RU2354079C2 - Acknowledgment and transmission rate control joining - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technologies.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed versions of realisation are focused on existing in technology demand in control with lowered overheads and possibility to adjust transmission rate as required. In one aspect the first signal indicates acknowledgment of decoded subpacket reception and if transmission rate control commands are generated, and the second signal conditionally indicates transmission rate control command if it has been generated. In another aspect transmission permit can be generated simultaneously with acknowledgement. In the next aspect mobile station controls the first signal, conditionally controls the second signal as it was specified by the first signal and is able to control the third signal containing transmission permit. In another aspect one or more base stations transmit one or more different signals. Also various other aspects are presented. These aspects have advantage in providing flexibility of control based on transmission permit while using lowered overheads if transmission rate control commands are used.

EFFECT: increase in system use efficiency and carrying capacity.

59 cl, 12 dwg, 1 tbl

Description

Priority claim under Section 119 § 35 of the U.S. Code (35 U.S.C.)

This patent application claims the priority of provisional patent application No. 60/493046 entitled "Reverse Link Rate Control for CDMA 2000 Rev D" filed on August 5, 2003, and provisional patent application No. 60/496297, entitled "Reverse Link Rate Control for CDMA 2000 Rev D", filed August 18, 2003.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present invention generally relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to the combination of transmission authorization, acknowledgment, and rate control channels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wireless communication systems are widely used to provide various types of information transfer, such as voice and data transmission. A typical wireless information system, or network, provides many users access to one or more shared resources. The system can use a number of multiple access methods, such as frequency division multiplexing (FDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), and others.

Exemplary wireless networks include cellular information systems. The following are some examples: (1) "TIA / EIA-95-B Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System" (IS-95 standard) (Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Systems broadband cellular communication with expanding the range of support for two modes), (2) a standard proposed by the consortium called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) (3rd Generation Partnership Partnership Project, PPSS3P) and presented in a set of documents including ordinal documents 3G TS 25.211, 3G TS 25.212, 3G TS 25.213, and 3G TS 25.214 (W-CDMA (Broadband CDMA)), (3) a standard proposed by the consortium called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) (3rd Generation Partnership Partnership Project 2, P2PSS3P) and presented in the TR-45.5 Physical Layer Standard for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems "(IS-2000 standard), (4) a high-speed data transmission system (HDR), which complies with the TIA / EIA / IS-856 standard (standard IS-856 Telecommunications Industry Association / Electronic Industry Association), and (5) Revision C of the IS-2000 standard, which includes documents C.S0001.C - C.S0006.C and related documents (including submissions of the subsequent Revision D), boznachaemye as an offer 1xEV-DV.

In an illustrative system, Revision D of the IS-2000 standard (currently under development), transmission by mobile stations on the reverse link is controlled by base stations. The base station may decide on the maximum transmission rate or the ratio of the traffic signal to the pilot signal (TPR) at which the mobile station is allowed to transmit. Two types of control mechanisms are currently offered: based on transmission permission and based on speed control.

In the case of control based on transmission permission, the mobile station returns back to the base station information related to the mobile station about the possibility of transmission, size of the data buffer and quality of service (QoS), etc. The base station monitors the feedback from multiple mobile stations and decides which stations are allowed to transmit, and determines the corresponding maximum transfer rate allowed for each. These solutions are delivered to mobile stations via transmission authorization messages.

In the case of control based on the transmission rate control, the base station adjusts the transmission rate of the mobile station to a limited range (i.e., one step of changing up, no change, or one step of changing down). The correction command is transmitted to mobile stations using a simple binary bit (bit) of speed control or a multi-valued indicator.

Under the conditions of a filled buffer, when active mobile stations have large amounts of data, methods based on transmission permissions and methods based on controlling the transmission rate have approximately the same efficiency. Without considering the overhead issues, a transmission-based method can better control a mobile station in situations with real-time traffic models. Without overhead, a transmission-based method can better manage flows with different QoS. Two types of transmission rate control can be distinguished, including the specialized transmission rate control approach, which sets a separate bit for each mobile station, and the general transmission rate control, using a separate bit per sector. Various hybrid circuits of these two approaches may assign bit rate control bits to a plurality of mobile stations. An overall baud approach may require less overhead. However, it can provide a lower degree of mobile station control compared to a more specialized control scheme. As the number of mobile devices transmitting at any given time decreases, the general method of controlling the transmission rate and the method of specialized controlling the transmission rate approach each other.

Methods based on transmission permission can quickly change the transmission rate of a mobile station. However, a purely permission-based method can be expensive if there are continuous changes in transmission speed. Similarly, a method based solely on transmission rate control may experience slow ramps and the same or higher overheads during ramps.

No approach provides reduced overhead and significant or quick adjustments to the transmission rate. Therefore, in the technique there is a need for control with reduced overhead, with the ability to adjust the transmission speed, as necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments disclosed herein address the need in the art for control at reduced overhead and with the ability to adjust the transmission rate as needed. In one aspect, the first signal indicates acknowledgment of the decoded subpacket and whether a baud control command is generated, and the second signal conditionally indicates a baud control command, if one is generated. In another aspect, transmission authorization may be generated at the same time as acknowledgment. In a further aspect, the mobile station monitors the first signal, conditionally monitors the second signal as indicated by the first signal, and can monitor a third signal containing transmission permission. In another aspect, one or more base stations transmit one or more different signals. Various other aspects are also presented. These aspects provide the advantage of providing flexibility of control based on transmission permission with less overhead if transmission rate control commands are used, thereby increasing system utilization, throughput, and performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a General block diagram of a wireless communication system capable of supporting multiple users.

Figure 2 - image of an exemplary mobile station and base station included in the configuration of a system adapted for data transmission.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of a wireless communication device, such as a mobile station or base station.

4 is a view of an exemplary embodiment of data and control signaling for the reverse link.

5 is an exemplary confirmation channel.

6 is an exemplary transmission rate control channel.

7 is an exemplary method used in a base station to allocate resource capabilities in response to requests and transmissions from one or more mobile stations.

Fig. 8 is an exemplary method for generating transmission permissions, acknowledgments, and baud control commands.

FIG. 9 is an example method for a mobile station to monitor and respond to transmission permissions, acknowledgment, and transmission rate control commands.

10 is a timing chart for an exemplary embodiment with integrated acknowledgment and rate control channels.

11 is a timing chart for an exemplary embodiment with integrated acknowledgment and transmission rate control channels, together with a new transmission resolution.

12 is a timing chart for an exemplary embodiment with integrated acknowledgment and transmission rate control channels without transmission permission.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments detailed below provide for the allocation of a shared resource, for example, shared by one or more mobile stations in a communication system, by predominantly controlling or adjusting one or more data rates in connection with various acknowledgment messages transmitted in the system.

Disclosed herein are methods for combining the use of transmission authorization channels, acknowledgment channels, and transmission rate control channels to provide a combination of transmission permission-based scheduling and rate-controlled scheduling, and useful results obtained. Various embodiments provide one or more of the following advantages: a quick increase in the transmission rate of the mobile station, a fast stop transmission of the mobile station, settings for the transmission speed of the mobile station with low overhead, confirmation of the transmission of the mobile station with low overhead, low overhead in general, and Quality Management (QoS) services for streams from one or more mobile stations. Various other benefits are detailed below.

One or more of the described exemplary embodiments are formulated in the context of a digital wireless communication system. Although use in this context is advantageous, other embodiments of the invention may be implemented in different environments or configurations. In general, the various systems described may be formed using software-controlled processors, integrated circuits, or discrete logic. Data, instructions, commands, information, signals, symbols and microcircuits that can be referenced throughout the description of the application are mainly represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or a combination thereof. In addition, the blocks shown in each flowchart may represent hardware or process steps.

More specifically, various embodiments of the invention may be implemented in a wireless communication system operating in accordance with a communication standard described and disclosed in various standards published by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and other standardization organizations. Such standards include the TIA / EIA-95 standard, the TIA / EIA-IS-2000 standard, the IMT-2000 standard, the UMTS standard (universal mobile communications system, UMTS) and WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access), the GSM standard (global mobile communication system), which are fully incorporated herein by reference. A copy of the standards can be obtained by writing to the TIA Standards and Technology Division at 2500 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201, United States of America. The standard, usually identified as the UMTS standard, incorporated herein by reference, can be obtained by contacting the 3GPP project support office at 650 Route des Lucioles-Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne-France (France).

1 is a diagram of a wireless communication system 100 that can be designed to support one or more CDMA standards and / or projects (e.g., W-CDMA standard, IS-95 standard, cdma2000 standard, HDR datasheet, 1xEV-DV system ) In an alternative embodiment, system 100 may further support any wireless standard or design other than a CDMA system. In an exemplary embodiment, system 100 is a 1xEV-DV system.

For simplicity, the system 100 is shown as including three base stations 104 in association with two mobile stations 106. The base station and its service area are generally collectively referred to as a “cell”. In IS-95, cdma2000, or 1xEV-DV systems, for example, a cell may include one or more sectors. In the W-CDMA datasheet, each base station sector and sector coverage area is referred to as a cell. As used herein, the term “base station” may be used interchangeably with the terms “access point” or “node B”. The term “mobile station” can be used interchangeably with the terms “user equipment” (software, UE), “subscriber module”, “subscriber station”, “access terminal”, “remote terminal”, or other relevant terms known in the art. The term "mobile station" covers fixed wireless communications applications.

Depending on the CDMA system being implemented, each mobile station 106 may communicate with one (or possibly several) base stations 104 on a forward link at any given moment and may interact with one or more base stations on a reverse link, depending on whether the mobile station is in flexible handoff mode. A forward link (i.e., a downlink) refers to transmission from a base station to a mobile station, and a reverse link (that is, an uplink) refers to transmission from a mobile station to a base station.

While the various embodiments described herein are aimed at providing reverse link or forward link signals to support reverse link transmission, and some may be well suited for the nature of reverse link transmission, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that mobile stations as well as base stations can be configured to transmit data as described herein, and aspects of the present invention are also applicable in these situations. The word "exemplary" is used in the sense of "used as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described as “exemplary” should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

1xEV-DV System Direct Link Data Transfer

System 100, such as described in 1xEV-DV, typically contains forward link channels that correspond to four groups: service channels, dynamically changing IS-95 and IS-2000 channels, forward packet data channel (F-PDCH), and some backup channels. Service channel allocations change slowly; for example, they may not change for months. They are usually changed when there are changes to the basic network configuration. Dynamically changing channels IS-95 and IS-2000 are allocated on a per-call basis or are used for packet and voice services according to IS-95, or IS-2000, versions 0 - B. Usually the available base station power remaining after distribution service channels and dynamically changing channels are allocated to the F-PDCH for the remaining data services.

The F-PDCH, like the IS-856 traffic channel, is used to send data at the highest acceptable data rate to one or two users in each cell at a time. In the IS-856 standard, the full power of the base station and the full space of Walsh functions are available when transmitting data to a mobile station. However, in the 1xEV-DV system, some power of the base station and some of the Walsh functions are allocated to service channels and available IS-95 and cdma2000 services. The data rate that can be supported depends primarily on the available power and Walsh codes after the powers and Walsh codes for the overhead channels, IS-95, and IS-2000 have been allocated. Data transmitted over the F-PDCH is spread out using one or more Walsh codes.

In a 1xEV-DV system, the base station typically transmits on the F-PDCH to one mobile station at a time, although many users in the cell may use packet services. (It is also possible to transfer to two users by scheduling transfers for these two users and allocating power and Walsh channels to each user appropriately). Mobile stations for forward link transmission are selected based on some scheduling algorithm.

In a system like IS-856 or 1xEV-DV, scheduling is based in part on feedback information about channel quality from served mobile stations. For example, in IS-856, mobile stations evaluate the quality of the forward link and calculate the transfer rate expected to support in the current environment. The desired transmission rate data from each mobile station is transmitted to the base station. The scheduling algorithm may, for example, select a mobile station for transmission that supports a relatively higher transmission rate in order to increase the efficiency of using a shared communication channel. As another example, in a 1xEV-DV system, each mobile station transmits, on a reverse channel channel quality indication (R-CQICH), an estimate of the ratio of carrier power to interference level (C / I) as an estimate of channel quality. The scheduling algorithm is used to determine in accordance with the quality of the channel the mobile station selected for transmission, as well as the appropriate transmission rate and transmission format.

As described above, the wireless communication system 100 can support multiple users sharing a communication resource at the same time, for example, the IS-95 system, can allocate a full communication resource to one user at a time, for example, the IS-856 system, or can proportionally allocate a communication resource to provide both types of access. The 1xEV-DV system is an example of a system that shares a communication resource between both types of access, and dynamically allocates a proportional distribution according to a user's requirement. An exemplary embodiment of a forward link is described above. Various exemplary reverse link embodiments are detailed below.

