In-band flow control methods for communications systems

• US 8,089,879 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2002
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hu, Teck H., Young, Gordon Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryman, Daniel J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Jay P
• Application Number:
  US10/145,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20030214906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,520 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/235, 370/229, 370/231, 370/236
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0029 Reduction of the amount of signalling, e.g. retention of useful signalling or differential signalling power control H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/33 using forward notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/35 by embedding flow control information in regular packets, e.g. piggybacking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0205 at the air interface dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0252 per individual bearer or channel dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 using signalling between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

In the method, a source device places identifiers in data packets to be transmitted. The identifiers may include in-band flow control acknowledgment data in response to a flow control request transmitted from a destination device. When the destination device receives the transmitted data packets, the destination device will proceed based on the data contained in the data packets that are to be decoded at the destination device. If the decoded data packet contains in-band flow control acknowledgment data in response to a flow control request from the destination device, the destination device processes the data packets based on the received in-band flow control acknowledgment data.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data packets, comprising:

transmitting a flow control request from a destination device;

inserting a flow control acknowledgment, including a destination device flow control status indicator, for the destination device in a non-payload portion of a data packet responsive to the flow control request;

generating an acknowledgment sequence number to be inserted in a portion of the data packet, the acknowledgment sequence number indicating a transmission sequence number of a data packet that has been received from the destination device,

transmitting the data packet to the destination device with the flow control acknowledgment, the flow control acknowledgment being transmitted in response to the flow control request from the destination device wherein the flow control acknowledgment with a pre-allocated acknowledgment sequence number is inserted in place of the generated acknowledgment sequence number in said portion prior to said step of transmitting the data packet to the destination device.

2. An apparatus for transmitting data packets, comprising:

an acknowledgment sequence number generator generating acknowledgment sequence numbers for data packets, the acknowledgment sequence number indicating a transmission sequence number of a data packet that has been received by a destination device and being allocated a space in each data packet, the acknowledgment sequence generator further inserting a flow control acknowledgment, including a destination device flow control status indicator, for the destination device in said allocated space of each of the data packets in place of said generated acknowledgment sequence number responsive to a flow control request received at the apparatus, the flow control acknowledgment indicating (1) that the flow control request has been received and that transmission for a particular flow is being terminated;

(2) that the flow control request has been received, that the destination device should continue to send flow control requests, and that data flow to the destination device will remain active into the future;

or (3) that a flow control request to restart data flow has been received and that the destination device is to resume receiving the data flow;

a transmitter transmitting the data packets to a destination device, the flow control acknowledgment being transmitted in response to the flow control request from the destination device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the destination device is a user equipment served by the apparatus in a High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) specification of a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS).