TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT EMPLOYING INTERFERENCE MANAGEMENT MESSAGES

• US 20090209262A1
• Filed: 02/14/2008
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sampath, Ashwin, Stamoulis, Anastasios
• Granted Patent: US 8,964,651 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Various traffic management techniques may be employed in a multi-hop wireless communication system. For example, a decision to transmit data to another node may be based on whether that node is able to effectively transmit its data. A decision to transmit an interference management message may be based on the amount of data a parent node may transmit. A decision to transmit an interference management message may be based on how effectively data is being transmitted. A weight may be assigned for an interference management message based on a traffic scheduling policy.

Claims

1. A method of multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, at a first wireless node, information relating to whether a second wireless node has data to be transmitted to the first wireless node; and

determining, based on the information, whether to transmit an interference management message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the interference management message indicates that quality of service associated with a flow of data from the second wireless node to the first wireless node is inadequate.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the quality of service relates to data throughput or latency.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the interference management message comprises an indication of a degree to which reception of data at the first wireless node is adversely affected by interfering transmissions from at least one other wireless node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one other wireless node determines, based on the interference management message, whether to limit at least one transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicates a quantity of data buffered to be transmitted to the first wireless node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information indicates an amount of data in a transmit buffer of the second wireless node; and

the determination of whether to transmit the interference management message comprises comparing the amount of data with a threshold.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determination of whether to transmit the interference management message comprises determining not to transmit the interference management message if the amount of data is less than or equal to the threshold.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the information relates to a buffer-full indication.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the information indicates a reduction in data throughput over a data routing path between the first and second wireless nodes.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the information comprises a transmission control protocol congestion indication.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a request to receive the information from the second wireless node.

13. An apparatus for multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive, at a first wireless node, information relating to whether a second wireless node has data to be transmitted to the first wireless node; and

an interference controller adapted to determine, based on the information, whether to transmit an interference management message.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the interference management message indicates that quality of service associated with a flow of data from the second wireless node to the first wireless node is inadequate.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the quality of service relates to data throughput or latency.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the interference management message comprises an indication of a degree to which reception of data at the first wireless node is adversely affected by interfering transmissions from at least one other wireless node.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one other wireless node determines, based on the interference management message, whether to limit at least one transmission.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the information indicates a quantity of data buffered to be transmitted to the first wireless node.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein:

the information indicates an amount of data in a transmit buffer of the second wireless node; and

the interference controller is further adapted to determine whether to transmit the interference management message based on comparison of the amount of data with a threshold.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the interference controller is further adapted to not transmit the interference management message if the amount of data is less than or equal to the threshold.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the information relates to a buffer-full indication.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the information indicates a reduction in data throughput over a data routing path between the first and second wireless nodes.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the information comprises a transmission control protocol congestion indication.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a traffic monitor adapted to send a request to receive the information from the second wireless node.

25. An apparatus for multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving, at a first wireless node, information relating to whether a second wireless node has data to be transmitted to the first wireless node; and

means for determining, based on the information, whether to transmit an interference management message.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the interference management message indicates that quality of service associated with a flow of data from the second wireless node to the first wireless node is inadequate.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the quality of service relates to data throughput or latency.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the interference management message comprises an indication of a degree to which reception of data at the first wireless node is adversely affected by interfering transmissions from at least one other wireless node.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the at least one other wireless node determines, based on the interference management message, whether to limit at least one transmission.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the information indicates a quantity of data buffered to be transmitted to the first wireless node.

31. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein:

the information indicates an amount of data in a transmit buffer of the second wireless node; and

the means for determining determines whether to transmit the interference management message based on comparison of the amount of data with a threshold.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the means for determining does not transmit the interference management message if the amount of data is less than or equal to the threshold.

33. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the information relates to a buffer-full indication.

34. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the information indicates a reduction in data throughput over a data routing path between the first and second wireless nodes.

35. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the information comprises a transmission control protocol congestion indication.

36. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising means for sending a request to receive the information from the second wireless node.

37. A computer-program product for multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising codes executable to;

receive, at a first wireless node, information relating to whether a second wireless node has data to be transmitted to the first wireless node; and

determine, based on the information, whether to transmit an interference management message.

38. An access point, comprising:

an antenna;

a receiver adapted to receive, at a first wireless node and via the antenna, information relating to whether a second wireless node has data to be transmitted to the first wireless node; and

an interference controller adapted to determine, based on the information, whether to transmit an interference management message.

39. An access terminal, comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive, at a first wireless node, information relating to whether a second wireless node has data to be transmitted to the first wireless node;

an interference controller adapted to determine, based on the information, whether to transmit an interference management message; and

a user interface configured to output an indication based on data received via the receiver.

