FREQUENCY HOPPING DESIGN FOR IFDMA, LFDMA AND OFDMA SYSTEMS

Description

BACKGROUND

I. Field

[0001] The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to mitigating interference between user devices in nearby communication sectors by employing frequency hopping in a single carrier FDMA network environment.

II. Background

[0002] Wireless communication systems have become a prevalent means by which a majority of people worldwide has come to communicate. Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful in order to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. The increase in processing power in mobile devices such as cellular telephones has lead to an increase in demands on wireless network transmission systems. Such systems typically are not as easily updated as the cellular devices that communicate there over. As mobile device capabilities expand, it can be difficult to maintain an older wireless network system in a manner that facilitates fully exploiting new and improved wireless device capabilities.

[0003] More particularly, frequency division based techniques typically separate the spectrum into distinct channels by splitting it into uniform chunks of bandwidth, for example, division of the frequency band allocated for wireless communication can be split into 30 channels, each of which can carry a voice conversation or, with digital service, carry digital data. Each channel can be assigned to only one user at a time. one known variant is an orthogonal frequency division technique that effectively partitions the overall system bandwidth into multiple orthogonal subbands. These subbands are also referred to as tones, carriers, subcarriers, bins, and frequency channels. Each subband is associated with a subcarrier that can be modulated with data. With time division based techniques, a band is split time-wise into sequential time slices or time slots. Each user of a channel is provided with a time slice for transmitting and receiving information in a round-robin manner. For example, at any given time t, a user is provided access to the channel for a short burst. Then, access switches to another user who is provided with a short burst of time for transmitting and receiving information. The cycle of "taking turns" continues, and eventually each user is provided with multiple transmission and reception bursts.

[0004] A typical wireless communication network (e.g., employing frequency, time, and code division techniques) includes one or more base stations that provide a coverage area and one or more mobile (e.g., wireless) terminals that can transmit and receive data within the coverage area. A typical base station can simultaneously transmit multiple data streams for broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast services, wherein a data stream is a stream of data that can be of independent reception interest to a mobile terminal. A mobile terminal within the coverage area of that base station can be interested in receiving one, more than one or all the data streams carried by the composite stream. Likewise, a mobile terminal can transmit data to the base station or another mobile terminal. Such communication between base station and mobile terminal or between mobile terminals can be degraded due to channel variations and/or interference power variations. For example, the aforementioned variations can affect base station scheduling, power control and/or rate prediction for one or more mobile terminals.

[0005] In the case of OFDMA-based systems, the particular waveforms and power required to transmit communication signals thereon typically exhibit an undesirably high peak-to-average ratio (PAR), which limits the coverage of OFDMA systems due to the inefficiencies of non-linear power amplifiers. Single carrier FDMA systems can mitigate problems associated with an undesirably high PAR, but are still subject to a variety of limitations that create a need in the art for a system and/or methodology of mitigating interference between mobile devices and/or sectors in such wireless network systems.

[0006] US 5,887,023 describes that a spread spectrum communication system performs communication by multiplexing the forward-links and reverse-links using the different hopping frequencies for transmission and receiving and US 6,584,140 describes that a system utilizes discrete trellis-coded modulation involving frequency hopping individual symbols, along with encoding the phase of a symbol as a frequency offset to the hopped carrier frequency.

[0007] Further arrangements are described in the article: Sorger U; De Broeck I; Schnell M, "Interleaved FDMA-A New Spread-Spectrum Multiple-Access Scheme", 1998 IEEE Int. Conference on Atlanta, GA, USA 7-11 June 1998.

SUMMARY

[0008] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments in order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments, and in intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all embodiments nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0009] According to an aspect, a method of generating single carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) symbols in a wireless communication system, comprising: obtaining (1004, 1204) a first subcarrier set assignment comprising a first set of subcarriers, the first set including a configurable number of subcarriers; generating (1006, 1206) at least one single-carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the first set of subcarriers; obtaining (1004, 1204) a second subcarrier set assignment comprising a second set of subcarriers, the second set of subcarriers being varied from the first set of subcarriers according to a predetermined pattern for facilitating frequency hopping and generating (1006, 1206) at least one other single carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the second set of subcarriers.

[0010] According to another aspect, an apparatus for generating single carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) symbols in a wireless communication system, comprising: means for obtaining (1004, 1204) a first subcarrier set assignment comprising a first set of subcarriers, the first set including a configurable number of subcarriers; means for generating (1006, 1206) at least one single-carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the first set of subcarriers; means for obtaining (1004, 1204) a second subcarrier set assignment comprising a second set of subcarriers, the second set of subcarriers being varied from the first set of subcarriers according to a predetermined pattern for facilitating frequency hopping; and means for generating (1006, 1206) at least one other single carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the second set of subcarriers.

[0011] According to yet another aspect, an apparatus can comprise means for generating at least one single-carrier FDMA symbol, means for assigning a set of subcarriers to transmit the at least one symbole, means for generating at least one other single carrier FDMA symbol, and means for varying subcarrier set assignments, according to a predetermined pattern for transmission of the at least one other single-carrier FDMA symbol. The means for assigning can comprise means for allocating a node in a channel tree to the user device and means for assigning a value to each node in the channel tree and means for reading a path in the channel tree from an allocated user node to a root node to determine a value for nodes in the path that identifies the set of subcarriers to assign to the user device and a number of subcarriers to include in the set. The means for varying subcarrier set assignments can periodically alter values assigned to one or more nodes in the channel tree to vary the value of the path between the allocated user node and the root node. The means for assigning can assign a new set of subcarriers associated with the varied value of the path from the allocated user node to the root node upon variation by the means for varying subcarrier set assignments.

[0012] Yet another aspect relates to a computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for assigning an offset-related entity to a user device and periodically varying the offset for the user device based at least in part on the assigned entity. The computer-readable medium can further comprise instructions for assigning a value to each node of a channel tree, allocating a node to at least one user device to assign a subcarrier set to the at least one user device, and permuting node value according to a pattern to change the subcarrier set assigned to the at least one user device.

[0013] Still anoter aspect relates to a wireless communication device that comprises a memory comprising information corresponding to a plurality of offset assignments for transmission of single-carrier FDMA symbols and a processor, coupled with the memory, the processor configured to vary the offset assignments according to a predetermined pattern based upon the information. The information can correspond to values for nodes of a channel tree, and the nodes can correspond to root nodes and child nodes. Additionally, the channel tree can be a non-binary channel tree wherein each node has one or more child nodes. Moreover, node values can correspond to values generated by reading the channel tree along a path from the node assigned to the user device to the first child node of a root node in the channel tree and evaluating a value for the path. Information related to node values, offsets, assignments, and the like can be stored in a look-up table in the wireless communication device.

[0014] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more embodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the one or more embodiments. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various embodiments may be employed and the described embodiments are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates a binary channel tree that can be employed in conjunction with a single carrier FDMA network to facilitate varying user device offsets in accordance with various aspects.

[0016] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a binary channel tree that facilitates determining an offset for a user in a single carrier FDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with various aspects..

[0017] FIG. 3 is an illustration of a non-binary channel tree wherein user devices are allocated nodes in the tree and each node is assigned a value in accordance with various aspects.

[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates a system that facilitates frequency hopping in a single carrier FDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0019] FIG. 5 is an illustration of a system that facilitates employing a frequency hopping technique in a single carrier FDMA environment, such as an IFDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with various aspects.

[0020] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a system that facilitates employing a frequency hopping technique in a single carrier FDMA environment, such as an LFDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with various aspects.

[0021] FIG. 7 is an illustration of a system that facilitates frequency hopping in a single carrier FDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with various aspects.

[0022] FIG. 8 is an illustration of a system that facilitates frequency hopping technique in an FDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with various aspects.

[0023] FIG. 9 is an illustration of a methodology for generating a signal using an IFDMA protocol, such as can be employed in conjunction with a frequency hopping protocol to improve interference diversity.

[0024] FIG. 10 is an illustration of a methodology for performing frequency hopping in conjunction with an IFDMA modulation protocol in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0025] FIG. 11 illustrates a methodology for generating a signal using an LFDMA protocol, such as can be employed in conjunction with a frequency hopping protocol in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0026] FIG. 12 illustrates a methodology for altering offset assignments for users in an LFDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with one or more aspects.

[0027] FIG. 13 is an illustration of a wireless network environment that can be employed in conjunction with the various systems and methods described herein in accordance with one or more aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident, however, that such embodiment(s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more embodiments.

[0029] As used in this application, the terms "component," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. Also, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal).

[0030] Furthermore, various embodiments are described herein in connection with a subscriber station. A subscriber station can also be called a system, a subscriber unit, mobile station, mobile, remote station, access point, base station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, a user device, or user equipment. A subscriber station may be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem.

[0031] Moreover, various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips...), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)...), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive...), and integrated circuits such as read only memories, programmable read only memories, and electrically erasable programmable read only memories.

[0032] In order to facilitate frequency hopping, a single carrier FDMA modulation technique can be employed in a wireless network. For example, interleaved frequency division multiplexing (IFDM) can be employed to retain the benefits associated with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) protocols. In addition, in some cases, single carrier FDMA modulation techniques may have a lower peak-to-average (PAR) ratio problem compared with OFDM. Similarly, according to a related aspect, localized frequency division multiplexing (LFDM) can be employed, which can also exhibit a lower PAR while retaining other benefits associated with OFDM protocols. LFDMA is also known as "narrow-band" FDMA, Classical FDMA, or just FDMA, and is a single carrier FDMA protocol.

