Semi-persistent scheduling for traffic spurts in wireless communication

• US 8,848,618 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2007
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Damnjanovic, Aleksandar, Aziz, Adel, Luo, Tao
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Warner
• Application Number:
  US11/841,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20080117891A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,598 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 370/328, 370/338, 370/395.4, 370/431, 370/437, 370/464, 370/465, 370/468
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation

Abstract

Techniques for efficiently assigning resources for spurts of traffic in a wireless communication system are described. The system may support semi-persistent and non-persistent resource assignments. A semi-persistent resource assignment is valid for as long as more data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent data and expires if no data is sent within the predetermined time period. A non-persistent resource assignment is valid for a predetermined duration or a specific transmission. A semi-persistent resource assignment may be granted for an expected spurt of data to send via the communication link. For Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), a semi-persistent resource assignment may be granted for a voice frame in anticipation of a spurt of voice activity, and a non-persistent resource assignment may be granted for a silence descriptor (SID) frame during a period of silence.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to determine a resource assignment for a communication link and to exchange traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment, the resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to relinquish the resource assignment upon determining that more data has not been exchanged within the predetermined time period from when data was last exchanged.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive data to send on the uplink at a user equipment, to send a request for resources in response to receiving the data to send, and to receive the resource assignment in response to the request.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to send the data based on the resource assignment, to set a timer to the predetermined time period after sending the data, to send more data if available and if the timer has not expired, to reset the timer to the predetermined time period after sending more data, and to relinquish the resource assignment when the timer expires.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is configured to send a request with no data indication to terminate the resource assignment prior to expiration of the predetermined time period.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor is configured to send the request with no data indication along with expected last data or if more data has not been sent within a particular time period of last sent data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a request for resources for the uplink from a user equipment and to send the resource assignment to the user equipment in response to the request.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform blind decoding of received transmission based on the resource assignment to detect for data sent on the uplink by the user equipment.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication link is a downlink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive data to send on the downlink to a user equipment, to determine the resource assignment for the user equipment based on the received data, and to send the resource assignment to the user equipment.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is configured to process the received data based on a cell radio network temporary identifier of the user equipment, and to send the processed data on the downlink to the user equipment.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication link is a downlink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to monitor a control channel to receive the resource assignment for a user equipment.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to operate in a discontinuous reception mode and to monitor the control channel in designated time intervals to receive the resource assignment.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform blind decoding of received transmission based on the resource assignment to detect for data sent on the downlink to the user equipment.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive data on the downlink based on the resource assignment and to send an acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the received data using on-off keying.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each frame is sent with at least one hybrid automatic retransmission.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the resource assignment covers one hybrid automatic retransmission for each frame, and wherein the expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is between one and two.

63. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined time period corresponds to a fixed amount of time between sending traffic data transmissions.

64. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the resource assignment is valid only for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data.

17. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining a resource assignment for a communication link, the resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the determining the resource assignment comprises

receiving data to send on the uplink at a user equipment,

sending a request for resources in response to receiving the data to send, and

receiving the resource assignment in response to the request.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the exchanging data via the communication link comprises

performing blind decoding of received transmission based on the resource assignment to detect for data sent via the communication link.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the exchanging data via the communication link comprises

processing data based on a cell radio network temporary identifier of a user equipment, and

sending the processed data via the communication link.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the exchanging data via the communication link comprises

receiving data via the communication link based on the resource assignment, and

sending an acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the received data using on-off keying.

22. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining a resource assignment for a communication link, the resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

means for exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the means for determining the resource assignment comprises

means for receiving data to send on the uplink at a user equipment,

means for sending a request for resources in response to receiving the data to send, and

means for receiving the resource assignment in response to the request.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for exchanging data via the communication link comprises

means for performing blind decoding of received transmission based on the resource assignment to detect for data sent via the communication link.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for exchanging data via the communication link comprises

means for processing data based on a cell radio network temporary identifier of a user equipment, and

means for sending the processed data via the communication link.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for exchanging data via the communication link comprises

means for receiving data via the communication link based on the resource assignment, and

means for sending an acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the received data using on-off keying.

27. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations including:

determining a resource assignment for a communication link, the resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment.

28. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27 which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations further including:

receiving data to send on an uplink at a user equipment;

sending a request for resources in response to receiving the data to send; and

receiving the resource assignment in response to the request.

29. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27 which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations further including:

performing blind decoding of received transmission based on the resource assignment to detect for data sent via the communication link.

30. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27 which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations further including:

processing data based on a cell radio network temporary identifier of a user equipment, and

sending the processed data via the communication link.

31. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 27 which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations further including:

receiving data via the communication link based on the resource assignment; and

sending an acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement for the received data using on-off keying.

32. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to receive traffic data to send on uplink at a user equipment, to send a request for resources in response to receiving the traffic data to send, to receive a resource assignment for the uplink, and to send the traffic data on the uplink based on the resource assignment, the resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the at least one processor is configured to set a timer to the predetermined time period after sending the data on the uplink, to send more data on the uplink if available and if the timer has not expired, and to relinquish the resource assignment when the timer expires.

34. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to determine a semi-persistent resource assignment or a non-persistent resource assignment for a communication link, and to exchange traffic data via the communication link based on the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment, the semi-persistent resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, and the non-persistent resource assignment being valid for a predetermined duration or a specific transmission, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the semi-persistent resource assignment is granted for an expected spurt of data to exchange via the communication link.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to send a request for resources, to receive the semi-persistent resource assignment if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and to receive the non-persistent resource assignment if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the at least one processor is configured to send a first codeword on a control channel if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and to send a second codeword on the control channel if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

38. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a request for resources from a user equipment, to send the semi-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and to send the non-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

39. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the communication link is a downlink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to send the semi-persistent resource assignment to a user equipment if there is a voice frame to send to the user equipment, and to send the non-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if there is a silence descriptor frame to send to the user equipment.

40. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the communication link is a downlink, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to monitor a control channel to receive the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment for the downlink.

41. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining a semi-persistent resource assignment or a non-persistent resource assignment for a communication link, the semi-persistent resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, the non-persistent resource assignment being valid for a predetermined duration or a specific transmission, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the determining the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment comprises

sending a request for resources,

receiving the semi-persistent resource assignment if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and

receiving the non-persistent resource assignment if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the determining the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment comprises

receiving a request for resources from a user equipment user equipment,

sending the semi-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and

sending the non-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

44. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining a semi-persistent resource assignment or a non-persistent resource assignment for a communication link, the semi-persistent resource assignment being valid for as long as more traffic data is sent within a predetermined time period of last sent traffic data, the non-persistent resource assignment being valid for a predetermined duration or a specific transmission, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

means for exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the means for determining the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment comprises

means for sending a request for resources,

means for receiving the semi-persistent resource assignment if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and

means for receiving the non-persistent resource assignment if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the communication link is an uplink, and wherein the means for determining the semi-persistent or non-persistent resource assignment comprises

means for receiving a request for resources from a user equipment,

means for sending the semi-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if the request for resources is for a voice frame, and

means for sending the non-persistent resource assignment to the user equipment if the request for resources is for a silence descriptor frame.

47. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to

determine a resource assignment for a communication link,

send data over the communications link based on the resource assignment,

set a timer to a predetermined time period after sending the data,

send additional data over the communications link if the timer has not expired,

reset the timer after sending the additional data, and

relinquish the resource assignment when the timer expires, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the at least one processor is configured to send signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

65. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), and wherein the communications link is an uplink for carrying data from the UE to a base station.

66. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the at least one processor is configured to set the timer to the predetermined time period in response to the sending of the data.

67. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the at least one processor is configured to relinquish the resource assignment immediately when the timer expires.

49. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to determine a resource assignment for a communication link and to exchange traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment, and further configured to relinquish the resource assignment when additional traffic data has not been exchanged during a predetermined time period starting from when traffic data was last exchanged, wherein the predetermined time period is a configurable value selected based upon a frame inter-arrival time, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to send signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

51. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining a resource assignment for a communication link;

sending data over the communications link based on the resource assignment;

setting a timer to a predetermined time period after sending the data;

sending additional data over the communications link if the timer has not expired;

resetting the timer after sending the additional data; and

relinquishing the resource assignment when the timer expires, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising:

sending signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

53. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining a resource assignment for a communication link;

exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment; and

relinquishing the resource assignment when additional traffic data has not been exchanged during a predetermined time period starting from when traffic data was last exchanged, wherein the predetermined time period is a configurable value selected based upon a frame inter-arrival time, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames.

54. The method of claim 53, further comprising:

sending signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

55. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining a resource assignment for a communication link;

means for sending data over the communications link based on the resource assignment;

means for setting a timer to a predetermined time period after sending the data;

means for sending additional data over the communications link if the timer has not expired;

means for resetting the timer after sending the additional data; and

means for relinquishing the resource assignment when the timer expires, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising:

means for sending signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

57. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining a resource assignment for a communication link;

means for exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment; and

means for relinquishing the resource assignment when additional traffic data has not been exchanged during a predetermined time period starting from when traffic data was last exchanged, wherein the predetermined time period is a configurable value selected based upon a frame inter-arrival time, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, further comprising:

means for sending signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

59. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for causing a processor to execute a method, the method comprising:

determining a resource assignment for a communication link;

sending data over the communications link based on the resource assignment;

setting a timer to a predetermined time period after sending the data;

sending additional data over the communications link if the timer has not expired;

resetting the timer after sending the additional data; and

relinquishing the resource assignment when the timer expires, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames.

60. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises:

sending signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.

61. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions for causing a processor to execute a method, the method comprising:

determining a resource assignment for a communication link;

exchanging traffic data via the communication link based on the resource assignment; and

relinquishing the resource assignment when additional traffic data has not been exchanged during a predetermined time period starting from when traffic data was last exchanged, wherein the predetermined time period is a configurable value selected based upon a frame inter-arrival time, wherein data is sent in frames with hybrid automatic retransmission, and wherein an expected number of hybrid automatic retransmissions for each frame is shorter than an expected time interval between consecutive frames.

62. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 61, wherein the method further comprises:

sending signaling to relinquish the resource assignment prior to the expiration of the predetermined time period.