40. A method of multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

determining, at a first wireless node, whether data is buffered at the first wireless node for transmission to a second wireless node; and

transmitting an interference management message based on the determination of whether there is buffered data.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the first wireless node comprises a wireless relay node.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the interference management message indicates that quality of service associated with a flow of data from a third wireless node to the first wireless node is inadequate.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the quality of service relates to data throughput or latency.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the interference management message comprises an indication of a degree to which reception of data at the first wireless node is adversely affected by interfering transmissions from at least one other wireless node.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the at least one other wireless node determines, based on the interference management message, whether to limit at least one transmission.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the determination of whether there is buffered data is based on a status of a transmit buffer of the first wireless node.

47. The method of claim 40, wherein the determination of whether there is buffered data comprises comparing an amount of data in a transmit buffer of the first wireless node with a threshold.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the interference management message is transmitted if the amount of data in the transmit buffer is greater than or equal to the threshold.

49. The method of claim 40, wherein the determination of whether there is buffered data comprises determining a rate at which a transmit buffer of the first wireless node is emptied.

50. The method of claim 40, wherein the determination of whether there is buffered data comprises determining whether there has been a reduction in data throughput over a data routing path from the first wireless node to the second wireless node.

51. An apparatus for multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

a traffic monitor adapted to determine, at a first wireless node, whether data is buffered at the first wireless node for transmission to a second wireless node; and

an interference controller adapted to transmit an interference management message based on the determination of whether there is buffered data.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the first wireless node comprises a wireless relay node.

53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the interference management message indicates that quality of service associated with a flow of data from a third wireless node to the first wireless node is inadequate.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the quality of service relates to data throughput or latency.

55. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the interference management message comprises an indication of a degree to which reception of data at the first wireless node is adversely affected by interfering transmissions from at least one other wireless node.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the at least one other wireless node determines, based on the interference management message, whether to limit at least one transmission.

57. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the traffic monitor is further adapted to determine whether there is buffered data based on a status of a transmit buffer of the first wireless node.

58. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the traffic monitor is further adapted to determine whether there is buffered data by comparing an amount of data in a transmit buffer of the first wireless node with a threshold.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the interference controller is further adapted to transmit the interference management message if the amount of data in the transmit buffer is greater than or equal to the threshold.

60. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the traffic monitor is further adapted to determine whether there is buffered data by determining a rate at which a transmit buffer of the first wireless node is emptied.

61. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the traffic monitor is further adapted to determine whether there is buffered data by determining whether there has been a reduction in data throughput over a data routing path from the first wireless node to the second wireless node.

62. An apparatus for multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining, at a first wireless node, whether data is buffered at the first wireless node for transmission to a second wireless node; and

means for transmitting an interference management message based on the determination of whether there is buffered data.

63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the first wireless node comprises a wireless relay node.

64. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the interference management message indicates that quality of service associated with a flow of data from a third wireless node to the first wireless node is inadequate.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the quality of service relates to data throughput or latency.

66. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the interference management message comprises an indication of a degree to which reception of data at the first wireless node is adversely affected by interfering transmissions from at least one other wireless node.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the at least one other wireless node determines, based on the interference management message, whether to limit at least one transmission.

68. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the means for determining determines whether there is buffered data based on a status of a transmit buffer of the first wireless node.

69. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the means for determining determines whether there is buffered data by comparing an amount of data in a transmit buffer of the first wireless node with a threshold.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the means for transmitting transmits the interference management message if the amount of data in the transmit buffer is greater than or equal to the threshold.

71. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the means for determining determines whether there is buffered data by determining a rate at which a transmit buffer of the first wireless node is emptied.

72. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the means for determining determines whether there is buffered data by determining whether there has been a reduction in data throughput over a data routing path from the first wireless node to the second wireless node.

73. A computer-program product for multi-hop wireless communication, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising codes executable to;

determine, at a first wireless node, whether data is buffered at the first wireless node for transmission to a second wireless node; and

transmit an interference management message based on the determination of whether there is buffered data.

74. An access point, comprising:

an antenna;

a traffic monitor adapted to determine, at a first wireless node, whether data is buffered at the first wireless node for transmission to a second wireless node; and

an interference controller adapted to transmit an interference management message via the antenna based on the determination of whether there is buffered data.

75. An access terminal, comprising:

a traffic monitor adapted to determine, at a first wireless node, whether data is buffered at the first wireless node for transmission to a second wireless node;

an interference controller adapted to transmit an interference management message based on the determination of whether there is buffered data; and

a user interface configured to output an indication based on data received from another wireless node.