[0033] OFDMA modulation symbols are in the frequency domain, and therefore the time domain signal obtained by performing a fast Fourier technique on the modulation symbol sequence can have an undesirably high PAR. By comparison, IFDMA modulation symbols are in the time domain, and therefore IFDMA modulation techniques do not exhibit the high PARs typically associated with OFDMA techniques. Thus, IFDMA (and similarly LFDMA) modulation protocols reduce undesirably high PAR and problems associated therewith.

[0034] In an IFDMA system, a total of N_FFT subcarriers can be utilized, which are divided among a plurality of users. Each user can be allocated N carriers (where N can vary from user to user), as well as a user-specific subcarrier offset, U. Thus, a user with offset U occupies carriers {U, U+N_FFT/N, U+2N_FFT/N ... U+(N-1)N_FFT/N}. For example, in an IFDMA system a total of N_FFT subcarriers can be divided among several users. Each user can be allocated N carriers (where N can vary from user device to user device), as well as a user device-specific subcarrier offset, U, where 0 ≤ U < N_FFT/N. When a user device transmits N modulation symbols [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1], the user device constructs an IFDMA symbol by performing the following acts:

(1) Repeating the N symbols to obtain a total of N_FFT symbols [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1 d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1 ... d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1]

(2) Multiplying the k^th symbol in the sequence by e^{-j kΦU} where Φ = 2π/ N_FFT [d₀ d₁e^-jΦU d₂e^-2jΦU ... d_N-1 e^-(N-1)jΦU ... d_N-2e-^(N_FFT^-2)jΦU d_N-1e-^(N_FFT^-1)jΦU]

(3) Optionally copying the last N_CP symbols of the above symbol to the beginning (cyclic prefix) [... d_N-2e-^(N_FFT^-2)jΦU d_N-1e-^(N_FFT^-1)jΦU ][d₀ d₁e^-jΦU ... d_N-1 e^-(N-1)jΦU _... d_N-1e-^(N_FFT^-1)jΦU]

[0035] A resulting IFDMA symbol can then be converted to an analog symbol modulated using a carrier and transmitted in a manner similar to that in which an OFDMA symbol is transmitted. The foregoing is illustrative of IFDMA symbol generation on both a reverse link and a forward link. Additionally, since the IFDMA signal is periodic in the time domain (with the exception of the phase, e^{-j k ΦU}), the signal can occupy a "comb" in frequency (e.g., only a set of N equally spaced subcarriers have a non-zero power, ...). More specifically, a user with offset U occupies the set of subcarriers {U, U+N_FFT/N, U+2N_FFT/N ... U+(N-1)N_FFT/N}, wherein the total set of subcarriers is indexed from 0 to N_FFT-1, such that user device orthogonality can be maintained because user devices with different offsets occupy different subcarrier sets.

[0036] Similarly, in an LFDMA system, a user can be allocated a number N of contiguous subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers that are consecutive in the frequency domain, ...). For example, a total of N_FFT subcarriers can exist, which can be divided among several users. Each user can be allocated a user-specific subcarrier offset, U, such that a user with offset U occupies carriers [U, U+1, ..., U+N-1]. a user can be allocated a number N of contiguous subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers that are consecutive in the frequency domain, ...). Each user can be allocated N contiguous carriers (where N can vary from user device to user device), as well as a user-specific subcarrier offset, U, where 0 ≤ U < N_FFT-N, and where the total set of subcarriers is indexed from 0 to N_FFT-1. A user that transmits a set of N modulation symbols [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1] can generate a transmission signal by performing the following acts:

(1) Taking an N-point fast Fourier transform (FFT) of [do d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1] to obtain [D₀ D₁ D₂ ... D_N-1]

(2) Placing [D₀ D₁ D₂ ... D_N-1] in the allocated sub-carriers [U, U+1, ... U+N-1].

(3) Taking an N_FFT-point inverse fast Fourier transform to obtain N_FFT time domain samples.

(4) Optionally copying the last N_CP time domain samples to the beginning of the symbol as a cyclic prefix to obtain the LFDMA time domain symbol.

[0037] Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a binary channel tree 100 that can be employed in conjunction with a single carrier FDMA network to facilitate varying user device offsets in accordance with various aspects. The tree 100 comprises a plurality of nodes, each of which can be associated with a user device. For example, a first node 102 is associated with user A, and nodes 104 and 106 are assigned to users B and C, respectively. Various embodiments described herein facilitate changing user offsets, e.g. hopping sets of offset subcarriers. User offset variations can be performed using symbol rate hopping techniques (e.g., varied upon transmission of each symbol), block hopping techniques (e.g., varied upon transmission of a plurality of symbols), and the like. Additionally, a lookup table comprising information related to offsets, subcarrier sets, etc., can be employed to facilitate assigning and varying assignment of offsets to users. Offset assignment variation can be performed according to a predefined pattern, such as upon transmission of a single symbol, a predetermined number of symbols, a variable number of symbols, a fixed or variable time period, a fixed or variable number of frames, etc.

[0038] When employing an IFDMA protocol or an LFDMA protocol, in a system with N_FFT = 2ⁿ assignable subcarriers, a particular user may be allotted N=2^m subcarriers (where m is less than or equal to n). Additionally, different users can have different values of m. The binary tree 100 can facilitate assigning user offsets despite the variance of m between users. For instance, each user can be assigned a node in the tree 100 as described above. A tree-reading algorithm can be employed to compute an offset for a given user. Embodiments of such algorithms and approaches are discussed with regard to Fig. 2.

[0039] Additionally, in conjunction with various aspects set forth herein, offset assignment can be a function of a permutation protocol by which a predetermined set of offsets is permuted through nodes in a channel tree, and thus permuted through a set of user devices, allocated to nodes in the channel tree. For instance, nodes in channel tree 100 can be assigned a first set of offsets, and such offset assignments can be varied according to a predetermined pattern (e.g., every frame, every 2 frames, every symbol or group thereof, every one or more nanoseconds, etc.). Additionally, permutation protocols, predetermined offset sets, schedules, and the like can be unique to individual sectors and/or regions in a wireless network.

[0040] Fig. 2 is an illustration of a binary channel tree 200 that facilitates determining an offset for a user in a single carrier FDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with various aspects. Tree 200 comprises a plurality of nodes, each of which has either a "0" value or "1" value. Nodes can be assigned to users of the wireless network, and offsets for each user can be evaluated by reading tree 200 in either an upward or downward direction.

[0041] For example, when employing an IFDMA protocol in conjunction with the wireless network, a "0" and a "1" are assigned to each child of a parent node. The assignment can vary from time to time and from sector to sector, in order to facilitate frequency hopping and interference diversity. The offset, U, of each user of the IFDMA-based network is the sequence read upward from the user-assigned node, wherein the user-assigned node represents the most significant bit in the offset U, and the root node's child node represents the least significant bit in the offset U. Thus, user A has offset 1, because it is assigned the first child node of the root node. User B has offset 0, as the most significant bit in user B's offset is a "0" and is read upward through the "0" child node of the root node, for an overall value of "00." User C has offset 2, as user C is assigned a "1" node that is read upward through the "0" child node of the root node for a total value of 10 binary, or 2 decimal. Information related to offsets associated with user-assigned nodes can be retrieved from a lookup table comprising such information upon assignment of a particular offset to a user.

[0042] Additionally, user device node allocation can be related to a number of subcarriers required by the particular user device. For instance, user A is allocated to a first child node in tree 200 such that there are two bits in user A's lineage (e.g., user A's allocated child node and the root node). In a scenario in which N_FFT is 512 (e.g. a 9-bit-deep tree), user A can have a subcarrier requirement of at least N_FFT/2. Users B and C have a lineage three bits long, including the root node, and so are positioned on a third binary bit that represents a decimal value of 4. Thus, users B and C's offsets can comprise a number of subcarriers equal to N_FFT/4, and so on. It will be appreciated that the number of bits, nodes, users, total subcarriers, and the like described herein are illustrative in nature and should not be interpreted in a limiting sense and may also vary by the system design parameters. Rather, the various embodiments, aspects, systems, methods, techniques, etc., set forth herein can employ any suitable number of the above in order to achieve interference diversity and frequency hopping.

[0043] According to a related example, when employing an LFDMA protocol, the binary tree 200 can be read from top to bottom to determine a user's offset. Node assignments of "0" and "1" can vary with time and between sectors in a wireless network. Thus, an offset for a user is an n-bit quantity that can be padded with 0s for the least significant bits if necessary. When reading tree 200 in a downward direction, user A has offset 2 (e.g., 10 binary), user B has offset 0 (e.g., 00 binary), and user C has offset 1 (e.g., 01 binary). Information related to such offsets can be gleaned from a lookup table and can correspond to, in this example, N_FFT/2, 0, and N_FFT/4, respectively. Numbers of subcarriers associated with respective offsets can then be assigned to users.

[0044] It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that although various embodiments described herein relate to IFDMA and LFDMA protocols, such embodiments can be employed in conjunction with any suitable OFDMA system. Additionally, the binary value assignments of some nodes and their ancestors can be performed on a sector-independent basis, such that a user allocated to such a node can retain the same offset regardless of which sector the user is in. In this manner, frequency reuse can be supported, for example when sectors do not use such nodes, while sectors that do employ such nodes can allocate weaker users thereto.

