Uplink Scheduling and Resource Allocation With Fast Indication

• US 20080267118A1
• Filed: 04/27/2007
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takashi, Womack, James Earl, Cai, Zhijun
• Granted Patent: US 8,064,390 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0031 Multiple signaling transmission H04L1/1664, F15 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1671 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1858 Transmission or retransmission of more than one copy of acknowledgement message
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/04 using triggered events
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1263 Mapping of traffic onto schedule, e.g. scheduled allocation or multiplexing of flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]

Abstract

Systems and methods for signalling transitions between talk-spurt state and silence state for wireless terminals having semi-persistently allocated uplink resources are employed. A layer ½ indication of the state transitions may be transmitted using a resource that is specifically allocated for that purpose. Alternatively, ACK/NACK signalling may be employed. Layer 1 indications may be employed for both state transition types. Alternatively, in-band MAC layer signalling may be used to signal state transition from talk-spurt state to silence, or the network may deduce this state transition on its own. A different uplink wireless transition resource is allocated for the talk-spurt state vs. the silence state.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving transmissions from a wireless terminal on a first uplink wireless transmission resource that is semi-persistently allocated to a wireless terminal such that the first uplink wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal for periods that the wireless terminal is in an active state;

determining when the wireless terminal has transitioned from the active state to an inactive state;

determining when the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state by receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal;

while the wireless terminal is in the inactive state, making the first uplink wireless transmission resource available for re-allocation for other purposes.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the active state is a talk-spurt state for a VoIP session, and the inactive state is a silence state for the VoIP session.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

signalling the semi-persistent allocation of the first uplink wireless transmission resource at the start of a session.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises receiving ACK/NACK (acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement) signalling that includes state transition information.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises receiving CQI (channel quality indicator) signalling that includes state transition information.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises receiving an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining when the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving signalling from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising receiving signalling from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving a layer 1 indication that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises receiving said ACK/NACK signalling that includes state transition information.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein:

receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises receiving CQI signalling that includes state transition information.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein:

receiving a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises receiving an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

12. The method of claim 7 comprising receiving signalling from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving MAC layer signalling from the wireless terminal at the end of an active state.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by monitoring for a period of inactivity from the wireless terminal.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving an indication about the start of silence period from an application layer.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating a layer 1 resource for use by the wireless terminal in transmitting the layer 1 signalling.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein allocating a layer 1 resource for use by the wireless terminal in transmitting the layer 1 signalling comprises:

reserving the resource for the wireless terminal while the wireless terminal is in the active state;

making the layer 1 resource available for other purposes during inactive state.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

allocating a second uplink wireless transmission resource semi-persistently to the wireless terminal, such that the second uplink wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal for periods that the wireless terminal is in the inactive state for the purpose of transmitting SID frames, the second uplink wireless transmission resource having a smaller capacity than the first resource.

18. A method comprising:

a wireless terminal, while in an active state, transmitting uplink communications using a first wireless transmission resource that is semi-persistently allocated to the wireless terminal in the sense that the first wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal while in the active state;

after completing a transmission while in the active state, the wireless terminal transitioning from the active state to an inactive state;

in order to start transmitting in the active while in the inactive state, the wireless terminal transitioning from the inactive state to the active state and transmitting a layer 1 indication to indicate the transition from the inactive state to the active state.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the active state is a talk-spurt state for a VoIP session, and the inactive state is a silence state for the VoIP session.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein:

transmitting a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises transmitting ACK/NACK signalling that includes state transition information.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein:

transmitting a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises transmitting CQI (channel quality indicator) signalling that includes state transition information.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein:

transmitting a layer 1 indication to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises transmitting an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

23. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

transmitting signalling information that indicates when the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein transmitting signalling information that indicates when the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises transmitting a layer 1 indication that indicates when the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein:

transmitting a layer 1 indication to indicate that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises transmitting ACK/NACK signalling that includes state transition information.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein:

transmitting a layer 1 indication to indicate that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises transmitting CQI signalling that includes state transition information.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein:

transmitting a layer 1 indication that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises transmitting an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein transmitting signalling information that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises transmitting MAC layer signalling at the end of an active state.

29. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

while in the inactive state, transmitting SID frames using a second uplink wireless transmission resource semi-persistently to a wireless terminal for VoIP transmission, such that the second uplink wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal for periods that the wireless terminal is in the inactive state for the purpose of transmitting SID frames, the second uplink wireless transmission resource having a smaller capacity than the first resource.

