Measurement report transmission in a telecommunications system

• US 6,694,135 B1
• Filed: 12/29/1999
• Issued: 02/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hautamaki, Kari, Oksala, Jarkko
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban, Edward F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOW, CHARLES CHIANG
• Application Number:
  US09/473,789
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• Field of Search: 455/424, 455/69, 455/423, 455/522, 455/67, 455/170, 455/68, 455/88, 455/403, 455/575, 455/464, 455/466, 455/67.4, 455/226, 455/73, 370/346, 370/349, 370/469, 370/449, 370/347, 370/331, 370/332, 370/465, 370/550, 379/346, 379/349, 714/748, 714/749
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1621 Group acknowledgement, i.e. the acknowledgement message defining a range of identifiers, e.g. of sequence numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1685 the supervisory signal being transmitted in response to a specific request, e.g. to a polling signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling

Abstract

A method of obtaining data messages at a radio communication network from a mobile station operating therein during downlink transfer, the method comprising the network providing a header portion of the downlink transfer with one or more unique polling codes for requesting the mobile station to transmit one or more respective data messages indicative of one or more corresponding conditions at the mobile station.

Claims

1. A method for a radio communication network to obtain data messages from a mobile station operating therein during unidirectional downlink transfer, a first data message being indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, and a second data message being indicative of measurement result conditions at the mobile station, the method comprising the steps of:

the network providing in a header portion of the downlink transfer a first polling code representative of a first polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit said first data message,

and the method being characterised in that the network provides in a header portion of the downlink transfer a second polling code representative of a second polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit said second data message, said second polling code being different from the first polling code such that the second polling state is different from the first polling state.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the radio communication system comprises a GPRS system and the first and second polling codes are transmitted in a downlink RLC/MAC block.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the first and second polling codes comprise S/P bits in a header of the RLC/MAC block, and said first polling state is representative of a valid S/P state and said second polling state is representative of an invalid S/P state, so that when the S/P bits provide an invalid state the mobile station is requested to transmit said second data message.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said second polling code that is representative of said second polling state requests the mobile station to transmit said second data message, wherein said second data message is provided for determining transfer conditions.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein said transfer conditions comprise neighbour cell measurement report.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said second polling code that is representative of said second polling state requests the mobile station to transmit said second data message, wherein said second data message is provided for determining data flow between the mobile station and the network.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein said second polling code is provided for requesting the mobile station to provide transmission power level information.

8. A radio communication system comprising a cellular network in downlink radio communication transfer with a mobile station operating therein, the system providing for the network to obtain first and second data messages from the mobile station, wherein the network provides in a header portion of the transfer a first polling code representative of a first polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit a first data message indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, the system being characterised in that the network provides in a header portion of the downlink transfer a second polling code representative of a second polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit a second data message indicative of measurement result conditions at the mobile station, said second polling code being different from the first polling code such that the second polling state is different from the first polling state.

9. A control system for a radio communication network, the network being capable of downlink radio communication transfer with a mobile station, the control system comprising means for configuring a header portion of the downlink transfer, said means for configuring the header portion comprising:

means for generating a first polling code representative of a first polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit a first data message indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, the system being characterised in that said means for configuring the header portion comprises means for generating a second polling code representative of a second polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit a second data message indicative of measurement result conditions at the mobile station, said second polling code being different from the first polling code such that the second polling state is different from the first polling state.

10. A radio communication system network element comprising a control system, the network element being capable of downlink radio communication transfer with a mobile station, the network element comprising means configuring a header portion of the downlink transfer, said means for configuring the header portion comprising:

means for generating a first polling code representative of a first polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit a first data message indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, the network element being characterised in that said means for configuring the header portion comprises means for generating a second polling code representative of second polling state for requesting the mobile station to transmit a second data message indicative of measurement result conditions at the mobile station, said second polling code being different from the first polling code such that the second polling state is different from the first polling state.

11. A mobile station for use in a radio communication system, the mobile station being capable of downlink radio communication transfer with the radio communication system, the mobile station having a controller and the controller being adapted to be responsive to a first polling code representative of a first polling state provided in a header portion of the downlink transfer so as to transmit a first data message indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, characterised in that the controller is adapted to be responsive to a second polling coded representative of a second polling state provided in a header portion of the downlink transfer so as to transmit a second data message indicative of measurement result conditions at the mobile station, said second polling code being different from the first polling code such that the second polling state is different from the first polling state.

12. A method for a radio communication network to obtain data messages from a mobile station operating therein during unidirectional downlink transfer, a first data message being indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, and a second data message being indicative of measurement result conditions at the mobile station at least including data indicative of measurement report, the method comprising the network providing in a header portion of the downlink transfer a first polling code for said data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, and the method being characterised in that the network provides in a header portion of the downlink transfer a second polling code for requesting the mobile station to transmit said measurement report, said second polling code being different from, the first polling code, and wherein the first and second polling codes are transmitted in a header of a downlink RLC/MAC block.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the measurement report comprises channel quality report.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein the second data message includes data relating to the first data message.

15. A method for a radio communication network to obtain data messages from a mobile station operating therein during unidirectional downlink transfer, the method comprising:

the network providing in a header portion of the downlink transfer a first polling code for obtaining from the mobile station a data message indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement; and

the network providing in a header portion of the downlink transfer a second polling code for obtaining from the mobile station a data message indicative of said downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement and indicative of one or more other conditions at the mobile station at least including data indicative of measurement report, said second polling code being different from the first polling code, and wherein the first and second polling codes are transmitted in a header of a downlink RLC/MAC block.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the second data message includes data relating to the first data message.

17. A method for a radio communication network to obtain data messages from a mobile station operating therein during unidirectional downlink transfer, the method comprising:

the network providing, in a header portion of the downlink transfer, a first polling code for obtaining from the mobile station a data message indicative of downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement and

the network providing, in a header portion of the downlink transfer, a second polling code for obtaining from the mobile station a data message indicative of said downlink data acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement and indicative of one or more other conditions at the mobile station at least including data indicative of measurement report, said second polling code being different from the first polling code, and wherein the first and second polling codes are transmitted in a header of a downlink RLG/MAC block.