[0045] Fig. 3 is an illustration of a non-binary channel tree 300 wherein user devices are allocated nodes in the tree and each node is assigned a value in accordance with various aspects. Non-binary channel tree 300 is similar to the binary assignment tree described with regard to Fig. 2. However, node assignments within channel tree 300 are not limited to binary values of 1 or 0, but rather can comprise any non-negative integer. For example, for a node having four children, the child nodes can be assigned values 0-3, (e.g., binary values 00, 01, 10, and 11, integer values of 0, 1, 2, and 3, etc.), while a parent node with only a pair of child nodes can have its children assigned values of 0 and 1, as set forth with regard to the binary channel tree of Fig. 2.

[0046] In non-binary channel tree 300, a number of subcarriers corresponding to a particular node can depend not only on the distance of the node to the root node, but also on the number of sibling nodes of each ancestor of the particular node. For instance, node A can have N_FFT/16 carriers because node A's parent is one of four siblings, and therefore receives N_FFT/4 subcarriers, which are then further divided into fourths among the four children of node A's parent (e.g., node A and its three siblings), which results in an assignment to node A of 1/4 of N_FFT/4, or N_FFT/16 subcarriers. Node B can be assigned N_FFT/8 subcarriers because it has one sibling and its parent is one of four siblings. Thus, node B can be assigned 1/2 of its parent's N_FFT/4 subcarrier assignment, or N_FFT/8 subcarriers. Nodes C and D, being nodes in a set of four siblings directly pendant from the root node of non-binary channel tree 300, can each receive a subcarrier assignment equal to N_FFT/4. Information related to nodal relationships, offsets and/or subcarrier sets, and the like, can be stored in a lookup table that can be traversed in order to determine a user's assigned offset. It will be appreciated that the non-binary channel tree can be employed to facilitate assigning either or both of IFDMA. and LFDMA subcarrier sets.

[0047] When performing offset computation in conjunction with an IFDMA. communication environment, offsets can be computed by reading channel tree 300 from bottom to top. For instance, node A has an offset of 1101 when read through its parent toward the root node, and can be assigned offset 13 comprising N_FFT/16 subcarriers. Node D can receive offset 2 (e.g., 10 binary). It will be noted that nodes B and C are depicted as having offset values of 3 (e.g., 011, and 11, respectively). In such a scenario, both nodes can be assigned offset 3, and will not be assigned such offset simultaneously, but rather alternately in order to mitigate conflict.

[0048] In an LFDMA communication environment, offsets can be computed by reading the non-binary channel tree 300 from top to bottom (e.g., from a root node down through to a particular child node). A 0-padding technique can be employed to pad the offset values read from the root node to the child node based at least in part on a value of N_FFT. For example, if N_FFT = 512, then a total of 9 bits are required to represent N_FFT as a binary number. 0-padding can be employed to pad each offset read with zeros until the offset is a 9-bit value. For example, A has an offset of 0111 when read from the root node to node A, which can be padded with 5 zeros to make A's offset a 9-bit number, 0111-00000 = 224. Thus node A can be assigned offset 224, which, according to the example, will comprise 512/16, or 32, carriers. Similarly, node B has offset 011-000000 = 192, node C has offset 11-0000000 = 384, and node D has offset 10-0000000 = 256. Described more generally, node A has an offset equal to 9N_FFT/16, node B is assigned offset to 3N_FFT/8, node C is assigned offset to 3N_FFT/4, and node D is assigned offset to N_FFT/2.

[0049] It will be appreciated that non-binary channel tree 300 can employ a set of predetermined offsets that can be permuted among user devices and/or nodes as described above with regard to Figure 1. Additionally, changing the offsets can be performed according to a predetermined pattern, (e.g., every frame, every symbol, upon expiration of a time period, etc.) and such schedules can be sector-specific.

[0050] With respect to Figs. 1-3, the assignments and hopping sequences of the nodes may be transmitted from a base station to a user device in initialization over time. This may be updated as appropriate. For example, assignments can be determined by reading the look-up tables at the user device for transmission to the base station, uplink, and for reception at the user device, downlink, based upon instructions transmitted from the base station. The instructions may, according to an aspect, comprise an identifier of a sequence, which may be repeated depending on the length of sequence that is stored at the user device. In other aspects, the node values may be updated regularly, based upon control channel messages from the base station.

[0051] In some embodiments, the channel assignments and single carrier transmissions may only apply to the uplink while the downlink transmissions use one or more OFDM schemes. In these cases, one or more OFDM type access schemes may be utilized on the downlink that are independent from the schemes utilized on the uplink.

[0052] Fig. 4 illustrates a system 400 that facilitates frequency hopping in a single carrier FDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with one or more aspects. A frequency hopping component 402 is operatively associated with a base station 408 (e.g., an access point). Wireless network 404 can comprise one or more base stations 408 in one or more sectors and/or regions comprising a plurality of sectors, etc., as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. User devices 406 can comprise, without being limited to, cellular phones, smartphones, PDAs, laptop computers, personal computers, and/or any other suitable device with which a user can communicate over wireless network 404. A separate frequency hopping component 410 resides at the user device 406 and can vary the offsets according to instructions from frequency hopping component 402.

[0053] Frequency hopping component 402 can vary node value assignments for one or more user devices 406 allocated to nodes in a channel tree, such as the trees described with regard to Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Node values (e.g., non-binary, binary, etc.) can be assigned to nodes in the channel tree and the tree can be traversed to determine an overall offset assignment. In the case of a binary channel tree, child nodes of each parent node in the channel tree can be assigned a 1 and a 0, such that each parent node has a 1-child and a 0-child. User devices 406 can be allocated to such nodes, and, depending on the particular single carrier FDMA protocol employed, frequency hopping component 402 can read the binary tree to evaluate user offset assignments and can evaluate a lookup table comprising information related to respective offsets (e.g., offset identity, subcarrier number, ...). Additionally, frequency hopping component 402 can change node value assignments (e.g., 1s and 0s and/or other binary node values, non-binary node values, etc.) for different sectors and at different times in order to facilitate frequency hopping and alteration of user offset assignments. It is to be appreciated that frequency hopping component 402 can be integral to one or more base stations 408 in wireless network 404 and/or to user device(s) 406.

[0054] While Fig. 4, depicts the frequency hopping component 402 as residing in the base station, it should be noted that frequency hopping component 402 may be implemented as a combination of functionality in both base station 408, a base station controller (not shown), or the like of wireless network 404, and in user device 406 (e.g., frequency hopping component 410). In such aspects, it may be possible to contain separate look-up tables in user device 406 and base station 408 which each correspond to offsets, which are known to both devices, e.g. by instructions from base station 408 that corresponds to user device 406, or some other means.

[0055] In various embodiments, where the frequency hopping component 402 resides in the base station 408, the user device 406 may have a look-up table that corresponds to a sequence for varying the offset U based upon instructions, commands, or the like transmitted from the base station 408 and generated by frequency hopping component 402.

[0056] Fig. 5 is an illustration of a system 500 that facilitates employing a frequency hopping technique in a single carrier FDMA environment, such as an IFDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with one or more aspects. A frequency hopping component 502 is operatively associated with and integral to a base station 508. A separate frequency hopping component 512 resides at the user device 506 and will vary the offsets according to instructions from frequency hopping component 502.

[0057] Additionally, frequency hopping components 502 and 512 are respectively associated with an IFDMA components 510 and 514, which facilitates wireless communication using an IFDMA protocol. For example, in an IFDMA system a total of N_FFT subcarriers can be divided among several user devices 506. Each user device 506 can be allocated N carriers (where N can vary from user device to user device), as well as a user device-specific subcarrier offset, U, where 0 ≤ U < N_FFT/N. When a user device 506 transmits N modulation symbols [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1], user device 506 constructs an IFDMA symbol by performing the following acts:

(1) Repeating the N symbols to obtain a total of N_FFT symbols [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1 d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1 d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1 ... d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1]

(2) Multiplying the k^th symbol in the sequence by e^{-j kΦU} where Φ = 2π N_FFT [d₀ d₁e^-jΦU d₂e^-2jΦU ... d_N-1e^-(N-1)jΦU ... d_N-2e-^(N_FFT^-2)jΦU d_N-1e-^(N_FFT^-1)jΦU]

(3) Optionally copying the last N_CP symbols of the above symbol to the beginning (cyclic prefix) [... d_N-2e-^(N_FFT^-2)jΦU d_N-1e-⁽_FFT^-1)jΦU ][d₀ d₁e^-jΦU ... d_N-1e^-(N-1e^-(N-1)jΦU ...d_N-1e^-(N_FFT^-1)jΦU]

[0058] A resulting IFDMA symbol can then be converted to an analog symbol modulated using a carrier and transmitted. The foregoing is illustrative of IFDMA symbol generation on both a reverse link and a forward link. Additionally, since the IFDMA signal is periodic in the time domain (with the exception of the phase, e^{-j kΦU}), the signal can occupy a "comb" in frequency (e.g., only a set of N equally spaced subcarriers have a non-zero power, ...). More specifically, a user device 506 with offset U occupies the set of subcarriers {U, U+N_FFT/N, U+2N_FFT/N ... U+(N-1)N_FFT/N}, wherein the total set of subcarriers is indexed from 0 to N_FFT-1, such that user device orthogonality can be maintained because user devices with different offsets occupy different subcarrier sets. Frequency hopping component 502 can generate, or store look-up tables that correspond to, offsets, node value assignments, etc., and can assign user devices 506 to nodes as described with regard to Figs. 1-3. Additionally, where an IFDMA protocol is utilized, frequency hopping component 502 can read the tree from the root node downward to identify a particular user device's offset U. It is to be appreciated that the manner of assigning user devices to particular nodes can encompass arbitrary assignments, node assignments in a channel tree using non-binary node values, binary node values, or any other suitable manner of associating offsets with nodes and/or user devices 506. Moreover, it will be understood that node value assignments can be varied arbitrarily, randomly, according to a predetermined pattern and/or upon an occurrence of an event (e.g. transmission of one or more symbols, one or more frames, expiration of a time period, ...) etc.

