Data Packet Transmission Scheduling in a Mobile Communication System

• US 20100195584A1
• Filed: 02/04/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Wilhelmsson, Leif, Skold, Johan, Parkvall, Stefan
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,206 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1887 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies

Abstract

A communication device has a first transceiver that operates in a first communication system in the presence of a second transceiver that operates in a second communication system that is unrelated to the first communication system. A scheduler of packets for transmission by the first transceiver uses information about when the second communication system will be transmitting a signal that will interfere with reception by the first transceiver, and schedules data for which re-transmission is not essential in those time slots in which an implicit NACK is expected due to the second transceiver'"'"'s operation.

Claims

1. A method of operating a communication device having a first transceiver that operates in a first communication system in the presence of a second transceiver that operates in a second communication system that is unrelated to the first communication system, the method comprising:

providing access to one or more data packets, wherein each of the packets is for transmission by the first transceiver on either a first type of communication link or a second type of communication link, wherein the first type of communication link has a quality of service requirement that requires retransmission of an already-transmitted packet until successful delivery of the packet is detected by the communication device, and the second type of communication link has a quality of service requirement that permits but does not require retransmission of the already-transmitted packet until successful delivery of the already-transmitted packet is detected by the communication device;

for each of a number of transmission time periods, each associated with a respective one of a number of subsequent acknowledgement time periods, making a packet transmission scheduling decision based, at least in part, on whether a candidate data packet selected from the one or more data packets is for transmission on the first or second type of communication link and on whether the second transceiver is scheduled to transmit an interfering signal during an associated subsequent acknowledgement time period, which interfering signal would disturb reception of a receive status report that would indicate a delivery status of the candidate data packet if the candidate data packet were to be transmitted during the transmission time period.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein making the packet transmission scheduling decision comprises refraining from scheduling the candidate data packet for transmission during the transmission time period if the candidate data packet is for transmission on the first type of communication link and the second transmitter is scheduled to transmit the interfering signal during the subsequent acknowledgement time period that is associated with the transmission time period.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein making the packet transmission scheduling decision comprises scheduling the candidate data packet for transmission during the transmission time period if the candidate data packet is for transmission on the second type of communication link regardless of whether the second transmitter is scheduled to transmit the interfering signal during the subsequent acknowledgement time period that is associated with the transmission time period.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein making the packet transmission scheduling decisions for each of the number of transmission time periods comprises favoring transmission of a data packet for transmission over the second type of communication link during the transmission time periods that are associated with subsequent acknowledgement time periods during which the second transceiver is scheduled to transmit the interfering signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein making the packet transmission scheduling decisions for each of the number of transmission time periods comprises favoring transmission of a data packet for transmission over the first type of communication link during transmission time periods that are associated with subsequent acknowledgement time periods during which the second transceiver is not scheduled to transmit the interfering signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein making the packet transmission scheduling decisions for each of the number of transmission time periods comprises scheduling none of the data packets to be transmitted during the transmission time period in response to determining that the second transceiver is scheduled to perform a receive operation during the transmission time period.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second transceivers are co-located in the communication device, and the method comprises signaling second transceiver scheduling information by a scheduler associated with the second transceiver to a scheduler associated with the first transceiver.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method comprises:

signaling information by the scheduler associated with the first transceiver to the scheduler of the second transceiver; and

making scheduling decisions by the scheduler associated with the second transceiver to avoid having the second transceiver perform one or more transmissions if quality of service requirements of the first and second communication links have not been fulfilled due to second transceiver transmissions.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising estimating a transmission pattern or a presence of an interfering signal from the second transceiver without receiving scheduling information from the second transceiver.

