HARQ process restriction and transmission of non-scheduled control data via uplink channels

• US 8,259,693 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Lohr, Joachim, Iochi, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US12/240,838
• Publication Number:
  US 20090034487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,436 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/336, 370/338, 370/347, 370/442, 370/468
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1819 with retransmission of additional or different redundancy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1822 involving configuration of automatic repeat request [ARQ] with parallel processes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1887 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and mobile terminal for performing a data allocation process for scheduled data, non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data obeying restrictions on the resource utilization defined by a scheduling grant and at least one non-scheduled grant. Further, the invention relates to a method for transmitting control signaling from a network entity in a radio access network of a mobile communication system controlling the radio resources of mobile terminals to at least one of said mobile terminal and the network entity in a radio access network. In order to reduce the delays to control signaling implied by a conventional HARQ process restriction mechanism the present invention suggests a new categorization of uplink data into scheduled data, non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data and a new HARQ process restriction mechanism disabling certain HARQ processes for non-scheduled user data only.

Claims

1. A data transmission method performed by a mobile terminal for transmitting non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data using HARQ processes, the method comprising:

restricting the non-scheduled user data to a subset of a plurality of the HARQ processes for a transmission of the non-scheduled user data,

wherein the non-scheduled control data can be transmitted using any of the plurality of the HARQ processes, irrespective of the restricting of the non-scheduled user data to the subset of the plurality of the HARQ processes for the transmission of the non-scheduled user data.

2. The data transmission method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving a non-scheduled grant indicating a maximum amount of resources the mobile terminal is allowed to utilize for transmitting the non-scheduled user data on an uplink channel.

3. The data transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the non-scheduled control data is scheduling information for the mobile terminal to request resources.

4. A mobile terminal for transmitting non-scheduled user data and non-scheduled control data using HARQ processes, comprising:

a restriction section that restricts the non-scheduled user data to a subset of a plurality of the HARQ processes for a transmission of the non-scheduled user data,

wherein the non-scheduled control data can be transmitted by a transmission section using any of the plurality of HARQ processes, irrespective of the restriction of the non-scheduled user data to the subset of the plurality of the HARQ processes for the transmission of the non-scheduled user data.

5. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, further comprising a reception section that receives a non-scheduled grant indicating a maximum amount of resources the mobile terminal is allowed to utilize for transmitting the non-scheduled user data on an uplink channel.

6. The mobile terminal according to claim 4, wherein the non-scheduled control data is scheduling information for the mobile terminal to request resources.