SCHEDULER AND SCHEDULING METHOD FOR CARRIER AGGREGATED COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20130148588A1
• Filed: 12/12/2011
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: COMEAU, Adrien Joseph, BOUDREAU, Gary David, DONALD, David Alan
• Application Number:
  US13/323,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20130148588A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load

Abstract

A method and system for allocating information flows of information to communication resources are disclosed. In one embodiment, separate flows of information in data received from a communication network are identified. Each separate information flow is associated with a component carrier for the duration of the information flow, and each component carrier is associated with a scheduler.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising:

segregating each of a plurality of received information flows; and

assigning each of the plurality of segregated received information flows to a different one of a plurality of schedulers for the duration of the information flow, each scheduler associated with a particular one of a plurality of component carriers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each scheduler may be associated with more than one component carrier.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein an information flow is segregated based on a quality of service (QOS).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the component carriers are carriers in a long term evolution (LTE) wireless communication system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the assigning is based on a load associated with each scheduler.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the assigning is performed at a first location remote from locations of the plurality of schedulers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning the information flows to the schedulers at a rate that is substantially slower than a decision rate at which a scheduler schedules transport blocks of information flows for transmission.

8. A wireless communication system, comprising:

a first scheduler having;

an information flow identification processor, the information flow identification processor separating data from a communication network into separate flows of information;

an assignment unit, the assignment unit associating each separated information flow with a particular one of a plurality of component carriers for the duration of the information flow.

9. The wireless communication system of claim 8, wherein the assignment unit is configured to allocate information flows to component carriers according to a fairness algorithm.

10. The wireless communication system of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of second schedulers, each second scheduler associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of component carriers, each second scheduler scheduling transmission of transport blocks of data of an information flow on the corresponding component carrier.

11. The wireless communication system of claim 10, wherein the scheduled transmissions are scheduled so that transport blocks are transmitted at a rate of at least one transport block every 4 milliseconds.

12. The wireless communication system of claim 8, further comprising a multiplexer to transmit each different information flow to a separate one of a plurality of schedulers.

13. The wireless communication system of claim 8, wherein the assignment unit associates each information flow with a component carrier at a rate at which information flows are created.

14. The wireless communication system of claim 8, further comprising at least one RF device having an RF radio, each of the at least one RF devices being associated with a different component carrier.

15. The wireless communication system of claim 8, wherein the rate of association of each information flow with a particular one of the plurality of component carriers by the assignment unit of the first scheduler is substantially lower than a rate of scheduling transmission of transport blocks of data of an information flow on a particular component carrier.

16. A method of allocating resources to a plurality of information flows in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

identifying separate flows of information in data received from a communication network;

associating each information flow with a component carrier for the duration of the information flow; and

associating each component carrier with a scheduler.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting each information flow to a scheduler associated with the component carrier that is associated with the corresponding information flow.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein an association of an information flow with a component carrier is terminated when an information flow terminates.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein each information flow is further associated with a particular user equipment and wherein the information flow associated with a particular user equipment is further associated with a scheduler that serves the particular user equipment for the duration of the information flow.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein transport blocks of an information flow are scheduled for transmission according to a scheduling algorithm that depends on channel quality.