Method for transmitting radio signals, radio communication access network and terminal using same

• US 6,675,016 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2002
• Issued: 01/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Lucidarme, Thierry, Lescuyer, Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Nguyen T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuan T.
• Application Number:
  US10/220,754
• Publication Number:
  US 20030040320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 455/452.1, 455/452.2, 455/464, 455/63.1, 455/67.13, 455/114.2, 455/115.1, 455/296, 370/328, 370/329, 370/335, 370/338, 370/342, 370/347, 370/348, 370/468, 375/144, 375/285, 375/296
• US Class Current: 455/452.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/007 Unequal error protection for format H04L1/0078; for codes per se H03M13/35
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0072 Error control for data other than payload data, e.g. control data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

The invention concerns a method wherein a radio link control stage processes separately first data units containing information items of a specific type and second data units not containing information items of said type. A control stage for access to the media delivers the first data units through a first dedicated transport channel and the second data units through a second dedicated transport channel. The data units delivered through said dedicated transport channels are supplied to an encoding and multiplexing stage to form at least a train of symbols relative to a dedicated physical channel and supplied to a radio transmission stage. The encoding and multiplexing stage and/or the radio transmission stage ensure greater protection against noise through the first dedicated transport channel than through the second dedicated transport channel.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting radio signals based on at least one data flow toward a radio communication station, comprising the steps of:

processing separately, in a radio link control stage, first data units containing information of a specified type and second data units not containing information of the specified type;

supplying the data units to a medium access control stage which delivers the first data units along a first dedicated transport channel and the second data units along at least one second dedicated transport channel;

supplying the data units delivered along said dedicated transport channels to a coding and multiplexing stage (18A, 18B) to form at least one symbol stream pertaining to a dedicated physical channel;

supplying each symbol stream to a radio transmission stage; and

controlling the coding and multiplexing stage and/or the radio transmission stage to provide greater protection against noise along the first dedicated transport channel than along the second dedicated transport channel.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information of the specified type is information pertaining to a signaling protocol.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage is controlled to apply a channel coding exhibiting a higher redundancy in the first dedicated transport channel than in the second dedicated transport channel.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage is controlled to form a first symbol stream relating to a first dedicated physical channel based on the first dedicated transport channel, and at least one second symbol stream relating to a second dedicated physical channel based on at least one second dedicated transport channel.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the radio transmission stage is so controlled that the transmitted radio signals have a first component along the first dedicated physical channel and a second component along the second dedicated physical channel, and that the first component has a greater transmission power than the second component.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the dedicated physical channels are multiplexed by a spread spectrum technique, and wherein the coding and multiplexing stage and the radio transmission stage are so controlled that the first symbol stream has a smaller symbol bit rate than the second symbol stream, and that the first dedicated physical channel is associated with a higher spreading factor than the second dedicated physical channel.

7. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the radio signals are transmitted from at least two base stations, the radio transmission stage being apportioned among said base stations, and wherein the first and second symbol streams are supplied to the radio transmission stage in distinct base stations, so as to form radio signals transmitted along different propagation paths.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radio link control stage separately receives a first data flow belonging to a control plane, from which it forms the first data units, and at least one second data flow belonging to a user plane, from which it forms some at least of the second data units.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the information of the specified type comprises radio resource control information and/or mobility management information and/or call control information.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radio link control stage receives a data flow belonging to a user plane, from which it forms the data units, while discriminating the first and second data units based on an analysis of said flow.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said data flow is composed of IP datagrams.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the analysis of the flow comprises an examination of a type of service field and/or of a type of protocol field included in a header of each IP datagram.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the analysis of the flow comprises an examination of a transport layer protocol header and/or of an application layer protocol header included in each IP datagram.

14. An access network for a radio communication system, comprising a radio link control stage, a medium access control stage, a coding and multiplexing stage and a radio transmission stage, wherein the radio link control stage has means for processing separately first data units containing information of a specified type and second data units not containing information of the specified type, wherein the medium access control stage has means for receiving said data units and means for delivering the first data units along a first dedicated transport channel and the second data units along at least one second dedicated transport channel, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage has means for receiving the data units delivered along said dedicated transport channels and means for forming at least one symbol stream pertaining to a dedicated physical channel and supplied to the radio transmission stage, and wherein the coding and multiplexing stage and/or the radio transmission stage are controlled to provide greater protection against noise along the first dedicated transport channel than along the second dedicated transport channel.

15. The access network as claimed in claim 14, wherein the information of the specified type is information pertaining to a signaling protocol.

16. The access network as claimed in claim 14, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage is controlled to apply a channel coding exhibiting a higher redundancy in the first dedicated transport channel than in the second dedicated transport channel.