Figure 2 shows an example of a mobile station 106 and a base station 104, which are configured in a system 100 adapted to transmit data. Base station 104 and mobile station 106 are shown communicating on the forward and reverse links. The mobile station 106 receives the forward link signals at the receiving subsystem 220. The base station 104, which communicates via the direct data and control channels, described in detail below, can be defined as the serving station for the mobile station 106. An example of the receiving subsystem is described in detail below with reference to FIG. .3. An estimate (C / I) of the ratio of the carrier power to the interference level for the forward link signal received from the serving base station is performed at the mobile station 106. The C / I measurement is an example of a channel quality metric used as a channel estimate, and an alternative quality metric channel can be applied in alternative embodiments. The C / I measurement result is delivered to the transmission subsystem 210 in the base station 104, an example of which is presented in detail below with reference to FIG. 3.

Transmission subsystem 210 delivers a C / I estimate on the reverse link to a serving base station. In a flexible handover situation known in the art, reverse link signals transmitted from a mobile station may be received by one or more base stations other than the serving base station, defined as non-serving base stations. At base station 104, receiving subsystem 230 receives C / I information from mobile station 106.

At base station 104, a scheduling unit 240 is used to determine when and how data should be transmitted to one or more mobile stations within the coverage area of a serving cell. Any type of scheduling algorithm may be used within the scope of the present invention. One example is disclosed in US Patent Application No. 08/798951 to “Method and apparatus for scheduling a forward link transmission rate” of February 11, 1997 assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

In the exemplary 1xEV-DV embodiment, a mobile station is selected for forward link transmission if the C / I measurement received from this mobile station indicates that data can be transmitted at a particular transmission rate. Preferably, in terms of system capacity, the target mobile station is selected so that the shared communication resource is always used at its maximum supported transmission rate. Thus, a typical selected target mobile station may be one that has the highest transmitted C / I ratio. Other factors may also be included in decision making planning. For example, guarantees of a minimum level of quality of service could be implemented for various users. It may be that a mobile station with a relatively lower transmitted C / I is selected for transmission in order to maintain a minimum data rate for this user. It may be that the mobile station with the highest C / I ratio not selected is selected for transmission in order to maintain some kind of fairness criterion between all users.

In an example 1xEV-DV system, the scheduling unit 240 determines which mobile station to transmit to, as well as the data rate, modulation format, and power level for that transmission. In an alternative embodiment, such as an IS-856 system, for example, a decision on the supported baud rate / modulation format may be made at the mobile station based on the channel quality that is measured at the mobile station, and the transmission format may be transmitted to the serving base station instead C / I ratio measurements. Numerous combinations of supported transmission rates, modulation formats, power levels, and the like, which may be used within the scope of the present invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In addition, although in the various embodiments described herein, scheduling tasks are performed in a base station, in alternative embodiments, some or all of the scheduling processes may take place in a mobile station.

Scheduling unit 240 causes the transmission subsystem 250 to transmit to the selected mobile station in a forward link using the selected speed, modulation format, power level, and the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, messages on a control channel, or F-PDCCH (forward packet data control channel), are transmitted along with data on a data channel, or F-PDCH (forward packet data channel). The control channel can be used to identify the recipient mobile station receiving data on the F-PDCH, as well as to identify other communication parameters useful during the communication session. The mobile station should receive data from the F-PDCH and demodulate it if the F-PDCCH indicates that the mobile is the target for transmission. After receiving such data, the mobile station responds on the reverse link with a message indicating a successful or unsuccessful transmission. Retransmission techniques known in the art are commonly used in data transmission systems.

A mobile station can communicate with more than one base station, which is defined as a condition known as flexible handoff. Flexible handoff may include multiple sectors from one base station (or one base transceiver subsystem (BTS)), which is known as more flexible handoff, as well as sectors from multiple BTS. Sectors of a base station during a flexible handover are typically stored in the active set used by the mobile station. In a system with simultaneously shared communication resources, such as IS-95, IS-2000, or the corresponding part of the 1xEV-DV system, the mobile station may combine forward link signals transmitted from all sectors in the active set. In a data-only transmission system such as IS-856, or a corresponding part of the 1xEV-DV system, the mobile station receives the forward link signal from one base station from the active set, i.e. a serving base station (determined in accordance with a mobile station selection algorithm, such as described in C.S0002.C). Other forward link signals, examples of which are detailed below, may also be received from non-serving base stations.

Reverse link signals from a mobile station can be received at many base stations, and reverse link quality is typically maintained for active set base stations. Reverse link signals received by a plurality of base stations can be combined. In general, the flexible combination of reverse link signals from variously located base stations will require a significant bandwidth of the communication network with very low latency, so that the systems listed above fulfill this requirement. In the case of a more flexible handover, reverse link signals received by multiple sectors of a single BTS can be combined without signaling over the network. While any type of feedback signal combining can be applied within the scope of the present invention, in the exemplary systems described above, reverse link power control maintains such quality that reverse link frames are successfully decoded in one BTS (switching diversity).

Reverse link data transmission can also be performed in system 100. The described receiving subsystems 210-230 and transmission subsystem 250 can be used to send control signals on the forward link to control data transmission on the reverse link. Mobile stations 106 may also transmit control information on the reverse link. Various mobile stations 106 communicating with one or more base stations 104 may access a shared communication resource (i.e., a reverse channel that can be allocated in a variable manner, as in 1xEV-DV, or be constantly allocated, as in IS- 856), in accordance with various access control and transmission rate control methods, examples of which are detailed below. Block scheduling 240 may be used to determine reverse link resource allocation. Examples of control signals and data for data transmission on the reverse link are presented in detail below.

Exemplary Embodiments of a Base Station and a Mobile Station

Figure 3 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication device such as a mobile station 106 or a base station 104. The blocks depicted in this exemplary embodiment are generally a subset of the components included in the base station 104 or the mobile station 106. Those skilled in the art will be able to easily adapt the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 for use in any number of base station or mobile station configurations.

Signals are received by antenna 310 and provided to receiver 320. Receiver 320 performs processing in accordance with one or more standards for wireless systems, such as those listed above. Receiver 320 performs various processing, such as converting a radio frequency (RF) to a baseband, amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, and the like. Various methods of administration are known in the art. A receiver 320 may be used to measure the quality of the forward or reverse link channel if the device is a mobile station or base station, respectively, although a separate channel quality estimation unit 335 is shown for clarity of discussion, described in detail below.

Signals from receiver 320 are demodulated in demodulator 325 in accordance with one or more communication standards. In an exemplary embodiment, a demodulator capable of demodulating signals for 1xEV-DV is used. In alternative embodiments, further standards may be supported, and embodiments may support a variety of transmission formats. The demodulator 330 may perform multi-tap reception, correction, combining, deinterleaving, decoding, and various other functions as required according to the format of the received signals. Various demodulation techniques are known in the art. At base station 104, demodulator 325 will demodulate in accordance with the reverse link. At mobile station 106, demodulator 325 will demodulate in accordance with the forward link. The data channel and control channel described are examples of channels that can be received and demodulated at receiver 320 and demodulator 325. Forward channel data will be demodulated in accordance with the control channel signaling, as described above.

Message decoder 330 receives demodulated data and extracts signals or messages routed to mobile station 106 or base station 104 on the forward or reverse link, respectively. The message decoder 330 decodes the various messages used in setting up, maintaining and releasing a call channel (including voice or data sessions) in the system. Messages can include channel quality indications, such as C / I measurements, power control messages, or control channel messages used to demodulate the forward data channel. Various types of control messages can be decoded at base station 104 or at mobile station 106 when they are transmitted on reverse or forward links, respectively. For example, request messages and transmission authorization messages for scheduling reverse link data transmission that are generated in a mobile station or base station, respectively, are described below. Various other types of messages are known in the art and may be defined in various supported communication standards. Messages are provided to processor 350 for use in further processing. Some or all of the functions of message decoder 330 may be performed on processor 350, although a separate unit is shown for clarity of discussion. Alternatively, the demodulator 325 may decode certain information and send it directly to the processor 350 (examples are a one-bit message such as ACK / NAK (acknowledgment / absence of acknowledgment of receipt) or an up / down command (increase / decrease) of power control) . Various signals and messages for use in the disclosed embodiments are described in detail below.

A channel quality estimator 335 is connected to a receiver 320 and is used to perform various power level estimates for use in the described procedures, as well as for use in various other processing used in transmitting information, such as demodulation. At mobile station 106, C / I ratio measurements may be performed. In addition, measurements of any signal or channel used in the system may be performed in channel quality estimator 335 according to this embodiment. At base station 104 or mobile station 106, estimates of signal strength, for example, received pilot power, can be performed. Channel quality assessment unit 335 is shown as a separate unit for clarity of discussion only. Typically, such a unit is included in another unit, such as a receiver 320 or a demodulator 325. Various types of signal strength estimates can be performed, depending on which signal or what type of system is being evaluated. In general, any type of channel quality metric evaluation unit may be used in place of channel quality evaluation unit 335 within the scope of the present invention. At base station 104, channel quality estimates are provided to processor 350 for use in scheduling or determining reverse link quality, as described below. Channel quality estimates can be used to determine which power control commands — up or down — are required to bring the forward or reverse link power to the desired set value. The required setpoint can be determined using an external power control mechanism.

The signals are transmitted through an antenna 310. The transmitted signals are formatted at the transmitter 370 according to one or more wireless communication system standards, such as those listed above. Examples of components that can be included in the transmitter 370 are amplifiers, filters, digital-to-analog converters (DACs), radio frequency (RF) converters, and the like. Data for transmission is supplied to transmitter 370 by modulator 365. Data and control channels may be formatted for transmission in accordance with a number of formats. Data for transmission over the forward data channel may be formatted in modulator 365 in accordance with the transmission rate and modulation format specified by the scheduling algorithm in accordance with the C / I ratio or other measurement of channel quality. A scheduling unit, such as scheduling unit 240 described above, may reside in processor 350. Similarly, transmitter 370 may be required to transmit at a power level in accordance with a scheduling algorithm. Examples of components that may be included in the modulator 365 include encoders, interleaving units, extensions, and modulators of various kinds. The reverse link structure, including example modulation formats and access control suitable for use on a 1xEV-DV system, is also described below.

A message generating unit 360 may be used to prepare various types of messages, as described herein. For example, C / I messages may be generated in a mobile station for transmission on a reverse link. Various types of control messages may be generated at the base station 104 or at the mobile station 106 for transmission on the forward link or reverse link, respectively. For example, request messages and transmission authorization messages for scheduling data transmission on the reverse link to be generated in a mobile station or base station, respectively, are described below.

Data received and demodulated in demodulator 325 may be provided to processor 350 for use in voice or data transmissions, as well as to various other components. Similarly, data for transmission may be sent from processor 350 to modulator 365 and transmitter 370. For example, various data applications may be present on processor 350 or on another processor included with wireless communications device 104 or 106 (not shown). Base station 104 may be connected, through other equipment not shown, to one or more external networks, such as the Internet (not shown). Mobile station 106 may include a connection to an external device, such as a laptop computer (not shown).

The processor 350 may be a universal microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), or a specialized processor. The processor 350 may perform some or all of the functions of a receiver 320, a demodulator 325, a message decoder 330, a channel quality estimator 335, a message generation unit 360, a modulator 365, or a transmitter 370, as well as any other processing required by a wireless device. The processor 350 may be coupled to specialized hardware to facilitate these tasks (not shown in detail). Data or speech applications may be external, such as an externally connected laptop or network connection, may be executed on an additional processor in a wireless communications device 104 or 106 (not shown), or may be executed directly on processor 350. The processor 350 is connected to a storage device 355, which can be used to store data, as well as instructions for performing various procedures and methods described herein. Specialists in the art should understand that the storage device 355 may consist of one or more components of the storage devices of various types, which can be fully or partially integrated into the processor 350.

A typical data transmission system may include one or more channels of various types. More specifically, one or more data channels are typically used. One or more control channels are also commonly used, although in-band control signaling may be included in the data channel. For example, in a 1xEV-DV system, a forward packet data control channel (F-PDCCH) and a forward packet data channel (F-PDCH) are defined for transmission of control signals and data on a forward link, respectively. Various exemplary reverse link data channels are described in detail below.

1xEV-DV reverse link structure

This section describes various factors considered in designing an embodiment of a reverse link for a wireless communication system. In many embodiments, described in detail in the following sections, signals, parameters, and procedures that are related to the 1xEV-DV standard are used. This standard, described for illustrative purposes only, as each of the aspects described herein, and combinations thereof can be applied to any number of communication systems within the scope of the present invention. This section is used as a partial summary of various aspects of the invention, although it is not exhaustive. Exemplary embodiments are presented in detail in the following sections, which describe additional aspects.

In many cases, reverse link bandwidth is limited by interference. The base stations allocate available reverse link resources to the mobile stations for efficient use in order to maximize throughput in accordance with the quality of service (QoS) requirements for the various mobile stations.

Ensuring maximum utilization of the reverse link resource involves several factors. One factor under consideration is the totality of the planned reverse link transmissions from various mobile stations, each of which may in practice experience changing channel quality at any given point in time. In order to increase the overall throughput (the aggregate data transmitted by all mobile stations in the cell), it is desirable to fully utilize the entire reverse link whenever there is reverse link data to be forwarded. To fill available resources, mobile stations may be granted access at the highest transmission rate that they can support, and additional mobile stations may be granted access until the resource utilization limit is reached. One of the factors that a base station can take into account when deciding which mobile stations to plan is the maximum transmission rate that each mobile station can support and the amount of data that each mobile station must transmit. A higher performance mobile station may be selected instead of an alternative mobile station whose channel does not support higher performance.

