Title of Invention

BANDWIDTH REQUEST METHOD AND BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION METHOD IN BROADBAND WIRELESS ACCESS SYSTEM

Abstract The present invention deals with a method for requesting and allocating an uplink resource efficiently in a broadband wireless access system. The method of the present invention wherein a terminal requests bandwidth in a broadband wireless access system may include a step in which a bandwidth request header (BR header), including a bandwidth request message and a high-speed access message, is transmitted to a base station; a step in which uplink grant (UL grant) information corresponding to the information included in said bandwidth request message and said high-speed access message is received from said base station; and a step in which the uplink resource indicated by said uplink grant information is used to transmit data to said base station.
Full Text [description]
[invention Title]
BANDWIDTH REQUEST METHOD AND BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION METHOD IN
BROADBAND WIRELESS ACCESS SYSTEM
[Technical Field]
The present invention relates to a wireless access system and,
more particularly, to a method of a mobile station for efficiently
requesting a bandwidth to a base station and a mobile station performing
the same.
[Background Art]
Hereinafter, a protocol layer model being defined in a general
broadband wireless access system will first be described.
FIG. 1 illustrates a protocol layer model defined in a generally
used IEEE 802.16 system based wireless mobile telecommunications
system.
Referring to FIG. 1, a MAC layer belonging to a link layer may
consist of 3 sublayers. First of all, a Service-Specific CS
(Service-Specific Convergence Sublayer) may modify or map data of
an external network received through a CS SAP (Service Access Point)
to MAC SDUs (Service Data Units) of a MAC CPS (Common Part Sublayer) .
A function of associating a respective MAC SFID (Service Flow
IDentifier) and a CID (Connection IDentifier), after identifying the
SDUs of the external network, may be included in this layer.
Subsequently, as a layer providing the essential functions of
the MAC, such as systemaccess, bandwidth allocation, connection set-up
and management, the MAC CPS receives data from various CSs through
the MAC SAP, wherein the received data are classified by a specific
MAC connection . At this point, a QoS (Quality of Service) may be applied
to data transmission and scheduling through a physical layer.
Furthermore, a Security Sublayer may provide Authentication,
security key exchange, and encryption functions.
As a connection-oriented service, the MAC layer is realized by
the concept of transport connection. When a mobile station (or
terminal) is registered to the system, a Service Flow may be regulated
in accordance with an agreement between the mobile station and the
system. If a service request is changed, a new connectionmay be set-up .
Herein, the transport (or transmission) connection defines a mapping
between peer convergence processors using MAC and the service flow.
And, the service flow defines QoS parameters of the MAC PDU, which
are exchanged in the corresponding connection.
The service flow within the transport connection performs an
essential role in operating a MAC protocol and provides a mechanism
for QoS management of an uplink and a downlink.
In a general IEEE 802 . 16 system, the mobile station (or terminal)
may have a universal MAC address having the length of 48 bits for
each wireless interface. This address uniquely defines the wireless
interface of the mobile station, and this address may be used for
setting up the connection of the mobile station during an initial
ranging procedure . Additionally, since the base station verifies each
of the mobile stations with a different mobile station identifier
(ID) , the universal MAC address maybe usedaspartof the authentication
process.
Each connection may be identified by a CID (Connection I Dent if ier)
having the length of 16 bits. While the initialization of the mobile
station is under process, two pairs (uplink and downlink) of management
connectionmay be set up between the mobile station and the base station,
and, including a management connection, a total of 3 pairs may be
optionally (or selectively) used.
Within the above-described layer structure, the transmitting
end and the receiving end may exchange data or control messages through
aMACPDU (MediumAccess Control Packet Data Unit) . In order to generate
such a MAC PDU, the base station or the mobile station may include
a MAC header in the MAC PDU.
The mobile station may request for an uplink bandwidth by
transmitting bandwidth request information in a MAC signaling header
format or a MAC sub-header format. At this point, the mobile station
requests for an uplink bandwidth in connection units between the mobile
station and the base station. Hereinafter a general header structure
will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary MAC header format being used
in an IEEE 802.16 system based wireless MAN mobile telecommunications
system. Hereinafter, in the description of the present invention,
in a block showing the header structure including FIG. 2, one graduation
of indicates 1 bit, and one horizontal row indicates 1 byte. And,
it is shown in FIG. 2 that, from top to bottom, the most significant
bit (MSB) and the least significant bit (LSB) are sequentially arranged
within the structure.
