Methods and apparatus for supporting group communications with data re-transmission support

• US 8,861,418 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2008
• Issued: 10/14/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wu, Xinzhou, Tavildar, Saurabh, Li, Junyi, Laroia, Rajiv
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferris, Derrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Acolatse, Kodzovi
• Application Number:
  US12/166,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20090016311A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,295 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/312
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/186 Processing of subscriber group data

Abstract

Methods and apparatus related to group communications in a wireless communications system, e.g., a peer to peer wireless communications system, are described. Methods and apparatus directed to closed groups, e.g., where the number of group members are fixed at a given time and known to one or more members of the group, are described. Various embodiments are well suited to decentralized peer to peer wireless networks including a plurality of individual traffic resources, e.g., traffic slots and/or traffic segments, which may be independently scheduled in a decentralized manner. Some features and/or aspects are directed to the use of individual group member acknowledgement signaling in response to a transmitted group traffic data signal. By monitoring for anticipated individual group member acknowledgment signals and identifying members which have not signaled a positive acknowledgment, re-transmission can be directed and/or tailored to a subset of the group.

Claims

1. A group communications method comprising:

transmitting data to members of a group in a first signal directed to said group, at a lowest data rate of one or more data rates supported by the members of the group;

monitoring for acknowledgements from the members of the group indicating that said data was received;

transmitting a pilot signal in response to receiving the acknowledgements from less than all the members of the group; and

re-transmitting the data in a second signal directed to a subset of said group, said subset including members of the group from which acknowledgements were not received and excluding at least one member of the group from which an acknowledgement was received, wherein the retransmitting of the data is performed at a lowest one of data rates determined by link quality feedback information from the members of the subset of the group responsive to the pilot signal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring for acknowledgements of successful communication of said data from said second signal from members of said subset of said group.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said monitoring for acknowledgements of successful communication of said data from said second signal does not involve monitoring for acknowledgements from members of said group which are not members of said subset.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said group is a group of peer to peer communications devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting data to members of a group is performed at a data rate determined by information corresponding to all members of the group.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said first signal is communicated using a set of OFDM tone symbols in a data traffic interval.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to transmitting data to members of said group, performing a communications exchange between potential group members to establish membership of each of the members to said group.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining a set of communications resources to be used by group communications, said communications resources including a set of connection identifiers corresponding to connections between different members of said group.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting data to members of a group in a first signal includes transmitting said first signal using a communications resource corresponding to the connections.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein re-transmitting data to members of said subset group in a second signal includes transmitting said second signal using a communications resource corresponding to the connections.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring for acknowledgements includes monitoring a plurality of individual communications resources each of the plurality of individual communications resources being dedicated to one of said group members for purposes of sending acknowledgements.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring for acknowledgements includes monitoring a common channel resource.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein monitoring a common channel resource includes receiving an ACK or NAK signal which includes device identifier information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein monitoring for acknowledgments includes receiving a plurality of acknowledgment signals on said common channel resource, each of said plurality of acknowledgment signals corresponding to a different device identifier.

15. The method of claim 14, where said plurality of acknowledgment signals are CDMA signals.

16. A communications device supporting group communications, the communications device comprising:

a wireless transmitter module;

a group signaling control module configured to control the wireless transmitter module to transmit data to members of a group in a first signal directed to said group, at a lowest data rate of one or more data rates supported by the members of the group;

an acknowledgment monitoring module configured to monitor for acknowledgements from the members of the group indicating that said data was received;

a re-transmission control module configured to control said wireless transmitter module to re-transmit the data in a second signal directed to a subset of said group, said subset including members of the group from which acknowledgements were not received and excluding at least one member of the group from which an acknowledgement was received;

a pilot signaling module configured to transmit a pilot signal in response to receiving the acknowledgements from less than all the members of the group; and

a re-transmission data rate determination module configured to determine the data rate to be used for the data to be re-transmitted as a function of link quality feedback information responsive to the pilot signal, as a lowest one of supported data rates corresponding to the members of the subset of the group.

17. The communications device of claim 16, further comprising:

a re-transmission acknowledgement module configured to monitor for acknowledgements of successful communication of said data from said second signal from members of said subset of said group.