Another factor to consider is the quality of service required by each mobile station. Although it may be permissible to delay access for one mobile station in hopes that the condition of the channel will improve, preferring instead to choose a better located mobile station, there may be a situation where access to the conditionally optimal mobile station is required while satisfying the minimum guarantees of quality of service. Thus, the planned data throughput may not be absolutely maximum, but rather maximized, taking into account the conditions of the channel, available transmit power of the mobile station, and service requirements. For any configuration, it is desirable to reduce the ratio of signal level to interference level for the selected population.

Various scheduling mechanisms are described below to enable the mobile station to transmit data on the reverse link. One category of reverse link transmissions includes a mobile station performing a reverse link transmission request. The base station determines whether there are resources to implement the request. Permission to transmit may be issued. This confirmation of the establishment of communication between the mobile station and the base station introduces a delay before data can be transmitted to the reverse link. For some categories of reverse link data, the delay may be acceptable. Other categories may be more sensitive to delay, and alternative reverse link transmission methods are described in detail below to reduce delay.

In addition, the resources of the reverse link are spent on the execution of the transfer request, and the resources of the forward link are spent on the response to the request, that is, on the permission of the transmission. If the channel quality of the mobile station is low, that is, low geometry or deep fading, then the power required in the forward link to reach the mobile station may be relatively high. Various methods are described in detail below to reduce the number or required transmit power of requests and transmission permissions required to transmit data on the reverse link.

In order to avoid the delay introduced by the confirmation of the establishment of the connection for request / permission of transmission, as well as to save the resources of the forward and reverse links required to support them, they support the autonomous mode of transmission on the reverse link. A mobile station can transmit data at a limited transmission rate on the reverse link without having to complete a request or wait for transmission permission.

It may also be desirable to modify the transmission rate of the mobile station transmitting in accordance with the transmission permission, or autonomously, without the overhead of allowing transmission. To accomplish this, baud control commands can be implemented in conjunction with autonomous transmission and scheduling based on request / grant of transmission. For example, a set of instructions may include a command to increase, decrease, and maintain a constant current transmission rate. Such transmission rate control commands may be addressed individually to each mobile station, or to groups of mobile stations. Various exemplary baud rate control commands, channels, and signals are detailed below.

The base station allocates a portion of the reverse link resource to one or more mobile stations. A mobile station that is allowed access is provided with a maximum power level. In the described embodiments, the reverse link resource is allocated using the ratio of the traffic signal to pilot (T / P). Since the pilot signal of each mobile station is adaptively controlled by power control, setting the T / P ratio indicates the available power for use in data transmission on the reverse link. The base station may issue specific transmission permissions for one or more mobile stations, indicating a T / P value specific to each mobile station. The base station may also issue a general transmission permission for the remaining mobile stations that requested access by indicating a maximum T / P value that is valid for these remaining mobile stations for transmission. Autonomous and planned transmission, individual and general transmission permissions, and transmission rate control are described in detail below.

Various scheduling algorithms are known and continue to be developed in the art that can be used to determine various specific and general T / P values for transmission permissions, as well as the required commands for controlling the transmission rate in accordance with the number of registered mobile stations, the probability of autonomous transmission by mobile stations, the number and the size of incomplete requests, the expected average response to transmission permissions, and a number of other factors. In one example, a selection from a set of requesting mobile stations is based on the priority of Quality of Service (QoS), efficiency, and achievable throughput. A possible planning method is disclosed in co-filed US Patent Application No. 10/651810, to “A System and Method for a Time-Scalable and Priority-Based Scheduler” of August 28, 2003, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Additional references include US Pat. No. 5,914,950 on “Method and apparatus for planning a reverse link bit rate” and US Pat. No. 5,923,650 of the same name, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

A mobile station may transmit a data packet using one or more subpackets, each subpacket containing complete packet information (each subpacket is not necessarily equally encoded since different encoding or redundancy for all different subpackets can be applied). Retransmission techniques can be applied to ensure reliable transmission, for example, automatic retransmission request (ARQ). Thus, if the first subpacket is received without error (using, for example, CRC (cyclic redundancy code)), then a positive acknowledgment (ACK) is sent to the mobile station, and additional subpackets will not be sent (each subpacket contains the complete packet information in one form or another). If the first subpacket is not received correctly, a NAK will be sent to the mobile station, and the second subpacket will be transmitted. The base station can combine the energy from these two subpackets and try to decode. The process can be repeated endlessly, although the maximum number of subpackets is usually specified. In the described embodiments, up to four subpackets may be transmitted. Thus, the probability of correct reception increases as additional subpackets are received. Various methods for combining ARQ responses, baud rate control commands, and transmission permissions to provide the required level of flexibility in selecting baud rates with acceptable levels of overhead are presented in detail below.

As described above, the mobile station may choose a trade-off between bandwidth and delay during the decision whether to use autonomous transmission to transmit data with a lower delay time, or to request transmission at a higher speed and wait for a general or specific transmission permission. In addition, for a given T / P, the mobile station may select a data rate to match delay time or throughput. For example, a mobile station with a relatively small amount of bits for transmission may decide that a low delay time is desired. For the available T / P (possibly the maximum for autonomous transmission in this example, but there may also be a T / P specific or general resolution of the transmission), the mobile station can choose the transmission speed and modulation format, so that the probability that the base station correctly receives the first subpackage is high. Although a retransmission will be available if necessary, it is likely that this mobile station will be able to transmit its information bits in one subpacket. In the various embodiments described, each subpacket is transmitted within 5 ms. Therefore, in this example, the mobile station can perform immediate autonomous transmission, which is likely to be received at the base station after a 5 ms interval. Alternatively, the mobile station may use additional subpackets to increase the amount of data transmitted for a given T / P. Therefore, the mobile station may select autonomous transmission to reduce the delay time associated with transmission requests and permissions, and may further coordinate throughput with a particular T / P in order to minimize the number of subpackets required (hence, delay time). Even if the full number of subpackets is selected, autonomous transmission will be carried out with less delay than request and transmission permission for relatively small data transfers. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that as the amount of data to transmit, requiring many packets for transmission, increases, the total delay time can be reduced by switching to the request format and allowing the transmission, since the inconvenience of requesting and allowing the transmission will be ultimately offset by increased bandwidth due to the higher data rate compared to the transmission of multiple packets. This process is presented in detail below, with an approximate set of transmission rates and formats that may be associated with different T / P distributions.

Reverse Link Data Transmission

One of the goals of the reverse link scheme may be to keep the excess over thermal noise (RoT) parameter (the ratio of the total received power to the thermal noise power) at a base station while the reverse link data to be transmitted is available. The reverse link data channel transmission is processed in three different modes:

Offline transmission : This case is used for traffic requiring low latency. The mobile station is allowed to transmit immediately, up to a certain transmission rate determined by the serving base station (i.e., the base station to which the mobile station addresses its channel quality indicator (CQI)). A serving base station is also referred to as a base station performing scheduling, or a base station issuing transmission permissions. The maximum allowable speed for autonomous transmission can be signaled dynamically by the serving base station based on system load, congestion, etc.

Planned transmission : the mobile station sends an estimate of its buffer size, available power, and possibly other parameters. The base station determines when the mobile station is allowed to transmit. The scheduler's goal is to limit the number of simultaneous transmissions, thus reducing the mutual influence between mobile stations. The scheduler may try to ensure the transmission of mobile stations in the areas between the cells at lower speeds in order to reduce the mutual influence on the neighboring cells, and directly control the RoT parameter for improving the voice quality in the R-FCH channel (reverse main channel), DV feedback on the channel R-CQICH and acknowledgment on the R-ACKCH (reverse acknowledgment channel), as well as system stability.

Controlled-speed transmission : regardless of whether the mobile station transmits according to plan (i.e., by permission) or autonomously, the base station can adjust the transmission rate by transmitting rate control commands. Transmission rate control commands include increasing, decreasing or maintaining the current transmission rate. Additional commands may be included to specify a change in transmission rate (i.e., increase or decrease value). Transmission rate control commands may be probabilistic or deterministic.

The various embodiments presented comprise one or more features designed to improve the throughput, capacity, and efficiency of the reverse link as a whole for a wireless communication system. To illustrate, the information part of the 1xEV-DV system is described, in particular, the optimization of transmission by various mobile stations on the reverse extended supplemental channel (R-ESCH). The various forward and reverse link channels used in the embodiments are described in detail in this section. These channels are usually a subset of the channels used in a communication system.

Figure 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of data signals and control signals for transmitting data on the reverse link. Mobile station 106 communicates via different channels, each channel being connected to one or more base stations 104A-104C. Base station 104A is designated as performing scheduling. Other base stations 104B and 104C are part of the active set of the mobile station 106. Four types of reverse link signals and four types of forward link signals are shown. They are described below.

R-REQCH

The reverse request channel (R-REQCH) is used by the mobile station to request from the scheduling base station for transmitting data on the reverse link. In an exemplary embodiment, the requests are for transmission on the R-ESCH (described in detail below). In an exemplary embodiment, an R-REQCH request includes a T / P ratio that a mobile station can support, varying in accordance with changing channel conditions, and a buffer size (i.e., the amount of data awaiting transmission). The request may also specify the quality of service (QoS) for data awaiting transmission. The mobile station may have a separate QoS level indicated for the mobile station, or, alternatively, different QoS levels for different types of service options. Higher layer protocols may indicate QoS or other required parameters (such as delay time or throughput requirements) for various data services. In an alternative embodiment, a reverse dedicated control channel (R-DCCH) used in conjunction with other reverse link signals, such as a reverse main channel (R-FCH) (eg, used for voice services), can be used to transmit access requests. Typically, access requests may be described as containing a logical channel, i.e., a reverse scheduling request channel (R-SRCH), which can be mapped to any existing physical channel, such as an R-DCCH. An exemplary embodiment is backward compatible with existing CDMA systems, such as IS-2000 version C, and the R-REQCH is a physical channel that can be used in the absence of an R-FCH or R-DCCH. For clarity, in the described embodiments, the term R-REQCH is used to describe an access request channel, although those skilled in the art can easily extend the principles of the invention to any type of access request system, regardless of whether the access request channel is logical or physical. The R-REQCH can be gated until a request is needed, thereby reducing interference and saving system resources.

In an exemplary embodiment, the R-REQCH contains 12 input bits, including the following: 4 bits to indicate the maximum T / P for the R-ESCH that the mobile device can support, 4 bits to indicate the amount of data in the buffer of the mobile device, and 4 bits to indicate QoS. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of bits and various other fields may be included in alternative embodiments.

F-gch

The forward transmission authorization channel (F-GCH) is transmitted to the mobile station from the scheduling base station. An F-GCH may be composed of multiple channels. In an exemplary embodiment, a common F-GCH is used to implement common transmit permissions, and one or more individual F-GCHs are used to implement individual transmit permissions. Transmission permissions are generated by the scheduling base station in response to one or more requests from one or more mobile stations on their respective R-REQCH channels. Transmission authorization channels may be labeled GCH _x , with the subscript x identifying the channel number. Channel number 0 can be used to indicate a common transmit enable channel. If N individual channels are applied, the subscript x can vary from 1 to N.

Individual transmission authorization may be performed for one or more mobile stations, giving permission for the identified mobile station to transmit on the R-ESCH channel at a specified T / P ratio or lower. Implementing forward link transmission permissions will naturally introduce unproductive overheads that use part of the forward link resource. Various optional options for reducing the overhead associated with transmission permissions are presented herein, and other such features will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the inventive concept.

One of the factors taken into account is that the mobile stations will be located so that each will experience a changing channel quality. Thus, for example, a high geometry mobile station with a good quality forward and reverse link may require relatively low power for the transmit enable signal and may be able to take advantage of high speed data transfer, and therefore is desirable for individual transmit enable. A low geometry mobile station experiencing deeper attenuation may require significantly more power to reliably receive individual transmit resolution. Such a mobile station may not be the best candidate for individual transmission authorization. The overall transmission resolution for such a mobile station, described in detail below, may be associated with lower costs incurred in overhead of the forward link.

In an exemplary embodiment, a number of individual F-GCH channels are applied to provide an appropriate number of individual transmission permissions at a particular time. F-GCHs are code division multiplexed. This allows each transmission permission to be transmitted at the level of power required to reach a particular mobile station. In an alternative embodiment, a separate channel of individual transmission permissions may be used in conjunction with a number of time-multiplexed individual transmission permissions. The ability to vary the power of each transmit resolution over a time division multiplexed individual F-GCH may add additional complexity. Any signaling technique for delivering general or individual transmission permissions may be applied within the scope of the present invention.