[0059] While Fig. 5 depicts the frequency hopping component 502 as residing in the base station, it should be noted that frequency hopping component 502 may be implemented as a combination of functionality in both base station 508, base station controller (not shown) and in user device 506 (e.g., frequency hopping component 512). In such aspects, it may be possible to contain separate look-up tables in user device 506 and base station 508 which each correspond to sequences for offset U for the user device, which are known to both devices, e.g. by instructions from base station 508 that corresponds to user device 506, or some other means.

[0060] In the embodiments, where the frequency hopping component 502 resides in the base station 508, the user device 506 may have a look-up table that corresponds to a sequence for varying the offset U based upon instructions, commands, or the like transmitted from the base station 508 and generated by frequency hopping component 502.

[0061] Fig. 6 is an illustration of a system 600 that facilitates employing a frequency hopping technique in a single carrier FDMA environment, such as an LFDMA wireless communication environment in accordance with one or more aspects. System 600 comprises a frequency hopping component 602 that is operatively associated with an access point 608. A separate frequency hopping component 614 resides at the user device 606 and will vary the offsets according to instructions from frequency hopping component 602.

[0062] Frequency hopping component 602 can be further operatively associated with an IFDMA component 610 that facilitates communication over wireless network 604 as described above with regard to Fig. 5. Additionally and/or alternatively, frequency hopping component 602 can be further operatively coupled to an LFDMA component 612, which can facilitate LFDMA communication between base station 608 and user device 606. Similarly, frequency hopping component 614 can be operatively coupled to an IFDMA component 616 and an LFDMA component 618 in user device 606. Frequency hopping component 602 can generate a channel tree for offset assignment to user device 606, such that each of a plurality of user devices 606 can be allocated to a node in the offset tree. Each node in the tree can have a value, and such node values can be changed by frequency hopping component 602 from time to time and/or from sector to sector to provide interference diversity and frequency hopping functionality. Upon a determination of a value associated with a particular node, frequency hopping component 602 can perform a table lookup to evaluate an associated offset for assignment to a user device 606.

[0063] With regard to LFDMA components 612 and 618, a user device 606 can be allocated a number N of contiguous subcarriers (e.g., subcarriers that are consecutive in the frequency domain, ... ). For example, in an LFDMA system a total of N_FFT subcarriers can be divided among several user devices 606. Each user device 606 can be allocated N contiguous carriers (where N can vary from user device to user device), as well as a user device-specific subcarrier offset, U, where 0≤ U < N_FFT-N, and where the total set of subcarriers is indexed from 0 to N_FFT-1. A user device that transmits a set of N modulation symbols [do d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1] can generate a transmission signal by performing the following acts:

(1) Taking an N-point fast Fourier transform (FFT) of [do d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1] to obtain [D₀ D₁ D₂ ... D_N-1]

(2) Placing [D₀ D₁ D₂ ... D_N-1] in the allocated sub-carriers [U, U+1, ... U+N-1].

(3) Taking an N_FFT-point inverse fast Fourier transform to obtain N_FFT time domain samples.

(4) Optionally copying the last N_CP time domain samples to the beginning of the symbol as a cyclic prefix to obtain the LFDMA time domain symbol.

[0064] In the above example of LFDMA signal generation, different user devices 606 can be allocated disjoint sets of subcarriers to ensure that user devices 606 are orthogonal to each other. Frequency hopping component 602 can then generate an assignment tree and evaluate assignments of user devices 606 to nodes therein as described with regard to Figs. 1-3, and, where an LFDMA protocol is utilized, can read the tree from the root node downward to identify a particular user device's offset, U.

[0065] While Fig. 6 depicts frequency hopping component 602 as residing in the base station, it should be noted that frequency hopping component 602 may be implemented as a combination of functionality in both base station 608, base station controller (not shown), or the like of wireless network 604, and in user device 606 (e.g., frequency hopping component 614). In such aspects, it may be possible to contain separate look-up tables in user device 606 and base station 608, which each correspond to sequences for offset U for the user device 606, which are known to both devices, e.g. by instructions from base station 608 that corresponds to the user device 606, or some other means.

[0066] In the embodiments, where the frequency hopping component 602 resides in the base station 608, the user device 606 may have a look-up table that corresponds to a sequence for varying the offset U based upon instructions, commands, or the like transmitted from the base station 608 and generated by frequency hopping component 602.

[0067] Additionally, IFDMA components 610 and 616 and LFDMA components 612 and 618 can be employed in conjunction with one another to facilitate generation of subcarrier assignments that comprise equally spaced subcarriers that span less than the total available bandwidth, in accordance with various aspects set forth herein. Moreover, fast hopping techniques can be employed, potentially over a fraction of the available bandwidth when employing an IFDMA protocol. On a typical OFDMA uplink, a user device can be assigned a set of subcarriers, which is kept constant for a time to permit the user device to estimate the channel over that set of subcarriers. However, if the user device's assignment is large enough that the user device can estimate the channel over the entire bandwidth, then a symbol rate hopping protocol (e.g., varying a subcarrier set assignment for a user device upon transmission of each symbol) can be utilized because there is no detriment in hopping upon each symbol.

[0068] Fig. 7 is an illustration of a system 700 that facilitates frequency hopping in a single carrier FDMA wireless network environment. A frequency hopping component 702 may be operatively associated with a base station 708 in a wireless network 704. A separate frequency hopping component 718 resides at the user device 706 and can vary the offsets according to instructions from frequency hopping component 702.

[0069] Wireless network 704 can comprise one or more base stations 708 in one or more sectors and/or regions comprising a plurality of sectors, etc., as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. User devices 706 can comprise, without being limited to, cellular phones, smartphones, PDAs, laptop computers, personal computers, and/or any other suitable device with which a user can communicate over wireless network 704. Frequency hopping component 702 in base station 708 can be associated with an IFDMA component 710 and/or an LFDMA component 712, or any other suitable single carrier FDMA system, to facilitate symbol generation as described above with regard to the preceding figures. Similarly, frequency hopping component 718 in user device 706 can be operatively coupled to each of an IFDMA component 720 and an LFDMA component 722.

[0070] Base station 708 and/or user device 706 can additionally and respectively comprise memories 714 and 724 that are operatively coupled to frequency hopping components 702 and 718, and that store information related to channel tree generation or pre-generated channel tree information that may be utilized, node value assignment (e.g., non-binary, binary, integer, etc.) of nodes in the channel tree, user device node allocation, tree-reading algorithms (e.g., top-down for LFDMA, bottom-up for IFDMA, ...), signal generation algorithms (e.g., for generating signals using IFDMA, LFDMA, single carrier FDMA, ...), time tables for node value assignment variation (e.g., frequency hopping, ...), lookup tables related to offset information and/or node value assignments, and any other suitable information related to providing interference diversity (e.g., frequency hopping) to mitigate interference of one or more user devices 706. Processors 716 and 726 can be operatively connected to frequency hopping components 702 and 718, respectively, and/or memories 714 and 724 to facilitate analysis of information related to frequency hopping, node assignment and/or allocation to one or more user devices 706, tree-reading algorithms, signal generation, and the like. It is to be appreciated that processor 716 can be a processor dedicated to analyzing and/or generating information received by frequency hopping component 702, a processor that controls one or more components of base station 708, and/or a processor that both analyzes and generates information received by frequency hopping component 702 and controls one or more components of base station 708. In a similar manner, processor 726 can be a processor dedicated to analyzing information received by frequency hopping component 718, a processor that controls one or more components of user device 706, and/or a processor that both analyzes information received by frequency hopping component 718 and controls one or more components user device 706.

[0071] Memories 714 and 724 can additionally store protocols associated with generating signals, symbols, channel trees, lookup tables, etc., such that user device 706 and/or base station 708 can employ stored protocols and/or algorithms to achieve interference diversity as described herein. It will be appreciated that the data store (e.g., memories) components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). The memories 714 and 724 of the subject systems and methods is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0072] While Fig. 7 depicts frequency hopping component 702 as residing in the base station 708, it should be noted that frequency hopping component 702 may be implemented as a combination of functionality in both base station 708, base station controller (not shown), or the like of wireless network 704, and in user device 706 (e.g., frequency hopping component 718). In such aspects, it may be possible to contain separate look-up tables in user device 706 and base station 708 which each correspond to sequences for offset U for the user device, which are known to both devices, e.g. by instructions from base station 708 that corresponds to the user device 706, or some other means.

[0073] In the embodiments, where the frequency hopping component 702 resides in the base station 708, the user device 706 may have a look-up table that corresponds to a sequence for varying the offset U based upon instructions, commands, or the like transmitted from the base station 708 and generated by frequency hopping component 702.