10. An apparatus for controlling a communication device having a first transceiver that operates in a first communication system in the presence of a second transceiver that operates in a second communication system that is unrelated to the first communication system, the apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to provide access to one or more data packets, wherein each of the packets is for transmission by the first transceiver on either a first type of communication link or a second type of communication link, wherein the first type of communication link has a quality of service requirement that requires retransmission of an already-transmitted packet until successful delivery of the packet is detected by the communication device, and the second type of communication link has a quality of service requirement that permits but does not require retransmission of the already-transmitted packet until successful delivery of the already-transmitted packet is detected by the communication device;

circuitry configured to make a packet transmission scheduling decision for each of a number of transmission time periods, each associated with a respective one of a number of subsequent acknowledgement time periods, wherein the packet transmission scheduling decision is based, at least in part, on whether a candidate data packet selected from the one or more data packets is for transmission on the first or second type of communication link and on whether the second transceiver is scheduled to transmit an interfering signal during an associated subsequent acknowledgement time period, which interfering signal would disturb reception of a receive status report that would indicate a delivery status of the candidate data packet if the candidate data packet were to be transmitted during the transmission time period.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured to make the packet transmission scheduling decision comprises circuitry configured to refrain from scheduling the candidate data packet for transmission during the transmission time period if the candidate data packet is for transmission on the first type of communication link and the second transmitter is scheduled to transmit the interfering signal during the subsequent acknowledgement time period that is associated with the transmission time period.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured to make the packet transmission scheduling decision comprises circuitry configured to schedule the candidate data packet for transmission during the transmission time period if the candidate data packet is for transmission on the second type of communication link regardless of whether the second transmitter is scheduled to transmit the interfering signal during the subsequent acknowledgement time period that is associated with the transmission time period.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured to make the packet transmission scheduling decisions for each of the number of transmission time periods comprises circuitry configured to favor transmission of a data packet for transmission over the second type of communication link during the transmission time periods that are associated with subsequent acknowledgement time periods during which the second transceiver is scheduled to transmit the interfering signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the circuitry configured to make the packet transmission scheduling decisions for each of the number of transmission time periods comprises circuitry configured to favor transmission of a data packet for transmission over the first type of communication link during transmission time periods that are associated with subsequent acknowledgement time periods during which the second transceiver is not scheduled to transmit the interfering signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the circuitry configured to make the packet transmission scheduling decisions for each of the number of transmission time periods comprises circuitry configured to schedule none of the data packets to be transmitted during the transmission time period in response to determining that the second transceiver is scheduled to perform a receive operation during the transmission time period.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first and second transceivers are co-located in the communication device, and the apparatus comprises:

circuitry configured to signal second transceiver scheduling information from a scheduler associated with the second transceiver to a scheduler associated with the first transceiver.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus comprises:

circuitry configured to signal information from the scheduler associated with the first transceiver to the scheduler associated with the second transceiver; and

circuitry configured to cause the scheduler of the second transceiver to make scheduling decisions to avoid having the second transceiver perform one or more transmissions if quality of service requirements of the first and second communication links have not been fulfilled due to second transceiver transmissions.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, comprising circuitry configured to estimate a transmission pattern or a presence of an interfering signal from the second transceiver without receiving scheduling information from the second transceiver.

19. A user equipment comprising:

the apparatus of claim 10; and

the first transceiver.

20. The user equipment of claim 19, further comprising the second transceiver.

21. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of program instructions for performing a method when executed by one or more programmable processors, the method being for operating a communication device having a first transceiver that operates in a first communication system in the presence of a second transceiver that operates in a second communication system that is unrelated to the first communication system, the method comprising:

providing access to one or more data packets, wherein each of the packets is for transmission by the first transceiver on either a first type of communication link or a second type of communication link, wherein the first type of communication link has a quality of service requirement that requires retransmission of an already-transmitted packet until successful delivery of the packet is detected by the communication device, and the second type of communication link has a quality of service requirement that permits but does not require retransmission of the already-transmitted packet until successful delivery of the already-transmitted packet is detected by the communication device;

for each of a number of transmission time periods, each associated with a respective one of a number of subsequent acknowledgement time periods, making a packet transmission scheduling decision based, at least in part, on whether a candidate data packet selected from the one or more data packets is for transmission on the first or second type of communication link and on whether the second transceiver is scheduled to transmit an interfering signal during an associated subsequent acknowledgement time period, which interfering signal would disturb reception of a receive status report that would indicate a delivery status of the candidate data packet if the candidate data packet were to be transmitted during the transmission time period.