Spectral reuse transceiver-based aggregation of disjoint, relatively narrow bandwidth (voice) channel segments of radio spectrum for wideband rf communication applications

Abstract

A bandwidth usage control methodology uses the clear channel detection and frequency agile functionality of a spectral reuse transceiver to effectively ‘aggregate’ disjoint user channels into an overall bandwidth, the spectral extent of which is at least sufficient to meet a high bandwidth requirement (such as, but not limited to the transmission of data/video), that cannot be realized by a conventional, single channel radio.

1 . A method of conducting radio frequency (RF) communications comprising the steps of:
 (a) selecting a plurality of RF channels;   (b) aggregating said selected channels into an overall RF bandwidth;   (c) subdividing said aggregated RF channels into a plurality of subchannels;   (d) identifying clear subchannels within said plurality of subchannels as those in which the level of detectible RF energy is below a predetermined threshold;   (e) aggregating at least some of said clear subchannels into a plurality of subsets such that each subset comprises a nonidentical plurality of clear subchannels;   (f) transmitting on said clear subchannels comprising one of said subsets.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein step (f) comprises modulating a wideband information signal onto said clear subchannels comprising said subset. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein said wideband information signal has an effective data rate that is greater than the data rate for the bandwidth of each of said clear subchannels comprising said subset. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising controllably hopping among selected ones of said subsets. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein said selected channels include two or more non-contiguous RF channels, and at least one of said subchannels has a bandwidth that is no wider than the bandwidth of the narrowest channel of said selected channels. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said selected channels include two or more of 6.25 KHz, 12.5 KHz, 25 KHz and 50 KHz wide RF channels, and each of said subchannels is a 6.25 KHz wide subchannel. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said selected channels lie in one or more public service bands. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said selected channels lie within a 450-470 MHz band. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein step (f) comprises transmitting an image-representative communication signal using one or more subchannels. 
     
     
         10 . In a radio frequency (RF) communication network, wherein a plurality of licensed users conduct RF communications over a plurality of disjoint, differing RF bandwidth channels, the improvement comprising improving the bandwidth utilization of said plurality of disjoint, differing RF bandwidth channels by the performing the steps of:
 (a) aggregating said plurality of disjoint, differing RF bandwidth channels into an overall RF bandwidth of said disjoint RF user channels, and sub-dividing said overall RF bandwidth into a plurality of RF subchannels, each of said RF subchannels having a bandwidth that is no greater than the smallest bandwidth of any of said licensed, differing bandwidth, disjoint RF user channels;   (b) detecting clear RF subchannels within said aggregation of RF subchannels, said clear RF subchannels comprising RF subchannels in which RF energy greater than a predetermined threshold cannot be detected;   (c) aggregating at least some of said clear RF subchannels into a plurality of nonidentical subsets such that each subset comprises a plurality of clear RF subchannels;   (d) transmitting on one or more of said subsets.   
     
     
         11 . The improvement according to  claim 10 , wherein step (d) comprises controllably hopping among said subsets and transmitting on said hopped subsets. 
     
     
         12 . The improvement according to  claim 11 , wherein step (d) comprises transmitting an image-representative communication signal by way of said hopped subsets. 
     
     
         13 . The improvement according to  claim 10 , wherein said disjoint RF user channels lie in one or more public service bands.