Method and apparatus for bandwidth request/grant protocols in a wireless communication system
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. A method for requesting bandwidth in a wireless communication system, wherein the wireless communication system includes a plurality of subscriber units in communication with an associated base unit, the method comprising:
- placing data received from various sources into a queue based on the quality of service (QoS) of the data;
setting an initial value of a timer; and
periodically, on expiration of the value in the timer, transmitting a bandwidth request indicating an amount of bandwidth required for transmitting the data from the queue.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for allocating bandwidth in a broadband wireless communication system is disclosed. One embodiment uses a self-correcting bandwidth request/grant protocol. The self-correcting bandwidth request/grant protocol utilizes a combination of incremental and aggregate bandwidth requests. CPEs primarily transmit incremental bandwidth requests to their associated base stations, followed by periodic transmissions of aggregate bandwidth requests. The use of periodic aggregate bandwidth requests (that express the current state of their respective connection queues) allows the bandwidth allocation method and apparatus to be “self-correcting”. Another embodiment utilizes an abridged bandwidth request/grant protocol to allocate bandwidth. The abridged bandwidth request/grant protocol system utilizes padding packets to request a reduction in bandwidth allocation to a CPE. A base station modem alerts a base station CPU when the BS modem receives a padding packet from a CPE. After alerting the BS CPU the method can reduce the associated CPE'"'"'s bandwidth allocation.
225 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for requesting bandwidth in a wireless communication system, wherein the wireless communication system includes a plurality of subscriber units in communication with an associated base unit, the method comprising:
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placing data received from various sources into a queue based on the quality of service (QoS) of the data; setting an initial value of a timer; and periodically, on expiration of the value in the timer, transmitting a bandwidth request indicating an amount of bandwidth required for transmitting the data from the queue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A subscriber unit for a wireless communication system, wherein the wireless communication system includes a plurality of subscriber units in communication with an associated base unit, comprising:
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a plurality of queues, each queue for grouping data based on the QoS; and a media access (MAC) module configured to set an initial value for a timer associated with a queue, and periodically, on expiration of the value of the timer, transmit a bandwidth request indicating an amount of bandwidth required for transmitting the data from the queue. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of allocating uplink (UL) bandwidth to connections established at a subscriber unit, the method comprising:
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a) setting a value for a first timer; b) determining a bandwidth amount requirement based on user traffic and transmitting a bandwidth request with the bandwidth amount requirement when the first timer expires; c) receiving a bandwidth grant in response to the bandwidth request and distributing the bandwidth between the connections; and d) transmitting the user traffic on receipt of the bandwidth grant. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A subscriber unit for a wireless communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of queues for buffering user traffic according to a traffic parameter, each queue having an associated logical state; a media access control (MAC) element capable of transmitting an uplink (UL) bandwidth request based on the logical state of the queues during a bandwidth request opportunity, and allocating between the queues a bandwidth allocation received in response to the UL bandwidth request, based on the current state of the queues. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification