Facilitating retransmission of data packets in a packet radio communication system by utilizing a feedback acknowledgment scheme

• US 7,911,954 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2006
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Hsu, Liangchi (Alan), Cheng, Mark W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harper; Kevin C
• Application Number:
  US11/419,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20060227712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,765 Days
• Field of Search: 370/469, 370/235
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0006 by adapting the transmission format
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1848 Time-out mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols

Abstract

Apparatus, and an associated method, for a frame-formatted radio communication system. Coordination is provided between MAC and RLP layers of a sending station through use of apparatus embodied at the MAC layer of the sending station. Also, apparatus is provided at a receiving station to reduce the generation of RLP layer NAK during segmented RLP frame retransmissions.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a lower level protocol layer of a transmitter an upper-level data frame from an upper level protocol layer of the transmitter for transmission to a recipient;

formatting the upper-level data frame into at least one lower-level frame in accordance with a retransmission scheme;

transmitting the at least one lower-level frame to the recipient;

determining at the lower level protocol layer of the transmitter that the at least one lower-level frame was not adequately received;

generating a status message at the lower level protocol layer of the transmitter for notifying the upper level protocol layer of the transmitter that delivery of the at least one lower-level frame was unsuccessful; and

delivering the status message from the lower level protocol layer of the transmitter to the upper level protocol layer of the transmitter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the at least one lower-level frame was not adequately received comprises receiving a failed delivery indication at the lower level protocol layer of the transmitter in accordance with the retransmission scheme.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at the lower level protocol layer of the transmitter a portion of the upper-level data frame resent by the upper level protocol layer of the transmitter; and

retransmitting lower-level data frames corresponding to the resent portion of the upper-level data frame to the recipient.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the resent portion corresponds to the at least one lower-level frame for which delivery was unsuccessful.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the data rate of the retransmission is lower than the data rate of the initial transmission of the at least one lower-level data frame to the recipient.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the retransmission scheme comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) feedback scheme.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the lower level protocol layer of the transmitter comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer in a mobile station, the MAC layer comprising a hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) detector and a H-ARQ status response generator, and wherein the upper level protocol layer of the transmitter comprises a radio link protocol (RLP) layer in the mobile station.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the received upper-level data frame comprises an RLP sequence number, and generating the status message comprises embedding data corresponding to the RLP sequence number into the status message.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises a mobile station and the lower level protocol layer comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer in the mobile station.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the upper level protocol layer comprises a radio link protocol (RLP) layer in the mobile station.

24. The method of claim 2, wherein the failed delivery indication received at the lower level of the transmitter does not correspond to a negative acknowledgement (NAK) message received from a radio link protocol (RLP) layer of the recipient.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

circuitry that implements an upper level protocol layer configured to send data to a recipient via a lower level protocol layer; and

circuitry that implements a lower level protocol layer comprising a detector and a status response generator, wherein the lower level protocol layer is configured to;

receive a formatted data frame from the upper level protocol layer;

reformat the formatted data frame into at least one lower-level frame in accordance with a retransmission scheme;

transmit the at least one lower-level frame to the recipient;

determine that the at least one lower-level frame was not adequately received by the recipient;

generate with the status response generator a status message for notifying the upper level protocol layer that delivery of the formatted data frame was unsuccessful; and

deliver the status message to the upper level protocol layer.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein determining that the at least one lower-level frame was not adequately received by the recipient comprises receiving a failed delivery indication in accordance with the retransmission scheme.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the lower level protocol layer is further configured to:

receive a portion of the formatted data frame resent by the upper level protocol layer; and

retransmit lower-level frames corresponding to the resent portion of the formatted data frame to the recipient.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the resent portion corresponds to at least one lower-level frame for which delivery was unsuccessful.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a data transmission rate associated with the retransmission is lower than a data transmission rate associated with the initial transmission of the at least one lower-level frame to the recipient.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retransmission scheme comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) feedback scheme, the detector comprises a H-ARQ detector, and the status response generator comprises a H-ARQ status response generator.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the lower level protocol layer comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer in a mobile station.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the upper level protocol layer comprises a radio link protocol (RLP) layer in the mobile station.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the received formatted data frame comprises an RLP sequence number, and wherein the lower level protocol layer is further configured to embed data corresponding to the RLP sequence number into the status message.

25. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the failed delivery indication received at the lower level of the transmitter does not correspond to a negative acknowledgement (NAK) message received from a radio link protocol (RLP) layer of the recipient.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

a resequencing buffer configured to receive from a sender and store a plurality of lower-level data frames formatted in accordance with a hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) feedback scheme;

a retransmission timer configured to measure a period of time between the arrival of two sequential frames in the plurality of received lower-level data frames; and

a retransmission request generator configured to receive an indication that the retransmission timer has reached a predetermined timeout period, and configured to generate a negative acknowledgement (NAK) message for transmission to the sender indicating that at least one lower-level data frame was not received by the apparatus,

wherein the apparatus is configured to receive at least one of the plurality of lower-level data frames as a plurality of segmented frame portions, and wherein the apparatus further comprises;

a sub-resequencing buffer configured to receive and store a plurality of segmented frame portions corresponding to a lower-level data frame; and

a resequencing buffer timer configured to measure a period of time between the arrival of two sequential segmented frame portions in the plurality of segmented frame portions corresponding to the lower-level data frame.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the NAK message comprises a retransmission request including an identifier associated with at least one lower-level data frame that was not received by the apparatus.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the retransmission request generator is further configured to generate a NAK message subsequent to a timing out of the resequencing buffer timer, the NAK message indicating to the sender that a segmented frame portion was not received.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the resequencing buffer timer is configured based on an expected data receiving rate that is less than an expected data receiving rate associated with the retransmission timer.

26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the NAK message is generated at a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer in the apparatus.

27. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed, cause an apparatus to:

receive at a lower level protocol layer of the apparatus a formatted data frame from an upper level protocol layer of the apparatus;

reformat the formatted data frame into at least one lower-level frame in accordance with a retransmission scheme;

transmit the at least one lower-level frame to a recipient;

determine that the at least one lower-level frame was not adequately received by the recipient;

generate with a status response generator a status message for notifying the upper level protocol layer of the apparatus that delivery of the formatted data frame was unsuccessful; and

deliver the status message to the upper level protocol layer.

28. The computer readable media of claim 27, wherein determining that the at least one lower-level frame was not adequately received by the recipient comprises receiving a failed delivery indication in accordance with the retransmission scheme.

29. The computer readable media of claim 27, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:

receive at the lower level protocol layer of the apparatus a portion of the formatted data frame resent by the upper level protocol layer of the apparatus; and

retransmit lower-level frames corresponding to the resent portion of the formatted data frame to the recipient.

30. The computer readable media of claim 29, wherein the resent portion corresponds to at least one lower-level frame for which delivery was unsuccessful.

31. The computer readable media of claim 29, wherein a data transmission rate associated with the retransmission is lower than a data transmission rate associated with the initial transmission of the at least one lower-level frame to the recipient.

32. The computer readable media of claim 27, wherein the retransmission scheme comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) feedback scheme, and wherein the lower level protocol layer of the apparatus comprises a H-ARQ detector and a H-ARQ status response generator.

33. The computer readable media of claim 27, wherein the lower level protocol layer of the apparatus comprises a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer.

34. The computer readable media of claim 33, wherein the upper level protocol layer of the apparatus comprises a radio link protocol (RLP) layer.

35. The computer readable media of claim 34, wherein the received formatted data frame comprises an RLP sequence number, and wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed, further cause the apparatus to:

embed at the lower level protocol layer of the apparatus data corresponding to the RLP sequence number into the status message.

36. The computer readable media of claim 28, wherein the failed delivery indication received at the lower level protocol layer of the apparatus does not correspond to a negative acknowledgement (NAK) message received from a radio link protocol (RLP) layer of the recipient.