Receiver apparatus and method for receiving data units over a channel

• US 8,098,771 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2006
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Sharp Corporation (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Herrmann, Christoph
• Primary Examiner(s): Payne, David C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LEON VIET Q
• Application Number:
  US11/909,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20100172445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,135 Days
• Field of Search: 370/231, 370/350, 370/468, 375/340
• US Class Current: 375/340
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/624 Altering the ordering of packets in an individual queue
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9078 using an external memory or storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• 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

Abstract

When transmitting medium access control protocol data units for the high speed downlink shared channel over a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request processes, one of the processes can be in a retransmission procedure. In this case, stalling of the transmission can occur, because the medium access control layer for the high speed downlink shared channel of the receiver apparatus (3) buffers the following packet data units, when a preceding protocol data unit is waiting in the stalled process. To enable an early processing of the already received data, the receiver apparatus determines, whether the next expected service data units for a higher layer such as a radio link control layer, are included in the already received packet data units by taking into account the sequence number for the higher layer. Therefore, the medium access control layer for the high speed downlink shared channel accesses the data of the service data unit for the higher layer.

Claims

1. A receiver apparatus for receiving data units over at least a channel, wherein said receiver apparatus comprises a lower layer and a higher layer with at least a higher layer protocol entity, said higher layer protocol entity is assigned to said lower layer, said lower layer comprises a reordering buffer to buffer at least a data unit input to said lower layer as a protocol data unit, and said lower layer is adapted to output at least a part of said data unit at least indirectly to said higher layer as a service data unit, when said lower layer detects said data unit as a next expected protocol data unit, said lower layer is adapted to detect a sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity, which sequence number is included in said data unit buffered in the reordering buffer, and said lower layer is adapted to output at least a part of said data unit buffered in said reordering buffer at least indirectly to said higher layer protocol entity as a service data unit, when said lower layer detects that said sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity is regarded as a next expected sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity.

2. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said receiver apparatus further comprises an intermediate layer which is adapted to receive said service data unit sent from said lower layer as a protocol data unit, to determine at least a part of said protocol data unit that is intended for said higher layer protocol entity, and to send said part of said protocol data unit intended for said higher layer protocol entity to said higher layer protocol entity as a service data unit.

3. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said lower layer is adapted to send a copy of said part of said data unit buffered in said reordering buffer to said intermediate layer as a protocol data unit for said intermediate layer, when said lower layer detects that said sequence number for said higher layer protocol of entity is regarded as said next expected sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity, and that said intermediate layer is adapted to process said part of said protocol data unit that is intended for said higher layer protocol of entity and to send said part of said processed protocol data unit to said higher layer protocol entity as a service data unit, and to erase any other part of said protocol data unit.

4. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said intermediate layer is arranged as a medium access control layer for dedicated logical channels, wherein said higher layer protocol of entity is assigned to one of said dedicated logical channels.

5. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said lower layer is arranged as a medium access control layer for a high speed downlink shared channel, wherein said lower layer is adapted to receive said data units as service data units of said downlink shared channel.

6. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said higher layer is arranged as a radio link control layer.

7. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said lower layer is connected with said intermediate layer, that said lower layer is adapted to detect a channel identification number together with said sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity from said data unit buffered in said reordering buffer and to send said channel identification number to said intermediate layer over said connection, and that said intermediate layer is adapted to send said next expected sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity in response to said channel identification number sent to said intermediate layer from said lower layer.

8. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that said intermediate layer is connected with said higher layer protocol entity, that said intermediate layer is adapted to send a request for a sequence number to said higher layer protocol entity assigned to said channel identification number over said connection with the higher layer protocol entity, and that said higher layer protocol entity is adapted to send said next expected sequence number to said intermediate layer in response to said request from said intermediate layer.

9. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said lower layer is connected with said higher layer protocol entity, that said lower layer is adapted to detect a channel identification number together with said sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity from said data unit buffered in said reordering buffer and to send said channel identification number to said higher layer protocol entity over said connection, and that said higher layer protocol entity is adapted to send said next expected sequence number of said higher layer protocol entity in response to said channel identification number sent from said lower layer to said higher layer protocol entity, when said channel identification number received from said lower layer equals a channel identification number of said higher layer protocol entity.

10. The receiver apparatus as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that said higher layer protocol entity is connected with said intermediate layer, that said higher layer protocol entity is adapted to send a request for said channel identification number of said higher layer protocol entity to said intermediate layer over said connection with said intermediate layer, that said intermediate layer is adapted to send said channel identification number of said higher layer protocol entity to said higher layer protocol entity in response to said request from said higher layer protocol entity.

11. A receiving method for receiving data units over at least a channel, said receiving method comprises the steps of:

receiving a data unit over said channel;

buffering said data unit as a protocol data unit of a lower layer;

determining, whether the protocol of data unit is a next expected protocol data unit of the lower layer or not;

outputting at least a part of said data unit buffered as a service data unit to a higher layer, when said protocol data unit is said next expected protocol data unit;

detecting a sequence number for a higher layer protocol entity in said protocol data unit buffered; and

outputting at least a part of said data unit buffered as a service data unit at least indirectly to said higher layer protocol entity, when said sequence number detected equals a next expected sequence number for said higher layer protocol entity.