METHODS AND APPARATUS RELATED TO DETERMINING, COMMUNICATING, AND/OR USING DELAY INFORMATION

• US 20070253449A1
• Filed: 12/08/2006
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Park, Vincent, Das, Arnab
• Application Number:
  US11/608,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20070253449A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/498
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0073 Special arrangements for feedback channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0687 Full feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0693 Partial feedback, e.g. partial channel state information [CSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2027/002 using feedback from a remote receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2602 Signal structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2646 using feedback from receiver for adjusting OFDM transmission parameters, e.g. transmission timing or guard interval length
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0278 using buffer status reports dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1221 based on age of data to be sent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/543 based on requested quality, e.g. QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/569 of the traffic information

Abstract

Methods and apparatus related to determining, communicating, and/or using delay information and described. A wireless terminal determines delay information corresponding to queued information that it intends to transmits. The delay information includes a minimum time to a transmission deadline indicating a minimum amount of time remaining before information will be discarded if not transmitted. The determined delay information is communicated to a base station in a control information report. Alternatives formats for the control information report are possible including a report type conveying only delay information and a report type conveying delay information and queue backlog count information jointly coded. A base station uses received delay information received from one or more wireless terminals to efficiently schedule uplink traffic channel segments.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless terminal, comprising:

determining delay information corresponding to data to be transmitted, said delay information including at lest a minimum delay to a transmission deadline; and

communicating at least some of said determined delay information to a base station.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said minimum delay to a transmission deadline is a first minimum delay to a first packet transmission deadline, said first minimum delay corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in a first transmission queue.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

dropping at least one packet from said first transmission queue if no data is transmitted from said first transmission queue by the transmission deadline.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining delay information further includes:

determining a second minimum delay to a second packet transmission deadline, said second minimum delay to a transmission deadline corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in a second transmission queue; and

wherein communicating at least some of said determined delay information to a base station includes communicating said first and second minimum delays to the base station.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said first and second transmission queues correspond to different traffic flows.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first transmission queue corresponds to a voice traffic flow and the second transmission queue corresponds to a non-voice traffic flow.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said first minimum delay is reported more frequently than said second minimum delay.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating backlog information indicating an amount of data waiting to be transmitted.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein communicating at least some of said determined delay information includes transmitting said minimum delay in a delay information report transmitted over a wireless communications link;

and

wherein communicating backlog information includes transmitting said backlog information over said wireless communications link in a backlog information report.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein communicating backlog information indicating an amount of data waiting to be transmitted includes:

jointly coding frame counts of data to be transmitted and delay information; and

transmitting the jointly coded information over a wireless communications link.

11. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining an aggregated backlog value indicating an amount of information corresponding to a plurality of data transmission streams waiting to be communicated.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a timing constrained backlog amount indicating an amount of backlog waiting to be transmitted which satisfies a timing constraint.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

communicating the determined timing constrained backlog amount to a base station.

14. A wireless terminal, comprising:

a transmission delay determination module for determining delay information corresponding to data to be transmitted, said delay information including at least a minimum delay to a transmission deadline; and

a wireless transmitter module for transmitting at least some delay information determined by said delay determination module.

15. The wireless terminal of claim 14, further comprising:

a first transmission queue for storing data to be transmitted;

memory including queue statistics including said determined delay information which includes said minimum delay to a transmission deadline, said minimum delay to a transmission deadline being a first minimum delay to a first packet transmission deadline, said first minimum delay corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in the first transmission queue.

16. The wireless terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a queue management module for dropping at least one packet from said first transmission queue if no data is transmitted from said first transmission queue by the transmission deadline.

17. The wireless terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a second transmission queue for storing data to be transmitted; and

wherein said queue statistics including said determined delay information further include a second minimum delay to a second packet transmission deadline, said second minimum delay to a transmission deadline corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in the second transmission queue; and

wherein said wireless transmitter is for transmitting said first and second minimum delays to the base station.

18. The wireless terminal of claim 15, wherein said first and second transmission queues correspond to different traffic flows.

19. The wireless terminal of claim 18, wherein the first transmission queue corresponds to a voice traffic flow and the second transmission queue corresponds to a non-voice traffic flow.

20. The wireless terminal of claim 18, further comprising:

a transmission control module for controlling the transmitter to transmit said first minimum delay to transmission deadline more frequently than said second minimum delay to transmission deadline.

21. The wireless terminal of claim 15, further comprising:

a backlog information generation module for generating information indicating an amount of data waiting to be transmitted.

22. The wireless terminal of claim 21, further comprising:

a coding module for jointly coding frame counts of data to be transmitted and delay information.

23. The wireless terminal of claim 14, further comprising:

a data unit count aggregation module for determining a total amount of data waiting to be transmitted, said data corresponding to a plurality of different data transmission streams.

24. The wireless terminal of claim 14, further comprising:

a constrained data unit module for determining an amount of data waiting to be transmitted that satisfies a transmission timing constraint.

25. A wireless terminal, comprising:

a transmission delay determination means for determining delay information corresponding to data to be transmitted, said delay information including at least a minimum delay to a transmission deadline; and

a wireless transmitter means for transmitting at least some delay information determined by said delay determination module.

26. The wireless terminal of claim 25, further comprising:

first transmission queue means for storing data to be transmitted; and

memory means for storing queue statistics including said determined delay information which includes said minimum delay to a transmission deadline, said minimum delay to a transmission deadline being a first minimum delay to a first packet transmission deadline, said first minimum delay corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in the first transmission queue.

27. The wireless terminal of claim 26, further comprising:

a queue management means for dropping at least one packet from said first transmission queue if no data is transmitted from said first transmission queue by the transmission deadline.

28. The wireless terminal of claim 26, further comprising:

second transmission queue means for storing data to be transmitted; and

wherein said queue statistics including said determined delay information further include a second minimum delay to a second packet transmission deadline, said second minimum delay to a transmission deadline corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in the second transmission queue.

29. The wireless terminal of claim 26, wherein said first and second transmission queue means correspond to different traffic flows.

30. The wireless terminal of claim 29, further comprising:

a transmission control means for controlling the transmitter to transmit said first minimum delay more frequently than said second minimum delay; and

a backlog information generation means for generating information indicating an amount of data waiting to be transmitted.

31. A computer readable medium embodying machine executable instructions for controlling a wireless terminal to implement a method, the method comprising:

determining delay information corresponding to data to be transmitted, said delay information including at least a minimum delay to a transmission deadline; and

communicating at least some of said determined delay information to a base station.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein said minimum delay to a transmission deadline is a first minimum delay to a first packet transmission deadline, said first minimum delay corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in a first transmission queue.

33. The computer readable medium of claim 32, further embodying machine executable instructions for:

dropping at least one packet from said first transmission queue if no data is transmitted from said first transmission queue by the transmission deadline.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 32, further embodying machine executable instructions for:

determining a second minimum delay to a second packet transmission deadline, said second minimum delay to a transmission deadline corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in a second transmission queue, as part of said step of determining delay information; and

communicating said first and second minimum delays to the base station, as part of said step of communicating at least some of said determined delay information to a base station.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein said first and second transmission queues correspond to different traffic flows.

36. A device comprising:

a processor configured to;

determine delay information corresponding to data to be transmitted, said delay information including at least a minimum delay to a transmission deadline; and

communicate at least some of said determined delay information to a base station.

37. The device of claim 36, wherein said minimum delay to a transmission deadline is a first minimum delay to a first packet transmission deadline, said first minimum delay corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in a first transmission queue.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein said processor is further configured to:

drop at least one packet from said first transmission queue if no data is transmitted from said first transmission queue by the transmission deadline.

39. The device of claim 37, wherein said processor is further configured to:

determine a second minimum delay to a second packet transmission deadline, said second minimum delay to a transmission deadline corresponding to data to be transmitted by the wireless terminal that has been waiting in a second transmission queue, as part of said step of determining delay information; and

communicate said first and second minimum delays to the base station, as part of said step of communicating at least some of said determined delay information to a base station.

40. The device of claim 39, wherein said first and second transmission queues correspond to different traffic flows.