Referring to FIG. 2, in addition to a generic (or general) MAC
header (GMH) , 6 sub-headers may be used in the MAC PDU. A sub-header
for each MAC PDU is inserted after the generic MAC header. Hereinafter,
each field being included in the MAC header will be described in detail.
An HT (Header Type) field corresponds to a field indicating the
header type. Herein, the HT field indicates whether the corresponding
MAC PDU is a generic MAC header including a payload after the header
or whether the corresponding MAC PDU is a signaling header for
controlling a BR (Bandwidth Request) . AnEC (Encryption Control) field
corresponds to a field indicating encryption control. Herein the EC
header indicates whether or not the payload is encrypted. A Type field
corresponds to a field indicating whether or not a sub-header comes
after the header and also indicating the type of the sub-header. An
ESF (Extended Subheader Field) field indicates whether or not an
extension sub-header comes after the header.
Also, a CI (CRC Indication) field indicates whether or not a
CRC comes after a payload. When a payload is encrypted, an EKS
(Encryption Key Sequence) field indicates an encryption key sequence
number being used for the encryption. A LEN (LENgth) field indicates
the length of the MAC PDU. And, a CID (Connection Identifier) field
indicates a connection identifier being delivered by the MAC PDU.
Herein, the CID performs the function of identifying a specific mobile
station or performs the function of identifying a specific service
between the base station and the mobile station. And, an HCS (Header
Check Sequence) is used for detecting an error of the header. In FIG.
2, the numbers shown in parentheses after the names of each field
respectively indicate the number of bits occupied by each field.
FIG. 3 illustrates a MAC signaling header type 1 being used in
a wireless MAN mobile telecommunications system, which is based on
a generally used IEEE 802.16 system.
Referring to FIG. 3, since the Signaling header Type 1 corresponds
to a signaling header, the value of the header type (HT) field is
set to ^1', and the value of the encryption control (EC) field is
set to '0'. The description of the type field is as shown in Table
1 below.
[Table l]
As shown in Table 1, depending upon the value to the type field,
the Header Content field may have a different format. For example,
when the type field has the value of "000" or "001", the MAC signaling
header is used as the BR (Bandwidth Request) header. The header format
of this case will be described with reference to FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary bandwidth request header being
transmitted to a base station, when a mobile station requests for
a bandwidth in the IEEE 802.16 system.
A detailed description on the fields included in the bandwidth
request header shown in FIG. 4 is shown in Table 2 below.
[Table 2]
When requesting an uplink bandwidth by using the header as shown
in FIG. 4, the mobile station may request for up to a maximum of 512
KB.
In a general system, e.g., in a system following the IEEE 802.16e
standard, a bandwidth can be requested by using the above-described
header. However, in the newly developed (or latest) system, e.g.,
in a wireless telecommunications system following the IEEE 802.16m
standard (WirelssMAN-OFDMA advanced system only or WirelessMAN-OFDMA
Reference System/WirelessMAN-OFDMA Advanced co-existing System), a
more advanced and efficient method for requesting a bandwidth, as
compared to the method used in the general system, is required to
be defined.
[Disclosure]
[Technical Problem]
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to provide an
efficient method of a mobile station for requesting a bandwidth that
substantially obviates one or more of the above-described general
problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a quick method
of a mobile station for requesting a bandwidth that does not require
a process of the mobile station requesting a base station for an uplink
resource for transmitting a bandwidth request message.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an efficient
method for requesting a bandwidth, wherein the base station provides
different bandwidth request channels to the mobile station for each
mobile station group, the mobile station groups being categorized
by a predetermined categorization standard.
Additional objects and features of the present application will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part
will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon
examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the
present application.
[Technical Solution]
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance
with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described
herein, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in a
method of a mobile station for requesting a bandwidth in a broadband
wireless access system, the method for requesting a bandwidth includes
the steps of transmitting a bandwidth request header (BR header)
including a bandwidth request message and a quick access message to
a base station; receiving uplink grant (UL grant) information
corresponding to information included in the bandwidth request message
and the quick access message to the base station; and transmitting
data to the base station by using an uplink resource indicated by
the uplink grant information. Herein, the quick access message may
include at least one of a mobile station identifier for identifying
(or addressing) the mobile station, an identifier for identifying
quality of service (QoS), priority information, size information on
a size of the requested bandwidth, information on a buffer size of
the mobile station, and information on an uplink transmission power
(UL Tx power).
At this point, the method for requesting a bandwidth may further
include the step of receiving allocation information of a bandwidth
request channel corresponding to an uplink resource for transmitting
the bandwidth request header from the base station through a
predetermined broadcast channel. Herein, the step of transmitting
a bandwidth request header (BR header) may correspond to a step of
transmitting the bandwidth request header through the bandwidth
request channel.