In some embodiments, a relatively large number of individual transmission authorization channels (i.e., F-GCH channels) are used to provide for a relatively large number of individual transmission permissions at one time. In such a case, it may be desirable to limit the number of individual transmission authorization channels that each mobile station must control. In one exemplary embodiment, various subsets of the total number of individual transmission authorization channels are determined. Each mobile station is assigned to control a subset of the individual transmission authorization channels. This enables the mobile station to reduce processing complexity and accordingly reduce power consumption. The tradeoff is the flexibility of scheduling, since the scheduling base station may not be able to arbitrarily assign sets of individual transmission permissions (for example, all individual transmission permissions cannot be implemented for elements of a particular group, since these elements are not designed to control one or more individual transmission permission channels ) This loss of flexibility does not necessarily result in loss of bandwidth. For illustration, consider an example with four individual transmission authorization channels. Numbered even-numbered mobile stations can be assigned to control the first two channels of transmission authorization, and numbered odd-numbered mobile stations can be assigned to control the last two. In another example, the subsets may overlap, so that even mobile stations monitor the first three transmission authorization channels, and odd mobile stations monitor the last three transmission authorization channels. It is understood that the scheduling base station cannot arbitrarily distribute four mobile stations from any group (even numbers or odd). These examples are illustrative only. Any number of channels with any subset configuration may be used within the scope of the present invention.

The remaining mobile stations that have made a request but have not accepted an individual transmission permission may be given permission to transmit on the R-ESCH using the general transmission permission, which sets the maximum T / P ratio that each of the other mobile stations must strictly adhere to. A common F-GCH may also be referred to as a forward common transmission authorization channel (F-CGCH). A mobile station monitors one or more individual transmission authorization channels (or a subset thereof), as well as a common F-GCH. If no individual transmission permission is set, the mobile station may transmit if a general transmission permission is issued. The total transmission permission indicates the maximum T / P ratio at which the remaining mobile stations (mobile stations of the general transmission permission) can transmit data with a specific type of QoS.

In an exemplary embodiment, each total transmission grant is valid for a number of transmission intervals of a subpacket. By accepting a general transmission permission, a mobile station that sent a request but does not receive an individual transmission permission may begin transmitting one or more encoder packets (encoded packets) within subsequent transmission intervals. Transmission authorization information may be repeated several times. This allows you to transmit the total transmission resolution at a reduced power level relative to the individual transmission resolution. Each mobile station can combine the energy of multiple transmissions to reliably decrypt the overall resolution of the transmission. Therefore, the total transmission resolution can be selected for mobile stations with low geometry, for example, in the case where the individual transmission resolution is considered too costly in terms of forward link throughput. However, general transfer permissions nonetheless require non-productive costs, and various ways to reduce these non-productive costs are detailed below.

The base station sends an F-GCH to each mobile station that the base station plans to transmit a new R-ESCH channel packet. It can also be sent during the transmission or retransmission of the encoder packet, causing the mobile station to change the T / P ratio corresponding to its transmission for subsequent subpackets of the encoder packet in case congestion control becomes necessary.

In an exemplary embodiment, the total transmission resolution consists of 12 bits, including a 3-bit type field specifying the format of the next nine bits. The remaining bits indicate that the maximum allowable T / P ratio for 3 categories of mobile devices, as indicated in the type field with 3 bits indicating the maximum allowable T / P ratio for each category. Categories of mobile devices may be based on QoS requirements, or other criteria. Various other general transmission resolution formats are contemplated, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In an exemplary embodiment, the individual transmit permission contains 12 bits, including 11 bits for setting the identifier (ID) of the mobile device and the maximum allowable T / P ratio for the mobile station that is granted permission to transmit, or for explicitly signaling the mobile station to change its maximum allowable the T / P ratio, including setting to 0 the maximum allowable T / P ratio (i.e., the mobile station is instructed not to transmit the R-ESCH). The bits indicate the ID of the mobile station (1 of 192 values) and the maximum allowable T / P (1 of 10 values) for the specified mobile device. In an alternative embodiment, a sustained transmit enable bit may be set for the indicated mobile device. If the bit of the long transmission permission is set to one, then the mobile station is granted permission to transmit a relatively large fixed, predetermined number (which can be updated by signaling) of packets in this ARQ channel. If the long transmit enable bit is set to zero, then the mobile station is allowed to transmit one packet. A mobile device may be instructed to turn off the transmission of its R-ESCH channel by indicating the T / P ratio of zero, and this can be used to signal the mobile station to turn off its transmission on the R-ESCH channel for a single packet to transmit a single subpacket if the long transmission permission bit is off , or for a longer period if the long transmit enable bit is turned on.

In one exemplary embodiment, the mobile station only monitors the F-GCH from the serving base station. If the mobile station receives the F-GCH channel message, then the mobile station acts in accordance with the transmission rate information in the F-GCH channel message and ignores the transmission rate control bits. An alternative would be for the mobile station to use the rule that if a transmission rate control indicator from a base station other than the serving base station indicates a decrease in transmission rate (i.e., the RATE_DECREASE command, described in detail below), then the mobile station will decrease its speed, even if the F-GCH indicates gain.

In an alternative embodiment, the mobile station may monitor the F-GCH from all base stations or from a subset of base stations from its active set. A higher signaling level indicates to the mobile station which F-GCHs to control and how to combine them when assigning the channels, via a handover instruction message, or other messages. A subset of F-GCHs from different base stations may be combined in a flexible manner. A mobile station will be notified of this feature. After possible flexible combining of F-GCH channels from different base stations, there may still be many F-GCH channels at any time. The mobile station may then select the transmission rate as the lowest allowed transmission rate (or according to some other rule).

R-PICH

The reverse pilot transmission channel (pilot channel) (R-PICH) is transmitted from the mobile station to the base stations in the active set. R-PICH channel power may be measured at one or more base stations for use in reverse link power control. As is known in the art, pilot signals can be used to provide amplitude and phase measurements for use in coherent demodulation. As described above, the amount of transmit power available to the mobile station (limited by the scheduling base station or the own restrictions of the power amplifier of the mobile station) is divided between the pilot channel, the traffic channel or channels, and the control channels. Additional pilot power may be necessary for higher data rates and modulation formats. To simplify the use of R-PICH for power control and to avoid some problems associated with instantaneous changes in the required pilot power, an additional channel can be allocated for use as an additional or secondary pilot channel. Although, typically, pilot signals are transmitted using known data sequences, an information signal may also be used to generate reference information for demodulation. In an exemplary embodiment, the R-RICH is used to transmit additional required pilot power.

R-RICH

The reverse rate indication channel (R-RICH) is used by the mobile station to indicate the transmission format of the reverse R-ESCH traffic channel. This channel can alternatively be referred to as a reverse packet data control channel (R-PDCCH).

The R-RICH channel may be transmitted whenever a mobile station transmits a subpacket. The R-RICH can also be transmitted indicating zero bit rate when the mobile station is in the idle state on the R-ESCH. The R-RICH zero frame rate transmission (R-RICH, which indicates that the R-ESCH is not being transmitted) helps the base station detect that the mobile station is idle, maintain reverse link power control for the mobile station, and perform other functions.

The start of the R-RICH frame is the time coinciding with the start of the current R-ESCH transmission. The length of the R-RICH frame may be the same or shorter than that for the corresponding R-ESCH transmission. The R-RICH channel transmits a transmission format for simultaneously transmitting the R-ESCH, such as payload, subpacket identifier (ID) and ARQ instance sequence number (AI_SN), and cyclic redundancy check code (CRC) for error detection. An example of AI_SN is a bit that is "flipped" to a different state each time a new packet is transmitted on a particular ARQ, sometimes referred to as a "color bit". This can be used for asynchronous ARQ, in which there is no established synchronization between subpacket transmissions as part of a packet. The color bit can be used to prevent the receiver from combining the subpacket (s) for one packet with the subpackage (s) of a neighboring packet in the same ARQ channel. R-RICH may also carry additional information.

R-ESCH

A Reverse Enhanced Auxiliary Channel (R-ESCH) is used as a reverse link data traffic channel in the described exemplary embodiments. Any number of transmission rates and modulation formats may be used for R-ESCH. In an exemplary embodiment, the R-ESCH has the following characteristics: physical layer retransmissions are supported. For retransmissions, when the first code is the “1/4 bit rate” code (Rate 1/4), the retransmission uses the “1/4 bit rate” code Rate 1/4, and energy combining is used. For retransmission, when the first code is a transmission rate that is greater than 1/4, then increasing redundancy is used. The main code is a 1/5 bit rate code. Alternatively, increasing redundancy for all cases can also be used.

Hybrid Automatic Repeat Query (HARQ) is supported for both standalone and scheduled users, both of whom can access the R-ESCH.

Many synchronous operations of the ARQ channel can be supported by the established synchronization between retransmissions: a specified number of subpackets between consecutive subpackets of the same packet may be allowed. Alternate transmissions are also permitted. As an example, for 5 ms frames, 4 ARQ channels with a delay of 3 subpackets between subpackets can be supported.

Table 1 lists the approximate data rates for the extended reverse supplemental channel. A 5 ms subpacket is described, and the accompanying channels are designed to satisfy this choice. Other subpacket sizes may also be selected, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. A reference pilot level is not set for these channels, that is, the base station has the flexibility to select T / P to determine a given operating point. This maximum T / P value is transmitted on the forward transmit enable channel. A mobile station may use a lower T / P if it goes beyond transmit power, allowing the HARQ to satisfy the required QoS. Layer 3 signaling messages can also be transmitted on the R-ESCH, allowing the system to operate without R-FCH and / or R-DCCH.

Table 1
Reverse Extended Auxiliary Channel Options The number of bits per encoder packet Number of time slots 5 ms Data Rate (Kbps) Data Rate / 9.6 Kbps Code rate Character repetition rate before interleaving Modulation Walsh Canals Number of binary code characters in all subpackets Effective code rate, including repetition 192 four 9.6 1,000 1/4 2 BPSK by I + + - - 6,144 1/32 192 3 12.8 1,333 1/4 2 BPSK by I + + - - 4,608 1/24 192 2 19.2 2,000 1/4 2 BPSK by I + + - - 3,072 1/16 192 one 38,4 4,000 1/4 2 BPSK by I + + - - 1,536 1/8 384 four 19.2 2,000 1/4 one BPSK by I + + - - 6,144 1/16 384 3 25.6 2,667 1/4 one BPSK by I + + - - 4,608 1/12 384 2 38,4 4,000 1/4 one BPSK by I + + - - 3,072 1/8 384 one 76.8 8,000 1/4 one BPSK by I + + - - 1,536 1/4 768 four 76.8 4,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - 12,288 1/16 768 3 102,4 5,333 1/4 one QPSK + + - - 9,216 1/12 768 2 153.6 8,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - 6,144 1/8 768 one 307.2 16,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - 3,072 1/4 1,536 four 76.8 8,000 1/4 one QPSK + - 24,576 1/16 1,536 3 102,4 10,667 1/4 one QPSK + - 18,432 1/12 1,536 2 153.6 16,000 1/4 one QPSK + - 12,288 1/8 1,536 one 307.2 32,000 1/4 one QPSK + - 6,144 1/4 2,304 four 115,2 12,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - / + - 36,864 1/16 2,304 3 153.6 16,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - / + - 27,648 1/12 2,304 2 230,4 24,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - / + - 18,432 1/8 2,304 one 460.8 48,000 1/4 one QPSK + + - - / + - 9,216 1/4 3,072 four 153.6 16,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 36,864 1/12 3,072 3 204.8 21,333 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 27,648 1/9 3,072 2 307.2 32,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 18,432 1/6 3,072 one 614.4 64,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 9,216 1/3 4,608 four 230,4 24,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 36,864 1/8 4,608 3 307.2 32,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 27,648 1/6 4,608 2 460.8 48,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 18,432 1/4 4,608 one 921.6 96,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 9,216 1/2 6,144 four 307.2 32,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 36,864 1/6 6,144 3 409.6 42,667 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 27,648 2/9 6,144 2 614.4 64,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 18,432 1/3 6,144 one 1228.8 128,000 1/5 one QPSK + + - - / + - 9,216 2/3

In an exemplary embodiment, turbo coding is used for all speeds. When encoding R = 1/4, an interleaver is used, similar to the existing cdma2000 reverse link. When encoding R = 1/5, an interleaver is used, similar to the direct packet data channel of the cdma2000 system.

The number of bits per encoder packet includes CRC bits and 6 end combination bits. For a size of 192 bits for an encoder packet, 12 bits are used for CRC; as an option, 16 bits are used for CRC. It is believed that 5 ms time slots are separated by 15 ms intervals to provide time for ACK / NAK responses. If ACK is accepted, the remaining packet time slots are not transmitted.

The 5 ms duration for the subpacket and the associated parameters described above serve only as an example. Any number of combinations of speeds, formats, options for repeating a subpacket, duration of a subpacket, etc. will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the idea of the invention. An alternative embodiment with a duration of 10 ms using 3 ARQ channels can be applied. In one embodiment, one subpacket duration or frame size is selected. For example, a structure of either 5 ms or 10 ms may be selected. In an alternative embodiment, the system may support multiple frame durations.

F-CPCCH

The forward common power control channel (F-CPCCH) can be used to control the power of various reverse link channels, including R-ESCH, if F-FCH (forward main channel) and F-DCCH (forward dedicated control channel) are not present, or if F-FCH and F-DCCH are present but not allocated to the user. After channel allocation, a reverse link power control channel is assigned to the mobile station. The F-CPCCH may comprise a number of power control subchannels.

