Method and apparatus for MAC layer inverse multiplexing in a third generation radio access network

• US 20030099255A1
• Filed: 11/19/2002
• Published: 05/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IoT Innovations LLC (Empire IP LLC)
• Original Assignee: Spyder Navigations LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Isokangas, Jari, Kekki, Sami, Hwang, Woonhee, Sarkkinen, Sinikka
• Granted Patent: US 7,539,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/469
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2612 Arrangements for wireless medium access control, e.g. by allocating physical layer transmission capacity H04B7/2615 - H04B7/2643 take precedence; provision for broadband connection H04Q11/0478
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/22 Negotiating communication rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

A channel inverse multiplexer/multiplexer (IMUX/MUX) (14a) of a MAC sublayer (14) of a UTRAN RNC (11) for providing to a UE (18) traffic (communication signals including in general both control and user data) at a higher rate than the UE can accept over a single channel. The channel IMUX/MUX performs inverse multiplexing of traffic for downlink, and multiplexing of traffic on uplink, and does so in a way that is transparent to all other layers/entities of the UTRAN (11-17) and to the UE (18).

Claims

1. A radio network element (11) for communicating to a mobile user equipment (UE) (18) a higher rate data flow received from a core network (CN) entity, the higher rate data flow being provided to the radio network element (11) at a higher rate than the UE can accept on a single channel, the radio network element(11) characterized by:

a) a radio link control (RLC) sublayer (13) including a radio bearer (R1) service (13a), responsive to the higher rate data flow, for providing a corresponding RLC data flow (R1) for downlink to the UE (18);

b) a media access control (MAC) sublayer (14), responsive to the RLC data flow (R1), for providing a plurality of corresponding MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13) at a rate low enough to be acceptable to the UE (18);

c) a framing protocol layer (FP layer) (16), responsive to the MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13), for providing corresponding transport network layer data flows (P11 P12 P13); and

d) an admission control (AC) (12), responsive to radio access bearer parameters provided by the CN entity, for providing commands to the MAC sublayer (14) specifying how the MAC sublayer (14) is to allocate resources so as to communicate the higher rate data flow to the UE (18);

and further characterized by the MAC sublayer (14) in the radio network element including a channel inverse multiplexer/multiplexer (IMUX/MUX) (14a), responsive to the RLC data flow (R1), for providing the plurality of corresponding MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13) at a rate low enough to be acceptable to the UE (18), and for including with each lower rate data flow (M11 M12 M13) information indicating how the lower rate flows (M11 M12 M13) are to be combined by the UE (18), the lower rate data flows (M11 M12 M13) being suitable for transmission by the FP layer (16) according to a standard protocol not taking into account that the lower rate data flows (M11 M12 M13) are in combination the RLC data flow (R1) corresponding to the higher rate data flow.

2. The radio network element (11) of claim 1, further characterized in that in sending to a CN entity a plurality of transport network data flows (P11 P12 P13) received from 10 the UE (18), the channel IMUX/MUX (14a) is further responsive to a plurality of corresponding MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13), and provides, at the direction of the AC (12), a single corresponding RLC data flow (R1) for transmission to the CN entity as a higher rate data flow.

3. A radio access network including a Node B (16) and also including a radio network element (11) according to claim 1.

4. A radio access network including a Node B (16) and also including a radio network element (11) according to claim 2.

5. A method by which a radio network element (11) communicates to a mobile user equipment (UE) (18) a higher rate data flow received from a core network (CN) entity, the higher rate data flow being provided to the radio network element (11) at a higher rate than the UE can accept on a single channel, the method characterized by:

a) a step in which a radio link control (RLC) sublayer (13) including a radio bearer (R1) service (13a), responsive to the higher rate data flow, provides a corresponding RLC data flow (R1) for downlink to the UE (18);

b) a step in which a media access control (MAC) sublayer (14), responsive to the RLC data flow (R1), provides a plurality of corresponding MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13) at a rate low enough to be acceptable to the UE (18);

c) a step in which a framing protocol layer (FP layer) (16), responsive to the MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13), provides corresponding transport network layer data flows (P11 P12 P13); and

d) a step in which an admission control (AC) (12), responsive to radio access bearer parameters provided by the CN entity, provides commands to the MAC sublayer (14) specifying how the MAC sublayer (14) is to allocate resources so as to communicate the higher rate data flow to the UE (18);

and further characterized in that the MAC sublayer (14) in the radio network element performs a channel inverse multiplexing/multiplexing using a channel inverse muliplexer/multiplexer (IMUX/MUX) (14a), responsive to the RLC data flow (R1), and in so doing provides the plurality of corresponding MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13) at a rate low enough to be acceptable to the UE (18), and includes with each lower rate data flow (M11 M12 M13) information indicating how the lower rate flows (M11 M12 M13) are to be combined by the UE (18), the lower rate data flows (M11 M12 M13) being suitable for transmission by the FP layer (16) according to a standard protocol not taking into account that the lower rate data flows (M11 M12 M13) are in combination the RLC data flow (R1) corresponding to the higher rate data flow.

6. The method of claim 5, further characterized in that in sending to a CN entity a plurality of transport network data flows (P11 P12 P13) received from the UE (18), the channel IMUX/MUX (14a) is further responsive to a plurality of corresponding MAC data flows (M11 M12 M13), and provides, at the direction of the AC (12), a single corresponding RLC data flow (R1) for transmission to the CN entity as a higher rate data flow.