Method and radio sation for transmitting data packets in a radio-communication system

• US 7,742,483 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2002
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schniedenharn, Jörg, Gessner, Christina, Raji, Fariba, Kroth, Norbert, Meiling, Axel
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh; Ayaz R
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, ANDREW CHUNG CHEUNG
• Application Number:
  US10/487,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20040190523A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,861 Days
• Field of Search: 370/216, 370/229, 370/235, 370/329, 370/335, 370/338, 370/394, 370/466, 370/537, 370/242, 370/280, 370/310, 370/313, 370/347, 370/349, 370/392, 370/465, 370/469, 714/18, 714/708, 714/748, 714/749, 714/751, 714/774, 455/67.1, 455/575
• US Class Current: 370/395.52
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1838 for semi-reliable protocols, e.g. for less sensitive applications such as streaming video buffer level management for video bitstream receiver H04N21/44004
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1848 Time-out mechanisms

Abstract

A method transmits data packets in a radio-communication system. A criterion is associated with a data packet received by a radio station, and a data packet which is correctly received is transmitted to another device and/or protocol layer when the criterion has been met.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data packets in a radio communication system, comprising:

sequentially transmitting at least two data packets from a transmitting radio station via a radio interface;

storing said at least two data packets in a receiving radio station for restoration of a transmit-side sequence, before forwarding to a further device and/or a protocol layer of the receiving radio station;

requesting repeat transmission using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) method if a first data packet of the at least two sequentially transmitted data packets is not correctly received;

assigning a predetermined time interval, to a correctly received second of the at least two data packets; and

forwarding the correctly received second data packet to the further device and/or the protocol layer, after the assigned predetermined time interval elapses, even if the first data packet has not yet been correctly received.

2. The method according to claim 1, in which the first data packet which has not been correctly received until the predetermined time interval elapsed is not forwarded to the further device and/or the protocol layer of the radio station.

3. The method according to claim 2, in which the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) method is terminated after the predetermined time interval elapsed.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein length of the predetermined time interval assigned to the correctly received second data packet is a function of a quality of service.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising signaling to the further device and/or the protocol layer of the radio station when forwarding the correctly received second data packet that the first data packet was not correctly received.

6. A radio station of a radio communication system, comprising:

means for receiving at least two data packets transmitted sequentially from a transmitting radio station;

means for storing the received at least two data packets for restoration of a transmit-side sequence and subsequent forwarding to a further device and/or protocol layer of the radio station;

means for requesting repeat transmission of an incorrectly received first of the at least two sequentially transmitted data packets by means of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) method;

means for assigning a predetermined time interval to a correctly received second of the at least two data packets; and

means for forwarding the correctly received second data packet after the assigned time interval elapses, to the further device and/or protocol layer, even if the first data packet has not yet been correctly received.

7. A radio station in a radio communication system using a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) method, comprising:

a HARQ unit to receive data packets of a sequence transmitted from a source device in the radio communication system and to request the source device to retransmit an incorrectly received or missing packet; and

a storing unit to store the data packets until forwarded, to determine whether each of the data packets is correctly received or whether any data packet is missing, and to forward the received data packets to anther device in the communication system and/or another protocol layer in the radio station, wherein

the storing unit assigns a predetermined time interval to each correctly received data packet that follows an incorrectly received or missing data packet, and, after the predetermined time interval elapses, forwards the correctly received data packet, even if an instance of the incorrectly received data packet has not yet been received.