Resource allocation in a wireless network

• US 7,424,002 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2007
• Issued: 09/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: ArrayComm LLC (Ygomi LLC)
• Inventors: Barratt, Craig H., Trott, Mitchell D., Uhlik, Christopher R.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, CHI HO A
• Application Number:
  US11/704,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20070133496A1
• Time in Patent Office: 580 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/343
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/563 of the wireless resources

Abstract

A data stream is transmitted between a base station and user terminal. A first resource that is available to transmit a page is selected at the base station and the page transmitted from the base station via the first resource. The page is received at the user terminal via the first resource and a second resource that is available to transmit a page response is selected at the user terminal. A page response is transmitted from the user terminal via the second resource in response to the page. A data stream is then transmitted between the base station and user terminal via a third resource. In one embodiment, the first, second and third resources utilize the same sequence of radio frequency resources that follow a hopping sequence among a set of available radio frequency resources. In one embodiment, at least two of the first, second and third resources utilize the same sequence of radio frequency resources. In yet another embodiment, the resources utilize different sequences of radio frequency resources.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication from a base station to a user terminal, comprising:

selecting a first of multiple radio frequency (RF) resources to transmit a page to a user terminal;

transmitting the page via the first RF resource;

receiving from the user terminal a page response via one of multiple RF sequence resources that follow a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes; and

transmitting the data stream to the user terminal via a second RF resource in response to receiving the page response via the RF sequence resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the first RF resource to transmit the page further comprises:

computing a function to determine a page listening pattern followed by a user terminal; and

selecting an available RF resource in the page listening pattern.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a message to the user terminal acknowledging the page response, wherein the message identifies a second RF resource for communicating from the user terminal to the base station.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the second RF resource comprises a second RF sequence resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second RF sequence resource comprises the same sequence as the first RF sequence resource.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second RF sequence resource comprises a different sequence than the first RF sequence resource.

7. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations including;

selecting a first of multiple radio frequency (RF) resources to transmit a page to a user terminal;

transmitting the page via the first RF resource;

receiving from the user terminal a page response via one of multiple RF sequence resources that follow a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes; and

transmitting the data stream to the user terminal via a second RF resource in response to receiving the page response via the RF sequence resource.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 7, the medium to further provide instructions for:

transmitting a message to the user terminal acknowledging the page response, wherein the message identifies a second RF resource for communicating from the user terminal to the base station, wherein the second RF resource comprises a second RF sequence resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes.

9. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

receiving a paging signal via a radio frequency (RF) resource, the RF resource selected from among multiple RF resources;

selecting a first RF sequence resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes, including computing a selection function to determine which of multiple RF sequence resources to select; and

transmitting a page response via the first RF sequence resource in response to the paging signal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein computing the selection function comprises:

searching a look up table for the RF sequence resource to select.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein searching a look up table further comprises:

searching the look up table based on information included in the paging signal.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a message acknowledging the page response, the message identifying a second RF sequence resource for transmitting a data stream, the second RF sequence resource being a resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second RF sequence resource comprises the same sequence as the first RF sequence resource.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the second RF sequence resource comprises a different sequence than the first RF sequence resource.

15. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations including;

receiving a paging signal via a radio frequency (RF) resource, the RF resource selected from among multiple RF resources;

selecting a first RF sequence resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes, including computing a selection function to determine which of multiple RF sequence resources to select; and

transmitting a page response via the first RF sequence resource in response to the paging signal.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15, wherein the instructions for computing the selection function further comprise instructions for:

searching a look up table for the RF sequence resource to select.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 15, the medium to further provide instructions for:

receiving a message acknowledging the page response, the message identifying a second RF sequence resource for transmitting a data stream, the second RF sequence resource being a resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes.

18. A wireless communication device comprising:

an antenna to transmit and receive wireless signals, including receiving a page from another wireless communication device on a first RF resource;

a radio frequency (RF) module coupled to the antenna to convert the wireless signals between an analog format for the antenna and a digital format for processing; and

a baseband module coupled to the RF module, the baseband module to process the wireless signals, including identifying one of multiple RF sequence resources that follow a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes, for transmitting a page response to the other communication device via the identified RF sequence resource in response to receiving the page.

19. The wireless communication device of claim 18, further comprising:

a lookup table (LUT) coupled to the baseband module, the LUT to include information to identify the RF sequence resource to use for wireless communication with the other communication device.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 18, wherein the wireless communication device is a user terminal.

21. A user terminal device comprising:

an antenna to transmit and receive wireless signals, including receiving a page from a base station on a first RF resource computed by the base station as a paging resource, the computing based at least in part on an expected listening pattern of the user terminal;

a radio frequency (RF) module coupled to the antenna to convert the wireless signals between an analog format for the antenna and a digital format for processing; and

a baseband module coupled to the RF module, the baseband module to process the wireless signals, including identifying one of multiple RF sequence resources that follow a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes, for transmitting a page response to the base station via the identified RF sequence resource in response to receiving the page.

22. The user terminal of claim 21, wherein the antenna further receives a message from the base station in response to the page response, the message identifying a second RF sequence resource for transmitting a data stream, the second RF sequence resource being a resource that follows a sequence of at least one of frequency hopping, timeslot hopping, or codes;

and, wherein the baseband module identifies the second RF sequence resource as the identified RF sequence resource based on processing the message.