MAC layer reconfiguration in a mobile communication system

• US 20070047452A1
• Filed: 08/01/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Lohr, Joachim, Seidel, Eiko, Petrovic, Dragan
• Granted Patent: US 7,321,589 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2612 Arrangements for wireless medium access control, e.g. by allocating physical layer transmission capacity H04B7/2615 - H04B7/2643 take precedence; provision for broadband connection H04Q11/0478
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1829 Arrangements specially adapted for the receiver end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1874 Buffer management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

The invention relates to method and apparatus for reconfiguring a MAC entity of a MAC layer of the apparatus receiving protocol data units from a mobile terminal via on uplink upon reconfiguration of the uplink channel. Further, the invention relates to methods and mobile terminals for triggering the transmission of a status report from an RLC entity configured for an uplink channel of a network element in a radio access network, as well as a method and terminal for configuring the MAC layer of the mobile terminal. In order to enable an efficient and fast generation of RLC status reports after an uplink channel reconfiguration the invention suggests new mechanisms to trigger the transmission of status reports upon uplink reconfiguration as well a new operation and configuration of radio access network elements and UEs upon uplink channel reconfiguration, in particular a transmission time interval (TTI) reconfiguration.

Claims

1-44. -44. (canceled)

45. A transmission apparatus comprising:

a sequence number setting section operable to set a transmission sequence number for a protocol data unit of a logical channel, the logical channel being mapped to an uplink transport channel, and

a transmission section operable to transmit the protocol data unit for which the transmission sequence number is set on the uplink transport channel configured with a transmission time interval,

wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number in case that the transmission time interval of the uplink transport channel is reconfigured.

46. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the uplink transport channel is an enhanced uplink dedicated channel.

47. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said transmission sequence number setting section and said transmission section are part of a MAC (Medium Access Control) layer in the transmission apparatus.

48. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the uplink transport channel is configured with either 2 ms transmission time interval or 10 ms transmission time interval.

49. The transmission apparatus according to claim 48, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number in case that the transmission time interval is changed from 2 ms to 10 ms or vice versa.

50. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number to 0.

51. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number for all logical channels mapped to the uplink transport channel.

52. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number after the transmission time interval is reconfigured.

53. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said transmission section is operable to transmit the protocol data unit utilizing a HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) process.

54. The transmission apparatus according to claim 53, wherein the transmission apparatus is operable to flush the HARQ process in case that the transmission time interval is reconfigured.

55. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to set the transmission sequence number per logical channel mapped onto the uplink transport channel for each protocol data unit.

56. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to set the transmission sequence number for the protocol data unit to support re-ordering functionality at a receiving apparatus.

57. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the transmission sequence number is used for reordering purposes to support in-sequence delivery of a protocol data unit to higher layers.

58. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the transmission apparatus is operable to use a transport channel reconfiguration procedure for reconfiguring the transmission time interval.

59. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number in case that a transport channel reconfiguration is requested.

60. The transmission apparatus according to claim 58, wherein the transport channel reconfiguration includes a reset of MAC (Medium Access Control) entity.

61. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number in case that a transport channel reconfiguration followed by a reset of MAC entity is requested by higher layer.

62. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the protocol data unit is a MAC-es PDU (Medium Access Control-es Protocol Data Unit).

63. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to increment the transmission sequence number by 1 at the end of the transmission time interval for which at least one protocol data unit is transmitted.

64. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the transmission sequence number is included in a header of the protocol data unit.

65. The transmission apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said sequence number setting section is operable to reset the transmission sequence number if the current transmission sequence number exceeds a maximum number.

66. A mobile terminal equipped with the transmission apparatus according to claim 45.

67. A method for transmitting data comprising:

setting a transmission sequence number for a protocol data unit of a logical channel, the logical channel being mapped to an uplink transport channel,

transmitting the protocol data unit for which the transmission sequence number is set on the uplink transport channel configured with a transmission time interval, and

resetting the transmission sequence number in case that the transmission time interval of the uplink transport channel is reconfigured.

68. The method according to claim 67, wherein the uplink transport channel is an enhanced uplink dedicated channel.

69. The method according to claim 67, wherein the uplink transport channel is configured with either 2 ms transmission time interval or 10 ms transmission time interval.

70. The method according to claim 69, wherein the sequence number is reset in case that the transmission time interval is changed from 2 ms to 10 ms or vice versa.

71. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is reset to 0.

72. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is reset for all logical channels mapped to the uplink transport channel.

73. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is reset after the transmission time interval is reconfigured.

74. The method according to claims 67, wherein the protocol data unit is transmitted utilizing a HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) process.

75. The method according to claim 74, further comprising flushing the HARQ process in case that the transmission time interval is reconfigured.

76. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is set per logical channel mapped onto the uplink transport channel for each protocol data unit.

77. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is set for the protocol data unit to support re-ordering functionality at a receiving apparatus.

78. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is used for reordering purposes to support in-sequence delivery of a protocol data unit to higher layers.

79. The method according to claim 67, further comprising reconfiguring the transmission time interval.

80. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission time interval is reconfigured in a transport channel reconfiguration procedure.

81. The method according to claim 67, further comprising receiving a request for a transport channel reconfiguration, wherein the transmission sequence number is reset in case that the request for a transport channel reconfiguration is received.

82. The method according to claim 80, wherein the transport channel reconfiguration includes a reset of a MAC (Medium Access Control) entity.

83. The method according to claim 67, further comprising:

receiving a request for a transport channel reconfiguration followed by a reset of a MAC (Medium Access Control) entity, wherein the transmission sequence number is reset in case the request for the transport channel reconfiguration followed by a reset of the MAC entity is requested by higher layer.

84. The method according to claim 67, wherein the protocol data unit is a MAC-es PDU (Medium Access Control-es Protocol Data Unit).

85. The method according to claim 67, further comprising the step of incrementing the transmission sequence number by 1 at the end of the transmission time interval for which at least one protocol data unit is transmitted.

86. The method according to claim 67, wherein the transmission sequence number is included in a header of the protocol data unit.

87. The method according to claim 67, further comprising resetting the transmission sequence number if the current transmission sequence number exceeds a maximum number.

88. A mobile terminal operable to perform the method for transmitting data according to claim 67.

90. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor of a transmission apparatus, cause the transmission apparatus to perform the method according to claim 67.

89. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a transmission apparatus, cause the transmission apparatus to transmit data by:

setting a transmission sequence number for a protocol data unit of a logical channel, the logical channel being mapped to an uplink transport channel,

transmitting the protocol data unit for which the sequence number is set on the uplink transport channel configured with a transmission time interval, and

resetting the transmission sequence number in case that the transmission time interval of the uplink transport channel is reconfigured.