DATA TRANSMISSION VIA A RELAY STATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20100097978A1
• Filed: 10/16/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Bhushan, Naga, Palanki, Ravi, Montojo, Juan, Ji, Tingfang, Khandekar, Aamod D., Bhattad, Kapil
• Granted Patent: US 9,203,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/315
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2606 Arrangements for base station coverage control, e.g. by using relays in tunnels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1867 Arrangements specially adapted for the transmitter end

Abstract

Techniques for supporting data transmission via a relay station are described. In an aspect, data transmission may be supported using ACK-and-suspend. A transmitter station sends a first transmission of a packet to a receiver station. The transmitter station receives no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet and suspends transmission of the packet. The transmitter station thereafter receives an indication to resume transmission of the packet and, in response, sends a second transmission of the packet. In another aspect, different ACK timeline may be used when applicable. The receiver station may send ACK information in a designated subframe if available for use or in a different subframe. In yet another aspect, ACK repetition may be used. The receiver may send ACK information in multiple subframes to facilitate reception of the ACK information when the transmitter station is unable to receive one or more of the multiple subframes.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

sending a first transmission of a packet from a transmitter station to a receiver station;

receiving no acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet at the transmitter station;

suspending transmission of the packet by the transmitter station in response to receiving no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet;

receiving from the receiver station an indication to resume transmission of the packet; and

sending a second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station in response to receiving the indication.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is not sent by the receiver station due to no opportunity to send the ACK information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is sent by the receiver station but is not received by the transmitter station due to no opportunity to receive the ACK information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving no ACK information is determined based on detection of an ACK channel not being transmitted.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication to resume transmission of the packet comprises a grant to resend the packet.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second transmissions of the packet are sent in subframes of a first interlace, and wherein ACK information for transmissions of the packet is sent in subframes of a second interlace.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second transmissions of the packet are not restricted to subframes of an interlace.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter station is a user equipment (UE) and the receiver station is a relay station.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter station is a relay station and the receiver station is a user equipment (UE).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter station is a relay station and the receiver station is a base station.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter station is a base station and the receiver station is a relay station.

12. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for sending a first transmission of a packet from a transmitter station to a receiver station;

means for receiving no acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet at the transmitter station;

means for suspending transmission of the packet by the transmitter station in response to receiving no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet;

means for receiving from the receiver station an indication to resume transmission of the packet; and

means for sending a second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station in response to receiving the indication.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is not sent by the receiver station due to no opportunity to send the ACK information.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is sent by the receiver station but is not received by the transmitter station due to no opportunity to receive the ACK information.

15. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to send a first transmission of a packet from a transmitter station to a receiver station, to receive no acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet at the transmitter station, to suspend transmission of the packet by the transmitter station in response to receiving no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet, to receive from the receiver station an indication to resume transmission of the packet, and to send a second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station in response to receiving the indication.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is not sent by the receiver station due to no opportunity to send the ACK information.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is sent by the receiver station but is not received by the transmitter station due to no opportunity to receive the ACK information.

18. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to send a first transmission of a packet from a transmitter station to a receiver station,

code for causing the at least one computer to receive no acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet at the transmitter station,

code for causing the at least one computer to suspend transmission of the packet by the transmitter station in response to receiving no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet,

code for causing the at least one computer to receive from the receiver station an indication to resume transmission of the packet, and

code for causing the at least one computer to send a second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station in response to receiving the indication.

19. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a first transmission of a packet sent from a transmitter station to a receiver station;

determining that transmission of the packet has been suspended by the transmitter station due to the transmitter station receiving no acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet;

sending to the transmitter station an indication to resume transmission of the packet; and

receiving a second transmission of the packet sent from the transmitter station to the receiver station in response to the indication.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

sending no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet to the transmitter station due to no opportunity to send the ACK information, and wherein transmission of the packet has been suspended by the transmitter station is determined by the receiver station based on no ACK information being sent by the receiver station.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

sending ACK information for the first transmission of the packet to the transmitter station, wherein the ACK information is not received by the transmitter station due to no opportunity to receive the ACK information, and wherein transmission of the packet has been suspended by the transmitter station is determined by the receiver station based on no transmission of the packet being received by the receiver station in response to the ACK information.

22. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving a first transmission of a packet sent from a transmitter station to a receiver station;

means for determining that transmission of the packet has been suspended by the transmitter station due to the transmitter station receiving no acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet;

means for sending to the transmitter station an indication to resume transmission of the packet; and

means for receiving a second transmission of the packet sent from the transmitter station to the receiver station in response to the indication.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising:

means for sending no ACK information for the first transmission of the packet to the transmitter station due to no opportunity to send the ACK information, and wherein transmission of the packet has been suspended by the transmitter station is determined by the receiver station based on no ACK information being sent by the receiver station.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising:

means for sending ACK information for the first transmission of the packet to the transmitter station, wherein the ACK information is not received by the transmitter station due to no opportunity to receive the ACK information, and wherein transmission of the packet has been suspended by the transmitter station is determined by the receiver station based on no transmission of the packet being received by the receiver station in response to the ACK information.

25. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a first transmission of a packet sent from a transmitter station to a receiver station;

sending acknowledgement (ACK) information to the transmitter station to suspend transmission of the packet;

rescheduling transmission of the packet by the transmitter station to the receiver station; and

receiving a second transmission of the packet sent by the transmitter station in response to the rescheduling.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

determining that the transmitter station has no opportunity to send the second transmission of the packet, and wherein the ACK information is sent by the receiver station in response to determining that the transmitter station has no opportunity to send the second transmission of the packet.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the sending ACK information to suspend transmission of the packet comprises send ACK for the packet, even when the packet is decoded in error by the receiver station, to suspend transmission of the packet by the transmitter station.

28. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

sending a first transmission of a packet from a transmitter station to a receiver station;

receiving acknowledgement (ACK) information sent by the receiver station to suspend transmission of the packet by the transmitter station; and

sending a second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station when rescheduled by the receiver station.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

determining that the ACK information is intended to suspend transmission of the packet based on no opportunity to send the second transmission of the packet by the transmitter station.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

receiving a grant to send another transmission of the packet instead of a transmission of a new packet; and

determining that the ACK information is intended to suspend transmission of the packet based on the grant, and wherein the second transmission of the packet is sent in response to the grant.

31. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

exchanging a first transmission of a packet between a transmitter station and a receiver station in a first subframe;

exchanging acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in a second subframe if available for use, the second subframe being a fixed offset from the first subframe;

exchanging ACK information for the first transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in a third subframe if the second subframe is not available for use; and

exchanging a second transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in a fourth subframe in response to the ACK information.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise sending the first transmission of the packet and sending the second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the exchanging the ACK information comprises receiving the ACK information sent from the receiver station to the transmitter station.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise receiving the first transmission of the packet and receiving the second transmission of the packet sent from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the exchanging the ACK information comprises sending the ACK information from the receiver station to the transmitter station.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

determining a set of subframes allocated for transmission from the receiver station to the transmitter station, the set of subframes being a subset of all available subframes; and

determining whether to exchange the ACK information in the second subframe or the third subframe based on the set of subframes allocated for transmission.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the second subframe is not available for use if not included in the set of subframes, and wherein the third subframe is a closest subframe after the second subframe and included in the set of subframes.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the first and fourth subframes belong in a single interlace.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the fourth subframe is at least a predetermined number of subframes from the second or third subframe in which the ACK information for the first transmission of the packet is sent.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the transmitter station or the receiver station is a relay station.

39. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for exchanging a first transmission of a packet between a transmitter station and a receiver station in a first subframe;

means for exchanging acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in a second subframe if available for use, the second subframe being a fixed offset from the first subframe;

means for exchanging ACK information for the first transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in a third subframe if the second subframe is not available for use; and

means for exchanging a second transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in a fourth subframe in response to the ACK information.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the means for exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the means for exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise means for sending the first transmission of the packet and means for sending the second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the means for exchanging the ACK information comprises means for receiving the ACK information sent from the receiver station to the transmitter station.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the means for exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the means for exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise means for receiving the first transmission of the packet and means for receiving the second transmission of the packet sent from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the means for exchanging the ACK information comprises means for sending the ACK information from the receiver station to the transmitter station.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising:

means for determining a set of subframes allocated for transmission from the receiver station to the transmitter station, the set of subframes being a subset of all available subframes; and

means for determining whether to exchange the ACK information in the second subframe or the third subframe based on the set of subframes allocated for transmission.

43. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

exchanging a first transmission of a packet between a transmitter station and a receiver station;

exchanging acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station, the ACK information being sent by the receiver station in multiple subframes to facilitate reception of the ACK information by the transmitter station when the transmitter station is unable to receive one or more of the multiple subframes; and

exchanging a second transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in response to the ACK information.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise sending the first transmission of the packet and sending the second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the exchanging the ACK information comprises receiving the ACK information in at least one of the multiple subframes by the transmitter station.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise receiving the first transmission of the packet and receiving the second transmission of the packet sent from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the exchanging the ACK information comprises sending the ACK information in the multiple subframes by the receiver station.

46. The method of claim 43, wherein the number of subframes to send the ACK information is dependent on allocation of available subframes to backhaul downlink, backhaul uplink, access downlink, and access uplink.

47. The method of claim 43, wherein the number of subframes to send the ACK information is configured for the receiver station and is fixed for all transmissions of the packet.

48. The method of claim 43, wherein the number of subframes to send the ACK information is variable for different transmissions of the packet.

49. The method of claim 43, wherein the transmitter station or the receiver station is a relay station.

50. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for exchanging a first transmission of a packet between a transmitter station and a receiver station;

means for exchanging acknowledgement (ACK) information for the first transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station, the ACK information being sent by the receiver station in multiple subframes to facilitate reception of the ACK information by the transmitter station when the transmitter station is unable to receive one or more of the multiple subframes; and

means for exchanging a second transmission of the packet between the transmitter station and the receiver station in response to the ACK information.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the means for exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the means for exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise means for sending the first transmission of the packet and means for sending the second transmission of the packet from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the means for exchanging the ACK information comprises means for receiving the ACK information in at least one of the multiple subframes by the transmitter station.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the means for exchanging the first transmission of the packet and the means for exchanging the second transmission of the packet comprise means for receiving the first transmission of the packet and means for receiving the second transmission of the packet sent from the transmitter station to the receiver station, and wherein the means for exchanging the ACK information comprises means for sending the ACK information in the multiple subframes by the receiver station.