating an occupancy decision based on the first occupancy indication and the second occupancy indication, wherein the decision unit is further configured to adaptively change the variable sensing threshold when the first occupancy indication is in its first state and the second occupancy indication is in its second state or when the first occupancy indication is in its second state and the second occupancy indication is in its first state, wherein the occupancy decision is not deterministic under either condition herein for the first and second occupancy indications.