MIMO OFDMA and preamble design

• US 8,964,720 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2010
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Via Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yang, Hong-Kui, Wang, Shu
• Primary Examiner(s): Alia, Curtis A
• Application Number:
  US12/793,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20100309868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: 370/203, 370/208, 370/310, 370/321, 370/322, 370/326, 370/347, 370/348, 370/431, 370/436, 370/437, 370/442, 370/464, 370/468, 370/498, 370/522
• US Class Current: 370/348
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2602 Signal structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2603 Signal structure ensuring backward compatibility with legacy system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/121 for groups of terminals or users

Abstract

A method is provided for coupling a plurality of access nodes wirelessly to a plurality of access terminals. The method includes dividing up a carrier frequency into a plurality of subbands; scheduling one or more access terminals to share one of the plurality of subbands; and via one of the plurality of access nodes, first communicating with the one or more access terminals over the one of the plurality of subbands. The communicating includes, within the one of the plurality of subbands, time division multiplexing interlaces corresponding to each of the one or more access terminals.

Claims

1. A method for coupling a plurality of access nodes wirelessly to a plurality of access terminals, the method comprising:

scheduling the plurality of access terminals to share one of a plurality of subbands through the plurality of access nodes;

communicating with the plurality of access terminals according to one of the plurality of subbands, the plurality of subbands comprising a plurality of preambles, said communicating further comprising time division multiplexing interlaces corresponding to each of the plurality of access terminals according to the plurality of subbands and the plurality of preambles; and

employing a two-level indicator denoting whether a following packet is a single-user packet, a multiuser packet, or a multiuser multiplexing pattern, wherein a first signal of the two-level indicator is OFDM modulated, and a second signal of the two-level indicators indicator denotes which one of the plurality of access terminals is to be served in a following interlace, and wherein the plurality of preambles comprises an interlace indication that indicates subband allocation for a next or current interlace;

wherein said communicating comprises transmitting a system public data field signal indicating which one of the plurality of subbands are configured to a particular access terminal when the particular access terminal sets up connection with one of the plurality of access nodes, said scheduling the plurality of access terminals to share one of the plurality of subbands comprising transmitting multi-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said scheduling the plurality of access terminals to share one of the plurality of subbands further comprises transmitting single-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said scheduling the plurality of access terminals to share one of the plurality of subbands comprises:

transmitting OFDM data according to the plurality of access terminals, wherein at least one of the plurality of subbands transmits a multiuser packet with superposition coding; and

transmitting MIMO data with an antenna which is corresponding to the plurality of terminals, wherein the antenna is determined according to at least one of the following;

beam selection, wherein a beam with strong signal power with a feedback of a preamble message indicator is selected; and

subband selection, wherein the plurality of access terminals calculate the preamble message indicator for a desired subband and report back the preamble message indicator to the access node.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of access terminals which shares one of the plurality of subbands is assigned to at least one of a plurality of OFDM cells, and wherein each cell provides a plurality of data rate control signals corresponding to the plurality of subbands.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of preambles further comprises:

a first subband which carries preamble or packet of all OFDM multiuser packet data.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of subbands further comprises a two-level pilot when said scheduling the plurality of access terminals to share one of the plurality of subbands comprises transmitting both of MIMO and OFDM data, the two-level pilot further comprising:

a common spatial pilot indicating the following transmission or interlace is multiuser or single user; and

a dedicated spatial pilot indicating which access terminal to be served.

7. A system, comprising:

a plurality of access terminals, for sharing one of a plurality of subbands; and

one of a plurality of access nodes, coupled to the plurality of access terminals, the plurality of subbands comprising a plurality of preambles, the one of the plurality of access nodes configured to conduct time division multiplexing interlaces corresponding to each of the plurality of access terminals according to the plurality of subbands and the plurality of preambles, wherein the one of the plurality of access nodes employs a two-level indicator denoting whether a following packet is a single-user packet, a multiuser packet or a multiuser multiplexing pattern, wherein a first signal of the two-level indicator is OFDM modulated, and a second signal of the two-level indicator denotes which one of the plurality of access terminals is to be served in a following interlace, and wherein the plurality of preambles comprises an interlace indication that indicates subband allocation for a next or current interlace, and wherein said one of a plurality of access nodes transmits a system public data field indicating which one of the plurality of subbands are configured to a particular access terminal when the particular access terminal sets up connection with the one of the plurality of access nodes, and wherein said one of the plurality of access nodes transmits multi-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein said one of the plurality of access nodes further transmits single-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

9. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein said one of the plurality of access nodes transmits OFDM data according to the plurality of access terminals, wherein at least one of the plurality of subbands transmits a multiuser packet with superposition coding, and wherein the one of a plurality of access nodes transmits MIMO data with a receiving antenna that corresponds to the plurality of access terminals, and wherein the receiving antenna is determined according to at least one of the following:

beam selection, wherein a beam with strong signal power with a feedback of a preamble message indicator is selected; and

subband selection, wherein the plurality of access terminals calculate the preamble message indicator for a desired subband and report back the preamble message indicator to the one of a plurality of access nodes.

10. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of access terminals which share one of the plurality of subbands is assigned to at least one of a plurality of OFDM cells, and wherein each cell provides a plurality of data rate control signals corresponding to the plurality of subbands.

11. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of preambles further comprises:

a first subband which carries preamble or packet of all OFDM multiuser packet data.

12. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of subbands comprises a two-level pilot when both MIMO and OFDM data are transmitted, the two-level pilot comprising:

a common spatial pilot indicating the following transmission or interlace is multiuser or single user; and

a dedicated spatial pilot indicating which access terminal to be served.

13. A method for an access terminal which is coupled to a plurality of access nodes, the method comprising:

receiving one of a plurality of subbands which is decided by the plurality of access nodes;

communicating with the plurality of access nodes according to one of the plurality of subbands, the plurality of subbands comprising a plurality of preambles, said communicating further comprising time division multiplexing interlaces according to the plurality of subbands and the plurality of preambles, and wherein the plurality of preambles comprises an interlace indication that indicates subband allocation for a next or current interlace; and

receiving a two-level indicator denoting whether a following packet is a single-user packet, a multiuser packet, or a multiuser multiplexing pattern, and whether said following packet is served for the access terminal or not, wherein a first signal of the two-level indicator is OFDM modulated, and a second signal of the two-level indicator denotes which access terminal is to be served in a following interlace;

wherein said communicating further comprises receiving a system public data field signal indicating which one of the plurality of subbands are configured to a particular access terminal when the particular access terminal sets up connection with one of the plurality of access nodes, and receiving multi-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, the method further comprising receiving single-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein when the access terminal shares one of the plurality of subband with other access terminals, the method comprises:

receiving OFDM data, the corresponding subband transmitting a multiuser packet with superposition coding; and

receiving MIMO data with an antenna, the antenna is determined according to at least one of the following;

beam selection, wherein a beam with strong signal power with a feedback of a preamble message indicator is selected; and

subband selection, wherein the access terminal calculates the preamble message indicator for a desired subband and reports back the preamble message indicator to the access node.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein when the access terminal shares one of the plurality of subband with other access terminals and is assigned to at least one of a plurality of ODFM cells, the method further comprises receiving a plurality of data rate control signals corresponding to the plurality of subbands.

17. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the plurality of preambles further comprises:

a first subband which carries preamble or packet of all OFDM multiuser packet data.

18. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein one of the plurality of subbands further comprises a two-level pilot when the access terminal shares one of the plurality of subbands with other access terminals and receives both of MIMO and OFDM data, the two-level pilot further comprising:

a common spatial pilot indicating the following transmission or interlace is multiuser or single user; and

a dedicated spatial pilot indicating which access terminal to be served.

19. A system, comprising:

a plurality of access nodes; and

an access terminal, configured to receive one of a plurality of subbands which is decided by the plurality of access nodes, wherein the plurality of subbands comprises a plurality of preambles, wherein the access terminal employs time division multiplexing interlaces according to the plurality of subbands and the plurality of preambles, and wherein the plurality of preambles comprises an interlace indication that indicates subband allocation for a next or current interlace;

wherein the access terminal further receives a two-level indicator denoting whether a following packet is a single-user packet, a multiuser packet, or a multiuser multiplexing pattern, and whether said following packet is served for the access terminal or not, wherein a first signal of the two-level indicator is OFDM modulated, and a second signal of the two-level indicator denotes which access terminal is to be served in a following interlace; and

wherein said access terminal receives a system public data field indicating which one of the plurality of subbands are configured to the access terminal when the access terminal sets up connection with the one of the plurality of access nodes, and wherein the access terminal receives multi-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

20. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein said access terminal further receives single-layer OFDM multi-user packet data.

21. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein when the access terminal shares one of the plurality of subbands with another access terminal, the access terminal receives OFDM data, wherein the corresponding subband transmits a multiuser packet with superposition coding, and wherein the access terminal receives MIMO data with an antenna, wherein the antenna is determined according to at least one of the following:

beam selection, wherein a beam with strong signal power with a feedback of a preamble message indicator is selected; and

subband selection, wherein the access terminal calculates the preamble message indicator for a desired subband and reports back the preamble message indicator to the one of a plurality of access nodes.

22. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein when the access terminal shares one of the plurality of subbands with another access terminal and is assigned to at least one of a plurality of ODFM cells, the access terminal receives a plurality of data rate control signals corresponding to the plurality of subbands.

23. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein the plurality of preambles further comprise:

a first subband which carries preamble or packet of all OFDM multiuser packet data.

24. The system as recited in claim 19, wherein the plurality of subbands comprises a two-level pilot when the access terminal sharing one of the plurality of subbands with another access terminal and when the access terminal receives both of MIMO and OFDM data, the two-level pilot further comprising:

a common spatial pilot indicating the following transmission or interlace is multiuser or single user; and

a dedicated spatial pilot indicating which apparatus to be served.