Method and apparatus for MAC layer inverse multiplexing in a third generation radio access network

• US 7,944,943 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2009
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IoT Innovations LLC (Empire IP LLC)
• Original Assignee: Spyder Navigations LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Isokangas, Jari, Kekki, Sami, Hwang, Woonhee, Sarkkinen, Sinikka
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Warner
• Application Number:
  US12/426,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20090232078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/469
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2612 Arrangements for wireless medium access control, e.g. by allocating physical layer transmission capacity H04B7/2615 - H04B7/2643 take precedence; provision for broadband connection H04Q11/0478
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

A channel inverse multiplexer/multiplexer (IMUX/MUX) (14a) of a MAC sublayer (14) of a UTRAN RNC (11) for providing to a UE (18) traffic (communication signals including in general both control and user data) at a higher rate than the UE can accept over a single channel. The channel IMUX/MUX performs inverse multiplexing of traffic for downlink, and multiplexing of traffic on uplink, and does so in a way that is transparent to all other layers/entities of the UTRAN (11 17) and to the UE (18).

Claims

1. A radio network element, comprising:

an admission control unit, responsive to radio access bearer parameters provided by a core network entity, to provide commands to a media access control sublayer specifying how the media access control sublayer is to allocate resources so as to communicate a higher rate data flow received from the core network entity to a mobile user equipment, the higher rate data flow being provided to the radio network element at a higher rate than the user equipment can accept on a single channel; and

the media access control sublayer to provide a plurality of media access control data flows at a rate low enough to be suitable for reception by the user equipment, and to include with each lower rate data flow information indicating how the lower rate flows are to be combined by the user equipment,

wherein the lower rate data flows are suitable for transmission according to a protocol not taking into account that the lower rate data flows are in combination with a radio link control data flow corresponding to the higher rate data flow.

2. The radio network element of claim 1, further comprising:

a radio link control sublayer, responsive to the higher rate data flow, to provide a radio link control data flow for downlink to the user equipment; and

a framing protocol layer, responsive to the media access control data flows, to provide corresponding transport network layer data flows.

3. The radio network element of claim 1, wherein in sending a plurality of transport network data flows received from the user equipment in an uplink direction, the media access control sublayer is configured to provide a single corresponding radio link control data flow for transmission to the core network entity as a higher rate data flow.

4. The radio network element of claim 1, wherein the radio access network is configured to transmit the plurality of media access control data flows in a downlink direction to a base station.

5. The radio network element of claim 1, the admission control unit is configured to set up a plurality of transport channels to provide a single radio bearer service when a data rate for the radio bearer exceeds a predetermined data rate.

6. The radio network element of claim 1, wherein the admission control unit is configured to use radio access bearer parameters received from the core network to define resources specified for a radio access bearer, including a maximum data rate for the connection.

7. A method, comprising:

responsive to radio access bearer parameters provided by a core network entity, providing a command specifying how resources are to be allocated so as to communicate a higher rate data flow received from the core network entity to a mobile user equipment, the higher rate data flow being provided at a higher rate than the user equipment can accept on a single channel;

responsive to the command, providing a plurality of media access control data flows at a rate low enough to be suitable for reception by the user equipment; and

including with each lower rate data flow information indicating how lower rate flows are to be combined by the user equipment to reconstruct an original data traffic from the core network entity, wherein the lower rate data flows are suitable for transmission according to a protocol not taking into account that the lower rate data flows are in combination with a radio link control data flow corresponding to the higher rate data flow.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

responsive to the higher rate data flow, providing a radio link control data flow for downlink to the user equipment.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing a single radio link control data flow for transmission to the core network entity as a higher rate data flow during transmission of a plurality of transport network data flows received from the user equipment in an uplink direction.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting the plurality of corresponding media access control data flows in a downlink direction to a base station.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising creating at least one radio link control entity, each radio link control entity being for providing a radio bearer for the user equipment based on parameters assigned from the radio bearers;

and

using radio access bearer parameters received from the core network to define resources specified from a radio access bearer, including a maximum data rate for the connection.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising setting up a plurality of transport channels to provide a single radio bearer service when a data rate for a radio bearer exceeds a predetermined data rate.

13. A system, comprising:

a radio network controller including a media access control sublayer to provide a plurality of media access control data flows for communication to a user equipment, each of the media access control data flows being at a lower rate than a first rate, in response to a radio link control data flow from a core network entity at the first rate, and to include with each lower rate data flow information indicating how media access control data flows are to be combined by the user equipment; and

a base station communicatively coupled to the radio network controller, for wirelessly communicating the media access control data flows to the user equipment according to a wireless communication protocol,

wherein the lower rate data flows are suitable for transmission according to a protocol not taking into account that the lower rate data flows are in combination with a radio link control data flow corresponding to the higher rate data flow.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein in sending a plurality of transport network data flows received from the user equipment in an uplink direction, the media access control sublayer is configured to provide a single corresponding radio link control data flow for transmission to the core network entity as a higher rate data flow.

15. The system of claim 13, further configured to transmit the plurality of media access control data flows in a downlink direction to the base station.

16. The system of claim 14, further comprising an admission control unit, responsive to radio access bearer parameters provided by the core network entity, to provide commands to the media access control sublayer specifying how the media access control sublayer is to allocate resources so as to communicate the higher rate data flow received from the core network entity to a mobile user equipment, the higher rate data flow being provided at a higher rate than the user equipment can accept on a single channel.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the admission control unit is configured to set up a plurality of transport channels to provide a single radio bearer service when a data rate for the radio bearer exceeds a predetermined data rate.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the admission control unit is configured to use radio access bearer parameters received from the core network to define resources specified for a radio access bearer, including a maximum data rate for a connection.

19. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a radio link control sublayer, responsive to the higher rate data flow, to provide a radio link control data flow for downlink to the user equipment; and

a framing protocol layer, responsive to the media access control data flows, to provide corresponding transport network layer data flows.