18. The communications device of claim 17, further comprising:

a retransmission subset identification module configured to identify members of the subset; and

wherein said retransmission acknowledgment module is configured to limit its monitoring to acknowledgments from members of said subset.

19. The communications device of claim 16, further comprising:

an initial transmission data rate determination module configured to determine the data rate to be used to transmit said data to members of a group as a function of information corresponding to all members of the group.

20. The communications device of claim 16, wherein said feedback information corresponding to the members of said subset is link quality feedback information.

21. The communications device of claim 16, further comprising:

stored timing structure information including information identifying a plurality of data traffic interval and

wherein said first signal is communicated using a set of OFDM tone symbols in a first data traffic interval; and

wherein said second signal is communicated using a set of OFDM tone-symbols in a second data traffic interval.

22. The communications device of claim 16, further comprising:

a group establishment module configured to participate in a communications exchange with potential group members to establish membership of each of the members to said group.

23. The communications device of claim 22, further comprising:

a resource determination module configured to determine a set of communications resources to be used by group communications, said communications resources including a set of connection identifiers corresponding to connections between different members of said group.

24. The communications device of claim 16, wherein said acknowledgment monitoring module is configured to monitor for acknowledgements from a plurality of individual communications resources, each of the plurality of individual communications resources being dedicated to one of said group members for purposes of sending acknowledgements.

25. The communications device of claim 16, wherein said communications device is a peer to peer communications device.

26. The communications device of claim 16, wherein said acknowledgment monitoring module is configured to monitor for a plurality of acknowledgements on a common channel resource.

27. The communications device of claim 26, wherein said acknowledgment monitoring module is configured to recover device identifiers corresponding to ACK or NAK signals detected on said common channel resource.

28. The communications device of claim 27, wherein said ACK or NAK signals are CDMA signals.

29. A communications device supporting group communications, the communications device comprising:

wireless transmitter means;

group signaling control means for controlling the wireless transmitter means to transmit data to members of a group in a first signal directed to said group, at a lowest data rate of one or more data rates supported by the members of the group;

acknowledgment monitoring means configured for monitoring for acknowledgements from the members of the group indicating that said data was received;

re-transmission control means for controlling said wireless transmitter module to re-transmit the data in a second signal directed to a subset of said group, said subset including members of the group from which acknowledgements were not received and excluding at least one member of the group from which an acknowledgement was received;

pilot signaling means for transmitting a pilot signal in response to receiving the acknowledgements from less than all the members of the group; and

re-transmission data rate determination means for determining the data rate to be used for the data to be re-transmitted as a function of link quality feedback information responsive to the pilot signal, as a lowest one of supported data rates corresponding to the members of the subset of the group.

30. The communications device of claim 29, further comprising;

re-transmission acknowledgement means for monitoring for acknowledgements of successful communication of said data from said second signal from members of said subset of said group.

31. The communications device of claim 30, further comprising:

retransmission subset identification means for identifying members of the subset; and

wherein said retransmission acknowledgment means limits its monitoring to acknowledgments from members of said subset.

32. The communications device of claim 29, further comprising:

initial transmission data rate determination means for determining the data rate to be used to transmit said data to members of a group as a function of information corresponding to all members of the group.

33. A computer program product for use in a communications device to implement group communications, the computer program product comprising:

non-transitory computer readable medium comprising;

code for causing a computer to transmit data to members of a group in a first signal directed to said group, at a lowest data rate of one or more data rates supported by the members of the group;

code for causing a computer to monitor for acknowledgements from the members of the group indicating that said data was received;

code for transmitting a pilot signal in response to receiving the acknowledgements from less than all the members of the group; and

code for causing a computer to re-transmit the data in a second signal directed to a subset of said group, said subset including members of the group from which acknowledgements were not received and excluding at least one member of the group from which an acknowledgement was received, and wherein the retransmit of the data is performed at a data rate determined by link quality feedback information responsive to the pilot signal, as a lowest one of supported data rates corresponding to the members of the subset of the group.

34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein said computer readable medium further comprises:

code for causing a computer to monitor for acknowledgements of successful communication of said data from said second signal from members of said subset of said group.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein said monitoring for acknowledgements of successful communication of said data from said second signal does not involve monitoring for acknowledgements from members of said group which are not members of said subset.