Communications in an ad-hoc multicast network

• US 10,070,433 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2014
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Stephens, Adrian P., Stojanovski, Alexandre S., Khoryaev, Alexey
• Primary Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Application Number:
  US14/892,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20160113036A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0452 Multi-user MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0626 Channel coefficients, e.g. channel state information [CSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 11/005 of intercell interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/021 Estimation of channel covariance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0242 using matrix methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03891 Spatial equalizers MIMO diversity systems H04B7/0413
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/1469 using time-sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/02 Buffering or recovering information during reselection ; Modification of the traffic flow during hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0005 synchronizing of arrival of multiple uplinks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/04 multi-step notification using statistical or historical mobility data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/004 : in the uplink, i.e. towards network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/006 : in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 : with collision avoidance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/19 : Connection re-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/30 : Connection release
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 : Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 : using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A technology for a user equipment (UE) that is operable to communicate in an ad-hoc wireless multicast communications network is disclosed. Another UE can be selected to send a request to send (RTS) control frame to. The RTS control frame can be communicated to the other UE. The RTS control frame indicates that the UE requests to send a multicast data frame. A clear to send (CTS) message can be received from the other UE, indicating the UE is clear to send the multicast data frame. The multicast data frame can be transmitted by the UE to a selected group of UEs.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE) operable to communicate in an ad-hoc wireless multicast communications network, the UE having computer circuitry configured to:

select another UE to send a request to send (RTS) control frame to, wherein the other UE previously completed transmission of a talk burst train as indicated by one or more of a MAC layer, an upper layer or by an application layer;

communicate via a proximity based service (ProSe) connection, to the other UE, the RTS control frame, wherein the RTS control frame indicates that the UE requests to send a multicast data frame;

receive, from the other UE, a clear to send (CTS) message, indicating the UE is clear to send the multicast data frame; and

transmit the multicast data frame to a selected group of UEs.

2. The computer circuitry of claim 1, further configured to select the other UE as:

a UE that most recently completed multicast transmission of a talk burst train to the selected group of UEs identified at a media access control (MAC) layer or a different selected group of UEs identified from a communication on an upper layer above the MAC layer;

or

a random UE that is within a communication perimeter of the UE and has recently transmitted a data frame.

3. The computer circuitry of claim 1, further configured to:

monitor activity at a medium access control (MAC) layer;

compile a list of source addresses of adjacent UEs that have recently transmitted;

sort the list by the transmission time of a time of each frame transmitted by each adjacent UE; and

select the other UE from the sorted list of source addresses to which to send the RTS control frame.

4. The computer circuitry of claim 3, further configured to:

retransmit, to the other UE, the RTS control frame up to a threshold number of retransmission times when a CTS message is not received from the other UE; and

transmit the RTS control frame to a next UE in the transmission time from the sorted list of source addresses of UEs when the threshold number of retransmission times is reached.

5. The computer circuitry of claim 4, further configured to transmit the RTS control frame sequentially to each UE in the sorted list of addresses of UEs until a CTS message is received by the UE.

6. The computer circuitry of claim 5, further configured to restart at a top of the sorted list of source addresses and retransmit the RTS control frame from a beginning of the sorted list when the UE has exhausted the sorted list.

7. The computer circuitry of claim 5, further configured to abandon a transmission of the RTS control frame when indicated by an upper layer.

8. A first user equipment (UE) operable to communicate in a decentralized multicast wireless communications network, the UE having computer circuitry configured to:

multicast a talk burst train to a selected group of UEs;

communicate, via a proximity based service (ProSe) connection, a transmit ceased message to the selected group of UEs indicating the completion of the talk burst train;

receive, from a second UE, a request to send (RTS) control frame, wherein the RTS control frame indicates that the second UE requests to send a multicast data frame; and

communicate, to the second UE, a clear to send (CTS) message indicating that each UE within a communication perimeter of the first UE will refrain from communicating during the multicast of the data frame.

9. The computer circuitry of claim 8, further configured to receive a data frame from the second UE in the selected group of UEs.

10. The computer circuitry of claim 8, further configured to multicast the talk burst train message by the UE using layer-2 communication.

11. The computer circuitry of claim 8, wherein the data frame includes a destination address field indicating the selected group of UEs.

12. A product including a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that are adapted to be executed to implement a method of communicating in a multicast communications network, the method comprising:

selecting another UE to send an request to send (RTS) control frame to, wherein the other UE previously completed transmission of a talk burst train as indicated by one or more of a MAC layer, an upper layer, or by an application layer;

communicating, via a proximity based service (ProSe) connection, to the other UE, the RTS control frame, wherein the RTS control frame indicates that the UE requests to send a multicast data frame;

receiving, from the other UE, a clear to send (CTS) message, indicating the UE is clear to send the multicast data frame within a communication perimeter of the other UE; and

multicasting the data frame to a selected group of UEs.

13. The product of claim 12, further comprising communicating the data frame on a layer-2 multicast frame to the selected group of UEs.

14. The product of claim 13, wherein the data frame includes a destination address field indicating the selected group of UEs.

15. The product of claim 12, further comprising receiving a multicast data frame from the other UE.

16. The product of claim 12, further comprising:

compiling a list of source addresses of adjacent UEs that have recently transmitted, wherein the list is sorted by a transmission time of a most recent frame transmitted by each adjacent UE; and

selecting the other UE to send the RTS control frame to from the sorted list of source addresses.

17. The product of claim 12, wherein the UE and the selected group of UEs use device to device (D2D) communications to multicast the talk burst train.

18. The product of claim 12, further comprising selecting the other UE as:

a UE that most recently completed transmission of talk burst train to the selected group of UEs;

or

a random UE that is within a communication perimeter of the UE and has recently transmitted a data frame.