Methods and systems for interference management

Abstract

Methods and systems for interference management are described. Methods and systems can be used for minimizing interference among communication and/or electronic devices. Interference data can be gathered/received from interference sources such as weather and natural patterns, various electronic devices, and one or more network protocols. The interference data can be used to generate interference patterns of each interference source in an interference map. The interference map can be used to determine how a particular interference pattern can affect a system. The interference map can also be used to evaluate a new source of interference (e.g., cordless phones, weather conditions) to determine how a system can be affected. The interference data can also be associated with an interference signature (e.g., an interference pattern, a fingerprint) for an interference source in a database. The database can be used based on the interference signature to identify known and/or unknown interference sources.

What is claims is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a computing device, interference data associated with an interference source;   determining, based on the interference data, the interference source; and   causing, based on the interference source, adjustment of at least one characteristic of a user device to mitigate interference associated with the interference source.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interference data comprises at least one of: radio interference data, microwave interference data, infrared interference data, visible light interference data, ultraviolet interference data, X-ray interference data, weather, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the interference source comprises:
 determining, based on the interference data, a location of an interference pattern; and   determining, based on the location of the interference pattern, the interference source.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, based on the interference data, a location of the interference source,   wherein causing the adjustment of the at least one characteristic comprises causing, based on the location of the interference source, a change in a location of the user device.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein causing the adjustment of the at least one characteristic comprises causing at least one of: a change to a position, a change to a frequency, a change to a network channel, a change to a power level, a change to a beacon, a change to a trigger, a change to a schedule, or a change to a performance level of the user device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the interference source is an uncontrollable interference source. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, based on the interference data, a frequency of an interference pattern for the interference source,   wherein causing the adjustment of the at least one characteristic comprises causing, based on the frequency of the interference pattern, a network channel change at the user device.   
     
     
         8 . An apparatus comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:
 receive interference data associated with an interference source; 
 determine, based on the interference data, the interference source; and 
 cause, based on the interference source, adjustment of at least one characteristic of a user device to mitigate interference associated with the interference source. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the interference data comprises at least one of: radio interference data, microwave interference data, infrared interference data, visible light interference data, ultraviolet interference data, X-ray interference data, weather, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the interference source, cause the apparatus to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a location of an interference pattern; and   determine, based on the location of the interference pattern, the interference source.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a location of the interference source,   wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, cause the apparatus to cause, based on the location of the interference source, a change in a location of the user device.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, cause the apparatus to cause at least one of: a change to a position, a change to a frequency, a change to a network channel, a change to a power level, a change to a beacon, a change to a trigger, a change to a schedule, or a change to a performance level of the user device. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to determine the interference source is an uncontrollable interference source. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a frequency of an interference pattern for the interference source,   wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, cause the apparatus to cause, based on the frequency of the interference pattern, a network channel change at the user device.   
     
     
         15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 receive interference data associated with an interference source;   determine, based on the interference data, the interference source; and   cause, based on the interference source, adjustment of at least one characteristic of a user device to mitigate interference associated with the interference source.   
     
     
         16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the interference data comprises at least one of: radio interference data, microwave interference data, infrared interference data, visible light interference data, ultraviolet interference data, X-ray interference data, weather, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to determine the interference source, cause the at least one processor to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a location of an interference pattern; and   determine, based on the location of the interference pattern, the interference source.   
     
     
         18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a location of the interference source,   wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, cause the at least one processor to cause, based on the location of the interference source, a change in a location of the user device.   
     
     
         19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, cause the at least one processor to cause at least one of: a change to a position, a change to a frequency, a change to a network channel, a change to a power level, a change to a beacon, a change to a trigger, a change to a schedule, or a change to a performance level of the user device. 
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to determine the interference source is an uncontrollable interference source. 
     
     
         21 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein the processor-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a frequency of an interference pattern for the interference source,   wherein the processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, cause the at least one processor to cause, based on the frequency of the interference pattern, a network channel change at the user device.   
     
     
         22 . A system comprising:
 a computing device configured to:
 receive interference data associated with an interference source; 
 determine, based on the interference data, the interference source; and 
 cause, based on the interference source, adjustment of at least one characteristic of a user device to mitigate interference associated with the interference source; and 
   the user device, configured to:
 receive an indication of the adjustment of the at least one characteristic of the user device. 
   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the interference data comprises at least one of: radio interference data, microwave interference data, infrared interference data, visible light interference data, ultraviolet interference data, X-ray interference data, weather, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein to determine the interference source the computing device is configured to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a location of an interference pattern; and   determine, based on the location of the interference pattern, the interference source.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a location of the interference source,   wherein to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, the computing device is configured to cause, based on the location of the interference source, a change in a location of the user device.   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, the computing device is configured to cause at least one of: a change to a position, a change to a frequency, a change to a network channel, a change to a power level, a change to a beacon, a change to a trigger, a change to a schedule, or a change to a performance level of the user device. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the computing device is further configured to determine the interference source is an uncontrollable interference source. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
 determine, based on the interference data, a frequency of an interference pattern for the interference source,   wherein to cause the adjustment of the at least one characteristic, the computing device is configured to cause, based on the frequency of the interference pattern, a network channel change at the user device.