Method and system for utilization of an outer decoder in a broadcast services communication system

• US 20030035389A1
• Filed: 08/20/2001
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Tiedemann, Edward G. Jr., Wei, Yongbin, Chen, Tao, Odenwalder, Joseph P., Butler, Brian K., Wolf, Jack K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,787,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/09 Error detection only, e.g. using cyclic redundancy check [CRC] codes or single parity bit
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/2909 Product codes
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/293 with erasure setting
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 13/3715 Adaptation to the number of estimated errors or to the channel state
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/30 by a single channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0245 according to signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/322 Power control of broadcast channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A Method and System for Utilization of an Outer Decoder in a Broadcast Services Communication System is described. An outer decoder and an inner decoder encode a block of information to be transmitted, to improve protection by adding redundancy. The redundancy permits decoding of the information from less than a complete encoded block of information. Consequently, the receiving station determines when sufficient amount of information for successful decoding has been received, and utilizes the time remaining before the next block of information arrives to perform other activities, e.g., hard handoff on a broadcast channel, inter-frequency hard handoff, and other activities. Alternatively, the receiving station can cease reception, thus decrease power consumption. Furthermore, part of the information block may be utilized for transmission of signaling information.

Claims

1. A method for reducing power consumption of a subscriber station, comprising:

determining a number of frames that must be received correctly; and

terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames was received correctly.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said determining a number of frames that must be received correctly comprises:

determining an amount of redundancy; and

determining the number of frames that must be received correctly in accordance with said determined amount of redundancy.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said determining an amount of redundancy comprises:

providing the amount of redundancy independently of the received frames.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said determining an amount of redundancy comprises:

determining an encoding rate of received frames; and

determining the amount of redundancy in accordance with the encoding rate.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2 wherein said determining the number of frames that must be received correctly in accordance with said determined mount of redundancy comprises:

determining a minimum number of frames that must be received.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

increasing said determined minimum number of frames that must be received correctly by a first number.

7. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said determining an encoding rate of received frames comprises:

determining an encoding rate of received frames in accordance with the received frames.

8. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said determining an encoding rate of received frames comprises:

providing an encoding rate of received frames independently of the received frames.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames was received correctly comprises:

terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames was received correctly and a time during which the subscriber station is obligated to receive the frames expired.

10. A method for performing hard handoff on a common broadcast channel comprising:

receiving at a subscriber station frames transmitted on the common broadcast channel from a first sector;

determining at the subscriber station a need for handoff;

identifying at the subscriber station at least one sector belonging to a soft handoff group different from a soft handoff group including the first sector;

determining a number of frames from a current buffer that must be received correctly;

terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames were received correctly; and

beginning reception of frames from the identified at least one sector.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein said determining a number of frames that must be received correctly comprises:

determining an amount of redundancy; and

determine number of frames that must be received correctly in accordance with said determined amount of redundancy.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 wherein said determining an amount of redundancy comprises:

providing the amount of redundancy independently of the received frames.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11 wherein said determining an amount of redundancy comprises:

determining an encoding rate of received frames; and

determining the amount of redundancy in accordance with the encoding rate.

14. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein said determining number of frames that must be received correctly in accordance with said determined amount of redundancy comprises:

determining a minimum number of frames that must be received correctly.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

increasing said determining minimum number of frames that must be received correctly by a first number.

16. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said determining an encoding rate of received frames comprises:

determining an encoding rate of received frames in accordance with the received frames.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said determining an encoding rate of received frames comprises:

providing an encoding rate of received frames independently of the received frames.

18. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein said terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames were received correctly comprises:

terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames were received correctly and a time during which the subscriber station is obligated to receive the frames expired.

19. The method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether at least some decoded packets received from the at least one sector are identical to at least some decoded packets received from the first sector; and

discarding the identical packets.

20. A method for a handoff from an area covered by an origination system into an area covered by a destination system comprising:

receiving at a subscriber station service on a channel from a sector in the origination system;

determining at the subscriber station a need for handoff;

identifying at the subscriber station a destination system;

determining a number of frames from a current buffer that must be received correctly;

terminating reception of the frames when said determined number of frames were received correctly;

tuning to a frequency of the destination system; and

receiving service on a channel from at least one sector if the at least one sector of the destination system is acquired at the subscriber station.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

determining a time to restart receiving at a subscriber station service on the channel from the sector in the origination system.

22. The method as claimed in claim 20, further comprising:

storing signals received at the frequency of the destination system;

retuning to the origination frequency;

at the subscriber station concurrently;

receiving service on the channel from the sector in the origination system; and

analyzing the stored signals to identify a sector in a destination system that can provide service;

if no sector of the destination system is acquired at the subscriber station.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22 wherein said retuning to the origination frequency comprises:

retuning to the origination frequency before the time to restart receiving service on a channel from a sector in the origination system

24. The method as claimed in claim 22, further comprising:

performing hard handoff if the sector in a destination system is identified.

25. A method for utilizing a common broadcast channel for signaling, comprising:

replacing part of a content of a parity portion of a transmitting buffer with a signaling information; and

transmitting a content of the transmitting buffer at a determined time on the common broadcast channel.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25, further comprising:

increasing power for transmission of the common broadcast channel during the determined time.

28. The method as claimed in claim 25, further comprising:

encoding a content in the systematic portion of the transmitting buffer with a second code to provide parity bits into the parity portion of the transmitting buffer; and

transmitting a content of the transmitting buffer at other than the determined time on the common broadcast channel.

27. A method for utilizing a common broadcast channel for signaling, comprising:

encoding a content of a systematic portion of a transmitting buffer with a first code to provide parity bits into a first part of a parity portion of the transmitting buffer;

adding signaling information into a second part of the parity portion of the transmitting buffer, the second part being different from the first part;

transmitting a content of the transmitting buffer at a determined time on the common broadcast channel.

29. The method as claimed in claim 27, further comprising:

increasing power for transmission of the common broadcast channel during the determined time.

30. A method for utilizing a common broadcast channel for signaling, comprising:

providing frames received on the common broadcast channel to a receiving buffer;

decoding the receiving buffer with a first code if the frames were received in error during a determined time; and

decoding the receiving buffer with a second code if the frames were received in error otherwise.

31. A method for utilizing a common broadcast channel for signaling, comprising:

encoding a packet containing channel content information with a first code;

encoding a packet containing channel content information and signaling information with a second code; and

transmitting said encoded packets.

32. A method for utilizing a common broadcast channel for signaling, comprising:

decoding received packet in accordance with a first rate hypothesis; and

decoding received packet in accordance with a second rate hypothesis if said decoding received packet in accordance with a first rate hypothesis was unsuccessful.