Patent ID: 8311483

Claim:
A method of operating a user equipment comprising a receiver, the method comprising: obtaining information about a set of channels to be sensed in a sensing process, wherein each channel is associated with a respective one of a plurality of radio frequencies; operating the receiver to obtain a radio frequency signal by simultaneously sensing two or more of the channels included in the set of channels; measuring a total power level of the sensed two or more channels; generating a comparison result by comparing the total power level of the sensed two or more channels with a predetermined power level; and controlling the user equipment based on the comparison result, wherein: the information about the set of channels to be sensed is information that defines a contiguous range of frequencies spanning a bandwidth large enough to be associated with two or more channels; operating the receiver to obtain a radio frequency signal by simultaneously sensing two or more of the channels included in the set of channels comprises operating the receiver to obtain a radio frequency signal by simultaneously sensing the contiguous range of frequencies spanning the bandwidth large enough to be associated with the two or more channels; and controlling the user equipment based on the comparison result comprises: if the total power level of the contiguous range of frequencies spanning the bandwidth large enough to be associated with the two or more channels is not less than the predetermined power level, then dividing the contiguous range of frequencies spanning the bandwidth large enough to be associated with the two or more channels into two or more smaller contiguous ranges of frequencies, each spanning a bandwidth large enough to be associated with at least one channel; and sensing whether each of the smaller contiguous ranges of frequencies is associated with a received power level that is less than a respective one of a plurality of lower predetermined power levels.