Discontinuous transmission on high speed data channels

• US 6,504,827 B1
• Filed: 12/18/1998
• Issued: 01/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Meyers, Martin Howard, Kuo, Wen-Yi, Wu, Xiao Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phuongchau Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/215,437
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• Field of Search: 370/465, 370/468, 370/522, 370/335, 370/342, 370/329, 370/345, 370/476, 370/232, 370/441
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/26 at least one of which is mobile

Abstract

The present invention is a method for efficiently utilizing spectrum resources belonging to a wireless communications system in the presence of data channels through a discontinuous data transmission technique. The discontinuous data transmission technique involves the transmission of a flag over a control channel (or some other communication channel) in frame f, wherein the flag would indicate to an intended recipient that a transmitter has a data frame to transmit to the recipient in some future frame f+q. In an embodiment, the transmitter would subsequently transmit the data frame over a data channel (or some other communication channel) in frame f+q if the flag indicated that the data frame was ready to be transmitted. In another embodiment, the transmitter would not transmit the data frame unless the recipient has indicated (via another flag) that the recipient is ready to receive the frame of data from the transmitter.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data frames over a communication channel comprising the steps of:

determining whether a data frame is ready to be transmitted in a frame f+q, the frame f+q being a future frame with respect to a present frame f;

transmitting from a transmitter a transmit flag over a first communication channel in the frame f to indicate whether [a] the data frame is ready to be transmitted in the frame f+q over a second communication channel, a positive transmit flag being transmitted when the determining step determines that a data frame is ready to be transmitted in the frame f+q, and a negative transmit flag being transmitted when the determining step determines that no data will be transmitted in the frame f+q; and

in the absence of receiving any communication in response to the transmitted transmit flag, transmitting from the transmitter the data frame in the frame f+q over the second communication channel if the transmit flag is a positive transmit flag indicating that the data frame is ready to be transmitted in the frame f+q.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data frame is not transmitted in the frame f+q over the second communication channel if the transmit flag is a negative transmit flag indicating the data frame will not be transmitted in the frame f+q.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising the additional step of:

transmitting a mobile-telephone identifier over a third communication channel to indicate a mobile-telephone to which the transmit flag is intended.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising the additional step of:

transmitting a communication channel identifier over a third communication channel to indicate a communication channel over which the transmit flag is to be transmitted.

5. A method of receiving data frames transmitted over a communication channel comprising the steps of:

receiving at a receiver a transmit flag over a first communication channel in a frame g to indicate whether a data frame is ready to be transmitted in a frame g+r, the frame g+r being a future frame with respect to the frame g, the received transmit flag being positive when a data frame is ready to be transmitted in the frame g+r, and the received transmit flag being negative when no data will be transmitted in the frame g+r;

determining whether the received transmit flag is positive or negative; and

in the absence of responding to the received transmit flag, processing at the receiver the data frame transmitted in the frame g+r of a second communication channel if the transmit flag is a positive transmit flag indicating that the data frame is ready to be transmitted in the frame g+r over the second communication channel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the frame g+r of the second communication channel is not processed if the transmit flag is a negative transmit flag indicating no data frame will be transmitted in the frame g+r.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the frame g+r of the second communication channel is processed if an error occurred with respect to the transmit flag in the frame g of the first communication channel.