Method, apparatus and computer program for uplink scheduling in a network that employs relay nodes

• US 20090196177A1
• Filed: 02/01/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Raaf, Bernhard, Teyeb, Oumer, Phan, Vinh V., Rosa, Claudio
• Granted Patent: US 8,248,941 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/17 Interaction among intermediate nodes, e.g. hop by hop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/047 using dedicated repeater stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

User equipments UEs send their buffer status reports and data to a relay node RN. The RN stores the data in actual buffers per radio bearer group RBG, and stores the UEs buffer occupancies in virtual buffers per RBG. The RN then sends its own status report to the controlling eNBr with the actual buffer occupancy and information about the virtual buffer occupancy. This enables the eNBr to know in advance the volume of data incoming to the RN'"'"'s actual buffers, as well as the current occupancy of those buffers, so as to better allocate radio resources. Further, the RN can take soundings of the uplink channels between UEs and the RN, which are then aggregated across the RBRs and sent to the eNBr as a special UL CQI report. The eNBr is thereby enabled to anticipate how soon the data in the UE buffers will appear in the RN'"'"'s actual buffers (from the additional information of average UL CQI info and virtual buffer status), and thus better allocate the RBRs to be used for the different RBGs in the RN-eNB link as well as the optimal set of RBRs to the UE-RN link, which the RN can redistribute among the UEs that it is serving.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving from each of a plurality of user equipments an indication of user data volume waiting to be sent to a relay by the respective user equipment;

determining a relay data volume waiting to be sent from the relay;

compiling the indications of user data volume and the determined relay data volume into an uplink status report; and

sending the uplink status report towards an access node controlling a cell in which the relay and the user equipments operate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of user data volume comprises a user equipment buffer status report and the relay data volume comprises occupancy of an uplink data buffer in the relay.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein for each of the user equipments the buffer status report is for individual radio bearer groups and determining the relay data volume is for individual radio bearer groups, and compiling comprises averaging for each radio bearer group across all of the user equipments.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the buffer status reports are compiled into a virtual buffer at the relay and the uplink data buffer comprises an actual buffer at the relay, and wherein occupancy of the virtual buffer falling below a low threshold or raising above a high threshold is a trigger for sending the uplink status report.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining quality of uplink radio channels between the user equipments and the relay node, and sending the determined quality to towards the access node.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining comprising measuring at the relay the uplink radio channel for each radio band resource per user equipment, computing an average per radio band resource across at least those of the plurality of user equipments whose indication of user data volume is not zero, and wherein sending comprises sending the average quality per radio band resource.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the average is weighted.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein compiling comprises determining a gain from the indication of user data volume waiting to be sent and applying the determined gain to the determined relay data volume waiting to be sent.

9. The method of claim 1, executed by the relay in an E-UTRAN network, and wherein sending comprises sending to an eNBr or a superordinated relay.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive from each of a plurality of user equipments an indication of user data volume waiting to be sent to the apparatus by the respective user equipment;

a buffer configured to store data from at least some of the user equipments that is waiting to be sent;

a processor configured to compile the indications of user data volume and a determined data volume of the buffer into an uplink status report; and

a transmitter configured to send the uplink status report towards an access node controlling a cell in which the apparatus and the user equipments operate.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the indication of user data volume comprises a user equipment buffer status report and the data volume of the buffer comprises occupancy of the buffer.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein for each of the user equipments the buffer status report is for individual radio bearer groups and the buffer stores data for individual radio bearer groups, and the processor compiles by averaging for each radio bearer group across all of the user equipments.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor compiles the buffer status reports into a virtual buffer in a local memory and wherein occupancy of the virtual buffer falling below a low threshold or raising above a high threshold is a trigger for the transmitter to send the uplink status report.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, the processor further configured to determine quality of uplink radio channels between the user equipments and the apparatus, and the transmitter is further configured to send the determined quality towards the access node.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine quality of uplink radio channels by measuring at the receiver the uplink radio channel for each radio band resource per user equipment, the processor is configured to compute an average per radio band resource across at least those of the plurality of user equipments whose indication of user data volume is not zero, and wherein the transmitter is configured to send the average quality per radio band resource.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the average is weighted.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus comprises a relay node in an E-UTRAN network, and wherein the transmitter is configured to send the uplink status report to an eNBr or a superordinated relay.

18. A computer readable memory embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital data processor to perform actions directed toward compiling and sending an uplink status report, the actions comprising:

receiving from each of a plurality of user equipments an indication of user data volume waiting to be sent to a relay by the respective user equipment;

determining a relay data volume waiting to be sent from the relay;

compiling the indications of user data volume and the determined relay data volume into an uplink status report; and

sending the uplink status report towards an access node controlling a cell in which the relay and the user equipments operate.

19. The computer readable memory of claim 18, wherein the indication of user data volume comprises a user equipment buffer status report and the relay data volume comprises occupancy of an uplink data buffer in the relay.

20. The computer readable memory of claim 19, wherein for each of the user equipments the buffer status report is for individual radio bearer groups that are compiled into a virtual buffer and determining the relay data volume is for individual radio bearer groups, and compiling comprises averaging for each radio bearer group across all of the user equipments.

21. The computer readable memory of claim 18, further comprising measuring at the relay quality for each uplink radio band resource per user equipment, computing an average per radio band resource across at least those of the plurality of user equipments whose indication of user data volume is not zero, and sending the average quality per radio band resource.

22. An apparatus comprising:

receiving means for receiving from each of a plurality of user equipments an indication of user data volume waiting to be sent to a relay by the respective user equipment;

memory means for storing data from at least some of the user equipments that is waiting to be sent;

processing means for compiling the indications of user data volume and a determined data volume of the memory means into an uplink status report; and

transmitting means for sending the uplink status report towards an access node controlling a cell in which the relay and the user equipments operate.

23. A method comprising:

receiving from a relay node a buffer status report;

determining from the buffer status report a volume of data in queue for the relay node to send and a volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node; and

allocating radio resources to the relay node at least in part depending on the volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the volume of data in queue represents a relay buffer occupancy level per radio bearer group and the volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node represents buffer occupancy level per radio bearer group for a plurality of user equipments under control of the relay node.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein allocating the radio resources comprises allocating the radio bearer groups.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising receiving from the relay node an indication of link quality for uplink access links between user equipments and the relay node, and wherein allocating the radio resources to the relay node is at least in part also depending on the received link qualities.

27. The method of claim 26, executed by an eNBr of an E-UTRAN system, and wherein the eNBr determines throughput per radio bearer group based on the received link qualities combined with the volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node.

28. The method of claim 23, executed by a superordinated relay node of an E-UTRAN system.

29. An apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive from a relay node a buffer status report;

a processor configured to determine from the buffer status report a volume of data in queue for the relay node to send and a volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node, and to allocate radio resources to the relay node at least in part depending on the volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node; and

a transmitter configured to send the radio resource allocation to the relay node.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the volume of data in queue represents a relay buffer occupancy level per radio bearer group and the volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node represents buffer occupancy level per radio bearer group for a plurality of user equipments under control of the relay node.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the processor allocates the radio resources according to radio bearer groups.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, the receiver further configured to receive from the relay node an indication of link quality for uplink access links between user equipments and the relay node, and wherein the processor is configured to allocate the radio resources to the relay node at least in part also depending on the received link qualities.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the apparatus comprises an eNBr of an E-UTRAN system, and wherein the processor is configured to determine throughput per radio bearer group based on the received link qualities combined with the volume of data waiting to be sent to the relay node.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the apparatus comprises a superordinated relay node of an E-UTRAN system.