Methods and apparatus for use in peer to peer communications devices and/or systems relating to rate scheduling, traffic scheduling, rate control, and/or power control

• US 9,258,788 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2014
• Issued: 02/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Laroia, Rajiv, Li, Junyi, Richardson, Thomas, Wu, Xinzhou, Jovicic, Aleksandar
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu, Kibrom T
• Application Number:
  US14/518,692
• Publication Number:
  US 20150036577A1
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/16 Deriving transmission power values from another channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/18 TPC being performed according to specific parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/267 taking into account the information rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0473 the resource being transmission power
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/569 of the traffic information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

Methods and apparatus related to peer to peer communication networks are described. Embodiments directed to methods and apparatus for establishing traffic data transmission rates and/or transmission power levels between wireless terminals is described. Embodiments direct to methods and apparatus of making decisions whether or not to transmit as a function of the received power of the received response signals are also described. Transmission of pilot signals after granting of a transmission request and a decision to transmit traffic data has been made occurs in some embodiments. Rate information to be used in determining a traffic rate may be received in response to the pilot signal from a peer to peer (P2P) device.

Claims

1. A method of operating a first communications device, comprising:

monitoring to receive transmission requests during a monitoring period;

if a request to transmit to the first communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device, determining a power of said received request to transmit to the first communications device;

if a request to transmit to a second communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device, determining a power of said received request to transmit to the second communications device; and

when the request to transmit to the first device and the request to transmit to the second communications device have been received by the first communications device, making a decision whether to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device as a function of the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said function includes comparison of a ratio generated from the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device to a power ratio threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

in response to making a decision to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device, transmitting during a response period a response to the request to transmit to the first communications device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said response period follows said monitoring period and precedes a traffic interval corresponding to the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said response is transmitted at a fixed predetermined power level.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said response is transmitted a power level which is a function of the determined received power level of the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said transmitted power level of said response is inversely proportional to the determined received power level of the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein there is a predetermined relationship between the monitoring period and the corresponding traffic interval.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein requests to transmit received on a predetermined communications resource during said monitoring period are requests to use a first traffic resource during said traffic interval.

10. A first communications device supporting peer to peer communications comprising:

a monitoring module for monitoring to receive transmission requests during a monitoring period;

a power measurement module for determining a power of a received request to transmit to the first communications device if the request to transmit to the first communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device and for determining a power of a received request to transmit to a second communications device if the request to transmit to the second communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device; and

a transmission decision module for making a decision whether to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device as a function of the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device when the request to transmit to the first communications device and the request to transmit to the second communications device have been received.

11. The first communications device of claim 10, wherein said function includes comparison of a ratio generated from the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device to a power ratio threshold.

12. The first communications device of claim 10, further comprising:

a response generation module for generating a response to the request to transmit to the first communications device in response to making a decision to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device; and

a wireless transmitter module for transmitting the generated response during a response period.

13. The first communications device of claim 12, wherein said response period follows said monitoring period and precedes a traffic interval corresponding to the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

14. The first communications device of claim 13, wherein said response is transmitted at a fixed predetermined power level.

15. The first communications device of claim 13, wherein said response is transmitted a power level which is a function of the determined received power level of the received request to transmit to the first communications device, the first communications device further comprising:

a response signal power level determination module for determining the transmission power level of the response signal as a function of the determined received power level of the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

16. The first communications device of claim 15, wherein said transmitted power level of said response is inversely proportional to the determined received power level of the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

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

a memory including air link resource structure information identifying a monitoring period and a corresponding traffic interval and wherein there is a predetermined relationship between the monitoring period and the corresponding traffic interval.

18. The first communications device of claim 17, wherein requests to transmit received on a predetermined communications resource during said monitoring period are requests to use a first traffic resource during said traffic interval.

19. A first communications device supporting peer to peer communications comprising:

monitoring means for monitoring to receive transmission requests during a monitoring period;

power measurement means for determining a power of a received request to transmit to the first communications device if the request to transmit to the first communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device and for determining a power of a received request to transmit to a second communications device if the request to transmit to the second communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device; and

transmission decision means for making a decision whether to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device as a function of the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device when the request to transmit to the first communications device and the request to transmit to the second communications device have been received.

20. The first communications device of claim 19, wherein said function includes comparison of a ratio generated from the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device to a power ratio threshold.

21. The first communications device of claim 19, further comprising:

response generation means for generating a response to the request to transmit to the first communications device in response to making a decision to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device;

wireless transmitter means for transmitting the generated response during a response period; and

wherein said response period follows said monitoring period and precedes a traffic interval corresponding to the received request to transmit to the first communications device.

22. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying machine executable instructions for controlling a first communications device to implement a method, the method comprising:

monitoring to receive transmission requests during a monitoring period;

if a request to transmit to the first communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device, determining a power of said received request to transmit to the first communications device; and

if a request to transmit to a second communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device, determining a power of said received request to transmit to the second communications device; and

when the request to transmit to the first communications device and the request to transmit to the second communications device have been received by the first communications device, making a decision whether to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device as a function of the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein said function includes comparison of a ratio generated from the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device to a power ratio threshold.

24. A first communications device comprising a processor configured to:

monitor to receive transmission requests during a monitoring period;

if a request to transmit to the first communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device, determine a power of said received request to transmit to the first communications device;

if a request to transmit to a second communications device is received during said monitoring period by the first communications device, determine a power of said received request to transmit to the second communications device; and

when a request to transmit to the first communications device and the request to transmit to the second communications device have been received by the first communications device, make a decision whether to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device as a function of the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device.

25. The first communications device of claim 24, wherein said function includes comparison of a ratio generated from the determined power of the received request to transmit to the first communications device and the determined power of the received request to transmit to the second communications device to a power ratio threshold;

wherein said processor is further configured to;

in response to making a decision to accept the request to transmit to the first communications device, transmit during a response period a response to the request to transmit to the first communications device; and

,

wherein said response period follows said monitoring period and precedes a traffic interval corresponding to the received request to transmit to the first communications device.