Implicit resource allocation in a communication system

• US 6,724,813 B1
• Filed: 10/14/1998
• Issued: 04/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Great Elm Capital Corp. (f/k/a Unwired Planet, Inc.) (JP Morgan Chase & Co), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Jamal, Karim, Butovitsch, Paul P., Dahlman, Erik B. L., Willars, Per, Esmailzadeh, Riaz
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khai
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, KHANH C
• Application Number:
  US09/172,015
• Time in Patent Office: 2,015 Days
• Field of Search: 375/140, 375/141, 375/144, 375/145, 375/146, 375/147, 375/148, 375/135, 375/136, 375/219, 375/220, 370/319, 370/320, 370/321, 370/324, 370/335, 370/337, 370/342, 370/344, 370/347, 370/432, 370/441, 370/457, 455/518, 455/519, 455/524
• US Class Current: 375/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2628 using code-division multiple access [CDMA] or spread spectrum multiple access [SSMA] H04B7/2618 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/00 Synchronisation arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/02 Selection of wireless resources by user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

In a communications system, communications resources are allocated in a dynamic, “as needed” fashion. No explicit signaling is needed to exchange information pertaining specifically to an allocated communications resource. Instead, resources are implicitly allocated by using one or more parameters known to both the radio access network and mobile station that are more or less unique to the mobile station. Such parameters are used to generate or address a communications resource for use by the mobile station. The parameters might, for example, be information readily acquired or communicated as a result of a synchronization procedure, a mobile station registration procedure, a mobile station access procedure, a paging procedure, etc. Example parameters may include a system frame number, a system identification, a radio access network identification, a base station identification, a cell identification, a mobile station-associated signature, an access reference number corresponding to the mobile station, a time instant when an acknowledgment message is received, etc.

Claims

1. In a communications system for transmitting an information signal from a first transceiver corresponding to a mobile station to a remotely-located second transceiver corresponding to a base station, a method comprising:

the mobile station synchronizing with and receiving broadcast parameters transmit over a broadcast channel by the base station and sending a message on an access channel to the base station including mobile station access parameters;

determining one of plural communication resources at the mobile station and base station that distinguishes a communication associated with the mobile station from communications associated with other mobile stations using one or more parameters available at the mobile station and base station that do not directly identify the one of the communication resource, wherein the one or more parameters includes one or more of the following broadcast parameters;

a system identification, a base station identification, and a broadcast channel frame number; and

transmitting the information signal from the mobile station to the base station using the one communications resource.

2. The method in claim 1, wherein the communications system is a spread spectrum cellular radio communications system and the plural communication resources are scrambling codes, the method further comprising:

the mobile station performing an control procedure with the base station to enable communication between the mobile station and the base station, where during the control procedure, the mobile station provides the base station with the one or more parameters, and

using one of the scrambling codes determined using the one or more parameters to scramble the information signal.

3. The method in claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters includes one of the broadcast parameters and one of the mobile station access parameters.

4. The method in claim 3, wherein the one or more parameters includes a fixed parameter previously known to the mobile and base stations.

5. The method in claim 1, the generating step further comprising:

determining an address for the one communications resource using one of the broadcast parameters and one of the mobile station access parameters.

6. The method in claim 1, wherein the mobile station access parameters include one or more of the following:

a mobile station identifier, an access time slot, an access reference number, and a broadcast channel frame number acknowledgment.

7. The method in claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating an identity of the cellular radio communications system.

8. The method in claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating an identity of the base station of mobile station.

9. In a communications system for transmitting an information signal from a first transceiver corresponding to a mobile station to a remotely-located second transceiver corresponding to a base station, a method comprising:

the mobile station synchronizing with and receiving broadcast parameters transmit over a broadcast channel by the base station and sending a message on one access channel to the base station including mobile station access parameters;

determining one of plural communication resources at the mobile station and base station that distinguishes a communication associated with the mobile station from communications associated with other mobile stations using one or more parameters available at the mobile station and base station that do not directly identify the one communication resource; and

transmitting the information signal from the mobile station to the base station using the determined communications resource,

wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating a time instant of communication on an access channel between the mobile station and the base station.

10. In a spread spectrum cellular communications system for transmitting an information signal from a mobile transceiver to a base station transceiver, the mobile transceiver comprising:

a scrambling code generator configured to determine a scrambling code from one or more parameters available at the mobile and base station transceivers as a result of a signaling procedure performed to enable communication between the mobile and base station transceivers, where the one or more parameters is not explicitly related to scrambling codes used to distinguish among communications corresponding to mobile transceivers;

a scrambler configured to scramble the information signal using the determined scrambling code that distinguishes communications corresponding to the mobile transceiver from communications corresponding to other transceivers; and

transmission circuitry configured to transmit the scrambled information signal provided by the scrambler to the base station transceiver,

wherein the scrambling code generator is further configured to generate an address for a corresponding scrambling code using a downlink control channel parameter and a mobile transceiver uplink access channel parameter.

11. The mobile transceiver in claim 10, wherein the signaling procedure includes the mobile transceiver synchronizing with and receiving downlink parameters transmit over a downlink control channel by the base station transceiver and sending a message on an uplink access channel to the base station.

12. The mobile transceiver in claim 11, wherein the one or more parameters includes one of the downlink parameters and one of the mobile transceiver access parameters.

13. The mobile transceiver in claim 11, wherein the scrambling code generator includes a feedback shift register and the scrambling code generator is configured to determine the initial contents of the feedback shift register using one of the downlink parameters and one of the mobile transceiver access parameters.