The F-CPCCH may transmit a power control subchannel called a common congestion control subchannel (F-OLCH). An exemplary sub-channel for congestion control is typically transmitted at 100 bps, although other transmission rates may be used. A single bit (which can be repeated for reliability), denoted in this case as a busy bit, indicates to mobile stations that are in the autonomous transmission mode and / or in the mode of general transmission permission to increase or decrease their speed. In an alternative embodiment, individual transmission authorization modes may also be sensitive to this bit. Various embodiments may be used with any combination of F-OLCH responsive transmission types. This can be done in a probabilistic or deterministic way.

In one embodiment, setting the busy bit to “0” indicates that mobile stations responding to the busy bit should decrease their transmission rate. Setting the busy bit to “1” indicates a corresponding increase in transmission speed. Various other signaling schemes may be employed, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and various alternative examples are detailed below.

In channel allocation, these special power control channels are assigned to the mobile station. The power control channel may control all mobile devices in the system, or alternatively, variable subsets of the mobile stations may be controlled by one or more power control channels. Using this particular channel to control congestion is just one example.

F-ACKCH

The F-ACKCH forward acknowledgment channel is used by the base station to confirm the correct reception of the R-ESCH, and can also be used to extend the current transmission grant. Acknowledgment (ACK) on the F-ACKCH indicates proper reception of the subpacket. Additional transmission of this subpacket by the mobile station is optional. Negative acknowledgment (NAK) on the F-ACKCH allows the mobile station to transmit another subpacket with a restriction according to the maximum number of subpackets per packet.

In the described embodiments, the F-ACKCH is used to provide positive or negative acknowledgment of the received subpacket, and also to indicate whether transmission rate control commands (described below for the F-RCCH) will be issued.

5 is an exemplary embodiment illustrating a three-digit F-ACKCH channel. This F-ACKCH consists of a separate indicator transmitted from one or more base stations to a mobile station to indicate whether R-ESCH transmission from the mobile station has been correctly received by the corresponding base station. In an exemplary embodiment, the F-ACKCH channel indicator is transmitted by each base station from the active set. Alternatively, the F-ACKCH may be transmitted with a given subset of the active set. The set of base stations transmitting the F-ACKCH can be defined as the active set of F-ACKCH. The active F-ACKCH set may be signaled to the mobile station through signaling layer 3 (L3) and may be determined by channel allocation, in a handover control message (HDM), or by other methods known in the art.

For example, the F-ACKCH may be a 3-state channel with the following values: NAK, ACK_RC, and ACK_STOP. NAK means that the packet from the mobile station must be retransmitted (however, if the last subpacket has already been sent, the mobile station may need to resend the packet using any available method, such as request / enable transmission, transmission rate control, or offline transmission) . The mobile station may need to monitor the speed control indicator in the corresponding F-RCCH (detailed below) if the NAK corresponds to a subpacket of the last packet.

ACK_RC means that no retransmissions of the packet from the mobile station are required, and the mobile station must monitor the rate control indicator in the corresponding F-RCCH. ACK_STOP also indicates that no retransmission is required. However, in this case, the mobile station should return offline for the next transmission, unless the mobile station receives F-GCH transmission authorization messages, as described above.

L3 signaling may indicate whether the mobile station flexibly combines F-ACKCH indicators from various base stations from its active set. This may be equivalent to processing power control bits in accordance with IS-2000 version C. For example, an indicator, for example, ACK_COMB_IND may be sent after channel allocation and in handover messages, which indicates whether the mobile station should combine F-ACKCH indicators from different base stations. Various methods may be used to transmit the F-ACKCH, examples of which are given below. Some examples include a single TDM (time division multiplex) channel, a TDM / CDM (code division multiplex) channel, or some other format.

In this example, there are two groups of F-ACK channel monitoring results, depending on whether the packet has acknowledgment or not. If NAK is accepted, then a number of options are available. The mobile station may send additional subpackets until the maximum number of subpackets is sent. (In an exemplary embodiment, the subpackets are sent using the same transmission format for any initiated through autonomous or permitted transmission, and whether or not an object of the transmission rate control modification. In an alternative embodiment, the transmission format of the subpacket may be changed using any of the methods described)) . After receiving the NAK for the final subpacket, the mobile station can either take action on the appropriate baud control commands (to control the F-RCCH), stop the transmission according to the previous transmission permission or baud control command (i.e., return to offline transmission, if necessary) , or respond to a new received transmission permission.

If an ACK is received, this may correspond to a baud command or a stop indication. If baud rate control is indicated, then checking and monitoring the baud rate control channel (F-RCCH) is performed. If the result is a shutdown, then the mobile station does not follow the indicators for controlling the transmission rate on the F-RCCH and returns to offline mode (transmitting up to the assigned maximum autonomous transmission rate). If an explicit transmission permission is received at the same time as ACK_STOP, then the mobile station follows the command contained in the explicit transmission permission.

For example, first we consider a single element of the active set or the case when the indicators from all sectors are the same (and are thus denoted by ACK_COMB_IND). In this case, there is a single result indicator. If the mobile station receives the NAK (no indicator transmitted), then the mobile station retransmits the next subpacket (at the appropriate time). If the mobile station does not accept the ACK for the last subpacket, then the mobile station proceeds to the next packet (the erroneous packet may be retransmitted according to the corresponding executable retransmission algorithm). However, the mobile station perceives this as an indication of the transmission rate control (that is, it controls the transmission rate control channel).

In this example, the general rule is as follows (applies to a single element of the active set, and to many separate elements of the active set F-ACKCH). If the indicator is ACK_STOP or ACK_RC, the result is ACK. If none of the indicators is neither ACK_STOP nor ACK_RC, then the result is NAK. Then, with respect to the transmission rate control, if any indicator is ACK_STOP, then the mobile station will stop (i.e., return to offline mode, or respond to the transmission permission, if any). If no indicator is ACK_STOP, and at least one indicator is ACK_RC, then the indicator in the transmission rate control channel (F-RCCH) that corresponds to the base station is decoded. If the last subpacket was transmitted, and all indicators are NAK, then the indicator is decoded in the transmission rate control channels (F-RCCH) for all base stations. The response to the baud control commands in these scenarios is presented in detail below with respect to the description of the F-RCCH.

The ACK_RC command combined with the transmission rate control channel can be considered as a group of commands designated as ACK-and-Continue commands (acknowledgment and continued). The mobile station may continue to transmit subsequent packets and act in accordance with various transmission rate control commands that may be issued (examples detailed below). The ACK-and-Continue command enables the base station to confirm successful reception of the packet and, at the same time, to allow the mobile station to transmit using the transmit permission, which led to the successfully received packet (with possible changes in accordance with the transmission rate control commands). This reduces the overhead for a new transmission permit.

In the embodiment of the F-ACKCH of FIG. 5, a positive value for the ACK_STOP symbol, a NULL symbol for NAK, and a negative value for the ACK_RC symbol are used. Manipulation (on / off) (that is, without transmitting NAK) on the F-ACKCH provides the base stations (especially those not scheduling base stations) the option not to transmit ACK when the cost of doing this (required power) is too high. This provides the base station with a compromise between forward link and reverse link throughput, since a correctly received packet that is not acknowledged by the ACK will probably trigger a retransmission at a later point in time.

Within the scope of the present invention, a number of methods can be applied to send an F-ACKCH. Individual signals for each mobile station can be combined in a common channel. For example, acknowledgment responses for multiple mobile stations may be time multiplexed. In an exemplary embodiment, up to 96 mobile device identifiers may be supported on a single F-ACKCH. Optional F-ACKCHs can be used to support additional mobile device identifiers.

Another example is the mapping of multiple acknowledgment signals for multiple mobile stations to a set of orthogonal functions. The Hadamard encoder is an example of an encoder designed to be mapped onto a set of orthogonal functions. Various other methods may also be used. For example, any Walsh code or other similar error correction codes may be used to encode information bits. For different users, transmissions can be carried out at different power levels if each subchannel independently has an independent channel gain. An exemplary F-ACKCH transmits one dedicated three-digit flag per user. Each user monitors the F-ACKCH from all base stations in their active set (or, alternatively, the alarm can set a reduced active set to reduce complexity).

In various embodiments, each of the two channels uses a Walsh cover sequence of 128 chips. One channel is transmitted on channel I (common mode channel), and the other on channel Q (quadrature channel). Another embodiment of the F-ACKCH utilizes a separate Walsh overlay of 128 chips to support up to 192 mobile stations simultaneously. In an exemplary embodiment, a three-digit flag of 10 ms duration is used.

If the mobile station has a transmission packet that requires the use of the R-ESCH, it may send a request on the R-REQCH. The base station may respond with a transmit resolution using the F-GCH. However, this operation can be relatively expensive. To reduce forward link overhead, the F-ACKCH may send an ACK_RC flag that extends the available transmit resolution (designed to control the transmission rate) at low cost by the scheduling base station (or others if flexible handoff permissions from multiple are supported base stations). This method works for both individual and general transfer permissions. ACK_RC is used from the base station implementing transmission permissions (or base stations), and extends the current transmission permission to another encoder packet in the same ARQ channel (designed to control the transmission rate).

As shown in FIG. 4, not every base station in the active set needs to transmit back over the F-ACKCH. The set of base stations transmitting on the F-ACKCH during a flexible handoff may be a subset of the active set. F-ACKCH transmission methods are disclosed in co-filed US Patent Application 10/611333 to "Code Division Multiplexed Commands in a Code Division Multiplexed Channel" dated June 30, 2003, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

F-RCCH

A forward bit rate control channel (F-RCCH) is transmitted from one or more base stations to a mobile station to signal a rate setting for subsequent transmission. A mobile station may be assigned to monitor an indicator from each element of the active F-ACKCH set or its subset. For clarity, a set of base stations transmitting an F-RCCH intended for monitoring by a mobile station will be referred to as an active F-RCCH set. The active set of F-RCCHs may be signaled through Layer 3 (L3) signaling, which may be specified in channel allocation, in a handover control message (HDM), or in any of various other methods known to those skilled in the art.

6 shows an exemplary F-RCCH. The F-RCCH is a 3-state channel with the following values: RATE_HOLD (speed maintenance), indicating that the mobile station can transmit the next packet at a speed that is not higher than the transmission speed of the current packet; RATE_INCREASE (rate increase) indicating that the mobile station can, in a deterministic or probabilistic way, increase the maximum rate for transmitting the next packet relative to the transmission rate of the current packet; and RATE_DECREASE (reduction in transmission rate), indicating that the mobile station can in a deterministic or probabilistic manner reduce the maximum transmission rate of the next packet relative to the transmission rate of the current packet.

The L3 signaling may indicate whether the mobile station should combine speed control indicators from different base stations. This is similar to what is done with power control bits in IS-2000 version C. Thus, there may be an indicator, for example, RATE_COMB_IND (combined rate indicator), sent after channel allocation and in handover messages, which indicates whether the mobile station flexibly combines the F-RCCH bits from various base stations. Those of skill in the art would understand that there are many formats for transmitting channels, such as F-RCCH, including individual TDM channels, combined TDM / CDM channels, or other formats.

In various embodiments, various bit rate control configurations are possible. For example, all mobile stations can be controlled by a single indicator per sector. Alternatively, each mobile station may be controlled by a separate indicator for one sector allocated to each mobile station. Or groups of mobile stations can be controlled by their own designated indicator. This configuration makes it possible to assign the same indicator to mobile stations with the same maximum level of QoS quality. For example, all mobile stations, the only stream of which is indicated as “the best possible”, can be controlled in accordance with one assigned indicator, thus making it possible to reduce the load for these streams the best possible.

In addition, signaling can be used to configure the mobile station so that the mobile station takes into account only the F-RCCH indicator from the serving base station or from all base stations from the active F-RCCH set. If the mobile station monitors only the indicator from the serving base station, and RATE_COMB_IND indicates that the indicator is the same from a plurality of base stations, then the mobile station can combine all the indicators in the same group as the serving base station before making a decision. A set of base stations with distinctive baud rate indicators used at any time will be designated as the current set of F-RCCH. Thus, if the mobile station is configured so that the mobile station takes into account only the F-RCCH indicator from the serving base station, then the size of the current F-RCCH set is 1.

It is contemplated that F-RCCH usage rules may be tuned by a base station. The following is an exemplary set of rules for a mobile station with a singleton current set of F-RCCH. If RATE_HOLD is received, then the mobile station does not change its speed. If RATE_INCREASE is received, the mobile station increases its speed by one (that is, one speed level, examples of which are presented in detail in Table 1 above). If RATE_DECREASE is received, the mobile station decreases its speed by one. The mobile station monitors these indicators only if circumstances dictate (that is, an action as a result of the ACK process detailed below, indicating that the transmission rate control is active).

