METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR STICKY REGION ALLOCATION IN OFDMA COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

• US 20090310477A1
• Filed: 06/12/2008
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Lee, Chun Woo, Kim, Je Woo, Kim, Doo Seok
• Granted Patent: US 8,483,041 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/208
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0044 allocation of payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0094 Indication of how sub-channels of the path are allocated
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0096 Indication of changes in allocation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for allocating a data region (termed “sticky region allocation”) in an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame so that a user terminal can receive/send data bursts for multiple OFDM/OFDMA frames, rather than inserting a MAP information element (MAP IE) for each user terminal in every frame, are provided. In this manner, the size of the control overhead, such as the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) MAP messages, may be reduced. The reduced control overhead may increase the frame resources available for data traffic and thus, may boost the overall efficiency and performance of wireless systems using OFDM/OFDMA.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a first signal based on a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame;

locating a data region in the first OFDMA frame according to a first MAP information element (IE);

receiving a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is received later than the first signal; and

locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame without using a second MAP IE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the first MAP IE is a DL-MAP IE.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the first MAP IE is a UL-MAP IE.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein an uplink map (UL-MAP) for the second OFDMA frame has a starting slot offset appearing before all MAP IEs in the UL-MAP such that the data region may be located correctly.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first MAP IE contains a message having region information for determining a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the region information comprises at least one of a symbol offset, a subchannel offset, a number of symbols, a number of subchannels, a boosting level, a permutation type, and a repetition coding type.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the region information comprises at least one of a slot offset, a slot duration, and a repetition coding type.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the message comprises a starting frame number and an allocation interval.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein locating the data region in the first OFDMA frame comprises using the starting frame number and the region information and locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame comprises using the allocation interval and the region information in the message of the first MAP IE such that the second frame is received a number of OFDMA frames after the first frame according to the allocation interval.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the message comprises at least one of an allocation identifier, an ending frame number, a Downlink Interval Usage Code (DIUC) or an Uplink Interval Usage Code (UIUC), and acknowledgment (ACK) region information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first MAP IE is from the first OFDMA frame.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a third signal based on a third OFDMA frame containing the first MAP IE, wherein the third signal is received prior to the first signal.

13. A receiver for wireless communication, comprising:

logic configured to locate a data region in a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame of a first signal received by the receiver according to a first MAP information element (IE) and configured to locate, without using a second MAP IE, the data region in the second OFDMA frame of a second signal received by the receiver, wherein the second signal is received later than the first signal.

14. The receiver of claim 13, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the first MAP IE is a DL-MAP IE.

15. The receiver of claim 13, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the first MAP IE is a UL-MAP IE.

16. The receiver of claim 13, wherein the first MAP IE contains a message comprising:

region information for determining a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames;

a starting frame number; and

an allocation interval.

17. The receiver of claim 16, wherein the logic is configured to locate the data region in the first OFDMA frame by using the starting frame number and the region information and configured to locate the data region in the second OFDMA frame by using the allocation interval and the region information in the message of the first MAP IE, wherein the second frame is received a number of OFDMA frames after the first frame according to the allocation interval.

18. The receiver of claim 13, wherein the first MAP IE is from the first OFDMA frame.

19. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving a first signal based on a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame;

means for locating a data region in the first OFDMA frame according to a first MAP information element (IE);

means for receiving a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is received later than the first signal; and

means for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame without using a second MAP IE.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the first MAP IE is a DL-MAP IE.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the first MAP IE is a UL-MAP IE.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the first MAP IE contains a message comprising:

region information for determining a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames;

a starting frame number; and

an allocation interval.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for locating the data region in the first OFDMA frame is configured to use the starting frame number and the region information and the means for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame is configured to use the allocation interval and the region information in the message of the first MAP IE, wherein the second frame is received a number of OFDMA frames after the first frame according to the allocation interval.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for receiving a third signal based on a third OFDMA frame containing the first MAP IE, wherein the third signal is received prior to the first signal.

25. A mobile device, comprising:

a receiver front end for receiving a first signal based on a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame and a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is received later than the first signal; and

logic configured to locate a data region in the first OFDMA frame according to a first MAP information element (IE) and configured to locate the data region in the second OFDMA frame without using a second MAP IE.

26. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the first MAP IE is a DL-MAP IE.

27. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the first MAP IE is a UL-MAP IE.

28. A computer-readable medium containing a program for locating a data region in multiple orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frames, which, when executed by a processor, performs operations comprising:

receiving a first signal based on a first OFDMA frame;

locating a data region in the first OFDMA frame according to a first MAP information element (IE);

receiving a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is received later than the first signal; and

locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame without using a second MAP IE.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the first MAP IE is a DL-MAP IE.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the first MAP IE is a UL-MAP IE.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the first MAP IE contains a message comprising:

region information for determining a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames;

a starting frame number; and

an allocation interval.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein locating the data region in the first OFDMA frame comprises using the starting frame number and the region information and locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame comprises using the allocation interval and the region information in the message of the first MAP IE such that the second frame is received a number of OFDMA frames after the first frame according to the allocation interval.

