Method and system for adaptively obtaining bandwidth allocation requests

• US 7,817,666 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2008
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Inventors: Stanwood, Kenneth L., Spinar, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson; Robert W
• Application Number:
  US12/120,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20080253394A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/06 using polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A method and apparatus for adaptively obtaining bandwidth requests in a broadband wireless communication system. The method and apparatus includes dynamically varying technique combinations enabling a plurality of users to efficiently request bandwidth from a shared base station. A user may “piggyback” a new bandwidth request upon, or set a “poll-me bit” within, presently allocated bandwidth. A base station may poll users, individually or in groups, by allocating unrequested bandwidth for new requests. Polling may respond to a “poll-me bit,” and/or it may be adaptively periodic at a rate based on communication status parameters, such as recent communication activity and connection QoS levels Group polling permits a possibility of collisions. Polling policies may be established for dynamically varying user groups, or may be determined for each user. Dynamic selection of appropriate polling techniques makes use of efficiency benefits associated with each technique.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth in a wireless communication system where a base station exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units each remote unit serving one or more connections, the method comprising:

maintaining at the base station an UL map with current UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the UL map to said remote units in DL sub-frames;

identifying, within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth pertaining to a connection served by the remote unit;

in response to the bandwidth request, allocating to the remote unit an UL bandwidth grant, if there is sufficient bandwidth available for accommodating said bandwidth grant, wherein the size of the bandwidth grant is determined based on one or more UL traffic parameters which vary over time; and

updating said UL map to reflect allocation of said bandwidth grant,

wherein said base station allocates said UL bandwidth grant to said remote unit on a per-remote unit basis while said requested amount of UL bandwidth is requested by said remote unit on a per-connection basis.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

allocating within said DL sub-frame a respective DL data block to currently active remote units, wherein each said DL data block comprises a dynamically assigned number of physical slots;

selecting a DL modulation scheme for each said DL data block and modulating the DL data blocks accordingly;

allocating a preset number of physical slots in said DL sub-frame to a DL header for providing control information to said remote units, and

transmitting said DL sub-frame to said remote units,

wherein the DL modulation scheme is selected based on the quality of a DL transmission path established between said base station and a respective remote unit.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining at the base station a DL map with current DL bandwidth allocations transmitting said DL traffic from said base station to said remote units in DL sub-frames;

allocating a preset number of physical slots in said DL sub-frame to a DL header for providing control information to said remote units; and

transmitting said DL map to said remote units within said DL header.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein allocating within said DL sub-frame a respective DL data block takes into account one or more traffic parameters.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said traffic parameters include one or more of:

a type of service agreed upon with the respective remote unit at connection establishment time and the availability of bandwidth per type of service;

a quality of service (QoS) per connection agreed upon with the respective remote unit at connection establishment time and availability of bandwidth per QoS;

a priority contractually negotiated bandwidth with the respective remote unit at connection establishment time and availability of bandwidth per priority;

bandwidth necessary for accommodating bandwidth requests received from said remote units;

the number of inactive remote units which do not presently have allocated bandwidth; and

bandwidth usage statistics.

6. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein allocating within said DL sub-frame a respective DL data block further takes into account the possibility of reallocating bandwidth allocated to low-QoS services into bandwidth for higher QoS services, for maintaining the QoS agreed upon with individual remote units at connection establishment time.

7. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein bandwidth allocation in said DL map changes dynamically between establishment and termination of a connection in response to all bandwidth requests received by said base station from the remote units, and further in response to changes in the quality of said DL transmission paths.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein updating said UL map comprises:

allocating a respective UL data block within an UL sub-frame, to currently active remote units, wherein each said UL data block is specified by a dynamically assigned number of physical slots;

selecting a specifying an UL modulation scheme for each said UL data block for directing the remote units to modulate the UL data blocks accordingly; and

allocating a specified number of physical slots in said UL sub-frame to a UL header for enabling communication of control information from the remote units to said base station.

9. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said DL sub-frame and said UL sub-frame are transmitted along a respective DL and UL path using one of time division duplexing and frequency division duplexing.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein identifying a bandwidth request comprises:

inspecting the UL traffic received from said remote unit and identifying said bandwidth request within an UL data block received from said remote unit; and

determining the requested amount of UL bandwidth requested by said remote unit from said bandwidth request.

11. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein identifying a bandwidth request comprises:

identifying said bandwidth request within a bandwidth contention block in said UL header; and

determining the requested amount of UL bandwidth requested by said remote unit from said base station.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said bandwidth contention block accommodates bandwidth requests provided by remote units of a group of remote.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bandwidth request is identified by said base station based on the structure of said bandwidth request.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bandwidth request is provided to said base station in response to a polling action initiated by said base station.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said remote unit is polled from said base station at a polling rate determined as a function of a plurality of traffic parameters, for providing the remote unit with bandwidth request opportunities.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said base station initiates said polling action upon identification of an explicit poll-me message received from said remote unit.

17. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said base station performs said polling action individually on active remote units which request to be polled using an explicit poll-me message.

18. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said base station performs said polling action on receipt of a poll-me message from said remote units within UL bandwidth already allocated to the respective remote units.

19. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bandwidth request is transmitted by an active remote unit in unused UL bandwidth allocated to said active remote unit for data transmission.

20. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bandwidth request is transmitted by an active remote unit by stealing UL bandwidth allocated to said active remote unit for data transmission.

21. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bandwidth request uses a specified amount of UL bandwidth.

22. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said specified amount of UL bandwidth is provided within the bandwidth allocated by said base station to said remote unit for UL traffic.

23. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said specified amount of UL bandwidth is allocated periodically by said base station to said remote unit, to a group of remote units, or to all remote units that communicate with said base station on a same physical channel.

24. A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth in a broadband wireless communication system having a base station which exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units with each remote unit serving one or more UL connections, the method comprising:

maintaining at the base station a DL map with current DL bandwidth allocations and a UL map with current UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the DL and UL maps to said remote units;

identifying within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth for a UL queue at the remote unit;

allocating to the remote unit a UL bandwidth grant, when there is sufficient bandwidth available, the bandwidth grant being determined based on one or more communication parameters which vary over time; and

updating said UL map to reflect allocation of said UL bandwidth grant.

25. A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth in a broadband wireless communication system having a base station which exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units with each remote unit having one or more connections, the method comprising:

a) maintaining at the base station a DL map with current DL bandwidth allocations and an UL map with current UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the UL map and the DL map to said remote units;

b) identifying within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth for a connection;

c) updating said UL map to reflect allocation of an UL bandwidth grant whenever there is sufficient bandwidth available for accommodating said bandwidth grant, wherein the size of the bandwidth grant is determined based on one or more UL traffic parameters which vary over time;

d) allocating within a DL sub-frame a respective DL data block to currently active remote units, wherein each said DL data block comprises a dynamically assigned number of physical slots;

e) selecting a DL modulation scheme for each said DL data block and modulating the DL data blocks accordingly;

f) allocating a preset number of physical slots in said DL sub-frame to a DL header for providing control information to said remote units, and

g) transmitting said DL sub-frame to said remote units.