30. An apparatus comprising:

an access network element that receives transmissions from a wireless terminal on a first uplink wireless transmission resource that is semi-persistently allocated to a wireless terminal such that the first uplink wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal for periods that the wireless terminal is in an active state, and that also receives a layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal that indicate when the wireless terminal has transitioned from the active state to an inactive state;

a scheduler with layer 1 state feedback processing function that determines when the wireless terminal has transitioned from the active state to an inactive state, determines when the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state by processing the layer 1 indications received from the wireless terminal that indicate when the wireless terminal has transitioned from the active state to an inactive state, and while the wireless terminal is in the inactive state, makes the first uplink wireless transmission resource available for re-allocation for other purposes.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the active state is a talk-spurt state for a VoIP session, and the inactive state is a silence state for the VoIP session.

32. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein:

the scheduler determines the semi-persistent allocation of the first uplink wireless transmission resource at the start of a session and signals the semi-persistent allocation of the first uplink wireless transmission resource at the start of a session.

33. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein:

the layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises ACK/NACK (acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement) signalling that includes state transition information.

34. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein:

the layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises CQI (channel quality indicator) signalling that includes state transition information.

35. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein:

the layer 1 indication from the wireless terminal to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

36. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the access network element further receives signalling from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state, and the scheduler determines the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state based on the signalling.

37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the access network receives signalling from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving a layer 1 indication that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

38. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the access network receives and processes signalling from the wireless terminal that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving MAC layer signalling from the wireless terminal at the end of an active state.

39. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the apparatus determines the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by monitoring for a period of inactivity from the wireless terminal.

40. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the apparatus determines the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state by receiving an indication about the start of silence period from an application layer.

41. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the scheduler allocates a layer 1 resource for use by the wireless terminal in transmitting the layer 1 signalling.

42. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the scheduler allocates a layer 1 resource for use by the wireless terminal in transmitting the layer 1 signalling by reserving the resource for the wireless terminal while the wireless terminal is in the active state and by making the layer 1 resource available for other purposes during inactive state.

43. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the scheduler allocates a second uplink wireless transmission resource semi-persistently to the wireless terminal, such that the second uplink wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal for periods that the wireless terminal is in the inactive state for the purpose of transmitting SID frames, the second uplink wireless transmission resource having a smaller capacity than the first resource.

44. A wireless terminal comprising:

a wireless access radio that, while in an active state, transmits uplink communications using a first wireless transmission resource that is semi-persistently allocated to the wireless terminal in the sense that the first wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal while in the active state, and after completing a transmission while in the active state the wireless terminal transitioning from the active state to an inactive state;

a layer 1 state feedback generator that, in order to start transmitting in the active while in the inactive state, generates a layer 1 indication to indicate the transition from the inactive state to the active state for transmission by the wireless access radio.

45. The wireless terminal of claim 44 wherein the active state is a talk-spurt state for a VoIP session, and the inactive state is a silence state for the VoIP session.

46. The wireless terminal of claim 45 wherein:

the layer 1 indication to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises ACK/NACK signalling that includes state transition information.

47. The wireless terminal of claim 45 wherein:

the layer 1 indication to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises CQI (channel quality indicator) signalling that includes state transition information.

48. The wireless terminal of claim 45 wherein:

the layer 1 indication to indicate the wireless terminal has transitioned from inactive state to active state comprises an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

49. The wireless terminal of claim 44 that transmits signalling information that indicates when the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

50. The wireless terminal of claim 49 wherein the layer 1 state feedback generates the signalling information that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state, the signalling information comprising a layer 1 indication that indicates when the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state.

51. The wireless terminal of claim 50 wherein the layer 1 indication that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state ACK/NACK signalling that includes state transition information.

52. The wireless terminal of claim 50 wherein the layer 1 indication to indicate that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises CQI signalling that includes state transition information.

53. The wireless terminal of claim 50 wherein the layer 1 indication that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises an indicator on an uplink transmission resource specifically allocated for that purpose.

54. The wireless terminal of claim 49 wherein the signalling information that indicates that the wireless terminal has transitioned from active state to inactive state comprises MAC layer signalling at the end of an active state.

55. The wireless terminal of claim 44 that, while in the inactive state, transmits SID frames using a second uplink wireless transmission resource semi-persistently to a wireless terminal for VoIP transmission, such that the second uplink wireless transmission resource is allocated to the wireless terminal for periods that the wireless terminal is in the inactive state for the purpose of transmitting SID frames, the second uplink wireless transmission resource having a smaller capacity than the first resource.