33. A method comprising:

transmitting a first signal based on a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame having a MAP information element (IE) for locating a data region in a starting OFDMA frame; and

transmitting a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame without a MAP IE for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is transmitted later than the first signal and a signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a DL-MAP IE.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a UL-MAP IE.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein an uplink map (UL-MAP) for the second OFDMA frame has a starting slot offset appearing before all MAP IEs in the UL-MAP such that the data region may be located correctly.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the MAP IE contains a message having region information for establishing a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the region information comprises at least one of a symbol offset, a subchannel offset, a number of symbols, a number of subchannels, a boosting level, a permutation type, and a repetition coding type.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the region information comprises at least one of a slot offset, a slot duration, and a repetition coding type.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the message comprises a starting frame number and an allocation interval.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame is transmitted according to the starting frame number and the second signal based on the second OFDMA frame is transmitted a number of OFDMA frames after the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame according to the allocation interval in the message of the MAP IE.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein the message comprises at least one of an allocation identifier, an ending frame number, a Downlink Interval Usage Code (DIUC) or an Uplink Interval Usage Code (UIUC), and acknowledgment (ACK) region information.

43. The method of claim 33, wherein the starting OFDMA frame is the first OFDMA frame and the first signal is the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

44. The method of claim 33, wherein the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame is transmitted later than the first signal.

45. A transmitter for wireless communication, comprising:

logic configured to transmit a first signal based on a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame having a MAP information element (IE) for locating a data region in a starting OFDMA frame and configured to transmit a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame without a MAP IE for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is transmitted later than the first signal and a signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

46. The transmitter of claim 45, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a DL-MAP IE.

47. The transmitter of claim 45, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a UL-MAP IE.

48. The transmitter of claim 45, wherein the MAP IE contains a message comprising:

region information for establishing a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames;

a starting frame number; and

an allocation interval.

49. The transmitter of claim 48, wherein the logic is configured to transmit the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame according to the starting frame number and configured to transmit the second signal based on the second OFDMA frame a number of OFDMA frames after the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame according to the allocation interval in the message of the MAP IE.

50. The transmitter of claim 45, wherein the starting OFDMA frame is the first OFDMA frame and the first signal is the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

51. The transmitter of claim 45, wherein the logic is configured to transmit the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame later than the first signal.

52. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for transmitting a first signal based on a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame having a MAP information element (IE) for locating a data region in a starting OFDMA frame; and

means for transmitting a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame without a MAP IE for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is transmitted later than the first signal and a signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a DL-MAP IE.

54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a UL-MAP IE.

55. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the MAP IE contains a message comprising:

region information for establishing a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames;

a starting frame number; and

an allocation interval.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising a means for transmitting the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame, wherein the means for transmitting the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame is configured to transmit the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame a number of OFDMA frames after the first signal according to the starting frame number in the message of the MAP IE.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the means for transmitting the second signal is configured to transmit the second signal based on the second OFDMA frame a number of OFDMA frames after the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame according to the allocation interval in the message of the MAP IE.

58. A mobile device, comprising:

logic configured to generate a first orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frame having a MAP information element (IE) for locating a data region in a starting OFDMA frame and configured to create a second OFDMA frame without a MAP IE for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame; and

a transmitter front end for transmitting a first signal based on the first OFDMA frame, a second signal based on the second OFDMA frame, and a signal based on the starting OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is transmitted later than the first signal and the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

59. The mobile device of claim 58, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a DL-MAP IE.

60. The mobile device of claim 58, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a UL-MAP IE.

61. A computer-readable medium containing a program for transmitting multiple orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) frames, which, when executed by a processor, performs operations comprising:

transmitting a first signal based on a first OFDMA frame having a MAP information element (IE) for locating a data region in a starting OFDMA frame;

transmitting a second signal based on a second OFDMA frame without a MAP IE for locating the data region in the second OFDMA frame, wherein the second signal is transmitted later than the first signal and a signal based on the starting OFDMA frame.

62. The computer-readable medium of claim 61, wherein the data region is a downlink (DL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a DL-MAP IE.

63. The computer-readable medium of claim 61, wherein the data region is an uplink (UL) data region and the MAP IE for locating the data region in the starting OFDMA frame is a UL-MAP IE.

64. The computer-readable medium of claim 61, wherein the MAP IE contains a message comprising:

region information for establishing a fixed position for the data region within the first and the second OFDMA frames;

a starting frame number; and

an allocation interval.

65. The computer-readable medium of claim 64, wherein the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame is transmitted according to the starting frame number and the second signal based on the second OFDMA frame is transmitted a number of OFDMA frames after the signal based on the starting OFDMA frame according to the allocation interval in the message of the MAP IE.