FRAME MAPPING FOR GERAN VOICE CAPACITY ENHANCEMENTS

• US 20120182913A1
• Filed: 08/04/2009
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Kreuzer, Werner
• Granted Patent: US 8,687,559 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The present document relates to radio transmission. In particular, it relates to the mapping of frames in a GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN). A GERAN base station comprising a transceiver is described. The base station is operable to communicate with a first mobile station via a first VAMOS channel; to communicate with a second mobile station via a second corresponding VAMOS channel; and to use a control channel of the second VAMOS channel which is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of the corresponding first VAMOS channel.

Claims

1. ) A GERAN base station, comprising a transceiver which is operable to

communicate with a first mobile station via a first VAMOS channel;

communicate with a second mobile station via a second corresponding VAMOS channel; and

use a control channel of the second VAMOS channel which is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of the corresponding first VAMOS channel.

2. ) The base station of claim 1, wherein the first and second VAMOS channel share a common time slot within a TDMA frame.

4. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein a signal constellation used by the first VAMOS channel is orthogonal to a signal constellation used by the second VAMOS channel.

5. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the control channels are SACCH.

6. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein

the control channel of the first VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 12 of a multiframe;

and

the control channel of the second VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 4 or 8 of a multiframe.

7. ) The base station of claim 6, wherein

the control channel of the second VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 8 of a multiframe.

8. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein

a further control channel of the first VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 25 of a multiframe;

and

a further control channel of the second VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 17 or 21 of a multiframe.

9. ) The base station of claim 8, wherein

the further control channel of the second VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 21 of a multiframe.

10. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein

the first VAMOS channel is a full rate or a half rate channel;

and/or

the second VAMOS channel is a full rate or a half rate channel.

11. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the first and second VAMOS channels use one of:

half rate, full rate, enhanced full rate, adaptive multi-rate speech encoding.

12. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the time for transmitting a speech block is

smaller or equal to eight TDMA frames;

and

greater or equal to six TDMA frames.

13. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the variance of the time for the transmission of a speech block measured in number of TDMA frames is the same for the first and second VAMOS channel.

14. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the first and/or the second VAMOS channel are operable to perform discontinuous transmission.

15. ) The base station of claim 14, wherein during discontinuous transmission

at least one silence descriptor frame is transmitted on the VAMOS channel which performs discontinuous transmission;

and

the at least one silence descriptor frame does not coincide with the control channel of the other VAMOS channel.

16. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the base station is operable to select the first and the second mobile station for communication over the first and second VAMOS channel, such that a link performance of the first and the second VAMOS channel is maximized.

17. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the base station is operable to select the first and the second mobile station for communication over the first and second VAMOS channel, such that a link performance of the first and the second VAMOS channel exceeds a pre-determined threshold value.

18. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the second VAMOS channel is operated at half rate and wherein the transceiver is operable to

communicate with the second mobile station via a first sub-channel of the second VAMOS channel;

communicate with a third mobile station via a second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel; and

select the first, second and third mobile station, such that a link performance of the first VAMOS channel, and the first and second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel exceeds a pre-determined threshold value.

19. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein the second VAMOS channel is operated at half rate and wherein the base station is operable to

communicate with the second mobile station via a first sub-channel of the second VAMOS channel;

communicate with a third mobile station via a second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel; and

select the first, second and third mobile station by evaluating the interference between

the first VAMOS channel and the first subchannel of the second VAMOS channel; and

the first VAMOS channel and the second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel.

20. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein

the first and the second VAMOS channel are operated at half rate, each comprising a first and a second subchannel;

and

for the first and the second VAMOS channel, two TDMA frames of the first or second subchannel are never directly adjacent.

21. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein a reporting period of the first VAMOS channel corresponds to a reporting period of the second VAMOS channel.

22. ) The base station of any previous claim, wherein

a reporting period of the first VAMOS channel is offset to a reporting period of the second VAMOS channel;

and

the offset of the reporting period corresponds to the offset of the control channels.

3. ) The base station of claim 3, wherein the first and second VAMOS channel use a different training sequence code within the common time slot.

23. ) A GERAN transmitter operable to establish a first VAMOS channel, wherein a control channel of the first VAMOS channel is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of a corresponding second VAMOS channel.

24. ) A GERAN receiver operable to decode a control channel of a first VAMOS channel which is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of a corresponding second VAMOS channel.

25. ) A GERAN compatible mobile station comprising a transceiver which is operable to

communicate with a GERAN base station via a first VAMOS channel;

and

use a control channel of the first VAMOS channel which is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of a corresponding second VAMOS channel.

26. ) The mobile station of claim 25, wherein

the control channel of the first VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 12 of a multiframe;

and

the control channel of the second VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 4 or 8 of a multiframe.

27. ) The mobile station of claim 25 or 26, wherein

a further control channel of the first VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 25 of a multiframe;

and

a further control channel of the second VAMOS channel is transmitted at TDMA frame number 17 or 21 of a multiframe.

28. ) A radio interface for a GERAN specifying a first and a second VAMOS channel within one time slot of a TDMA frame, wherein a control channel of the first VAMOS channel is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of the corresponding second VAMOS channel.

29. ) A radio signal associated with a VAMOS channel which comprises a control channel that is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to a control channel of a corresponding VAMOS channel.

30. ) A method for reducing interference of a first and a second VAMOS channel during DTX operation of at least one of the two VAMOS channels, the method comprising:

communicating between a base station and a first mobile station via the first VAMOS channel;

communicating between the base station and a second mobile station via the second VAMOS channel;

using a control channel in a multiframe of the first VAMOS channel which is offset by 4 or 8 TDMA frames with respect to the control channel in a multiframe of a second VAMOS channel.

31. ) A GERAN base station operable to

set up a first VAMOS channel to a first mobile device;

set up a first subchannel of a second VAMOS channel to a second mobile device;

set up a third subchannel of a second VAMOS channel to a third mobile device; and

select the first, second and third mobile station, such that a link performance of the first VAMOS channel, and the first and second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel exceeds a pre-determined threshold value.

32. ) A method for pairing a first, second and third mobile station at a GERAN base station, wherein

the first mobile station is to communicate with the base station on a first VAMOS channel;

the second mobile station is to communicate with the base station on a first subchannel of a corresponding second VAMOS channel; and

the third mobile station is to communicate with the base station on a second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel;

the method comprising;

selecting the first, second and third mobile station from a plurality of mobile stations within a coverage area of the base station, such that a link performance of the first VAMOS channel, and the first and second subchannel of the second VAMOS channel exceeds a pre-determined threshold value;

setting up the first VAMOS channel to the first mobile device;

setting up the first subchannel of the second VAMOS channel to the second mobile device; and

setting up the third subchannel of the second VAMOS channel to the third mobile device.