The following is an example set of rules for a mobile station in the presence of many elements of the current set of F-RCCH. A simple rule for increasing / decreasing speed by 1 speed level is modified. If ACK_STOP is received, the mobile station returns to autonomous speeds. Otherwise, if any indicator is RATE_DECREASE, then the mobile station decreases its speed by one. If the RATE_DECREASE indicator is missing, and at least one base station prescribes a rate control action (as a result of the ACK process), which indicates RATE_HOLD, then the mobile station maintains the same rate. If no indicator is RATE_DECREASE, no base station indicates baud control and RATE_HOLD, and at least one base station prescribes a baud control action and RATE_INCREASE, then the mobile station increases its speed by one.

Exemplary Embodiments of Combined Transmission Permissions, ARQ, and Rate Control Commands

Summing up some of the above aspects, mobile stations can be authorized to perform autonomous transmissions, which, with possible bandwidth limitations, allow a small delay. In this case, the mobile station can transmit without a request up to the maximum T / P ratio for R-ESCH, T / P _{Max_auto} , which can be set and configured by the base station through signaling.

Scheduling may be determined at one or more scheduling base stations, and reverse link resource allocation may be performed through transmission permissions transmitted on the F-GCH at a relatively high transmission rate. Additionally, transmission rate control commands can be used to modify pre-authorized transmissions or autonomous transmissions with low overhead, thereby adjusting the allocation of reverse link resources. Scheduling can thus be applied to directly control the reverse link load and thus protect speech quality (R-FCH), DV feedback (R-CQICH) and DV acknowledgment (R-ACKCH).

Individual transmission authorization allows detailed control of the transmission of the mobile station. Mobile stations can be selected based on geometry and QoS to maximize throughput while maintaining the required service levels. The overall transmission resolution provides effective notification, especially for low geometry mobile stations.

The F-ACKCH, in combination with the F-RCCH, effectively implements ACK-and-Continue commands that extend the available transmit permissions at low overhead. (Continuation may include control over the transmission rate, as described above, and is presented in detail below). This works with both individual transfer permissions and general transfer permissions. Various embodiments and methods for scheduling, authorizing transmission, and completing a transmission for a shared resource, such as the reverse link of a 1xEV-DV system, are disclosed in co-filed US Patent Application No. 10/646955 for Planned and Autonomous Transmission and Acknowledgment of 21 August 2003, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.

7 depicts an exemplary method 700 that one or more base stations can implement to allocate resources in response to requests and transmissions from one or more mobile stations. The order of the steps shown is just an example, and the order of the various steps may be interchangeable or combined with other steps not shown, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The process begins at block 710. The base station receives transmission requests that may be transmitted by one or more mobile stations. Since method 700 can be repeated indefinitely, there may be previous requests, also accepted, possibly not yet granted permissions, that can be combined with new requests in order to estimate the amount of transfer requirements in accordance with the requests.

At 720, one or more mobile stations may transmit subpackets received by the base station. These transmitted subpackets may be transmitted in accordance with previous transmission permissions (possibly modified using previous transmission rate control commands) or autonomously (also possibly modified by previous transmission rate control commands). The number of autonomous transmissions, the number of registered mobile stations and / or other factors can be used to estimate the volume of needs for autonomous transmissions.

At block 730, the base station decodes the received subpackets, optionally combining in a flexible manner with the respective pre-received subpackets, to determine if packets were received without error. These solutions will be used to send a positive or negative acknowledgment of receipt to the respective transmitting mobile stations. For packet transmission on the R-ESCH, HARQ may be used. That is, a packet may be transmitted up to a number of times until it is correctly received by at least one base station. At each frame boundary, each base station decodes the R-RICH frame and determines the transmission format on the R-ESCH. The base station can also perform this determination using the current R-RICH frame and previous R-RICH frames. Alternatively, the base station may also perform determination using other information extracted from the reverse secondary pilot channel (R-SPICH) and / or R-ESCH. Using a specific transmission format, the base station attempts to decode the packet for the R-ESCH using the previously received subpackets appropriately.

At step 740, the base station performs scheduling. Any planning technique may be applied. The base station may set transmission request criteria in accordance with requests assumed by autonomous transmissions, estimates of current channel conditions, and / or various other parameters for scheduling to allocate a shared resource (reverse link resource in this example). Scheduling can take many forms for different mobile stations. Examples include implementing a transmission permission (allocation according to a request, increasing a previous transmission permission or decreasing a previous transmission permission), generating a transmission rate control command to increase, decrease, or hold a previously allowed transmission rate or autonomous transmission, or ignore the request ( transferring the mobile station to autonomous transmission).

At step 750, the base station processes the received transmissions for each mobile station. This may include, among other functions, acknowledging received subpackets and conditionally generating transmission permissions in response to transmission requests. FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary method 750 for generating transmission permissions, acknowledgments, and rate control commands. This can be used in the exemplary method 700 depicted in FIG. 7, and can be adapted for use with other methods, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Method 750 can be repeated for each active mobile station by going through procedure 700 each time, as described above.

At decision block 805, if a subpacket for the current mobile station being processed has not been received, proceed to block 810. There is no need for confirmation, and no transmission rate control command is to be issued. Neither F-ACKCH nor F-RCCH should be transmitted, and both characters may be designated DTX (not transmitted). At the decision stage 815, if the request has been accepted, then go to the decision stage 820. Otherwise, the process may stop.

At decision block 820, if transmission permission was determined for this mobile station during scheduling, proceed to block 825 to transmit transmission permission on the corresponding F-GCH. Then the process can stop. The mobile station can transmit in accordance with this transmission resolution during the next suitable frame (synchronization examples are presented in detail below with reference to FIGS. 10-12).

According to decision block 805, if a subpacket has been received from the mobile station, proceed to decision block 830. (It is possible that a sub-packet and a request will be received, in which case both branches of decision block 805 may be performed for the mobile station, which is not shown for clarity of discussion).

At decision block 830, if the received subpacket was decoded correctly, an ACK is generated and proceeds to decision block 835. If speed control is required (including speed hold, that is, “Continue"), go to step 845. If speed control is not required, go to step 840. At step 840, ACK_STOP is transmitted on the F-ACKCH. F-RCCH transmission is not required, that is, DTX may be generated. If at this time a transmission permission is not generated, then the mobile station will be switched to autonomous transmission (or it must stop if autonomous transmission is not available, or is not applied). Alternatively, a new transmission permission may be issued that cancels the stop command. Goes to decision block 820 to process this decision as described above.

At block 845, rate control was indicated. As such, ACK_RC will be transmitted on the F-ACKCH. A transition is made to decision stage 850. If an increase is required, then RATE_INCREASE is transmitted on the F-RCCH. Then the process can stop. If no increase is required, then proceed to decision block 860. At decision block 860, if a reduction is required, RATE_DECREASE is transmitted on the F-RCCH. Then the process can stop. Otherwise, RATE_DECREASE is transmitted on the F-RCCH. In this example, hold is designated as DTX. Then the process can stop.

According to decision block 830, if the received subpacket has not been decoded correctly, a NAK is generated. Goes to step 875 for NAK transmission on the F-ACKCH. In this example, NAK is designated as DTX. A transition is made to decision block 880 to determine if the received subpacket was the last subpacket (i.e., the maximum number of retransmissions of the subpacket has been reached). If not, then in this example, the mobile station may re-transmit in accordance with the format of the previous transmission. DTX may be transmitted on the F-RCCH, as indicated in step 895. (Alternative embodiments may perform alternating signaling in this case, examples of which are described below). Then the process can stop.

If the subpacket received and confirmed by the NAK is the last subpacket, then a transition is made from decision block 880 to decision block 885 to determine if transmission rate control (including hold) is required. This is an example of a method of expanding a previous transmission permit or autonomous transmission (including previous transmission rate control, if any) at low overhead. If speed control is not required, a DTX is generated for the F-RCCH. In this example, the mobile station will transmit the next subpacket. Similar to decision block 835, if a new transmission permission is not generated for the mobile station, then the mobile station will be switched to autonomous transmission (if available). Alternatively, a new transmission permission may be generated that will prescribe available transmission for the mobile station. Goes to decision block 820 to complete this determination, as described above.

At decision block 885, if transmission rate control is required, proceed to decision block 850. Increase, decrease or hold can be formed for transmission on the F-RCCH, as described above. Then the process can stop.

Thus, if the packet is received correctly, the base station can send a positive acknowledgment of receipt and conditionally can send a message to control the transmission rate.

The base station may send ACK_STOP (on the F-ACKCH) to signal that the packet has been delivered and the mobile station returns offline for the next transmission. The base station may also send a new transmit permission, if required. The mobile station may transmit up to an acceptable rate for the next transmission. In any case, the F-RCCH is referred to as DTX. In one embodiment, only the serving (or enabling transmission) base station can generate transmission permissions. In an alternative embodiment, one or more base stations may generate transmission permissions (details of the processing of this capability are detailed below).

The base station can send ACK_RC (on the F-ACKCH channel) and RATE_HOLD (on the F-RCCH channel) to signal that the packet was delivered and that the maximum transmission rate at which the mobile station can transmit the next packet is the same as baud rate for the current packet.

The base station can send ACK_RC (on the F-ACKCH) and RATE_INCREASE (on the F-RCCH) to signal that the packet has been delivered and that the mobile station can increase the maximum speed for transmitting the next packet relative to the transmission rate for the current packet. A mobile station can increase speed following certain rules known to both the base station and the mobile station. An increase can be either deterministic or probabilistic. Numerous rules for increasing speed will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The base station can send ACK_RC (on the F-ACKCH) and RATE_DECREASE (on the F-RCCH) to signal that the packet has been delivered and that the mobile station should reduce the maximum speed for transmitting the next packet relative to the transmission rate for the current packet. A mobile station may reduce speed following certain rules known to both the base station and the mobile station. The decrease can be either deterministic or probabilistic. Numerous rules will be apparent to those skilled in the art for reducing speed.

If the packet is not successfully received by the base station, and the packet can be retransmitted (that is, it is not the last subpacket), the base station sends a NAK on the F-ACKCH. Note that the F-RCCH is indicated as DTX in this example.

If further retransmission is not allowed for the packet (i.e., the last subpacket), the following represents the possible actions that the base station can take. The base station can send a NAK (F-ACKCH) and a transmit enable message simultaneously on the F-GCH to signal to the mobile station that the packet was not delivered and that the mobile station can transmit up to the acceptable speed for the next transmission. The F-RCCH is designated by DTX in this case. In one embodiment, only the serving (or enabling transmission) base station can generate transmission permissions. In an alternative embodiment, one or more base stations may generate transmission permissions (details for processing this capability are detailed below).

The base station can also send NAK (on the F-ACKCH channel) and RATE_HOLD (on the F-RCCH channel) to signal that the packet was not delivered and that the maximum transmission rate at which the mobile station can transmit the next packet is the same as the baud rate for the current packet.

The base station can also send NAK (on the F-ACKCH) and RATE_INCREASE (on the F-RCCH) to signal that the packet has not been delivered and that the mobile station can increase the maximum speed for transmitting the next packet relative to the transmission rate for the current packet. A mobile station can increase speed following certain rules known to both the base station and the mobile station. An increase can be either deterministic or probabilistic.

The base station can also send NAK (on the F-ACKCH channel) and RATE_DECREASE (on the F-RCCH channel) to signal that the packet was not delivered and that the mobile station should reduce the maximum speed for transmitting the next packet relative to the transmission rate for the current packet. A mobile station may reduce speed following certain rules known to both the base station and the mobile station. The decrease can be either deterministic or probabilistic.

In an alternative embodiment (details not shown in FIG. 8), an alternative for NAK and shutdown may be created. For example, in the above scenario, the DTX in the F-RCCH corresponding to NAK cannot be distinguished from "NAK-and-hold". If you need to have a command to cause a stop (or return to autonomous transmission), the base station can also use NAK and baud control, before the last subpacket, to indicate that holding the speed (or increase or decrease) on the last subpacket should mean stop . For example, any of the baud rate control commands (i.e., RATE_INCREASE, RATE_DECREASE, or RATE_HOLD) can be highlighted to mean a stop in this special case. The mobile station will know when the last subpacket was transmitted, and then can accordingly analyze the transmission rate control commands. If the base station knows that if the transmission of the final subpacket should be followed by a stop in case of a NAK, the selected baud control command may be issued along with the NAK of the previous subpacket. The mobile station receiving the identified baud rate command along with the NAK of the subpacket (not final) will know that the NAK (and RATE_HOLD, for example) on the final subpacket will mean that any previous transmission permission will be canceled and the mobile station should return to autonomous transmission. Bit rate control commands not used for this purpose (i.e., RATE_INCREASE or RATE_DECREASE) sent with the final NAK subpacket will still be available. An alternative would be to transmit a transmission permission with a zero (or reduced) bit rate along with a final NAK, although this would require additional overhead. Those skilled in the art will easily be able to make a compromise in accordance with the probability of “NAK-and-Stop” with other possibilities. The required overhead can then be optimized based on the probabilities of various events.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example method 900 for a mobile station to monitor and respond to transmission permissions, acknowledgment, and rate control commands. This method is suitable for use in one or more mobile stations for use with one or more base stations using method 700, as described above, as well as other embodiments of the base station.

