Method of controlling communication resources

• US 6,693,892 B1
• Filed: 01/26/2000
• Issued: 02/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Rinne, Mikko, Ahmavaara, Kalle, Virtanen, Terhi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsu, Alpus H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, THIEN D
• Application Number:
  US09/491,524
• Time in Patent Office: 1,483 Days
• Field of Search: 370/321, 370/322, 370/323, 370/324, 370/337, 370/347, 370/348, 370/442, 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/376, 370/329, 370/330, 370/336, 370/349
• US Class Current: 370/348
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames

Abstract

According to the method of the invention, connections are divided into at least two different connection classes according to their requirements for transmission delay. The control system of the base station subsystem maintains a record of the transmission needs of the users logged in different categories and based thereon divides the available radio resources into slots of suitable capacity. For connections with stringent requirements for transmission delay, circuit-switched connections are allocated with a bandwidth which can be controlled dynamically. Then from the resource pool still unassigned after the resource allocation to the circuit-switched connections, a sufficient amount of resources are allocated on a time-limited basis allocation for each allocation period to connections having a higher tolerance for delay so as to accomplish transmission, e.g. of a given amount of data.

Claims

1. A method of controlling communication resources in a telecommunications system, in which the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource, the method comprising steps:

dividing connections into at least two connection classes according to their transmission delay requirements, a first connection class for connections requiring relatively short transmission delay before a data packet is transmitted from the transmitting side and a second connection class for connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than what is required by said first connection class,

storing and updating information concerning the current need for communication resources in each connection class,

dynamically dividing the communication resources into slots according to the current need for communication resources,

allocating circuit switched communication resources for connections in a first connection class, and

allocating resources sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data for each successive allocation period for connections belonging to said second connection class.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the resources are allocated independently of one another in different transmission directions.

3. The method according to claim 1 in a mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, wherein

in response to a changed need for a connection having stringent requirements for minimal transmission delay from the mobile station to the base station subsystem, the mobile station sends the base station subsystem a capacity request message indicating the amount of resources needed, and

in response to the request, the base station subsystem allocates the connection circuit-switched communication resources and informs the mobile station about the resources allocated by sending the mobile station a capacity allocation message indicating the resources allocated.

4. The method according to claim 1 in a mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, wherein

in response to having determined a changed need for a connection having stringent requirements for minimal transmission delay from the base station subsystem to the mobile station, the base station subsystem allocates the connection circuit-switched communication resources and informs the mobile station about the resources allocated by sending the mobile station a capacity allocation message indicating the resources allocated.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than in said first connection class are further divided into at least two subclasses having a high volume of data to be transmitted are allocated a reservation identity used when signaling allocation of communication resources for successive allocation periods.

6. The method according to claim 1 in a mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, wherein

the connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than in said first connection class are further divided into at least two subclasses according to the amount of data to be transmitted,

for the subclasses having high or low volumes to be transmitted, subclass specific resource allocation methods are used,

in response to a need for a connection having less stringent requirements for transmission delay from the mobile station to the base station subsystem than in said first connection class, the mobile station sends the base station subsystem a capacity request message indicating the amount of resources needed,

and in response to having received the request, the base station subsystem determines whether the connection belongs to the subclass having high volumes to be transmitted or to the subclass having low volumes to be transmitted, and in response to having determined that the connection belongs to the subclass having high volumes to be transmitted, the allocation method is used which is specified for the subclass of high volumes to be transmitted, and

in response to determined that the connection belongs to the subclass having low volumes to be transmitted, the allocation method is used which is specified for the subclass of low volumes to be transmitted.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the allocation method specified for the subclass of high volumes to be transmitted is comprised of allocating a reservation identity to the connection, and informing the mobile station in an allocation message sent to the mobile station or the reservation identity allocated.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the allocation method specified for the subclass of low volumes to be transmitted is comprised of allocating to the connection resources sufficient to transfer a given amount of data and informing the mobile station in an allocation message sent to the mobile station of the resources allocated.

9. The method according to claim 1 in a mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, wherein

the connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than in said first connection class are further divided into at least two subclasses according to the amount of data to be transmitted,

for the subclasses having high or low volumes to be transmitted, subclass specific resource allocation methods are used, in response to having determined the need for a connection having less stringent requirements for transmission delay from the base station subsystem to the mobile station than in said first connection class, the base station subsystem determines whether the connection belongs to the subclass having high volumes to be transmitted or to the subclass having low volumes to be transmitted, and

in response to having determined that the connection belongs to the subclass having high volumes to be transmitted, the allocation method is used which is specified for the subclass of high volumes to be transmitted, and in response to having determined that the connection belongs to the subclass having low volumes to be transmitted, the allocation method is used which is specified for the subclass of low volumes to be transmitted.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the allocation method specified for the subclass of high volumes to be transmitted is comprised of allocating a reservation identity to the connection and informing the mobile station in an allocation message sent to the mobile station of the reservation identity allocated.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the allocation method specified for the subclass of low volumes to be transmitted is comprised of allocating the connection resources sufficient to transfer a given amount of data and informing the mobile station in an allocation message sent to the mobile station of the resources allocated.

12. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

negotiating a quality of service for a connection when a connection is established, and

selecting a connection class for the established connection based on the negotiated quality of service.

13. A mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, in which system the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource, the system comprising:

first connection dividing means for dividing the connections according to their transmission delay requirements into at least two connection classes, a first connection class for connections requiring relatively short transmission delay before a data packet is transmitted from the transmitting side and a second connection class for connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than what is required by said first connection class,

determining means responsive to the first connection dividing means for determining the communication needs in different connection classes,

resource dividing means responsive to the determining means for dividing the physical radio resources into slots based on the communication needs, and

allocation means responsive to the determining means and the resource dividing means for allocating different types of channels for communications of different classes.

