Variable rate spread spectrum communication method and apparatus

• US 6,275,488 B1
• Filed: 11/17/1999
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jalloul, Louay, Classon, Brian K., Cudak, Mark C., Ghosh, Amitava
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pizarro, Ricardo M.
• Application Number:
  US09/442,250
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/329, 370/330, 370/336, 370/337, 370/346, 370/347, 370/348, 370/431, 370/468, 370/349, 370/310, 370/312, 370/319, 370/345, 371/32, 371/33
• US Class Current: 370/347
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/08 by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1803 Stop-and-wait protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/189 Transmission or retransmission of more than one copy of a message
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2001/0093 Point-to-multipoint

Abstract

A method in a communication system (100) includes transmitting from a source user (101) a first data packet (111) over a first time frame (121) having a finite time period (131), transmitting from source user (101) a second data packet (112) over a second time frame (122) immediately subsequent to first time frame (121), detecting an acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet associated with either first or said second data packets (111 and 112), repeating transmission of first and second data packets (111 and 112) in a sequence of first and second time frames (121 and 122) in a time frame sequence (190) until the detection.

Claims

1. A method in a communication system comprising the steps of:

transmitting from a source user a first data packet over a first time frame having a finite time period;

transmitting from said source user a second data packet over a second time frame, wherein said second time frame is immediately subsequent to said first time frame;

detecting an acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet associated with either said first or said second data packet;

repeating transmission of said first and second data packets in a sequence of said first and second time frames until said detecting;

terminating transmission of either said first or second data packet in said sequence of said first and second time frames, wherein said terminated data packet is associated with said detected associated acknowledgment; and

transmitting a third data packet in substitute of said terminated data packet in said sequence of said first and second time frames.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein retransmission of at least either said first and second data packets is associated with a first transmission of correspondingly said first and second data packets.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 wherein said association is related to incremental redundancy.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said acknowledgement associated with said first data packet is expected to arrive after transmission of said first time frame and said acknowledgement associated with said second data packets is expected to arrive after transmission of said second time frame.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said first and second data packets are transmitted for a same destination user, or a first and second destination users.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of limiting said repeating to a predetermined number of repetitions.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said first and second time frames are consecutively odd and even numbered time frames in a numbered time frames in a time division multiple access communication system.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said first time frame is an odd numbered channel and second time frames is an even numbered channel immediately subsequent to said odd numbered channel in a time division multiple access communication system.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of retrieving said first and second data packets from a queue buffer aligning said first and second data packets in sequence for said transmitting from said source user.

10. The method as recited in claim 9 wherein said queue buffer is aligned according to a transmission priority of said first and second data packets.

11. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of retrieving said first, second and third data packets from a queue buffer aligning said first, second and third data packets in sequence for said transmitting from said source user.

12. The method as recited in claim 11 wherein said queue buffer is aligned according to a transmission priority of said first, second and third data packets.

13. The method as recited in claim 11 further comprising the step of selecting said third data packet from a plurality of data packets in said queue buffer based on a transmission priority aligning said third data packet in said queue buffer.

14. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of combining correspondingly soft copies of said repeated transmission of data packets for generating and transmitting said acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet.

26. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein said acknowledgement associated with said first data packet is expected to arrive after transmission of said first time frame and said acknowledgement associated with said second data packets is expected to arrive after transmission of said second time frame.

27. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein said first and second data packets are transmitted for a same destination user, or a first and second destination users.

28. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising the step of limiting said repeating to a predetermined number of repetitions.

29. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein said first and second time frames are consecutively odd and even numbered time frames in a numbered time frames in a time division multiple access communication system.

30. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein said first time frame is an odd numbered channel and second time frames is an even numbered channel immediately subsequent to said odd numbered channel in a time division multiple access communication system.

31. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising the step of retrieving said first and second data packets from a queue buffer aligning said first and second data packets in sequence for said transmitting from said source user.

32. The method as recited in claim 31 wherein said queue buffer is aligned according to a transmission priority of said first and second data packets.

33. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising the step of retrieving said first, second and third data packets from a queue buffer aligning said first, second and third data packets in sequence for said transmitting from said source user.

34. The method as recited in claim 33 wherein said queue buffer is aligned according to a transmission priority of said first, second and third data packets.

35. The method as recited in claim 33 further comprising the step of selecting said third data packet from a plurality of data packets in said queue buffer based on a transmission priority aligning said third data packet in said queue buffer.

36. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising the step of combining correspondingly soft copies of said repeated transmission of data packets for generating and transmitting said acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet.

37. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said acknowledgement associated with said first data packet is expected to arrive after transmission of said first time frame and said acknowledgement associated with said second data packets is expected to arrive after transmission of said second time frame.

38. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said first and second data packets are transmitted for a same destination user, or a first and second destination users.

39. The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising the step of limiting said repeating to a predetermined number of repetitions.

40. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said first and second time frames are consecutively odd and even numbered time frames in a numbered time frames in a time division multiple access communication system.

41. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said first time frame is an odd numbered channel and second time frames is an even numbered channel immediately subsequent to said odd numbered channel in a time division multiple access communication system.

42. The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising the step of retrieving said first and second data packets from a queue buffer aligning said first and second data packets in sequence for said transmitting from said source user.

43. The method as recited in claim 42 wherein said queue buffer is aligned according to a transmission priority of said first and second data packets.

44. The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising the step of retrieving said first, second and third data packets from a queue buffer aligning said first, second and third data packets in sequence for said transmitting from said source user.

45. The method as recited in claim 44 wherein said queue buffer is aligned according to a transmission priority of said first, second and third data packets.

46. The method as recited in claim 44 further comprising the step of selecting said third data packet from a plurality of data packets in said queue buffer based on a transmission priority aligning said third data packet in said queue buffer.

15. A method in a communication system comprising the steps of:

determining a time in units of a finite time period when at a source user a feedback acknowledgment arrives acknowledging acceptable reception of a data packet at a destination user;

transmitting from said source user multiple data packets over correspondingly in a sequence of multiple time frames equal to said determined units of time frames;

detecting an acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet associated with either one of said multiple data packets;

repeating transmission of said multiple of data packets in said sequence of multiple time frames until said detecting;

terminating transmission of either one of said multiple data packets in said sequence of multiple time frames, wherein said terminated data packet is associated with said detected associated acknowledgment; and

transmitting a new data packet in substitute of said terminated data packet in said sequence of said multiple time frames.

16. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein said time is approximately an earliest time when at said source user said feedback acknowledgment arrives acknowledging acceptable reception of said data packet at a destination user.

17. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein said multiple data packets are transmitted for a same destination user, or a multiple destination users.

18. The method as recited in claim 15 further comprising the step of limiting said repeating to a predetermined number of repetitions.

19. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein said multiple time frames are consecutively numbered time frames in a numbered time frames in a time division multiple access communication system.

20. The method as recited in claim 15 wherein said multiple time frames are consecutively numbered channels in a time division multiple access communication system.

21. The method as recited in claim 15 further comprising the step of combining correspondingly soft copies of said repeated transmission of data packets for generating and transmitting said acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet.

47. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein retransmission of at least either said first and second data packets is associated with a first transmission of correspondingly said first and second data packets.

48. The method as recited in claim 47, wherein said association is related to incremental redundancy.

22. An apparatus in a communication system comprising:

means for transmitting from a source user a first data packet over a first time frame having a finite time period;

means for transmitting from said source user a second data packet over a second time frame, wherein said second time frame is immediately subsequent to said first time frame;

means for detecting an acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet associated with either said first or said second data packet;

means for repeating transmission of said first and second data packets in a sequence of said first and second time frames until said detecting;

means for terminating transmission of either said first or second data packet in said sequence of said first and second time frames, wherein said terminated data packet is associated with said detected associated acknowledgment; and

means for transmitting a third data packet in substitute of said terminated data packet in said sequence of said first and second time frames.

23. The apparatus as recited in claim 22 further comprising:

means for combining correspondingly soft copies of said repeated transmission of data packets for generating and transmitting said acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet.

49. The apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein retransmission of at least either said first and second data packets is associated with a first transmission of correspondingly said first and second data packets.

50. The apparatus as recited in claim 49, wherein said association is related to incremental redundancy.

24. An apparatus in a communication system comprising

means for determining a time in units of a finite time period when at a source user a feedback acknowledgment arrives acknowledging acceptable reception of a data packet at a destination user;

means for transmitting from said source user multiple data packets over correspondingly in a sequence of multiple time frames equal to said determined units of time frames;

means for detecting an acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet associated with either one of said multiple data packets;

means for repeating transmission of said multiple of data packets in said sequence of multiple time frames until said detecting;

means for terminating transmission of either one of said multiple data packets in said sequence of multiple time frames, wherein said terminated data packet is associated with said detected associated acknowledgment; and

means for transmitting a new data packet in substitute of said terminated data packet in said sequence of said multiple time frames.

25. The apparatus as recited in claim 24 further comprising:

means for combining correspondingly soft copies of said repeated transmission of data packets for generating and transmitting said acknowledgment of acceptable reception of data packet.

51. The apparatus as recited in claim 24, wherein retransmission of at least either said first and second data packets is associated with a first transmission of correspondingly said first and second data packets.

52. The apparatus as recited in claim 51, wherein said association is related to incremental redundancy.