LOCAL SELECTION OF RETRANSMITTING DEVICE IN COOPERATIVE CLUSTER TO ENHANCE CELLULAR MULTICAST

• US 20130089020A1
• Filed: 06/17/2010
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Hakola, Sami-Jukka, Koskela, Timo Kalevi, Li, Zhenhong, Wang, Haifeng
• Granted Patent: US 8,934,393 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1867 Arrangements specially adapted for the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0007 for multicast or broadcast services, e.g. MBMS multicast or broadcast application services H04W4/06; resource management for broadcast services H04W72/30; connection management for selective distribution or broadcast H04W76/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/18 for allowing seamless reselection, e.g. soft reselection
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services

Abstract

A method for local selection of a retransmitting user equipment within a cluster comprises: selecting first retransmission indication information according to a first pre-defined criterion, in response to receipt of non-acknowledgement information from at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment at which a data packet from a network node is decoded incorrectly; performing a local selection of a retransmitting user equipment within a cluster based at least in part on the first retransmission indication least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, and at least one acknowledgement user equipment at which the data packet is decoded correctly; and determining whether or not to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, based at least in part on the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment.

Claims

1-39. -39. (canceled)

40. A method comprising:

selecting first retransmission indication information according to a first pre-defined criterion, in response to receipt of non-acknowledgement information from at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment at which a data packet from a network node is decoded incorrectly;

performing a local selection of a retransmitting user equipment within a cluster based at least in part on the first retransmission indication information, wherein the cluster comprises the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, and at least one acknowledgement user equipment at which the data packet is decoded correctly; and

determining whether or not to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, based at least in part on the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment.

41. The method according to claim 40, wherein said performing the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment within the cluster comprises:

transmitting the first retransmission indication information to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment; and

receiving second retransmission indication information from each of the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment,

wherein the second retransmission indication information is selected according to a second pre-defined criterion by the non-acknowledgement user equipment among respective retransmission indication information received from the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, and

wherein the respective retransmission indication information comprising the first retransmission indication information is selected by the at least one acknowledgement user equipment according to the first pre-defined criterion.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein said determining whether or not to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment based at least in part on the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment comprises:

determining to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, if the first retransmission indication information matches with the second retransmission indication information.

43. The method according to claim 40, wherein said performing the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment within the cluster comprises:

collecting, as a pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment, respective retransmission indication information from the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, wherein the respective retransmission indication information comprising the first retransmission indication information is selected by the at least one acknowledgement user equipment according to the first pre-defined criterion;

selecting second retransmission indication information among the respective retransmission indication information, according to a second pre-defined criterion; and

reporting the second retransmission indication information to the network node, wherein an acknowledgement user equipment of which the selected retransmission indication information according to the first pre-defined criterion matches with the second retransmission indication information is the retransmitting user equipment.

44. The method according to claim 40, wherein said performing the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment within the cluster comprises:

sending the first retransmission indication information to a pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment; and

listening for a retransmission decision signaled by the pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment,

wherein the pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment collects respective retransmission indication information from the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, and

wherein the respective retransmission indication information comprising the first retransmission indication information is selected by the at least one acknowledgement user equipment according to the first pre-defined criterion.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein the retransmission decision comprises at least an identifier of the retransmitting user equipment.

46. The method according to claim 41, wherein for each of the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, the respective retransmission indication information comprises the worst one of channel quality metrics evaluated for all of the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, and

wherein the second retransmission indication information comprises the best one of said worst channel quality metrics.

47. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following;

selecting first retransmission indication information according to a first pre-defined criterion, in response to receipt of non-acknowledgement information from at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment at which a data packet from a network node is decoded incorrectly;

performing a local selection of a retransmitting user equipment within a cluster based at least in part on the first retransmission indication information, wherein the cluster comprises the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, and at least one acknowledgement user equipment at which the data packet is decoded correctly; and

determining whether or not to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, based at least in part on the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment.

48. The apparatus according to claim 47, wherein said performing the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment within the cluster comprises:

transmitting the first retransmission indication information to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment; and

receiving second retransmission indication information from each of the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment,

wherein the second retransmission indication information is selected according to a second pre-defined criterion by the non-acknowledgement user equipment among respective retransmission indication information received from the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, and

wherein the respective retransmission indication information comprising the first retransmission indication information is selected by the at least one acknowledgement user equipment according to the first pre-defined criterion.

49. The apparatus according to claim 48, wherein said determining whether or not to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment based at least in part on the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment comprises:

determining to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, if the first retransmission indication information matches with the second retransmission indication information.

50. The apparatus according to claim 47, wherein said performing the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment within the cluster comprises:

collecting, as a pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment, respective retransmission indication information from the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, wherein the respective retransmission indication information comprising the first retransmission indication information is selected by the at least one acknowledgement user equipment according to the first pre-defined criterion;

selecting second retransmission indication information among the respective retransmission indication information, according to a second pre-defined criterion; and

reporting the second retransmission indication information to the network node, wherein an acknowledgement user equipment of which the selected retransmission indication information according to the first pre-defined criterion matches with the second retransmission indication information is the retransmitting user equipment.

51. The apparatus according to claim 47, wherein said performing the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment within the cluster comprises:

sending the first retransmission indication information to a pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment; and

listening for a retransmission decision signaled by the pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment,

wherein the pre-defined acknowledgement user equipment collects respective retransmission indication information from the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, and

wherein the respective retransmission indication information comprising the first retransmission indication information is selected by the at least one acknowledgement user equipment according to the first pre-defined criterion.

52. The apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the retransmission decision comprises at least an identifier of the retransmitting user equipment.

53. The apparatus according to claim 48, wherein for each of the at least one acknowledgement user equipment, the respective retransmission indication information comprises the worst one of channel quality metrics evaluated for all of the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, and wherein the second retransmission indication information comprises the best one of said worst channel quality metrics.

54. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform at least the following:

selecting first retransmission indication information according to a first pre-defined criterion, in response to receipt of non-acknowledgement information from at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment at which a data packet from a network node is decoded incorrectly;

performing a local selection of a retransmitting user equipment within a cluster based at least in part on the first retransmission indication information, wherein the cluster comprises the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, and at least one acknowledgement user equipment at which the data packet is decoded correctly; and

determining whether or not to retransmit the data packet to the at least one non-acknowledgement user equipment, based at least in part on the local selection of the retransmitting user equipment.