The process begins at block 910. The mobile station monitors the F-GCH, F-ACKCH, and F-RCCH channels. In various embodiments, as described above, the mobile station may monitor one or more of these channels. For example, there may be multiple transmission authorization channels, and each mobile station may monitor one or more of them. Each of these channels can be received from one base station, or several, when the mobile station is in flexible transmission service. A channel can include messages or commands addressed (directed) to many mobile stations, and therefore, a mobile station can retrieve messages or commands specifically addressed to it.

Other rules may be used to enable the mobile station to conditionally control one or more control channels. For example, as described above, the F-RCCH may not be transmitted when ACK_STOP is issued. Thus, in this case, the mobile station does not need to control the F-RCCH if ACK_STOP is received. A rule may be specified that the mobile station searches for transmission authorization messages and / or baud rate control commands only if the mobile station has sent a request for which these messages may be answered.

In the following description of FIG. 9, it is assumed that the mobile station has previously transmitted a subpacket for which an acknowledgment response is expected (including potential transmission permissions or transmission rate control commands). If the request has not previously been resolved, the mobile station may nevertheless control the availability of transmission permission in response to the previously transmitted request. Skilled artisans will be able to easily adapt method 900 to this situation. These and other potential processing steps for the mobile station are omitted for clarity of discussion.

F-ACKCH processing begins at decision block 915. The mobile station retrieves information regarding all the F-ACKCHs that it controls. Recall that an F-ACKCH may exist between a mobile station and each element of its active F-ACKCH. Some of the F-ACKCH commands may be combined in a flexible manner, as determined by L3 signaling. If the mobile station receives at least one positive acknowledgment, either ACK_RC or ACK_STOP (on the F-ACKCH), then the current packet was received correctly, and additional subpackets do not require transmission. The permissible speed for transmitting the next packet, if any, should be determined.

At decision block 915, if ACK_STOP was received, the mobile station knows that the previously transmitted subpacket was received correctly, and that no transmission rate control commands need to be decoded.

At decision block 920, the mobile station determines whether a transmission permission has been received on the F-GCH. If so, the mobile station transmits the next packet in accordance with the transmission permission, as indicated for step 930. In one embodiment, only one base station implementing transmission permissions implements transmission permissions. If ACK_STOP and a transmission authorization message are received from the base station, then the mobile station transmits a new packet on the same ARQ channel at an arbitrary rate equal to or lower than the allowable transmission rate.

In an alternative embodiment, several base stations may send transmission permission. If the base stations coordinate the transmission permission and send an identical message, the mobile station can flexibly combine these transmission permissions. Various rules may be applied to handle cases where different transmission permissions are received. One example is that a mobile station should transmit at the lowest rate indicated in the received transmit permission in order to avoid undue interference in the cell corresponding to the base station allowing the transmission (including ACK_STOP without the appropriate transmit permission to indicate that the transmission should return offline). Various other alternatives will be apparent to those skilled in the art. If the transmission permission was not taken at decision block 920, the mobile station should return to the autonomous transmission rate, as shown at block 925. Then, the process may stop.

According to decision block 915, if ACK_STOP is not accepted, then proceed to decision block 940. If ACK_RC is received, then the mobile station monitors the corresponding F-RCCH for base stations from which a positive acknowledgment (s) have been received, if any. There may not be an F-RCCH between the base station and the mobile station because the active F-RCCH is a subset of the active F-ACKCH. If the mobile station receives the F-ACKCH from multiple base stations, the corresponding messages may be in conflict. For example, one or more ACK_STOP commands may be received, one or more ACK_RC commands may be received, one or more transmission permissions may be received, or any combination thereof. Various rules will be apparent to those skilled in the art for practical implementation, taking into account any of the possibilities. For example, the mobile station may determine the lowest possible transmission resolution (which can be obtained from either ACK_STOP without transmission permission, ACK_RC with a decrease, or transmission resolution with a lower value) and transmit accordingly. This is similar to the method commonly known as "OR-of-Downs" (or from slides). Such a method can be used to reliably avoid excessive mutual interference of neighboring cells. Or one or more base stations may have a priority assigned to them, so that one or more base stations may be able to outperform others (with associated conditions, possibly). For example, a base station performing scheduling (or transmission authorization) may have some priority over other base stations in flexible handoff. Other rules are also contemplated. (One or more NAKs may also be received, but the mobile station does not need to retransmit. However, the mobile station may include transmission rate control or transmission authorization instructions, similarly, from the base station issuing the NAK, if required). Moreover, when it is said that the mobile station determines whether ACK_STOP, ACK_RC, NAK, or transmission permission is received, this may be the result of applying the required set of rules to the plurality of received commands, and the result is an identified command.

If ACK_RC has been received, then proceed to decision block 945 to begin determining which type of baud control command to follow. If an increase is indicated, go to step 950. The next transmission may be transmitted on the same ARQ channel at an increased rate relative to the current transmission rate. Then the process can stop. Again, an increase can be deterministic or probabilistic. Also, RATE_INCREASE may not necessarily lead to an immediate increase in the transmission rate, but will increase the transmission rate from the mobile station in the future (that is, a credit-like algorithm is used at the mobile station), or RATE_INCREASE may lead to an increase covering many speeds. In an exemplary algorithm using credits, the mobile station supports an internal balance / credit parameter. Whenever it receives RATE_INCREASE but cannot increase its speed (because it goes beyond either power or data), the mobile station increases the parameter. When power or data becomes available to the mobile station, it can use the stored “credit / balance” in selecting data rates. Various methods of increasing speed will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

If the increase is not indicated at decision block 945, proceed to decision block 955 to determine if the decrease is indicated. If a reduction is indicated, go to step 960. The next transmission may be transmitted on the same ARQ channel at a reduced transmission rate relative to the current transmission rate. Then the process can stop. Again, the decrease may be deterministic or probabilistic. Also, RATE_DECREASE may not necessarily lead to an immediate decrease in speed, but the transmission speed from the mobile station will be reduced in the future (that is, a credit-like algorithm is used at the mobile station), or RATE_DECREASE may lead to a decrease covering many transmission rates. If the exemplary credit-applying algorithm is used in the context of RATE_DECREASE, when the mobile station receives RATE_DECREASE but does not follow it for some reason (for example, urgent data that must be issued), it receives a negative credit, and this negative credit must be repaid, in a way, later. Various methods of reducing speed will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

If neither increase nor decrease is specified, then RATE_HOLD is accepted. The mobile station can transmit the next packet at a maximum speed equal to the transmission rate of the current packet, as indicated in step 965. The process can then stop.

According to decision block 940, if no type of ACK has been identified, it is determined that a NAK has been received. In decision block 970, if a retransmission is still possible for the packet (i.e., the current subpacket was not the last subpacket), the mobile station retransmits the subpacket on the same ARQ channel with an increased (by 1) ID of the subpacket ID, as shown in step 980.

In decision step 970, if the current packet was the last subpacket, the mobile station has exhausted retransmissions for the packet. Goes to decision block 975 to determine if a transmission permission has been received (in a manner similar to that described above for block 920). If the transmission authorization message is intended for a mobile station (either from a single base station or from several, as described above), the mobile station can transmit a new packet on the same ARQ channel at a speed equal to or lower than the allowable transmission rate. Then proceeds to step 930 described above.

At decision block 975, if transmission permission has not been accepted, the mobile station can monitor the active set of F-RCCHs, receive transmission rate control commands, and decide the maximum rate allowed for transmitting the next packet on the same ARQ. The selection of transmission rates when several speed control commands are received may be carried out as described above. A transition is made to decision step 945, and processing continues as described above.

Various other methods may be used by an exemplary embodiment of a mobile station. The mobile station can control a number of packet erasures (that is, there is no positive acknowledgment after the last subpacket). A measurement can be made by counting the number of successive erasures of a packet or counting the number of packets erased within a (temporary) window (i.e., a sliding window). If the mobile station recognizes too many erased packets, it can reduce its transmission rate even if the transmission rate control commands indicate another command (i.e., RATE_HOLD or RATE_INCREASE).

In one embodiment, the transmission permission message may have a higher priority than the bit rate control bit. Alternatively, the transmission enable message may be processed with the same priority as the bit rate control bit. In this case, the determination of the transmission rate may be modified. For example, if no transmission authorization message is intended for the mobile station, the rate for the next transmission is determined based on all transmission rate control commands (RATE_INCREASE, RATE_HOLD, RATE_DECREASE and ACK_STOP) using "OR-of-DOWN" or a similar rule. If the transfer permission is also accepted, the rate for the next transmission can be determined based on all transfer rate control commands (RATE_INCREASE, RATE_HOLD, RATE_DECREASE and ACK_STOP) using “OR-of-DOWN” or a similar rule, the result of which is compared with the allowable transfer rate and at the lowest bit rate selected.

Signaling can be applied to configure the mobile station so that the mobile station monitors only the F-RCCH indicator from either the serving base station or all base stations from the active F-RCCH set. For example, if RATE_COMB_IND may determine that the transmission rate control command is the same from a plurality of base stations, then the mobile station may combine all the indicators in the identified group before making a decision. The number of individual indicators for use at any time can be indicated as the current set of F-RCCH. In one example, the mobile station may be configured to monitor only the F-RCCH indicator from the serving base station, in which case the size of the current F-RCCH set is 1.

In addition, as described above, various rules can be applied to adjust transmission rates in response to F-RCCH commands. Any of these rules can be configured by signaling from the base station. In one example, there may be a set of probabilities and step sizes used during the determination, regardless of whether the mobile station increases or decreases its speed, and by how much. These probabilities and possible step sizes of the transmission rate may be updated by signaling, as necessary.

Method 900 can be adapted to include the various alternatives described for a base station using method 750 described above. For example, in one embodiment, the NAK and the stop command are not explicitly specified because the F-RCCH DTX along with the NAK indicates speed retention. In an alternate embodiment, NAK and stop functionality can be used in response to any of the possible methods described above for method 750. Just as noted above with respect to method 750, in an exemplary embodiment, a change in transmission rate based on speed control or based on the permission of the transfers is performed at the boundaries of the packet. It is contemplated that the described methods may be modified to also include changes in transmission rate within a subpacket.

Specialists in the art should understand in light of the described solutions that any described procedures and features can be combined in various ways. For example, a mobile station can only be controlled by a leading base station through transmission permissions, but will not be controlled by other base stations by bit rate control bits. Alternatively, the mobile station may be controlled by transmit permissions from all base stations, or a subset of base stations from its active set. Some F-GCHs may be combined in a flexible manner. The mode in which the mobile station operates can be set by means of L3 signaling when assigning a channel or by other messages in a call to transmit packet data.

As another example, if the packet is received correctly, the leading base station may send ACK_STOP, or ACK_RC. The baud control commands may not be used, so ACK_RC can be used to mean "ACK and continued" for this mode. In this context, “ACK and Continuation” indicates that the mobile station can transmit a new packet at the same rate as the acknowledged packet. As before, if ACK_STOP is sent, the base station can also send substitute transmission authorization over the F-GCH targeted at the MS. In this example, NAK will mean “NAK and stop” if the corresponding transmit permission is not transmitted along with the NAK. In this scenario, non-leading base stations also send ACK_STOP or ACK_RC, in which ACK_RC is not followed by a baud control command and means “ACK and continued”.

In another exemplary special mode that implements a subset of the described features, the mobile station can be controlled by bit rate control bits (from base stations from its active set of F-RCCH). This mode can be set by L3 signaling when allocating a channel or other messages during a packet data call. In this mode, the base station sends a NAK if the packet is not received successfully. If the packet is received correctly, the base station sends ACK_STOP or ACK_RC along with F-RCCH (RATE_HOLD, RATE_INCREASE or RATE_DECREASE). NAK after the last subpacket may be followed by F-RCCH (RATE_HOLD, RATE_INCREASE or RATE_DECREASE).

Figure 10-12 shows examples of synchronization of the various channels described. The examples do not represent any particular choice of frame duration, but illustrate the relative timing of the transmit enable, ACK, and bit rate (RC) indicators. The ACK indicator, the RC indicator, and the transmission permission can occur at the same time interval, so that the mobile station receives the ACK, RC, and transmission permission information at about the same time to apply to the transmission of the next packet. In these examples, the mobile station does not require monitoring of the RC indicators, except when it receives an acknowledgment or when all subpackets are transmitted (as described in the exemplary embodiments above). The mobile station monitors its assigned ACK and RC bit corresponding to a specific ARQ sequence. For example, if there are four ARQ sequences, and the mobile station transmits on all ARQ sequences, then the mobile station monitors the ACK indicator for each frame and the RC indicator (if applicable) for each frame. Blank frames between different transmissions are introduced to provide time to the base station or mobile station, if applicable, for receiving and decoding requests, subpacket transmissions, transmission permissions, acknowledgments and rate control commands.

These synchronization schemes are not exhaustive, but are used only to illustrate the various aspects described above. Numerous combinations of sequences should be apparent to those skilled in the art.