[0074] Fig. 8 is an illustration of a system 800 that facilitates frequency hopping technique in an FDMA wireless network environment in accordance with various aspects. A frequency hopping component 802 is operatively associated with a base station 808. A separate frequency hopping component 824 resides at the user device 806 and can vary the offsets according to instructions from frequency hopping component 802.

[0075] Wireless network 804 can comprise one or more base stations 808, repeaters, transceivers, etc. (not shown) in one or more sectors and/or regions comprising a plurality of sectors, etc., as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. User devices 806 can comprise, without being limited to, cellular phones, smartphones, PDAs, laptop computers, personal computers, and/or any other suitable device with which a user can communicate over wireless network 804. Frequency hopping component 802 in base station 808 can be operatively associated with an IFDMA component 810 and/or an LFDMA component 812, or any other suitable single carrier FDMA system, to facilitate communication symbol generation as described above with regard to the preceding figures. Likewise, frequency hopping component 824 in user device 806 can be operatively associated with either or both of an IFDMA component 826 and an LFDMA component 828. Frequency hopping component 802 can be further associated with an assignment component 820 in base station 808 that assigns nodes to user devices 806, based at least in part on offset information stored in a lookup table, which can be retained in memory 814 and/or memory 830. Such assignments can be transmitted to an assignment receiver 822 in user device 806 and decoded by frequency hopping component 824 in user device 806. Assignment component 820 can assign nodes in the channel tree to user devices, and frequency hopping component 802 can vary offsets (e.g., by permuting/changing node value assignments) to maintain offset diversity and facilitate mitigating interference between user devices 806 and/or network sectors over which user devices 806 communicate. Additionally, frequency hopping component 802 can assign node values to nodes in a binary channel tree, such as described with regard to Fig. 2, and/or to nodes in a non-binary channel tree, such as described with regard to Fig. 3, in order to facilitate providing offsets to user devices 806. Moreover, frequency hopping component 802 can employ a non-binary channel tree in conjunction with the permutation protocol to optimize interference reduction.

[0076] Frequency hopping component 802 can assign subcarrier sets (e.g., offsets) to user devices 806 for transmission of one or more symbols during a communication event, as described above. For example, frequency hopping component 802 can generate and/or transmit an offset assignment at a first point in time, and such assignment can be varied (e.g., by changing node value assignments) according to a predetermined pattern (e.g., after transmission/receipt of each symbol, group of symbols, one or more frames, ...). To further this example, subcarrier set assignments to user devices 806 can be varied after a predetermined period, which can be delineated by transmission of a fixed number of symbols (e.g., IFDMA symbols, LFDMA symbols, or any other suitable single-carrier FDMA symbols).

[0077] Assignment receiver 822 in user device 806 receives a subcarrier set assignment (e.g., an offset assignment) to permit user device 806 to exert control over an assigned set of subcarriers for transmission of one or more symbols (e.g., IFDMA, LFDMA, ...) during a communication event. Assignment receiver 822 can receive and/or accept a node assignment and an offset for device 806 can be determined at a first point in time. A second offset can then be determined and/or computed upon alteration of node value assignments after a predetermined time period (e.g., after transmission/receipt of each symbol, group of symbols, ...). According to this example, offset assignments to user device 806 can be varied (e.g., by varying node values for nodes to which user devices are assigned, etc.) after a predetermined period that can be delineated by transmission of a number of symbols (e.g., IFDMA symbols, LFDMA symbols, or any other suitable single-carrier FDMA symbols). Furthermore, base station 808 can employ a memory 814, a processor 816, and an AI component 818 to facilitate assignment, assignment variation, acknowledgement, utilization, and the like in conjunction with the various frequency hopping protocols described herein. User device 806 can employ a memory 830, processor 832, and AI component 834 for like purposes.

[0078] AI components 818 and 834 can be respectively and operatively associated with frequency hopping components 802 and 824 in either or both of base station 808 and user device 806, and can make inferences regarding channel tree generation, node value assignments and alterations thereto, user device 806 node allocation, etc. As used herein, the term to "infer" or "inference" refers generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic-that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources.

[0079] According to an example, AI components 818 and/or 834 can infer an appropriate tree structure for representing user device offsets based at least in part on, for instance, channel quality, detected interference, number of available subcarriers, number of user devices 806 operating over wireless network 804, etc. According to this example, it can be determined that a particular sector or sectors in wireless network 804 are experiencing high transmission volume, and the like. AI component 818, in conjunction with processor 816 and/or memory 814, can determine that interference between user devices 806 and/or sectors is high. AI component 818 can infer that a frequency adjustment is appropriate to increase interference diversity and alleviate the interference problem, and can direct frequency hopping component 802 to alter child node value assignments in a channel tree, which will have the result of altering offset assignments to user devices 806 allocated to such altered child nodes. In such a case, AI component 818 can facilitate frequency hopping in the most cost-effective manner possible to mitigate inter-cell interference and improve interference diversity. It will be appreciated that the foregoing examples are illustrative in nature and are not intended to limit the scope of inferences that can be made by AI components 818 and 834 or the manner in which AI components 818 and 834 make such inferences.

[0080] While Fig. 8 depicts frequency hopping component 802 as residing in the base station 808, it should be noted that frequency hopping component 802 may be implemented as a combination of functionality in both base station 808, base station controller (not shown), or the like of wireless network 804, and in user device 806 (e.g., frequency hopping component 824). In such aspects, it may be possible to contain separate look-up tables in user device 806 and base station 808 which each correspond to sequences for offset U for the user device, which are known to both devices, e.g. by instructions from base station 808 that corresponds to the user device 806, or some other means.

[0081] In the embodiments, where the frequency hopping component 802 resides in the base station 808, the user device 806 may have a look-up table that corresponds to a sequence for varying the offset U based upon instructions, commands, or the like transmitted from the base station 808 and generated by frequency hopping component 802.

[0082] Fig. 9 is an illustration of a methodology 900 for generating a signal using an IFDMA protocol, such as can be employed in conjunction with a frequency hopping protocol to improve interference diversity. At 902, a user device can initiate generation of a signal comprising N modulation symbols, for example, [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1], by repeating the N symbols to obtain a total of N_FFT symbols such that:

[0083] At 904, the user device can multiply the k^th symbol in the sequence by e^-jkΦU, where Φ = 2π/ N_FFT, such that:

[0084] At 906, cyclic prefix can optionally be added to the signal by copying the last N_CP symbols of the signal generated at 904 to the beginning of the symbol expression, such that:

[0085] Method 900 can be employed in an IFDMA communication environment in conjunction with frequency hopping techniques set forth herein to mitigate interference between users and/or sectors in a wireless communication environment. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that although various methods and/or systems herein are described with regard to an IFDMA system, a suitable FDMA system arrangement having the described features and/or advantages of the IFDMA system can be employed.

[0086] Fig. 10 is an illustration of a methodology 1000 for performing frequency hopping in conjunction with an IFDMA modulation protocol in a wireless network communication environment. At 1002, a channel tree can be generated to facilitate frequency hopping of user offsets. The channel tree can have a root node, and each child node of the root node and/or other parent nodes in the tree can be assigned a node value (e.g., non-binary, binary, integer, etc.) In the case of a binary channel tree, described here for purposes of simplicity of illustration, each child node can have a binary value of 0 or 1, such that a parent node has a 0-child and a 1-child. Nodes can be allocated to user devices depending on subcarrier needs of the user devices, such that a user device requiring a relatively large number of subcarriers can be allocated a node closer to the root node than a user device requiring a relatively small number of subcarriers as detailed with regard to Figs. 1-3. In certain aspects, the channel tree is pre-generated and the nodes, their relationship and values are stored in a memory in the form of a look-up table or the like.

[0087] At 1004, node sequences for user devices can be read upward from a user's allocated node to a first child node of the channel tree to determine a value for the user's offset, as detailed with regard to Figs. 2 and 3. Information related to an offset identified at 1004 can be gleaned from a lookup table to facilitate assigning a specific subcarrier set to the user. For example, a user allocated a node having a value of 1 that depends from parent node with a value of 1, which in turn depends from a root node of the tree, can be assigned offset 3. Additionally, because the user-allocated node is three nodes from the top of the tree (inclusive of the allocated node and the root node, which is not read for purposes of offset U determination, but is counted for subcarrier number determination), it can be assigned a number of offset subcarriers equal to N_FFT/4. According to another example illustrating a binary channel tree, a user having an allocated node that is four nodes from the root node (including the root node) and has a lineage of all 1s (e.g., allocated node=1, parent=1, grandparent=1, root node) can be assigned offset 7 (e.g., binary 111), which can have a number of subcarriers equal to N_FFT/8, etc. According to yet another example, if the above lineage were 101 (e.g., allocated node=1, parent=0, grandparent=1, root node), the user can be assigned offset 5 having a number of subcarriers equal to N_FFT/8, etc.