14. The mobile telecommunications system according to claim 13, further comprising

a second connection divider responsive to the first connection divider for dividing the connections further into connection types according to the amount of data to be transmitted, and

the communication need determining means being responsive to both the first and the second connection dividing means.

15. The mobile telecommunications system according to claim 13, the allocation means comprising

means for allocating circuit-switched resources for connections requiring a short transmission delay and

means for allocating for each successive allocation period to the other connections resources sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data.

16. A base station subsystem for a mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, in which system the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource,

the base station subsystem comprising

first connection dividing means for dividing the connections according to their transmission delay requirements into at least two connection classes, a first connection class for connections requiring relatively short transmission delay before a data packet is transmitted from the base station subsystem and a second connection class for connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than what is required by said first connection class,

determining means responsive to the first connection dividing means for determining the communication needs in different connection classes,

resource dividing means responsive to the determining means for dividing the physical radio resources into slots based on the communication needs, and

allocation means responsive to the determining means and the resource dividing means for allocating different types of channels for communications of different classes.

17. The base station subsystem according to claim 16, the system further comprising

a second connection divider responsive to the first connection divider for dividing the connections further into connection types according to the amount of data to be transmitted, and

the communication need determining means being responsive to both the first and the second connection dividing means.

18. The base station subsystem according to claim 17, the allocation means comprising

means for allocating circuit-switched resources for connections requiring a short transmission delay and means for allocating, for each successive allocation period, the other connection resources sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data.

19. A base station controller for a mobile telecommunications system comprising

a base station subsystem comprised of base stations and a base station controller controlling a plurality of base stations, and

a plurality of mobile stations, whereby the communication resources of said telecommunications system are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource,

the base station controller comprising

first connection dividing means for dividing the connections according to their transmission delay requirements into at least two connection classes, a first connection class for connections requiring relatively short transmission delay before a data packet is transmitted from a base station of the base station subsystem and a second connection class for connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than what is required by said first connection class,

determining means responsive to the first connection dividing means for determining the communication needs in different connection classes,

resource dividing means responsive to the determining means for dividing the physical radio resources into slots based on the communication needs and

allocation means responsive to the determining means and the resource dividing means for allocating different types of channels for communications of different classes.

20. The base station controller according to claim 19, wherein the system further comprises

a second connection divider responsive to the first connection divider for dividing the connections further into connections types according to the amount of data to be transmitted and

the communication need determining means are responsive to both the first and the second connection dividing means.

21. A base station controller according to claim 19, wherein the allocation means comprises

means for allocating circuit-switched resources for connections requiring a short transmission delay and

means for allocating for each successive allocation period to the other connection resources sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data.

22. A mobile station for a mobile telecommunications system comprising a base station subsystem and a plurality of mobile stations, in which system the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource,

the mobile station comprising

a first connection dividing means for dividing the connections according to their transmission delay requirements into at least two connection classes, a first connection class for connections requiring relatively short transmission delay before a data packet is transmitted from the mobile station and a second connection class for connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than what is required by said first connection class, and

requesting means responsive to the first connection dividing means for requesting resources for different types of connections.

23. The mobile station according to claim 22, wherein the system further comprises

a second connection divider responsible to the first connection divider for dividing the connections further into connection types according to the amount of data to be installed, and

the communication need determining means are responsive to both the first and the second connection dividing means.

24. A method of controlling communication resources in a telecommunications system, in which the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource, the method comprising steps:

dividing connections into at least two connection classes according to their transmission delay requirements, at least a first connection class for real-time connections and at least a second connection class for non-real-time connections,

storing and updating information concerning the current need for communication resources in each connection class,

dynamically dividing the communication resources into slots according to the current need for communication resources,

allocating circuit switched communication resources for connections in a first connection class, and

allocating resources sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data for each successive allocation period for connections belonging to said second connection class.

25. A method according to claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

negotiating a quality of service for a connection when a connection is established, and

selecting a connection class for the established connection based on the negotiated quality of service.

26. A method of controlling communication resources in a telecommunications system, in which the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource, the method comprising steps:

dividing connections into at least two connection classes according to their transmission delay requirements,

storing and updating information concerning the current need for communication resources in each connection class,

dynamically dividing the communication resources into slots according to the current need for communication resources,

allocating using a circuit switched type allocating mechanism for a given connection of a first connection class at least one slot, and

allocating slots sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data in successive allocation periods for a given connection of a second connection class, the second connection class having no delay requirements or less stringent delay requirements than what is required by said first connection class,

wherein said given connections of the first and the second connection classes use the respective allocated slots in their respective connections.

27. A method according to claim 26, further comprising the steps of:

negotiating a quality of service for a connection when a connection is established, and

selecting a connection class for the established connection based on the negotiated quality of service.

28. A method of controlling communication resources in a telecommunications system, in which the communication resources are divided into allocation periods, the allocation periods being further divisible into slots of at least two different sizes, a slot being the smallest allocable unit of communication resource, the method comprising steps:

dividing connections into at least two connection classes according to their transmission delay requirements, a first connection class for connections requiring relatively short transmission delay before a data packet is transmitted from the transmitting side and a second connection class for connections having less stringent requirements for transmission delay than what is required by said first connection class, storing and updating information concerning the current need for communication resources in each connection class,

dynamically dividing the communication resources into slots according to the current need for communication resources,

allocating using a circuit switched type allocating mechanism for a given connection of the first connection class at least one slot, and

allocating slots sufficient for transmitting a determined amount of data in successive allocation periods for a given connection of the second connection class, wherein said given connections of the first and the second connection classes use the respective allocated slots in their respective connections.