Scheduling systems and methods for wireless networks

• US 10,004,060 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2015
• Issued: 06/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Conversant Intellectual Property Management Inc (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Inventors: Le, Khiem
• Primary Examiner(s): Taha, Shukri
• Application Number:
  US14/666,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20150282148A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/20 Manipulation of established connections

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method is performed by a base station in a wireless network. The method includes receiving from a user device a request to reconfigure already-active uplink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). The already-active uplink SPS grants the user device a resource block allocation (RBA) and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for periodic uplink transmissions. The already-active uplink SPS includes a time-interval parameter, the time-interval parameter specifying a time interval between the periodic uplink transmissions. The request includes information related to a proposed adjustment of the time-interval parameter. The method further includes reconfiguring the already-active uplink SPS. The reconfiguring includes modifying the time-interval parameter based, at least in part, on the information.

Claims

1. A method comprising, by a base station in a wireless network:

receiving from a user device a request to reconfigure already-active uplink semi-persistent scheduling (SPS);

wherein the already-active uplink SPS grants the user device a resource block allocation (RBA) and a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for periodic uplink transmissions;

wherein the already-active uplink SPS comprises a time-interval parameter, the time-interval parameter specifying a time interval between the periodic uplink transmissions;

wherein the request comprises information related to a proposed adjustment of the time-interval parameter and the request is specified in at least one of the following portions of a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (PDU);

a reserved bit of a header of the MAC PDU;

a control-element field of a payload of the MAC PDU; and

a padding field of the payload; and

reconfiguring the already-active uplink SPS, the reconfiguring comprising modifying the time-interval parameter based, at least in part, on the information.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising notifying the user device of the reconfigured already-active uplink SPS.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving from the user device an uplink transmission pursuant to the reconfigured already-active uplink SPS.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the reconfiguring comprises establishing a starting subframe; and

the reconfigured already-active uplink SPS comprises a starting-subframe identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying comprises performing the proposed adjustment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modifying comprises performing an adjustment that is different from the proposed adjustment.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising sending updated scheduling information to the user device, the updated scheduling information comprising the modified time-interval parameter.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

prior to the receiving of the request to reconfigure;

receiving an uplink-grant request from the user device; and

allocating to the user device an uplink grant responsive to the uplink-grant request; and

wherein the request to reconfigure is received pursuant to the uplink grant.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the uplink-grant request is a scheduling request.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the uplink-grant request is specified using one or more reserved bits of a header of an uplink packet.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to reconfigure is specified in a control-element field of a media access control (MAC) payload, the control-element field identified by a logical channel ID (LCID) value assigned from a set of reserved LCID values.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the proposed adjustment comprises a proposed value of the time-interval parameter.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the proposed adjustment comprises an index to an array of time-interval-parameter values stored in memory on the base station.

14. The method of claim 1, comprising:

wherein the time-interval parameter comprises two possible values, the two possible values comprising a current value and an alternative value;

wherein the information related to the proposed adjustment comprises a toggle indicator;

and reconfiguring the already-active uplink SPS, the reconfiguring comprising toggling the time-interval parameter to the alternative value.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein one of the two possible values corresponds to a talk spurt and another of the two possible values corresponds to a silence interval.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the information related to the proposed adjustment identifies a proposed starting subframe.

17. The method of claim 1, comprising, prior to the receiving of the request for reconfiguration, receiving an uplink transmission pursuant to the already-active uplink SPS.

18. The method of claim 1, comprising, prior to the reconfiguring, determining whether to reconfigure the already-active uplink SPS responsive to the request.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to reconfigure is responsive to a determined transition on the user device, wherein the determined transition is selected from the group consisting of:

a transition from a talk spurt to a silence interval; and

a transition from a silence interval to a talk spurt.