[0088] At 1006, IFDMA symbols can be generated as detailed with regard to Fig. 9. Such symbols/signals can be converted to an analog signal at 1008 to facilitate transmission thereof. At 1010, node value assignments can be modified to facilitate frequency hopping to mitigate interference. For example, one or more child node value assignments in the channel tree can be altered in order to vary the offset actually associated with the node allocated to a user. For instance, in the above example, the user assigned offset 7 (e.g., 111 binary) comprising N_FFT/8 subcarriers can have its parent node pair altered at 1010 so that its node allocation lineage becomes 101 binary, which in turn can result in a reassignment of offset 5 to the user, , and so on. According to the example, the user's node allocation can be static during node value assignment variation to ensure that the user retains a number of subcarriers equal to N_FFT/8. Additionally, user offset modification can be performed according to a predetermined schedule and/or according to a trigger event, such as upon transmission of every IFDMA symbol (symbol rate hopping), every few symbols (block hopping), etc.

[0089] It will be appreciated that although the foregoing examples describe a channel tree that utilizes binary node value assignments, non-binary values can be assigned to such nodes. Moreover, parent nodes can have any suitable number of child nodes associated therewith to facilitate allocating offsets to user devices and performing frequency hopping to mitigate interference.

[0090] Fig. 11 illustrates a methodology 1100 for generating a signal using an LFDMA protocol, such as can be employed in conjunction with a frequency hopping protocol to improve interference diversity. At 1102, a user device can initiate generation of a signal comprising N modulation symbols, for example, [d₀ d₁ d₂ ... d_N-1], by taking an N-point fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the N modulation symbols to obtain [D₀ D₁ D₂ ... D_N-1]. The transformed symbols can then be placed in allocated subcarriers [U, U+1, ... U+N-1] at 1104. At 1106, an N_FFT-point inverse fast Fourier transform can be performed to obtain N_FFT time domain samples. If desired, cyclic prefix can optionally be added to the symbol at 1108 by copying the last N_CP time domain samples to the beginning of the symbol to obtain the LFDMA time domain symbol.

[0091] Method 1100 can be employed to generate an LFDMA communication signal in conjunction with a frequency hopping technique to mitigate inter-device and/or intersector interference. For example, frequency hopping can be performed upon each LFDMA symbol (e.g., utilizing a symbol rate hopping technique), upon every few LFDMA symbols (e.g., utilizing a block hopping technique, etc.

[0092] Fig. 12 illustrates a methodology 1200 for altering offset assignments for users in an LFDMA, wireless communication environment. At 1202, channel tree can be generated to map user offset assignments, and nodes in the tree can be allocated to individual users in a wireless network. Node allocation can be performed in a manner similar to that described with regard to Figs 1, 2, and 3. In certain aspects, the channel tree is pre-generated and the nodes, their relationship and values are stored in a memory in the form of a look-up table or the like.

[0093] At 1204, the channel tree can be read from top to bottom to evaluate user offset assignments. Although the following example describes binary node value assignments for purposes of simplicity, it will be appreciated that non-binary values, and/or any other suitable values, can be assigned to nodes in the channel tree. For instance, a user allocated a node having a value of 1 that depends from parent node with a value of 0, which in turn depends from a root node of the tree, can be assigned offset 1. Additionally, because the user-allocated node is three nodes from the top of the tree (inclusive of the root node, which is not read for purposes of offset U determination, but is counted for subcarrier number determination), it can be assigned a number of offset subcarriers equal to N_FFT/4. According to another example, a user having an allocated node that is four nodes from the root node (including the root node) and has a lineage of 110 binary (e,g., allocated node=1, parent=1, grandparent=0, root node) can be assigned offset 6 (e.g., binary 110), which can have a number of subcarriers equal to N_FFT/8, etc. According to yet another example, if the above lineage were 101 (e.g., allocated node=1, parent=0, grandpaxent=1, root node), the user can be assigned offset 5 having a number of subcarriers equal to N_FFT/8, etc.

[0094] At 1206, an LFDMA signal can be generated as described with regard to Figure 10 and converted to an analog signal for transmission. At 1208, node value assignments in the channel tree can be varied to facilitate frequency hopping, such as is described with regard to Fig. 11. If desired, user node allocation can be maintained (e.g., static) during node value assignment variation to maintain a constant distance from the root node of the offset tree, which in turn can facilitate ensuring that a precise number of subcarriers are assigned to a given user despite frequency hopping. According to a related aspect, a user whose frequency and/or subcarrier requirements have changed since a previous node allocation iteration can be dynamically reallocated to a node higher or lower on the channel tree based at least in part on, information related to the user's resource requirements. In this manner, frequency hopping can be employed in a single carrier FDMA system, such as an IFDMA system to improve interference diversity and provide a more robust communication experience to users of the wireless network employing method 1200.

[0095] Fig. 13 shows an exemplary wireless communication system 1300. The wireless communication system 1300 depicts one base station and one terminal for sake of brevity. However, it is to be appreciated that the system can include more than one base station and/or more than one terminal, wherein additional base stations and/or terminals can be substantially similar or different for the exemplary base station and terminal described below. In addition, it is to be appreciated that the base station and/or the terminal can employ the systems (Figs. 1-8) and/or methods (Figs. 9-12) described herein to facilitate wireless communication there between.

[0096] Referring now to Fig. 13, on a downlink, at access point 1305, a transmit (TX) data processor 1310 receives, formats, codes, interleaves, and modulates (or symbol maps) traffic data and provides modulation symbols ("data symbols. A symbol modulator 1315 receives and processes the data symbols and pilot symbols and provides a stream of symbols. Symbol modulator 1315 multiplexes data and pilot symbols on the proper subbands, provides a signal value of zero for each unused subband, and obtains a set of N transmit symbols for the N subbands for each symbol period. Each transmit symbol may be a data symbol, a pilot symbol, or a signal value of zero. The pilot symbols may be sent continuously in each symbol period. It will be appreciated that the pilot symbols may be time division multiplexed (TDM), frequency division multiplexed (FDM), or code division multiplexed (CDM). Symbol modulator 1315 can transform each set of N transmit symbols to the time domain using an N-point IFFT to obtain a "transformed" symbol that contains N time-domain chips. Symbol modulator 1315 typically repeats a portion of each transformed symbol to obtain a corresponding symbol. The repeated portion is known as a cyclic prefix and is used to combat delay spread in the wireless channel.

[0097] A transmitter unit (TMTR) 1320 receives and converts the stream of symbols into one or more analog signals and further conditions (e.g., amplifies, filters, and Frequency upconverts) the analog signals to generate a downlink signal suitable for transmission over the wireless channel. The downlink signal is then transmitted through an antenna 1325 to the terminals. At terminal 1330, an antenna 1335 receives the downlink signal and provides a received signal to a receiver unit (RCVR) 1340. Receiver unit 1340 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and frequency downconverts) the received signal and digitizes the conditioned signal to obtain samples. A symbol demodulator 1345 removes the cyclic prefix appended to each symbol, transforms each received transformed symbol to the frequency domain using an N-point FFT, obtains N received symbols for the N subbands for each symbol period, and provides received pilot symbols to a processor 1350 for channel estimation. Symbol demodulator 1345 further receives a frequency response estimate for the downlink from processor 1350, performs data demodulation on the received data symbols to obtain data symbol estimates (which are estimates of the transmitted data symbols), and provides the data symbol estimates to an RX data processor 1355, which demodulates (i.e., symbol demaps), deinterleaves, and decodes the data symbol estimates to recover the transmitted traffic data. The processing by symbol demodulator 1345 and RX data processor 1355 is complementary to the processing by symbol modulator 1315 and TX data processor 1310, respectively, at access point 1305.

[0098] On the uplink, a TX data processor 1360 processes traffic data and provides data symbols. A symbol modulator 1365 receives and multiplexes the data symbols with pilot symbols, perform symbol modulation, and provides a stream of symbols. The pilot symbols may be transmitted on subbands that have been assigned to terminal 1330 for pilot transmission, where the number of pilot subbands for the uplink may be the same or different from the number of pilot subbands for the downlink. A transmitter unit 1370 then receives and processes the stream of symbols to generate an uplink signal, which is transmitted by the antenna 1335 to the access point 1305.

[0099] At access point 1305, the uplink signal from terminal 1330 is received by the antenna 1325 and processed by a receiver unit 1375 to obtain samples. A symbol demodulator 1380 then processes the samples and provides received pilot symbols and data symbol estimates for the uplink. An RX data processor 1385 processes the data symbol estimates to recover the traffic data transmitted by terminal 1330. A processor 1390 performs channel estimation for each active terminal transmitting on the uplink. Multiple terminals may transmit pilot concurrently on the uplink on their respective assigned sets of pilot subbands, where the pilot subband sets may be interlaced.

[0100] Processors 1390 and 1350 direct (e.g., control, coordinate, manage, etc.) operation at access point 1305 and terminal 1330, respectively. Respective processors 1390 and 1350 can be associated with memory units (not shown) that store program codes and data. Processors 1390 and 1350 can also perform computations to derive frequency and impulse response estimates for the uplink and downlink, respectively.

[0101] In further aspects, it is possible to provide a multi-antenna transmitter. In such aspects, a demultiplexer may be provided at the input of TX data processor 1310, which generates multiple streams of data that are separately processed coded and modulated according to different subbands. Additionally, MIMO processing may be provided at the output of the TX data processor 1310 or symbol modulator 1315 so that multiple transmit streams are created prior to transmission but after data processing. At the receiver 1330 various techniques may be utilized to decode the signals from the multiple antennas.