17. The access network as claimed in claim 14, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage is controlled to form a first symbol stream relating to a first dedicated physical channel based on the first dedicated transport channel, and at least one second symbol stream relating to a second dedicated physical channel based on at least one second dedicated transport channel.

18. The access network as claimed in claim 17, wherein the radio transmission stage is so controlled that the transmitted radio signals have a first component along the first dedicated physical channel and a second component along the second dedicated physical channel, and that the first component has a greater transmission power than the second component.

19. The access network as claimed in claim 17, wherein the dedicated physical channels are multiplexed by a spread spectrum technique, and wherein the coding and multiplexing stage and the radio transmission stage are so controlled that the first symbol stream has a smaller symbol bit rate than the second symbol stream, and that the first dedicated physical channel is associated with a higher spreading factor than the second dedicated physical channel.

20. The access network as claimed in claim 17, wherein the radio signals are transmitted from at least two base stations, the radio transmission stage being apportioned among said base stations, and wherein the first and second symbol streams are supplied to the radio transmission stage in distinct base stations, so as to form radio signals transmitted along different propagation paths.

21. The access network as claimed in claim 14, wherein the radio link control stage separately receives a first data flow belonging to a control plane, from which it forms the first data units, and at least one second data flow belonging to a user plane, from which it forms some at least of the second data units.

22. The access network as claimed in claim 21, wherein the information of the specified type comprises radio resource control information and/or mobility management information and/or call control information.

23. The access network as claimed in claim 14, wherein the radio link control stage receives a data flow belonging to a user plane, from which it forms the data units, while discriminating the first and second data units based on an analysis of said flow.

24. The access network as claimed in claim 23, wherein said data flow is composed of IP datagrams.

25. The access network as claimed in claim 24, wherein the analysis of the flow comprises an examination of a type of service field and/or of a type of protocol field included in a header of each IP datagram.

26. The access network as claimed in claim 24, wherein the analysis of the flow comprises an examination of a transport layer protocol header and/or of an application layer protocol header included in each IP datagram.

27. A radio communication terminal, comprising a radio link control stage, a medium access control stage, a coding and multiplexing stage and a radio transmission stage, wherein the radio link control stage has means for processing separately first data units containing information of a specified type and second data units not containing information of the specified type, wherein the medium access control stage has means for receiving said data units and means for delivering the first data units along a first dedicated transport channel and the second data units along at least one second dedicated transport channel, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage has means for receiving the data units delivered along said dedicated transport channels and means for forming at least one symbol stream pertaining to a dedicated physical channel and supplied to the radio transmission stage, and wherein the coding and multiplexing stage and/or the radio transmission stage are controlled to provide greater protection against noise along the first dedicated transport channel than along the second dedicated transport channel.

28. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 27, wherein the information of the specified type is information pertaining to a signaling protocol.

29. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 27, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage is controlled to apply a channel coding exhibiting a higher redundancy in the first dedicated transport channel than in the second dedicated transport channel.

30. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 27, wherein the coding and multiplexing stage is controlled to form a first symbol stream relating to a first dedicated physical channel based on the first dedicated transport channel, and at least one second symbol stream relating to a second dedicated physical channel based on at least one second dedicated transport channel.

31. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 30, wherein the radio transmission stage is so controlled that the transmitted radio signals have a first component along the first dedicated physical channel and a second component along the second dedicated physical channel, and that the first component has a greater transmission power than the second component.

32. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 30, wherein the dedicated physical channels are multiplexed by a spread spectrum technique, and wherein the coding and multiplexing stage and the radio transmission stage are so controlled that the first symbol stream has a smaller symbol bit rate than the second symbol stream, and that the first dedicated physical channel is associated with a higher spreading factor than the second dedicated physical channel.

33. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 30 wherein the radio signals are transmitted from at least two base stations, the radio transmission stage being apportioned among said base stations, and wherein the first and second symbol streams are supplied to the radio transmission stage in distinct base stations, so as to form radio signals transmitted along different propagation paths.

34. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 27, wherein the radio link control stage separately receives a first data flow belonging to a control plane, from which it forms the first data units, and at least one second data flow belonging to a user plane, from which it forms some at least of the second data units.

35. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 34, wherein the information of the specified type comprises radio resource control information and/or mobility management information and/or call control information.

36. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 27, wherein the radio link control stage receives a data flow belonging to a user plane, from which it forms the data units, while discriminating the first and second data units based on an analysis of said flow.

37. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 36, wherein said data flow is composed of IP datagrams.

38. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 37, wherein the analysis of the flow comprises an examination of a type of service field and/or of a type of protocol field included in a header of each IP datagram.

39. The radio communication terminal as claimed in claim 37, wherein the analysis of the flow comprises an examination of a transport layer protocol header and/or of an application layer protocol header included in each IP datagram.