10 is a timing chart for an exemplary embodiment with integrated acknowledgment and rate control channels. The mobile station transmits a transmission request on the R-REQCH. The base station then transmits permission to transmit on the F-GCH in response to the request. The mobile station then transmits the first subpacket using parameters in accordance with the transmission resolution. The subpacket is not decoded correctly at the base station, as indicated by the crossed out transmission of the subpacket. The base station sends an ACK / NAK on the F-ACKCH along with an F-RCCH rate control command. In this example, a NAK is transmitted, and the F-RCCH is represented by DTX. The mobile station receives the NAK and retransmits the second subpacket in response. This time, the base station correctly decodes the second subpacket and sends the ACK / NAK again on the F-ACKCH along with the command for controlling the transmission rate on the F-RCCH. In this example, no additional transmission permission is transmitted. An ACK_RC is transmitted and a baud control command is issued (it may indicate an increase, decrease, or hold, as determined according to the desired scheduling). The mobile station then transmits the first subpacket of the next packet using parameters related to the resolution of the transmission, modified, if necessary, through the command speed control on the F-RCCH.

11 is a timing chart for an exemplary embodiment with integrated acknowledgment and transmission rate control channels together with a new transmission resolution. Request, transmission permission, transmission of a subpacket (not decoded correctly) and NAK are transmitted in the same way as the first eight frames described above for FIG. 10. In this example, the transmission of the second subpacket is also received and decoded correctly. However, instead of the ACK_RC sent by the base station, ACK_STOP is transmitted. If the transmission permission does not accompany ACK_STOP, then the mobile station returns to autonomous transmission. Instead, a new transmission permission is transmitted. The mobile station does not require F-RCCH for this frame. The mobile station then transmits the first subpacket for the next packet in accordance with the new transmission permission.

12 is a timing chart for an exemplary embodiment with integrated acknowledgment and rate control channels without transmission permission. This example is similar to FIG. 10 except that the transmission permission is not sent in response to the original request of the mobile station. Thus, the transmission of the first subpacket for the first packet is carried out at an autonomous transmission rate. Again, this subpacket is decoded incorrectly at the base station. The second subpacket is correctly decoded again, and ACK_RC is transmitted along with the baud control command. The mobile station then sends the next packet at a potentially adjusted transmission rate. This example illustrates the ability to change the transmission rate of a mobile station arbitrarily using only transmission rate control commands, without any transmission permission.

In an alternative embodiment, the base station may use speed control using autonomous transmissions with or without prior request. Reductions can be used to reduce congestion, and an increase can be provided if additional resources are available, even if the BS may not know the data requirements because the request was not transmitted.

It should be noted that in all the embodiments described above, the steps of the method can be interchanged within the scope of the invention. The disclosed descriptions in many cases refer to signals, parameters and procedures associated with the 1xEV-DV system, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to this. Those skilled in the art will readily be able to apply the disclosed principles to various other communication systems. These and other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Specialists in the art should understand that information and signals can be represented using any technology and method from the many different possible. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols and microcircuits referenced throughout the description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any of them a combination.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in the form of electronic hardware, software, or a combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, steps, modules, circuits, and steps are described above generically in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented in the form of hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the system as a whole. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such decisions should not be interpreted as causing a change in the scope of the present invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or implemented using a universal microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-oriented integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable gate array ( FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete matrix or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform functions described in the document. A universal processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, several microprocessors, one or more microprocessors together with the basic DSP tools, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosed embodiments may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of both. The program module can reside in random access memory (RAM, RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM, EEPROM) , registers, hard disk drive, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is connected to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to it. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in the ASIC. ASIC may reside in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside as separate components in the user terminal.

The foregoing description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may apply to other embodiments without changing the spirit or scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but should correspond to the broadest scope consistent with the disclosed principles and new features.

Claims (59)

1. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
message shaper for:
generating a first message comprising a transmission acknowledgment indicator and a transmission rate control indicator, and
the formation of the second message, depending on the indicator of the transmission speed control,
the second message contains a command for controlling the transmission rate. 2. The device according to claim 1, in which the command control the transmission rate is one of many values, while one or more of the many values indicate an increase in transmission speed. 3. The device according to claim 1, in which the command control the transmission rate is one of many values, while one or more of the many values indicate a decrease in transmission speed. 4. The device according to claim 1, in which the command control the transmission rate is one of many values, while one or more of the many values indicate holding the transmission speed. 5. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
a receiver for receiving a data packet;
a decoder for decoding a received data packet and a message generator for:
generating a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value being associated with an acknowledgment (ACK) of a data packet or a negative acknowledgment (NAK) of a data packet, and one or more values indicating a transmission rate control command, and
generating a second signal containing one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first signal indicates a transmission rate control command; and
a transmitter for transmitting a first signal and, depending on it, a second signal. 6. The device according to claim 5, in which the receiver further operates to receive one or more transmission requests and one or more autonomous transmissions, the device further comprising a scheduler for allocating a shared resource in response to one or more transmission requests and one or more autonomous transmissions gears. 7. The device according to claim 6, in which the message former further generates a transmission authorization message in response to the transmission request in accordance with said allocation. 8. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
a receiver for receiving a first signal containing transmission acknowledgment, and for receiving, if the first signal contains a transmission rate control indicator, a second signal containing a transmission rate control command, and
a message decoder for decoding a transmission rate control indicator from a received first signal. 9. The device of claim 8, in which the command speed control is one of many values, while one or more of the many values indicate an increase in transmission speed. 10. The device according to claim 8, in which the command speed control is one of many values, while one or more of the many values indicate a decrease in transmission speed. 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transmission rate control command is one of a plurality of values, wherein one or more of the plurality of values indicate transmission rate retention. 12. The device of claim 8, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting a data packet. 13. The device according to item 12, in which the transmitter retransmits the data packet if the first signal indicates that the transmitted data packet is not acknowledged as received. 14. The device according to item 12, in which the transmitter transmits the second data packet at a speed determined in accordance with the command speed control contained in the second signal. 15. A base station comprising:
message shaper for:
generating a first message comprising a transmission acknowledgment indicator and a transmission rate control indicator, and
the formation of the second message depending on the indicator of the transmission speed control, while the second message contains a speed control command. 16. A remote station containing:
a receiver for receiving a first signal containing transmission acknowledgment, and for receiving, if the first signal contains a transmission rate control indicator, a second signal containing a transmission rate control command, and
a message decoder for decoding a transmission rate control indicator from a received first signal. 17. A wireless communication system including a base station, comprising:
message shaper for:
generating a first message comprising a transmission acknowledgment indicator and a transmission rate control indicator, and
the formation of the second message, depending on the indicator of the transmission speed control, while the second message contains a speed control command. 18. A wireless communication system including a remote station, comprising:
a receiver for receiving a first signal containing transmission acknowledgment, and for receiving, if the first signal contains a transmission rate control indicator, a second signal containing a transmission rate control command, and
a message decoder for decoding a transmission rate control indicator from a received first signal. 19. A method of controlling the transmission rate, comprising generating a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value associated with a transmission acknowledgment (ACK) of a transmission or a negative transmission acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a transmission rate control command , and
generating a second signal containing one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 20. A method for controlling a transmission rate, comprising
receiving a data packet;
decoding a data packet;
generating a first signal indicating whether the received data packet has been decoded correctly and indicating whether a transmission rate control command will be issued; and
generating a second signal containing a baud control command if a baud control command is issued. 21. The method according to claim 20, in which the first signal contains one of the first set of values, and one of the first set of values indicates confirmation of correct decoding and the absence of a command to control the transmission rate. 22. The method according to item 21, in which a value indicating confirmation of the correct decoding and the absence of a command to control the transmission speed, cancels the previous permission of the transmission. 23. The method according to claim 20, in which the first signal contains one of the first plurality of values, said one of the first plurality of values indicating confirmation of correct decoding and a command for controlling the transmission rate. 24. The method according to claim 20, in which the first signal contains a value indicating the absence of transmission corresponding to a negative acknowledgment of the decoded packet, and the absence of a transmission rate control command. 25. The method according to claim 20, in which the command speed control is one of the second set of values, while one or more of the second set of values indicate an increase in transmission speed. 26. The method according to claim 20, in which the command speed control is one of the second set of values, while one or more of the second set of values indicate a decrease in transmission speed. 27. The method according to claim 20, in which the command speed control is one of the second set of values, while one of the second set of values indicates the retention of the transmission speed. 28. The method according to item 27, in which the second signal contains a value indicating the absence of transmission to maintain the transmission speed. 29. The method according to claim 20, further comprising receiving one or more transmission requests;
receiving one or more autonomous transmissions; and
allocating a shared resource in response to one or more transmission requests and one or more offline transmissions. 30. The method according to claim 20, further comprising generating a transmission permission in response to a received transmission request. 31. The method according to clause 30, in which the second signal is not generated if the transmission permission is generated. 32. The method according to claim 20, further comprising transmitting the first signal, and
transmitting a second signal if a baud control command is issued. 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising transmitting a transmission permission if a transmission permission is issued. 34. The method according to claim 20, in which the received data packet is a subpacket of data. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein decoding is performed in response to previously received corresponding data subpackets, if any. 36. A method for controlling a transmission rate, comprising
receiving a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value being associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a transmission rate control command, and
receiving a second signal containing one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first received signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 37. A method for controlling a transmission rate, comprising
data packet transmission;
receiving a first signal indicating whether the transmitted data packet has been acknowledged as being received and indicating whether a transmission rate control command will be issued; and
receiving a second signal containing a speed control command if a transmission speed control command is issued. 38. The method according to clause 37, in which the first signal contains one of the first set of values, and one of the first set of values indicates confirmation of correct decoding and the absence of a command to control the transmission speed. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the value indicating confirmation of correct decoding and the absence of a transmission rate control command cancels the previous transmission permission. 40. The method according to clause 37, in which the first signal contains one of the first set of values, and one of the first set of values indicates confirmation of the correct decoding and the command speed control. 41. The method according to clause 37, in which the first signal contains a value indicating the absence of transmission corresponding to a negative acknowledgment of the decoded data packet, and the absence of a command to control the transmission rate. 42. The method according to clause 37, in which the command control the transmission rate is one of the second set of values, while one or more of the second set of values indicate an increase in transmission speed. 43. The method according to clause 37, in which the command control the transmission rate is one of the second set of values, while one or more of the second set of values indicate a decrease in transmission speed. 44. The method according to clause 37, in which the command control the transmission rate is one of the second set of values, while one of the second set of values indicates the retention of the transmission speed. 45. The method according to item 44, in which the second signal contains a value indicating the absence of transmission to maintain the transmission speed. 46. The method of claim 37, further comprising retransmitting the data packet if the first received signal indicates that the transmitted data packet has not been acknowledged as being received. 47. The method according to clause 37, further comprising transmitting a second data packet if the first received signal indicates that the transmitted data packet has been acknowledged as received. 48. The method of claim 47, wherein the second packet is transmitted at a transmission rate determined in accordance with a transmission rate control command if the transmission rate control command is received in the second signal. 49. The method according to clause 37, in which the transmitted data packet is a subpacket of data. 50. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
means for generating a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value being associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a speed control command, and
means for generating a second signal comprising one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 51. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
means for receiving a data packet;
means for decoding the data packet;
means for generating a first signal indicating whether the received data packet has been decoded correctly and indicating whether a transmission rate control command will be issued; and
means for generating a second signal comprising a transmission rate control command if a transmission rate control command is issued. 52. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
means for receiving a first signal comprising one of a first plurality of values, each value associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a transmission rate control command, and
means for receiving a second signal comprising one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first received signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 53. A device for controlling the transmission rate, comprising:
means for transmitting the packet;
means for receiving a first signal indicating whether the transmitted packet has been acknowledged and whether a transmission rate control command will be issued; and
means for receiving a second signal comprising a speed control command if a transmission speed control command is issued. 54. A wireless communication system, comprising:
means for generating a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value being associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a speed control command, and
means for generating a second signal containing one of a second plurality of values corresponding to the corresponding one. a plurality of baud control commands, if the value of the first signal indicates a baud control command. 55. A wireless communication system, comprising:
means for receiving a first signal comprising one of a first plurality of values, each value being associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a speed control command, and
means for receiving a second signal comprising one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first received signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 56. The processor-readable medium on which information is recorded for implementing the transmission rate control method, the method comprising the following steps:
generating a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value being associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a transmission rate control command, and
generating a second signal containing one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 57. The processor-readable medium on which information is recorded for implementing the transmission rate control method, the method comprising the following steps:
receiving a data packet;
decoding a data packet;
generating a first signal indicating whether the received data packet has been decoded correctly and indicating whether a transmission rate control command will be issued; and
generating a second signal containing a baud control command if a baud control command is issued. 58. The processor-readable medium on which information is recorded for implementing the transmission rate control method, the method comprising the following steps:
receiving a first signal containing one of the first plurality of values, each value being associated with a transmit acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative transmit acknowledgment (NAK), and one or more values indicating a transmission rate control command, and
receiving a second signal containing one of a second plurality of values corresponding to a corresponding plurality of transmission rate control commands if the value of the first received signal indicates a transmission rate control command. 59. The processor-readable medium on which information is written for implementing the transmission rate control method, the method comprising the following steps:
data packet transmission;
receiving a first signal indicating whether the transmitted data packet has been acknowledged as being received and indicating whether a transmission rate control command will be issued; and
receiving a second signal containing a baud control command if a baud control command is issued.

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