Random access channel protocol
First Claim
1. A method of random access communications from a user element to an access point, the user element being operable to maintain a stack counter, the method comprising:
- a) storing at least one packet in a buffer;
b) transmitting the packet for reception by the access point if the stack counter is zero;
c) receiving a feedback message from the access point wherein the feedback message is one of;
1) an idle message indicating that no transmissions were detected during the slot,2) a successful transmission message indicating that a packet was successfully received during the slot, and3) a collision message indicating that at least one packet was detected but could not be successfully received during the slot;
d) when the received feedback message is a successful transmission message and the stack counter is zero, removing the transmitted packet from the buffer;
e) when the received feedback message is a collision message, generating a random number and setting the stack counter to an amount determined by the generated random number; and
f) when the received feedback message is an idle message and the stack counter is greater than zero, decrementing the stack counter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an improved random access channel protocol, wherein different user elements may be associated with different priority levels. Based on relative priority, the user elements may have different probabilities for deciding when to retransmit a previously transmitted packet upon receiving information from an access point indicating that the packet needs to be retransmitted. A buffer is provided for storing a packet to transmit, and the buffer is associated with a stack counter, which is incremented or decremented to or from a nominal value to determine when to transmit or retransmit the packet stored in the buffer. Based on the relative priority, feedback information from the access point may cause the stack counter for a packet needing to be retransmitted to stay at the nominal value, wherein retransmission will occur at the next available time slot, or it may increase the stack counter by one or more levels.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of random access communications from a user element to an access point, the user element being operable to maintain a stack counter, the method comprising:
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a) storing at least one packet in a buffer; b) transmitting the packet for reception by the access point if the stack counter is zero; c) receiving a feedback message from the access point wherein the feedback message is one of; 1) an idle message indicating that no transmissions were detected during the slot, 2) a successful transmission message indicating that a packet was successfully received during the slot, and 3) a collision message indicating that at least one packet was detected but could not be successfully received during the slot; d) when the received feedback message is a successful transmission message and the stack counter is zero, removing the transmitted packet from the buffer; e) when the received feedback message is a collision message, generating a random number and setting the stack counter to an amount determined by the generated random number; and f) when the received feedback message is an idle message and the stack counter is greater than zero, decrementing the stack counter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A user element for random access communications with an access point, the user element comprising:
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a) a stack counter; b) a buffer operable to store at least one packet; c) a transmitter operable to transmit the packet for reception by the access point if the stack counter is zero; d) a receiver operable to receive a feedback message from the access point wherein the feedback message is one of; 1) an idle message indicating that no transmissions were detected during the slot, 2) a successful transmission message indicating that a packet was successfully received during the slot, and 3) a collision message indicating that at least one packet was detected but could not be successfully received during the slot; the buffer being operable, when the received feedback message is a successful transmission message and the stack counter is zero, to remove the transmitted packet from the buffer; and the stack counter being operable; (i) when the received feedback message is a collision message, to generate a random number and to set the stack counter to an amount determined by the generated random number; and (ii) when the received feedback message is an idle message and the stack counter is greater than zero, to decrement the stack counter. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of facilitating random access communications at an access point comprising:
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a) attempting to receive packets transmitted via a plurality of channels from a plurality of user elements during a time slot; b) determining a number of successful channels in which packets were properly received during the time slot; c) determining a number of unsuccessful channels in which packets were not properly received during the time slot; and d) transmitting a feedback message to the plurality of user elements wherein the feedback message is selected from a group comprising; 1) a merge message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a merge message condition; 2) a split message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a split message condition, and 3) a stay message when the ratio of successful channels does not meet the merge message condition and does not meet the split message condition. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An access point for receiving random access communications from an plurality of user elements, the access point comprising:
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a) a receiver operable; to attempt to receive packets transmitted via a plurality of channels from the plurality of user elements during a time slot; to determine a number of successful channels in which packets were properly received during the time slot; and to determine a number of unsuccessful channels in which packets were not properly received during the time slot; and b) a transmitter operable to transmit a feedback message to the plurality of user elements wherein the feedback message is selected from a group comprising; 1) a merge message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a merge message condition; 2) a split message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a split message condition, and 3) a stay message when the ratio of successful channels does not meet the merge message condition and does not meet the split message condition. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of random access communications from a user element to an access point, the user element being operable to maintain a stack counter, the method comprising:
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a) storing at least one packet in a buffer; b) transmitting the packet for reception by the access point if the stack counter is zero; c) receiving a feedback message from the access point wherein the feedback message is one of; 1) a merge message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a merge message condition; 2) a split message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a split message condition, and 3) a stay message when the ratio of successful channels does not meet the merge message condition and does not meet the split message condition; d) when the received feedback message is a split message, the stack counter is zero and the packet is not successfully transmitted, generating a random number and setting the stack counter to an amount determined by the generated random number; e) when the received feedback message is one of a merge message and a stay message, the stack counter is zero and the packet is not successfully transmitted, maintaining the stack counter at zero. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A user element for random access communications with an access point, the user element comprising:
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a) a stack counter; b) a buffer operable to store at least one packet; c) a transmitter operable to transmit the packet for reception by the access point if the stack counter is zero; d) a receiver operable to receive a feedback message from the access point wherein the feedback message is one of; 1) a merge message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a merge message condition; 2) a split message when the ratio of successful channels to unsuccessful channels meets a split message condition, and 3) a stay message when the ratio of successful channels does not meet the merge message condition and does not meet the split message condition, the stack counter being operable; (i) when the received feedback message is a split message, the stack counter is zero and the packet is not successfully transmitted, to generate a random number and to set the stack counter to an amount determined by the generated random number; and (ii) when the received feedback message is one of a merge message and a stay message, the stack counter is zero and the packet is not successfully transmitted, maintaining the stack counter at zero. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification