System and Method for a Relay Protocol Stack

• US 20100150022A1
• Filed: 12/17/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Corporation (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: YU, Yi, CAI, Zhijun, WOMACK, James Earl
• Application Number:
  US12/337,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20100150022A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15542 Selecting at relay station its transmit and receive resources selection of wireless resources by user or terminal H04W72/02; arrangements affording multiple use of the transmission path by two-dimensional division of the resources H04L5/0003, or by allocating sub-channels H04L5/003
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/26 Cell enhancers or enhancement, e.g. for tunnels, building shadow
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/00 Synchronisation arrangements

Abstract

A layer two relay node having a relay radio resource configuration entity. The relay radio resource configuration entity is configured to receive resource configuration information from an access node.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a relay node having a relay radio resource configuration entity, wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is configured to receive resource configuration information from an access node.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is further configured to report resource status to the access node.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is further configured to maintain uplink timing alignment for a user agent in RRC_CONNECTED mode.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is configured to maintain the uplink timing alignment by generating uplink timing offset values via a layer one estimation and then configure a medium access control to transmit timing alignment commands to the user agent.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the resource configuration information comprises at least one of assigned physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) resources from the access node to be used for scheduling in the relay node;

uplink physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signals (SRS), and scheduling request (SR) configuration for an access link; and

a dedicated preamble for the relay node initial access.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the resource status comprises a number of resource blocks used for the relay node.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity maintains a list of user agent identifications for user agents that are in an RRC_CONNECTED mode.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein a protocol stack is stored on the relay node and wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is in a first layer of the protocol stack.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity corresponds to a radio resource control layer on the access node, and wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity receives the resource configuration information from the radio resource control on the access node.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is further configured to receive updated resource configuration information from the access node.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the relay node is further configured to process received resource configuration information for use by the relay node.

12. A method implemented in a relay node having a relay radio resource configuration entity, the method comprising:

receiving, in the relay radio resource configuration entity, resource configuration information from an access node.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

reporting, using the relay radio resource configuration entity, a resource status to the access node.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

maintaining, using the relay radio resource configuration entity, uplink timing alignment for a user agent in RRC_CONNECTED mode, wherein the user agent is connected via the relay node.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity maintains the uplink timing alignment by:

generating uplink timing offset values via a layer one estimation; and

thereafter configuring a medium access control to transmit timing alignment commands to the user agent.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the resource configuration information comprises at least one of assigned physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) resources from the access node to be used for scheduling in the relay node;

uplink physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), sounding reference signals (SRS), and scheduling request (SR) configuration for an access link; and

a dedicated preamble for the relay node initial access.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the resource status comprises a number of resource blocks used for the relay node.

18. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

maintaining, using the relay radio resource configuration entity, a list of user agent identifications for user agents that are in an RRC_CONNECTED mode via the relay node.

19. The method of claim 12 wherein a protocol stack is stored on the relay node and wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity is in a first layer of the protocol stack.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity corresponds to a radio resource control layer on the access node.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity corresponds to a radio resource control layer on the access node, and wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity receives the resource configuration information from the radio resource control on the access node.

22. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

receiving updated resource configuration information from the access node.

23. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

processing received resource configuration information for use by the relay node.

24. A computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that, when executed, implement a method in a relay node having a relay radio resource configuration entity, the method comprising:

receiving, in the relay radio resource configuration entity, resource configuration information from an access node.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the method further comprises:

reporting, using the relay radio resource configuration entity, a resource status to the access node.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the method further comprises:

maintaining, using the relay radio resource configuration entity, uplink timing alignment for a user agent in RRC_CONNECTED mode, wherein the user agent is connected via the relay node.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 26 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity maintains the uplink timing alignment by:

generating uplink timing offset values via a layer one estimation; and

thereafter configuring a medium access control to transmit timing alignment commands to the user agent.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the method further comprises:

maintaining, using the relay radio resource configuration entity, a list of user agent identifications for user agents that are in an RRC_CONNECTED mode via the relay node.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the relay radio resource configuration entity corresponds to a radio resource control layer on the access node, and wherein, in the method, the relay radio resource configuration entity receives the resource configuration information from the radio resource control on the access node.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving updated resource configuration information from the access node.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 24 wherein the method further comprises:

processing received resource configuration information for use by the relay node.