Reducing interference between users in a communications system through time scattering

• US 7,852,800 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2003
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LSI Logic Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.), Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Miller, David S., Schiff, Leonard N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed; Salman
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, ANDREW CHUNG CHEUNG
• Application Number:
  US10/602,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20040052237A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,731 Days
• Field of Search: 370321-324, 370/252, 370/336, 370/337, 370/347, 370/401, 455/63, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/370, 455/455
• US Class Current: 370/321
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0006 by adapting the transmission format
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control

Abstract

Time-scattering of data is employed to reduce the interference effects, such as, error rate, between terminals disposed in nearby beams, or cells, of a communication system. A scattering schedule is determined, typically by a gateway, for a terminal. Scattering instructions, based at least in part on that scattering schedule, are provided to the terminal. The scattering instructions provide terminals with information suitable for controlling the temporal scattering of time slot data to be transmitted by the terminals so that interference impact of nearby out-of-beam terminals is reduced. Time-scattered data received by a receiver remote from the terminal is returned to the desired order by sorting the data in accordance with the scattering schedule to achieve a reversing of the scattering. Time-scattering may be applied to data moving in either or both of the forward and reverse directions of a communication system.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting data in a communication system wherein the data is transmitted in a communication frame, the communication frame comprising a set of time slots, the method comprising:

receiving one or more scattering instructions from a gateway;

dividing data corresponding to a time slot in the set of time slots into a plurality of intervals in accordance with the one or more scattering instructions, wherein each interval in the plurality of intervals comprises a duration which is shorter than a duration of the time slot;

scattering at least a portion of the plurality of intervals to one or more disparate time slots in the set of time slots based upon the one or more scattering instructions, wherein the portion of the plurality of intervals are scattered non-contiguously; and

transmitting the data in accordance with locations of the plurality of intervals within the communication frame, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise an algorithm for temporally scattering the data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving configuration information, wherein the one or more scattering instructions are included with the configuration information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise an index into a memory of stored time-scattering control information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the memory is disposed within a terminal device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise a table of information that indicates a temporal scattering of the data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the table of information specifies, by a time interval identifier, a starting location for scattered data.

7. A terminal device transmitting data in a communication system, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive one or more scattering instructions from a gateway device;

a processor configured to;

divide data associated with a time slot of a communication frame into a plurality of intervals in accordance with the one or more scattering instructions, wherein each interval comprises a shorter duration than the time slot;

distribute the plurality of intervals among one or more disparate time slots in the communication frame based at least in part on the one or more scattering instructions, wherein the plurality of intervals are distributed non-contiguously; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the plurality of intervals in accordance with locations of the plurality of intervals within the communication frames, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise an algorithmic indication of how to scatter the intervals.

8. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive configuration information, wherein the one or more scattering instructions are included with the configuration information.

9. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise an index into a memory.

10. The terminal device of claim 9, wherein the memory stores time scattering control information.

11. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise a table of information that indicates a temporal scattering of the data.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving a request from a terminal device for access to a communications channel;

generating a schedule of transmission for the terminal device, wherein the schedule of transmission specifies a division of data into a plurality of time intervals, each time interval shorter in duration than a time slot of a communication frame, the schedule of transmission further specifies a location of each time interval from the plurality of time intervals within the communication frame, wherein the plurality of time intervals are located within the communication frame in a non-contiguous manner;

generating one or more scattering instructions in accordance with the schedule of transmission;

transmitting the one or more scattering instructions to the terminal device;

receiving data from the terminal device, transmitted in a scattered manner per the one or

more scattering instructions; and

reordering the data in accordance with the schedule of transmission to obtain the data in an originally intended order.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving an indication of the amount of data queued at the terminal device for communication.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the schedule of transmission comprises a list of the plurality of time intervals.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each time interval comprises a starting location in the communication frame and a transmission duration.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the communication frame is divided into a number of time intervals in accordance with a dividing rate.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the starting location comprises a time slot and the transmission duration comprises a number of time intervals.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the starting location comprises a first time interval identifier and the transmission duration comprises a second time interval identifier.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting modulation control information for time scattered data.

20. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a request from a terminal device for access to a communications channel and for wirelessly receiving scattering instructions;

means for generating a schedule of transmission for the terminal device, wherein the schedule of transmission specifies a partition of data into a plurality of time intervals, each time interval shorter in duration than a time slot of a communication frame, the schedule of transmission further specifies a location of each time interval from the plurality of time intervals within the communication frame, wherein the plurality of time intervals are located within the communication frame in a non-contiguous manner;

means for generating one or more scattering instructions in accordance with the schedule of transmission;

means for transmitting the one or more scattering instructions to the terminal device;

means for receiving data from the terminal device, the data transmitted in a scattered manner in accordance with the one or more scattering instructions; and

means for reordering the data in accordance with the schedule of transmission to obtain the data in an originally intended order.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for receiving the request comprises means for receiving an indication of an amount of data queued at the terminal device for communication.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for generating the schedule of transmission comprises means for generating a list of the plurality of time intervals.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein each time interval comprises a starting location in the communication frame and a transmission duration.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising means for transmitting modulation control information for the time scattered data.

25. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the communication frame is divided into a number of time intervals in accordance with a dividing rate.

26. A terminal device for transmitting data in a communication system wherein the data is transmitted in a communication frame, the communication frame comprising a set of time slots, the terminal device comprising:

means for receiving one or more scattering instructions from a gateway;

means for partitioning data corresponding to a time slot in the set of time slots into a plurality of intervals in accordance with the one or more scattering instructions, wherein each interval in the plurality of intervals comprises a duration which is shorter than a duration of the time slot;

means for scattering at least a portion of the plurality of intervals to one or more disparate time slots in the set of time slots based upon the one or more scattering instructions, wherein the portion of the plurality of intervals are scattered non-contiguously;

means for transmitting the data in accordance with locations of the plurality of intervals within the communication frame;

means for receiving data from the terminal device, the data transmitted in a scattered manner in accordance with the one or more scattering instructions; and

means for reordering the data in accordance with the schedule of transmission to obtain the data in an originally intended order.

27. The terminal device of claim 26, further comprising means for receiving configuration information, wherein the one or more scattering instructions are included with the configuration information.

29. The terminal device of claim 26, further comprising a memory for storing time-scattering control information, wherein the one or more scattering instructions comprise an index into the memory.

28. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embedded with computer code which when being executed by a processor to perform step of, comprising:

causing at least one computer to receive one or more scattering instructions from a gateway device;

causing the at least one computer to divide data associated with a time slot of a communication frame into a plurality of intervals in accordance with the one or more scattering instructions, wherein each interval comprises a shorter duration than the time slot;

causing the at least one computer to distribute the plurality of intervals among one or more disparate time slots in the communication frame based at least in part on the one or more scattering instructions, wherein the plurality of intervals are distributed non-contiguously;

causing the at least one computer to transmit the plurality of intervals in accordance with locations of the plurality of intervals within the communication frames, wherein the one or more scattering specify an algorithm for temporally scattering the data.

30. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, further comprising code for causing the at least one computer to receive configuration information, wherein the configuration information includes the one or more scattering instructions.

31. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the one or more scattering instructions include an index to a memory that stores time scattering control information.

32. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the one or more scattering instructions include a table of information that indicates a temporal scattering of the data.