METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ACQUIRING AND USING MULTIPLE CONNECTION IDENTIFIERS

• US 20090232086A1
• Filed: 03/13/2008
• Published: 09/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Tavildar, Saurabh, Laroia, Rajiv, Wu, Xinzhou, Li, Junyi
• Granted Patent: US 9,084,231 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/330
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/15 Setup of multiple wireless link connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Methods and apparatus related to a peer to peer wireless communications system supporting the association of multiple connection identifiers with a single connection between a pair of wireless terminals are described. A differentiated quality of service is supported by assigning different numbers of connection identifiers to different connections. The number of connection identifiers assigned to a wireless terminal pair for a connection is a function of one of: data rate, priority information, and quality of service information. Being allocated a higher number of connection identifiers results in being allocated a higher number of traffic transmission request resources, thus increasing the likelihood that the connection is permitted to use a traffic transmission segment. The allocation of connection identifiers is performed in a distributed manner in which handshake signaling occurs between a wireless terminal pair seeking to establish a connection, e.g., as part of a multi-step paging scheme.

Claims

1. A method operating a first communications device to communicate with a second device, in a system supporting multiple communications connections, the method comprising:

monitoring a connection identifier broadcast interval to identity unused connection identifiers;

transmitting a set of available connection identifiers from the identified unused connection identifiers to the second device; and

receiving from the second device a subset of said transmitted set of available connection identifiers, said subset of connection identifiers including identifiers to be used for a communications connection between said first and second devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using a connection identifier included in said received subset to communicate with said second device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said connection is a bidirectional connection.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said received subset includes multiple connection identifiers corresponding to a single communications link between said first and second devices.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein different traffic transmission resources are associated with different connection identifiers, the different traffic transmission resources having different priorities.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting a traffic transmission request to the second device using the highest priority traffic transmission resource which corresponds to one of said received subset of multiple connection identifiers.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising;

receiving a transmission request echo from the second device on a transmission request echo resource corresponding to traffic transmission resource used to transmit the traffic transmission request; and

transmitting data to the second device during a traffic interval corresponding to the transmitted traffic request.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining a new mapping of transmission request resources to connection identifiers; and

transmitting another traffic transmission request to the second device using the highest priority traffic transmission resource which corresponds to one of said received subset of multiple connection identifiers as determined during said mapping operation.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said transmission request resources are tone symbols in a set of time—

frequency resources.

10. A first communications device comprising:

a connection availability signal generation module for generating a signal conveying information identifying a set of available connection identifiers;

a wireless transmitter module for transmitting said generated signal conveying information identifying a set of available connection identifiers to a second device; and

a wireless receiver module for receiving from the second device information indicating a subset of said transmitted set of available connection identifiers, said subset of connection identifiers including identifiers to be used for a communications connection between said first and second devices.

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

a connection identifier monitoring module for detecting signals received during a connection identifier broadcast interval and for determining unused connection identifiers, said set of available connection identifiers including connection identifiers indicated by signals received during said connection identifier broadcast interval to be unused connection identifiers.

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

a connection availability response signal recovery module for identifying said subset of connection identifiers from the received information.

13. The first communications device of claim 11, further comprising:

a peer communications control module for using a connection identifier included in said received subset to communicate with said second device over a connection.

14. The first communications device of claim 13, wherein said connection is a bi-directional connection.

15. The first communications device of claim 11, wherein said subset includes multiple connection identifiers corresponding to a single communications link between said first and second devices.

16. The first communications device of claim 15, further including a memory and wherein the memory includes information associating different traffic transmission resources with different connection identifiers, the different traffic transmission resources having different priorities.

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

a traffic transmission request signal generation module for generating a traffic transmission request to the second device;

a resource selection module for selecting to use the highest priority traffic transmission resource which corresponds to one of said received subset of multiple connection identifiers; and

wherein the wireless transmitter module is also for transmitting the generated traffic transmission request signal to the second device using the selected highest priority traffic transmission resource.

18. The first communications device of claim 17,

wherein said wireless receiver module is also for receiving a transmission request echo from the second device on a transmission request response resource corresponding to traffic transmission resource used to transmit the traffic transmission request;

and

wherein the first communications device further comprises;

a request response monitoring module for monitoring the transmission request response resource to detect the reception of the transmission request echo from the second device; and

a traffic data control module for controlling the transmitter module to transmit data to the second device during a traffic interval corresponding to the transmitted traffic request.

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

a connection identifier to transmission resource mapping module for determining a mapping of transmission request resources to connection identifiers for a first time interval and a second time interval, the first and second time intervals being different; and

wherein the mapping between transmission request resources and connection identifiers changes between the first and second time intervals.

20. The first communications device of claim 18, wherein said transmission request resources are tone symbols in a set of time—

frequency resources.

21. A first communications device comprising:

connection availability signal generation means for generating a signal conveying information identifying a set of available connection identifiers;

wireless transmitter means for transmitting said generated signal conveying information identifying a set of available connection identifiers to a second device; and

wireless receiver means for receiving from the second device information indicating a subset of said transmitted set of available connection identifiers, said subset of connection identifiers including identifiers to be used for a communications connection between said first and second devices.

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

connection identifier monitoring means for detecting signals received during a connection identifier broadcast interval and for determining unused connection identifiers, said set of available connection identifiers including connection identifiers indicated by signals received during said connection identifier broadcast interval to be unused connection identifiers.

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

connection availability response signal recovery means for identifying said subset of connection identifiers from the received information.

24. The first communications device of claim 22, further comprising:

peer communications control means for using a connection identifier included in said received subset to communicate with said second device over a connection.

25. The first communications device of claim 24, wherein said connection is a bi-directional connection.

26. A computer program product, comprising:

computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing a computer in a first device to monitor a connection identifier broadcast interval to identity unused connection identifiers;

code for causing a computer in said first device to transmit a set of available connection identifiers from the identified unused connection identifiers to a second device; and

code for causing a computer in said first device to receive from the second device a subset of said transmitted set of available connection identifiers, said subset of connection identifiers including identifiers to be used for a communications connection between said first and second devices.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises:

code for causing a computer in said first device to use a connection identifier included in said received subset to communicate with said second device.

28. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein said connection is a bi-directional connection.

29. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein said received subset includes multiple connection identifiers corresponding to a single communications link between said first and second devices.

30. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein different traffic transmission resources are associated with different connection identifiers, the different traffic transmission resources having different priorities.

31. An apparatus for use in a first communications device comprising:

a processor configured to;

monitor a connection identifier broadcast interval to identity unused connection identifiers;

transmit a set of available connection identifiers from the identified unused connection identifiers to a second device; and

receive from the second device a subset of said transmitted set of available connection identifiers, said subset of connection identifiers including identifiers to be used for a communications connection between said first and second devices.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the processor is further configured to:

use a connection identifier included in said received subset to communicate with said second device.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein said connection is a bidirectional connection.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein said received subset includes multiple connection identifiers corresponding to a single communications link between said first and second devices.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein different traffic transmission resources are associated with different connection identifiers, the different traffic transmission resources having different priorities.