Systems and methods for wireless communication over a wide bandwidth channel using a plurality of sub-channels

Abstract

A method of communicating over a wideband communication channel divided into a plurality of sub-channels comprises dividing a single serial message intended for one of the plurality of communication devices into a plurality of parallel messages, encoding each of the plurality of parallel messages onto at least some of the plurality of sub-channels, and transmitting the encoded plurality of parallel messages to the communication device over the wideband communication channel. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

1 . A base station configured to communicate with a plurality of communication devices over a wideband communication channel comprising an overall bandwidth segmented into a plurality of sub-channels, the base station configured to: 
 divide a single serial message intended for one of the plurality of communication devices into a plurality of parallel messages;    encode each of the plurality of parallel messages onto at least some of the plurality of sub-channels; and    transmit the encoded plurality of parallel messages to the communication device over the wideband communication channel.    
     
     
         2 . The base station of  claim 1 , further configured to: 
 assign one or more of the plurality of sub-channels to each of the plurality of communication devices;    divide each of a plurality of serial messages, which are each intended for one of the plurality of communication devices, into a plurality of parallel messages;    encode each of the plurality of parallel messages onto the subchannels assigned to the corresponding communication device; and    transmit the encoded plurality of parallel messages to each of the plurality of communication devices over the wideband communication channel.    
     
     
         3 . The base station of  claim 1 , further configured to assign the sub-channels to particular communication devices based at least in part on a plurality of signal-to-interference measurements received from each of the plurality of communication devices.  
     
     
         4 . The base station of  claim 1 , configured to: 
 organize the plurality of sub-channels into at least one sub-channel group;    receive a mean signal-to-interference measurement from each of the plurality of communication devices for each sub-channel group;    compare each mean signal interference measurement to a threshold value; and    assign at least one sub-channel group to particular communication devices of the plurality of communication devices based on the comparisons of the mean signal interference ratio measurements to the threshold value.    
     
     
         5 . The base station of  claim 1 , further configured to: 
 assign one or more of the plurality of sub-channels to each of the plurality of communication devices;    generate a bit stream for each assigned sub-channel;    shift each bit stream in frequency by a frequency offset associated with the corresponding sub-channel;    sum the shifted bit streams to generate a single transmit signal that occupies the entire overall bandwidth; and    transmit the single transmit signal to each of the plurality of communication devices assigned a sub-channel.    
     
     
         6 . The base station of  claim 1 , wherein each sub-channel comprises a bandwidth that is defined by the following equation:  
           b =(1+ r )/ T;    where    b=a bandwidth for each of the plurality of sub-channels    r=a roll-off factor; and    T=a symbol duration for each of the plurality of sub-channels, and wherein the overall bandwidth is defined by the following equation:        B=N (1+ r )/ T;      where    B=an overall bandwidth; and    N=a number of sub-channels.    
     
     
         7 . The base station of  claim 6 , wherein the roll-off factor is selected so that M in the following equation is approximately an integer:  
           M=N (1+ r ).  
     
     
         8 . A communication system, comprising: 
 a plurality of communication devices; and    a base station configured to communicate with the plurality of communication devices over a wideband communication channel comprising a bandwidth segmented into a plurality of subchannels, the base station configured to:    divide a single serial message intended for one of the plurality of communication devices into a plurality of parallel messages;    encode each of the plurality of parallel messages onto at least some of the plurality of sub-channels; and    transmit the encoded plurality of parallel messages to the communication device over the wideband communication channel.    
     
     
         9 . The communication system  8 , further configured to: 
 assign one or more of the plurality of sub-channels to each of the plurality of communication devices;    divide each of a plurality of serial messages, which are each intended for one of the plurality of communication devices, into a plurality of parallel messages;    encode each of the plurality of parallel messages onto the subchannels assigned to the corresponding communication device; and    transmit the encoded plurality of parallel messages to each of the plurality of communication devices over the wideband communication channel.    
     
     
         10 . The communication system of  claim 8 , further configured to assign the sub-channels to particular communication devices based at least in part on a plurality of signal-to-interference measurements received from each of the plurality of communication devices.  
     
     
         11 . The communication system of  claim 8 , configured to: organize the plurality of sub-channels into sub-channel group; receive a mean signal-to-interference measurement from each of 
 the plurality of communication devices for each sub-channel group;    compare each mean signal interference measurement to a threshold value; and    assign sub-channel groups to particular communication devices of the plurality of communication devices based on the comparisons of the mean signal interference ratio measurements to the threshold value.    
     
     
         12 . The communication system of  claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of communication devices is further configured to combine the encoded messages into a single serial message.  
     
     
         13 . The communication system of  claim 8 , further configured to: 
 assign one or more of the plurality of sub-channels to each of the plurality of communication devices;    generate a bit stream for each assigned sub-channel;    shift each bit stream in frequency by a frequency offset associated with the corresponding sub-channel;    sum the shifted bit streams to generate a single transmit signal that occupies an entire overall bandwidth; and    transmit the single transmit signal to each of the plurality of communication devices assigned a sub-channel.    
     
     
         14 . A method of communicating over a wideband communication channel divided into a plurality of sub-channels, comprising: 
 dividing a single serial message intended for one of the plurality of communication devices into a plurality of parallel messages;    encoding each of the plurality of parallel messages onto at least some of the plurality of sub-channels; and    transmitting the encoded plurality of parallel messages to the communication device over the wideband communication channel.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 assigning one or more of the plurality of sub-channels to each of the plurality of communication devices;    dividing each of a plurality of serial messages, which are each intended for one of the plurality of communication devices, into a plurality of parallel messages;    encoding each of the plurality of parallel messages onto the subchannels assigned to the corresponding communication device; and    transmitting the encoded plurality of parallel messages to each of the plurality of communication devices over the wideband communication channel.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising changing the number of communication devices assigned sub-channels based at least in part on a plurality of signal-to-interference measurements received from each of the plurality of communication devices.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 organizing the plurality of sub-channels into at least one sub-channel group;    receiving a mean signal-to-interference measurement from each of the plurality of communication devices for each sub-channel group;    comparing each mean signal interference measurement to a threshold value; and    assigning sub-channel groups to particular communication devices of the plurality of communication devices based on the comparisons of the mean signal interference ratio measurements to the threshold value.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 assigning one or more of the plurality of sub-channels to each of    the plurality of communication devices;    generating a bit stream for each assigned sub-channel;    shifting each bit stream in frequency by a frequency offset associated with the corresponding sub-channel;    summing the shifted bit streams to generate a single transmit signal that occupies the entire overall bandwidth; and    transmitting the single transmit signal to each of the plurality of communication devices assigned a sub-channel.