Combined Contention and Scheduling Based Uplink for S3g

• US 20080318607A1
• Filed: 08/22/2005
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Parkvall, Stefan, Torsner, Per Johan, Englund, Eva
• Granted Patent: US 9,179,474 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/02 Hybrid access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/08 Non-scheduled access, e.g. ALOHA hybrid access H04W74/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0816 with collision avoidance

Abstract

A communications system comprises a terminal, and network resources. The terminal is operable to transmit substantially simultaneously a data portion and a data transfer request for that data portion to the network resources.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data between a terminal and network resources in a communications network, wherein the terminal performs contention-based data transmission of at least a data portion to the network resources, and, simultaneously submits a data transfer scheduling request relating to said data portion to the network resources.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a data portion and a data transfer request simultaneously from a terminal to network resources, the data transfer request relating to the data portion;

if the data portion is not received completely by the network resources transmitting a scheduling message from the network resources to the terminal, and transmitting the data portion from the terminal to the network resources according to a schedule determined by the scheduling message.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:

transmitting a data portion and a data transfer request simultaneously network resources, the data transfer request relating to the data portion;

if the data portion is not received completely by the network resources, receiving a scheduling message, and

transmitting the data portion to the network resources according to a schedule determined by the scheduling message.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:

receiving a data portion transmission and a data transfer request simultaneously from a terminal, the data transfer request relating the data portion;

if the data portion is not received completely, transmitting a scheduling message to the terminal, and

receiving the data portion from the terminal according to a schedule determined by the scheduling message.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication of an amount of data to be transmitted from the terminal.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the scheduling message serves to grant transmission access to the terminal in dependence upon an amount of data received by the network resources, and on the indication of the amount of data to be transmitted in the data transfer request.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication that an amount of data greater than the data portion is to be transmitted from the terminal.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein resources allocated to the data transfer request, and to transmission of the data portion are predetermined.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein resources allocated to the data transfer request, and to transmission of the data portion are determined by the network resources.

10. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the network resources indicate to the terminal resources over which data portions that can be transmitted without a data transfer request.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communications network is a Wireless network.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the communications network is a radio frequency network, and the terminal is a mobile terminal.

13. A communications system comprising:

a terminal; and

network resources wherein the terminal is operable to perform contention-based data transmission to the network resources of a communications network, and, simultaneously, submit a data transfer scheduling request relating to a data portion to the network resources.

14. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the network resources are operable to transmit a scheduling message to the terminal, if the data portion is not received completely by the network resources, and the terminal is operable to transmit the data portion to the network resources according to a schedule determined by a scheduling message.

15. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the terminal is operable to receive a scheduling message and is operable to transmit the data portion to the network resources according to a schedule determined by a received scheduling message.

16. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the network resources are operable to receive a data portion transmission and a data transfer request simultaneously from the terminal, the data transfer request relating to the data portion to transmit if the data portion is not received completely, a scheduling message to the terminal, and to receive that data portion from the terminal according to a schedule determined by the scheduling message.

17. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication of an amount of data to be transmitted from the terminal.

18. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the scheduling message serves to grant transmission access to the terminal in dependence upon an amount of data received by the network resources, and on the indication of the amount of data to be transmitted in the data transfer request.

19. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication that an amount of data greater than the data portion is to be transmitted from the terminal.

20. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein resources allocated to the data transfer request and to transmission of the data portion are predetermined.

21. A system as claimed in claim 13, wherein resources allocated to the data transfer request, and to transmission of the data portion are determined by the network resources.

22. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the network resources are operable to indicate to the terminal resources over which data portions that can be transmitted without a data transfer request.

23. A system as claimed in claim 13, being a wireless network.

24. A system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the wireless network is a radio frequency network, and the terminal is a mobile terminal.

25. A terminal for a communications system, operable to perform contention-based data transmission to the network resources of a communications network, and, simultaneously, submit a data transfer scheduling request relating to a data portion to the network resources.

26. A terminal as claimed in claim 25, comprising a receive unit operable receive a scheduling message, and a transmit unit operable to transmit the data portion according to a schedule determined by a received scheduling message.

27. A terminal as claimed in claim 25, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication of an amount of data to be transmitted from the terminal.

28. A terminal as claimed in claim 25, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication that an amount of data greater than the data portion is to be transmitted from the terminal.

29. A terminal as claimed in claim 25, wherein the communications system is a radio frequency wireless network, the terminal being a mobile terminal.

30. A communications network for communicating with terminals via a contention-based data transmission, the network comprising:

network resources operable to receive a data portion and a data transfer scheduling request relating to the data portion simultaneously from a terminal, to transmit a scheduling message to the terminal, if the data portion is not received completely, and to receive the data portion according to a schedule determined by said scheduling message.

31. A network as claimed in claim 30, wherein the data transfer request includes an indication of an amount of data to be transmitted from the terminal.

32. A network as claimed in claim 31, wherein the scheduling message serves to grant transmission access to the terminal in dependence upon an amount of data received by the network resources, and on the indication of the amount of data to be transmitted in the data transfer request.

33. A network as claimed in claim 30, being a wireless network.

34. A network as claimed in claim 33, wherein the wireless network is a radio frequency network, and the terminal is a mobile terminal.