[0102] For a multiple-access system (e.g., a frequency division multiple-access (FDMA) system, etc.), multiple terminals may transmit concurrently on the uplink. For such a system, the pilot subbands may be shared among different terminals. The channel estimation techniques may be used in cases where the pilot subbands for each terminal span the entire operating band (possibly except for the band edges). Such a pilot subband structure would be desirable to obtain frequency diversity for each terminal. The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing units used for channel estimation may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. With software, implementation can be through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in memory unit and executed by the processors 1390 and 1350.

[0103] What has been described above includes examples of one or more embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the aforementioned embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of various embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the described embodiments are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term "includes" is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

Claims

1. A method of generating single carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) symbols in a wireless communication system, comprising:

obtaining (1004, 1204) a first subcarrier set assignment comprising a first set of N subcarriers for a user device, the first set including a configurable number of subcarriers among N_FFT total subcarriers formed with single-carrier FDMA, where N is less than or equal to N_FFT;

generating (1006, 1206) at least one single-carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the first set of subcarriers;

obtaining (1004, 1204) a second subcarrier set assignment comprising a second set of N subcarriers for the user device, the second set of subcarriers being varied from the first set of subcarriers according to a predetermined pattern for facilitating frequency hopping; and

generating (1006, 1206) at least one other single carrier IFDMA symbol for transmission on the second set of subcarriers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of subcarriers are associated with different offsets in a predetermined set of offsets.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined pattern is delineated by transmission of a number of frames.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined pattern is delineated by expiration of a time period.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second sets of subcarriers is used for transmission of a predetermined number of single-carrier FDMA symbols.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the first subcarrier set assignment comprises:

determining a channel tree including a plurality of nodes; and

determining the first set of subcarriers based on a node in the channel tree assigned to the user device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising
employing an IFDMA protocol to generate the at least one single carrier FDMA symbol.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the first set of subcarriers based upon reading a channel tree from bottom to top.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the first set of subcarriers based upon reading a path in a channel tree from a user device-assigned node upward to a root node of the channel tree.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising
assessing (1004, 1204) value of nodes in the path, beginning with the user device-assigned node and ending with a first child node of the root node.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising
performing a table lookup to identify the first set of subcarriers corresponding to the value of the path from the user device-assigned node to the first child node of the root node.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of nodes are associated with node values; and
wherein node value assignments are periodically varied to alter subcarrier set assignments.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein each node in the channel tree is assigned a non-binary value.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein each node in the channel tree is assigned a binary value.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

employing an IFDMA protocol to generate single-carrier FDMA symbols; and

wherein subcarrier set assignments are varied upon transmission of each single-carrier FDMA symbol to enable channel estimation over an entire available bandwidth,

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising
employing an LFDMA protocol to generate the at least one single carrier FDMA symbol.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein subcarrier set assignments are varied as a function of at least one of sector identity and time.

18. An apparatus for generating single carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) symbols in a wireless communication system, comprising:

means for obtaining (1004, 1204) a first subcarrier set assignment comprising a first set of N subcarriers for a user device, the first set including a configurable number of subcarriers among N_FFT total subcarriers formed with single-carrier FDMA, where N is less than or equal to N_FFT;

means for generating (1006, 1206) at least one single-carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the first set of subcarriers;

means for obtaining (1004, 1204) a second subcarrier set assignment comprising a second set of N subcarriers for the user device, the second set of subcarriers being varied from the first set of subcarriers according to a predetermined pattern for facilitating frequency hopping; and

means for generating (1006, 1206) at least one other single carrier FDMA symbol for transmission on the second set of subcarriers.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, the means for obtaining the first subcarrier set assignment comprises means for determining the first set of subcarriers based on a node in a channel tree assigned to the user device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, the means for determining the first set of subcarriers comprises means for reading a path in the channel tree from the node assigned to the user device to a root node to determine a value for nodes in the path that identifies the first set of subcarriers and a number of subcarriers to include in the first set.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, the values assigned to one or more nodes in the channel tree being periodically varied to vary subcarrier set assignments.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, the second set of subcarriers being associated with the varied value of the path from the node assigned to the user device to the root node.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein node values are varied upon transmission of the at least one single carrier FDMA symbol.

24. A computer-readable medium comprising code for causing a computer to perform a method of any of the claims 1-17.

25. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising
means for employing an IFDMA protocol to generate the at least one single carrier FDMA symbol.

26. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising
means for employing an LFDMA protocol to generate the at least one single carrier FDMA symbol.

27. An integrated circuit configured to perform a method of any of the claims 1-17.

Ansprüche

1. Ein Verfahren zum Erzeugen von Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), beziehungsweise Einzelträger-Frequenzvielfachmultiplexzugriffs Symbolen in einem drahtlosen Kommunikationssystem, das Folgendes aufweist:

Erlangen (1004, 1024) einer ersten Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnung, die einen Satz von N Subcarriern für ein Benutzergerät aufweist, wobei der erste Satz eine konfigurierbare Anzahl von Subcarriern aus einer Gesamtzahl von N_FFT Subcarriern beinhaltet, die durch Single-Carrier, beziehungsweise Einzelträger FDMA ausgebildet sind, wobei N kleiner oder gleich N_FFT ist;

Erzeugen (1006, 1206) von wenigstens einem Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zum Übertragen, beziehungsweise Senden auf dem ersten Satz von Subcarriern;

Erlangen (1004, 1204) einer zweiten Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnung, die einen zweiten Satz von N Subcarriern für das Benutzergerät aufweist, wobei der zweite Satz von Subcarriern eine Variation des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern darstellt, entsprechend einem vorbestimmten Muster zum Ermöglichen von Frequency-Hopping, beziehungsweise Frequenzspringen; und

Erzeugen (1006, 1206) von wenigstens einem weiteren Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zum Übertragen, beziehungsweise Senden auf dem zweiten Satz von Subcarriern.

2. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der erste und zweite Satz von Subcarriern verknüpft ist mit verschiedenen Offsets, beziehungsweise Versätzen in einem vorbestimmten Satz von Offsets.

3. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei das vorbestimmte Muster durch die Übertragung einer Anzahl von Rahmen begrenzt ist.

4. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei das vorbestimmte Muster durch den Ablauf einer Zeitspanne begrenzt ist.

5. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei jeder der ersten und zweiten Sätze von Subcarriern für die Übertragung einer vorbestimmten Anzahl von Single-Carrier FDMA Symbolen verwendet wird.

6. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Schritt des Erlangens der ersten Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnung ferner Folgendes aufweist:

Bestimmen eines Kanalbaums, der eine Vielzahl von Knoten enthält;
und

Bestimmen des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern basierend auf einem Knoten in dem Kanalbaum, der dem Benutzergerät zugeordnet ist.

7. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, weist ferner auf:

Anwenden eines IFDMA Protokolls, um das wenigstens eine Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zu erzeugen.

8. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, weist ferner auf:

Bestimmen des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern, basierend auf dem Lesen eines Kanalbaums von unten nach oben.

9. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, weist ferner auf:

Bestimmen des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern, basierend auf dem Lesen eines Pfades in einem Kanalbaum von einem Benutzergerät zugewiesenen Knoten aufwärts zu einem Root-Knoten des Kanalbaums.

10. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 9, weist ferner auf:

Festlegen (1004, 1204) eines Wertes eines Knotens in dem Pfad, beginnend mit dem Benutzergerät zugewiesenen Knoten und endend mit einem ersten Kind-Knoten des Root-Knotens.

11. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 10, weist ferner auf:

Ausführen einer Nachschlagetabelle, um den ersten Satz von Subcarriern zu identifizieren, der dem Wert des Pfades des Benutzergerätes zugeordneten Knotens zu dem ersten Kind-Knoten des Root-Knotens entspricht.

12. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 6, wobei die Vielzahl von Knoten mit Knotenwerten verknüpft sind; und
wobei die Zuordnung von Knotenwerten periodisch variiert wird, um Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnungen zu ändern.

13. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 6, wobei jedem Knoten in dem Kanalbaum ein nicht binärer Wert zugeordnet ist.

14. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 6, wobei jedem Knoten in dem Kanalbaum ein binärer Wert zugeordnet ist.

15. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, weist ferner auf:

Anwenden eines IFDMA Protokolls, um Single-Carrier FDMA Symbole zu erzeugen; und

wobei Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnungen bei der Übertragung jedes Single-Carrier FDMA Symbols variiert werden, um Kanalschätzung über eine gesamte zur Verfügung stehende Bandbreite zu gewährleisten.

16. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, weist ferner auf:

Anwenden eines LFDMA Protokolls, um das wenigstens eine Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zu erzeugen.

17. Das Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnungen variiert werden, als Funktion von wenigstens einem aus der Sektor Identität und der Zeit.

18. Eine Vorrichtung zum Erzeugen von Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), beziehungsweise Einzelträger-Frequenzvielfachmultiplexzugriffs Symbolen, in einem drahtlosen Kommunikationssystem, die Folgendes aufweist:

Mittel zum Erlangen (1004, 1204) einer ersten Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnung, die einen ersten Satz von N Subcarriern für ein Benutzergerät aufweist, wobei der erste Satz eine konfigurierbare Anzahl von Subcarriern aus einer Gesamtzahl von N_FFT Subcarriern beinhaltet, die durch Single-Carrier FDMA ausgebildet sind, wobei N kleiner oder gleich N_FFT ist;

Mittel zum Erzeugen (1006, 1206) von wenigstens einem Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zum Übertragen, beziehungsweise Senden auf dem ersten Satz von Subcarriern;

Mittel zum Erlangen (1004, 1204) einer zweiten Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnung, die einen zweiten Satz von N Subcarriern für das Benutzergerät aufweist, wobei der zweite Satz von Subcarriern eine Variation des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern darstellt, entsprechend einem vorbestimmten Muster zum Ermöglichen von Frequency-Hopping, beziehungsweise Freuenzspringen; und

Mittel zum Erzeugen (1006, 1206) von wenigstens einem weiteren Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zum Übertragen, beziehungsweise Senden auf dem zweiten Satz von Subcarriern.

19. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 18, wobei die Mittel zum Erlangen (1004, 1204) einer ersten Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnung, Mittel zum Bestimmen des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern aufweist, basierend auf einem Knoten in einem Kanalbaum, der dem Benutzergerät zugeordnet ist.

20. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 19, wobei die Mittel zum Bestimmen des ersten Satzes von Subcarriern, Mittel aufweist zum Lesen eines Pfades in dem Kanalbaum von dem Knoten, der dem Benutzergerät zugeordnet ist, zu einem Root-Knoten, um einen Wert für Knoten in dem Pfad zu bestimmen, der den ersten Satz von Subcarriern und eine Anzahl von Subcarriern identifiziert, die in dem ersten Satz enthalten sein sollen.

21. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 20, wobei die Werte, die einem oder mehreren Knoten in dem Kanalbaum zugeordnet sind periodisch variiert werden, um Subcarrier-Satz Zuordnungen zu variieren.

22. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 21, wobei der zweite Satz von Subcarriern dem variierten Wert des Pfades zugeordnet ist, der von dem Knoten, der dem Benutzergerät zugeordnet ist, zu dem Root-Knoten verläuft.

23. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 22, wobei Knotenwerte bei der Übertragung des wenigstens einen Single-Carrier FDMA Symbols variiert werden.

24. Ein Computer lesbares Medium, das Code aufweist, um einen Computer zu veranlassen ein Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1-17 auszuführen.

25. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 18, weist ferner auf:

Mittel zum Anwemden eines IFDMA Protokolls, um das wenigstens eine Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zu erzeugen.

26. Die Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 18, weist ferner auf:

Mittel zum Anwenden eines LFDMA Protokolls, um das wenigstens eine Single-Carrier FDMA Symbol zu erzeugen.

27. Ein integrierter Schaltkreis, der konfiguriert ist ein Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 1-17 auszuführen.

Revendications

1. Procédé de génération de symboles d'accès multiple par répartition en fréquence (FDMA) monoporteuse dans un système de communication sans fil, comprenant:

l'obtention (1004, 1204) d'une première attribution d'ensemble de sous-porteuses comprenant un premier ensemble de N sous-porteuses pour un dispositif utilisateur, le premier ensemble comprenant un nombre configurable de sous-porteuses parmi un total de N_FFT sous-porteuses formées en FDMA monoporteuse, N étant inférieur ou égal à N_FFT;

la génération (1006, 1206) d'au moins un symbole FDMA monoporteuse en vue d'un envoi sur le premier ensemble de sous-porteuses;

l'obtention (1004, 1204) d'une seconde attribution d'ensemble de sous-porteuses comprenant un second ensemble de N sous-porteuses pour le dispositif utilisateur, le second ensemble de sous-porteuses étant modifié par rapport au premier ensemble de sous-porteuses conformément à un modèle prédéterminé pour faciliter un saut de fréquence; et

la génération (1006, 1206) d'au moins un autre symbole FDMA monoporteuse en vue d'un envoi sur le second ensemble de sous-porteuses.

2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel les premier et second ensembles de sous-porteuses sont associés à différents décalages d'un ensemble prédéterminé de décalages.

3. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le modèle prédéterminé est délimité par l'envoi d'un certain nombre de trames.

4. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le modèle prédéterminé est délimité par l'expiration d'une certaine période de temps.

5. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel chacun des premier et second ensembles de sous-porteuses est utilisé pour l'envoi d'un nombre prédéterminé de symboles FDMA monoporteuse.

6. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'obtention de la première attribution d'ensemble de sous-porteuses comprend:

la détermination d'un arbre de canal comprenant une pluralité de noeuds; et

la détermination du premier ensemble de sous-porteuses sur la base d'un noeud, dans l'arbre de canal, attribué au dispositif utilisateur.

7. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre:

l'emploi d'un protocole IFDMA pour générer l'au moins un symbole FDMA, monoporteuse.

8. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre:

la détermination du premier ensemble de sous-porteuses sur la base d'une lecture d'un arbre de canal de bas en haut.

9. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre:

la détermination du premier ensemble de sous-porteuses sur la base d'une lecture d'un chemin, dans un arbre de canal, montant d'un noeud attribué au dispositif utilisateur jusqu'à un noeud racine de l'arbre de canal.

10. Procédé selon la revendication 9, comprenant en outre:

l'évaluation (1004, 1204) d'une valeur de noeuds dans le chemin, en commençant par le noeud attribué au dispositif utilisateur et en finissant par un premier noeud enfant du noeud racine.

11. Procédé selon la revendication 10, comprenant en outre:

la réalisation d'une consultation de table afin d'identifier le premier ensemble de sous-porteuses correspondant à la valeur du chemin allant du noeud attribué au dispositif utilisateur au premier noeud enfant du noeud racine.

12. Procédé selon la revendication 6, dans lequel la pluralité de noeuds sont associés à des valeurs de noeud; et
dans lequel des attributions de valeur de noeud sont modifiées périodiquement afin de modifier des attributions d'ensemble de sous-porteuses.

13. Procédé selon la revendication 6, dans lequel chaque noeud de l'arbre de canal se voit attribuer une valeur non binaire.

14. Procédé selon la revendication 6, dans lequel chaque noeud de l'arbre de canal se voit attribuer une valeur binaire.

15. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre:

l'emploi d'un protocole IFDMA pour générer les symboles FDMA monoporteuse; et

dans lequel des attributions d'ensemble de sous-porteuses sont modifiées suite à l'envoi de chaque symbole FDMA monoporteuse afin de permettre une estimation de canal sur une bande passante disponible entière.

16. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre:

l'emploi d'un protocole LFDMA pour générer l'au moins un symbole FDMA monoporteuse.

17. Procédé selon la revendication 1, dans lequel des attributions d'ensemble de sous-porteuses sont modifiées en fonction d'au moins un paramètre parmi identité de secteur et temps.

18. Appareil servant à générer des symboles d'accès multiple par répartition en fréquence (FDMA) monoporteuse dans un système de communication sans fil, comprenant:

un moyen d'obtention (1004, 1204) d'une première attribution d'ensemble de sous-porteuses comprenant un premier ensemble de N sous-porteuses pour un dispositif utilisateur, le premier ensemble comprenant un nombre configurable de sous-porteuses parmi un total de N_FFT sous-porteuses formées en FDMA monoporteuse, N étant inférieur ou égal à N_FFT;

un moyen de génération (1006, 1206) d'au moins un symbole FDMA monoporteuse en vue d'un envoi sur le premier ensemble de sous-porteuses;

un moyen d'obtention (1004, 1204) d'une seconde attribution d'ensemble de sous-porteuses comprenant un second ensemble de N sous-porteuses pour le dispositif utilisateur, le second ensemble de sous-porteuses étant modifié par rapport au premier ensemble de sous-porteuses conformément à un modèle prédéterminé pour faciliter un saut de fréquence; et

un moyen de génération (1006, 1206) d'au moins un autre symbole FDMA monoporteuse en vue d'un envoi sur le second ensemble de sous-porteuses.

19. Appareil selon la revendication 18, dans lequel le moyen d'obtention de la première attribution d'ensemble de sous-porteuses comprend un moyen de détermination du premier ensemble de sous-porteuses sur la base d'un noeud, dans un arbre de canal, attribué au dispositif utilisateur.

20. Appareil selon la revendication 19, dans lequel le moyen de détermination du premier ensemble de sous-porteuses comprend un moyen de lecture d'un chemin, dans l'arbre de canal, allant du noeud attribué au dispositif utilisateur à un noeud racine afin de déterminer une valeur pour des noeuds dans le chemin qui identifie le premier ensemble de sous-porteuses et un nombre de sous-porteuses à inclure dans le premier ensemble.

21. Appareil selon la revendication 20, dans lequel les valeurs attribuées à un ou plusieurs noeuds de l'arbre de canal sont modifiées périodiquement afin de modifier des attributions d'ensemble de sous-porteuses.

22. Appareil selon la revendication 21, dans lequel le second ensemble de sous-porteuses est associé à la valeur modifiée du chemin allant du noeud attribué au dispositif utilisateur au noeud racine.

23. Appareil selon la revendication 22, dans lequel des valeurs de noeud sont modifiées suite à l'envoi de l'au moins un symbole FDMA monoporteuse.

24. Support lisible par ordinateur contenant un programme servant à amener un ordinateur à mettre en oeuvre un procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1-17.

25. Appareil selon la revendication 18, comprenant en outre:

un moyen d'emploi d'un protocole IFDMA pour générer l'au moins un symbole FDMA monoporteuse.

26. Appareil selon la revendication 18, comprenant en outre:

un moyen d'emploi d'un protocole LFDMA pour générer l'au moins un symbole FDMA monoporteuse.

27. Circuit intégré configuré pour mettre en oeuvre un procédé selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1-17.

Drawing