Method and system for adaptively obtaining bandwidth allocation requests
First Claim
1. A method for allocating UL bandwidth in a base station for a broadband wireless communication system where the base station exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units over a shared link, the method comprising:
- maintaining at the base station a DL map and a UL map with a current DL bandwidth allocations and UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the maps to said remote units;
identifying within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth;
based on said specified requested amount of UL bandwidth and on UL bandwidth available for sharing on said shared link, allocating an UL bandwidth grant to said remote unit; and
updating said UL map based upon said UL bandwidth grant;
wherein said bandwidth request is provided to said base station in response to a polling action initiated at said base station, said remote unit being polled from said base station at a polling rate determined by said base station using one or more traffic parameters, andwherein the traffic parameters include one or more of;
the amount of bandwidth available for sharing among said remote units, the number of active remote units, the bandwidth currently used by the DL traffic, a composite priority parameter, and an estimated amount of bandwidth needed to accommodate bandwidth requests.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for adaptively obtaining bandwidth requests in a broadband wireless communication system. The method and apparatus includes dynamically varying technique combinations enabling a plurality of users to efficiently request bandwidth from a shared base station. A user may “piggyback” a new bandwidth request upon, or set a “poll-me bit” within, presently allocated bandwidth. A base station may poll users, individually or in groups, by allocating unrequested bandwidth for new requests. Polling may respond to a “poll-me bit,” and/or it may be adaptively periodic at a rate based on communication status parameters, such as recent communication activity and connection QoS levels Group polling permits a possibility of collisions. Polling policies may be established for dynamically varying user groups, or may be determined for each user. Dynamic selection of appropriate polling techniques makes use of efficiency benefits associated with each technique.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method for allocating UL bandwidth in a base station for a broadband wireless communication system where the base station exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units over a shared link, the method comprising:
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maintaining at the base station a DL map and a UL map with a current DL bandwidth allocations and UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the maps to said remote units; identifying within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth; based on said specified requested amount of UL bandwidth and on UL bandwidth available for sharing on said shared link, allocating an UL bandwidth grant to said remote unit; and updating said UL map based upon said UL bandwidth grant; wherein said bandwidth request is provided to said base station in response to a polling action initiated at said base station, said remote unit being polled from said base station at a polling rate determined by said base station using one or more traffic parameters, and wherein the traffic parameters include one or more of;
the amount of bandwidth available for sharing among said remote units, the number of active remote units, the bandwidth currently used by the DL traffic, a composite priority parameter, and an estimated amount of bandwidth needed to accommodate bandwidth requests. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for allocating UL bandwidth in a base station for a broadband wireless communication system where the base station exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units over a shared link, the method comprising:
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maintaining at the base station a DL map and a UL map with a current DL bandwidth allocations and UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the maps to said remote units; identifying within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth; based on said specified requested amount of UL bandwidth and on UL bandwidth available for sharing on said shared link, allocating an UL bandwidth grant to said remote unit; and updating said UL map based upon said UL bandwidth grant; wherein said bandwidth request is provided to said base station in response to a polling action initiated at said base station, said remote unit being polled from said base station at a polling rate determined by said base station using one or more traffic parameters, and wherein the polling rate is determined as a continuous function of said traffic parameters if a large number of polling rates may be derived from the traffic parameters. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for allocating UL bandwidth in a base station for a broadband wireless communication system where the base station exchanges uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) traffic with one or more remote units over a shared link, the method comprising:
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maintaining at the base station a DL map and a UL map with a current DL bandwidth allocations and UL bandwidth allocations and periodically transmitting the maps to said remote units; identifying within the UL traffic received from a remote unit, a bandwidth request specifying a requested amount of UL bandwidth; based on said specified requested amount of UL bandwidth and on UL bandwidth available for sharing on said shared link, allocating an UL bandwidth grant to said remote unit; and updating said UL map based upon said UL bandwidth grant; wherein said bandwidth request is provided to said base station in response to a polling action initiated at said base station upon identification of an explicit poll-me message received from said remote unit, and wherein said poll-me message is inserted in a packet transmitted from said remote unit to said base station, which packet includes unused bytes, but does not have enough unused bytes to accommodate a bandwidth request. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification