Controlling directional communication equipment

Abstract

A communication device controls directional communication equipment. In one embodiment, the communication device determines a distance for directionally sensing spectral conditions, and jointly selects an antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity with which to directionally sense the spectral conditions based on the distance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of controlling directional communication equipment, implemented by a communication device, the method comprising:
 determining a distance for directionally sensing spectral conditions;   jointly selecting an antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity with which to directionally sense the spectral conditions based on the distance;   directionally sensing the spectral conditions according to the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity; and   determining whether or not to transmit based on whether or not the sensed spectral conditions indicate a spectral energy level that is below or above an energy threshold, respectively.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a carrier frequency in which to directionally sense the spectral conditions, wherein jointly selecting the antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity is further based on the carrier frequency. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein jointly selecting the antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises selecting a predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combination from a plurality of predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combinations. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combinations is one of multiple sets of predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combinations, each set corresponding to a respective carrier frequency. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein directionally sensing the spectral conditions according to the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises sensing for at least 20 microseconds. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting in a direction of a remote device responsive to the spectral energy level being below the energy threshold; and   changing at least one of the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity based on a determination of whether or not the transmission was successfully received by the remote device.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising waiting for at least a randomly determined duration after determining to transmit before transmitting. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein changing at least one of the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises selecting a wider antenna beamwidth responsive to determining that the transmission was not successfully received by the remote device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein changing at least one of the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises selecting a less sensitive sensing sensitivity responsive to determining that the transmission was successfully received by the remote device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein selecting the less sensitive sensing sensitivity is further responsive to the successfully received transmission comprising more than a threshold number of successfully received transmission bursts. 
     
     
         11 . A communication device for controlling directional communication, the communication device comprising:
 a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor to configure the communication device to:
 determine a distance for directionally sensing spectral conditions; 
 jointly select an antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity with which to directionally sense the spectral conditions based on the distance; 
 directionally sense the spectral conditions according to the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity; and 
 determine whether or not to transmit based on whether or not the sensed spectral conditions indicate a spectral energy level that is below or above an energy threshold, respectively. 
   
     
     
         12 . The communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the memory contains further instructions executable by the processor to configure the communication device to determine a carrier frequency in which to directionally sense the spectral conditions, wherein jointly selecting the antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity is further based on the carrier frequency. 
     
     
         13 . The communication device of  claim 11 , wherein jointly selecting the antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises selecting a predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combination from a plurality of predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combinations. 
     
     
         14 . The communication device of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combinations is one of multiple sets of predefined beamwidth and sensitivity combinations, each set corresponding to a respective carrier frequency. 
     
     
         15 . The communication device of  claim 11 , wherein directionally sensing the spectral conditions according to the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises sensing for at least 20 microseconds. 
     
     
         16 . The communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the memory contains further instructions executable by the processor to configure the communication device to:
 transmit in a direction of a remote device responsive to the spectral energy level being below the energy threshold; and   change at least one of the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity based on a determination of whether or not the transmission was successfully received by the remote device.   
     
     
         17 . The communication device of  claim 16 , wherein the memory contains further instructions executable by the processor to configure the communication device to wait for at least a randomly determined duration after determining to transmit before transmitting. 
     
     
         18 . The communication device of  claim 16 , wherein changing at least one of the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises selecting a wider antenna beamwidth responsive to determining that the transmission was not successfully received by the remote device. 
     
     
         19 . The communication device of  claim 16 , wherein changing at least one of the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity comprises selecting a less sensitive sensing sensitivity responsive to determining that the transmission was successfully received by the remote device. 
     
     
         20 . A computer storage medium storing an executable computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of a communication device, cause the at least one processor to:
 determine a distance for directionally sensing spectral conditions;   jointly select an antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity with which to directionally sense the spectral conditions based on the distance;   directionally sense the spectral conditions according to the selected antenna beamwidth and sensing sensitivity; and   determine whether or not to transmit based on whether or not the sensed spectral conditions indicate a spectral energy level that is below or above an energy threshold, respectively.