14. The mobile transceiver in claim 11, wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating an identity of the cellular radio communications system or a parameter indicating an identity of the base station transceiver or a parameter indicating a cell identity.

15. The mobile transceiver in claim 10, further comprising:

receiving circuitry configured to receive a radio signal and generate a baseband signal, and

a descrambler configured to descramble the baseband signal using the scrambling code.

16. In a spread spectrum cellular communications system for transmitting an information signal from a mobile transceiver to a base station transceiver, the mobile transceiver comprising:

a scrambling code generator configured to determine a scrambling code from one or more parameters available at the mobile and base station transceivers as a result of a signaling procedure performed to enable communication between the mobile and base station transceivers, where the one or more parameters is not explicitly related to scrambling codes used to distinguish among communications corresponding to mobile transceivers;

a scrambler configured to scramble the information signal using the determined scrambling code that distinguishes communications corresponding to the mobile transceiver from communications corresponding to other transceivers; and

transmission circuitry configured to transmit the scrambled information signal provided by the scrambler to the base station transceiver;

wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating a time instant of communication on the access channel.

17. In a spread spectrum cellular communications system for transmitting an information signal from a mobile transceiver to a base station transceiver, the mobile transceiver, comprising:

a scrambling code generator configured to determine a scrambling code from one or more parameters available at the mobile and base station transceivers as a result of a signaling procedure performed to enable communication between the mobile and base station transceivers, where the one or more parameters is not explicitly related to scrambling codes used to distinguishes communications corresponding to the mobile transceivers;

a scrambler configured to scramble the information signal using the determined scrambling code that distinguishes communications corresponding to the mobile transceiver from communications corresponding to other transceivers; and

transmission circuitry configured to transmit the scrambled information signal provided by the scrambler to the base station transceiver,

wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating a randomly generated access reference or a randomly generated access signature associated with the mobile transceiver.

18. In a spread spectrum cellular communications system for transmitting an information signal from a mobile transceiver to a base station transceiver, the mobile transceiver comprising:

a scrambling code generator configured to determine a scrambling code from one or more parameters available at the mobile and base station transceivers as a result of a signaling procedure performed to enable communication between the mobile and base station transceivers, where the one or more parameters is not explicitly related to scrambling codes used to distinguish among communications corresponding to mobile transceivers;

a scrambler configured to scramble the information signal using the determined scrambling code that distinguishes communications corresponding to the mobile transceiver from communications corresponding to other transceivers; and

transmission circuitry configured to transmit the scrambled information signal provided by the scrambler to the base station transceiver,

wherein the parameters include one or more of the following;

a system identification, a base station transceiver identification, a cell identification, and a downlink channel frame number.

19. The mobile transceiver in claim 18, wherein the mobile transceiver access parameters include one or more of the following:

a mobile transceiver identifier, an access time slot, an access reference number, and a frame number acknowledgment.

20. In a spread spectrum cellular communications system for transmitting an information signal from a mobile station transceiver to a base station transceiver, the base station transceiver comprising:

receiving circuitry configured to receive a radio signal and generating a baseband signal;

a scrambling code generator configured to determine a scrambling code from one or more parameters available at the mobile and base station transceivers as a result of a signaling procedure performed to enable communication between the mobile and base station transceivers, where the one or more parameters are not directly related to scrambling codes used to distinguish among communications associated with mobile stations;

a descrambler configured to descramble the baseband signal from the receiving circuitry using the determined scrambling code that distinguishes communications associated with the mobile transceiver from communications associated with other transceivers to recover the information signal from the mobile station transceiver; and

wherein the signaling procedure includes the mobile station transceiver receiving downlink parameters transmit over a downlink control channel by the base station transceiver and sending a message on an uplink access channel to the base station transceiver including the mobile station transceiver access parameters, and

wherein the one or more downlik parameters includes;

a sytem identification, a base station identification, and a broad channel frame number.

21. The base station transceiver in claim 20, wherein the one or more parameters includes one of the downlink parameters and one of the mobile station transceiver access parameters.

22. In a radio communications system for transmitting an information signal from a mobile station to a radio access network, a method comprising:

implicitly allocating a communications channel resource to permit communication between the mobile station and radio access network without transmitting a signal between the mobile station and radio access network that explicitly allocates the communications channel resource including determining at the mobile station the communications channel resource using one or more parameters known to both the mobile station and the radio access network that do not relate specifically to the communications channel resource, and

conducting a communication between the mobile station radio access network using the implicitly allocated communications channel resource,

wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter indicating a time instant of a request for a communications channel resource by the mobile station over an access channel.

23. The method in claim 22, wherein the radio communications system is a spread spectrum cellular communications system and the communications channel resource is a scrambling code.

24. The method in claim 22, the implicitly allocating step further comprising:

determining at the mobile station the communications channel resource using one or more parameters known to both the mobile station and the radio access network that does not relate specifically to the communications channel resource.

25. The method in claim 22, wherein the one or more parameters includes a parameter selected randomly by the mobile station and transmitted to the radio access network on the access channel.

26. The method in claim 22, wherein the one or more parameters includes an identification of the communications system, the radio access network, or the mobile station.

27. The method in claim 22, the implicitly allocating step further comprising:

determining at the radio access network the communications channel resource using one or more parameters known to both the mobile station and radio access network that does not relate specifically to the communications channel resource.