Also, the step of transmitting a bandwidth request header (BR
header) may be performed by using a contention-based method.
Also, it is preferable that the predetermined broadcast channel
corresponds to a secondary super-frame header (S-SFH).
Also, the bandwidth request channel may be allocated for each
of at least one or more groups, the groups being categorized based
upon a predetermined standard.
Also, the predetermined standard may be determined by taking
into consideration at least one of priority level, service type, and
mobile station identifier.
Also, the at least one or more groups may be allocated through
any one of a SubscriberStation Basic Capability (SBC) procedure or
a Dynamic Service Addition (DSA) procedure.
Also, the at least one or more groups may be allocated through
any one of a broadcast station identifier (broadcast STID) and a
multicast station identifier (multicast STID).
Furthermore, the priority information may include at least one
of an emergency transmission status, a level according to a capability
of the mobile station, and a user level of the mobile station determined
a telecommunications service provider.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance
with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described
herein, according to another embodiment of the present invention,
in a method of a base station allocating a bandwidth to a mobile station
in a broadband wireless access system, the method for allocating a
bandwidth includes the steps of receiving a bandwidth request header
(BR header) including a bandwidth request message and a quick access
message from the mobile station; transmitting uplink grant (UL grant)
information corresponding to information included in the bandwidth
request message and the quick access message to the mobile station;
and receiving data from the mobile station through an uplink resource
indicated by the uplink grant information. Herein, the quick access
message may include at least one of a mobile station identifier for
identifying (or addressing) the mobile station, an identifier for
identifying quality of service (QoS), priority information, size
information on a size of the requested bandwidth, information on a
buffer size of the mobile station, and information on an uplink
transmission power (UL Tx power).
At this point, it is preferable that the method for allocating
a bandwidth further includes the step of broadcasting allocation
information of a bandwidth request channel corresponding to an uplink
resource for receiving the bandwidth request header through a
predetermined broadcast channel. Herein, the step of receiving a
bandwidth request header (BR header) may correspond to a step of
receiving the bandwidth request header through the bandwidth request
channel.
Also, the step of receiving a bandwidth request header (BRheader)
may be performed by using a contention-based method.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the predetermined broadcast
channel corresponds to a secondary super-frame header (S-SFH).
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance
with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described
herein, according to yet another embodiment of the present invention,
in a mobile station, the mobile station includes a processor; a receiving
module; a transmitting module; and an antenna configured to transmit
radio signals received from an external source to the receiving module
and to transmit radio signals being delivered from the transmitting
module to an external source.
Herein, the receiving module may perform demodulating and
decoding on the wireless signals being delivered from the antenna,
the transmitting module may perform modulating and encoding on the
data being delivered from the processor, and the processor may control
the transmitting module so that the transmitting module can generate
a bandwidth request header (BR header) including a bandwidth request
message and a quick access message corresponding to a size of data
that are to be transmitted to abase station, and so that the transmitting
module can transmit the generated bandwidth request header to the
base station, and the process may control the transmitting module
so that, when uplink grant (UL grant) information corresponding to
information included in the bandwidth request message and the quick
access message to are delivered from the receiving module, the
transmitting module can use an uplink resource indicated by the uplink
grant information so as to transmit the data to the base station.
At this point, the quick access message includes at least one
of a mobile station identifier for identifying (or addressing) the
mobile station, an identifier for identifying quality of service (QoS) ,
priority information, size information on a size of the requested
bandwidth, information on a buffer size of the mobile station, and
information on an uplink transmission power (UL Tx power).
Furthermore, the controller may control the receiving module
so that allocation information of a bandwidth request channel
corresponding to an uplink resource for receiving the bandwidth request
header can be received from the base station through a predetermined
broadcast channel, and the controller may control the transmitting
module so that the bandwidth request header can be transmitted through
the bandwidth request channel.
[Advantageous Effects]
According to the embodiments of the present invention, the present
invention has the following advantages.
First of all, according to the present invention, the mobile
station may more efficiently request for a bandwidth to the base station.
Secondly, according to the present invention, without performing
a process of requesting the base station for an uplink resource for
transmitting a bandwidth request message, the mobile station may use
the uplink resource periodically allocated (or assigned) thereto so
as to transmit the bandwidth request message to the base station.
Thirdly, according to the present invention, since the base
station allocates (or assigns) different bandwidth request channels
to the mobile station for each mobile station group, wherein the mobile
station groups is categorized by a predetermined categorization
standard, the mobile station may be capable of efficiently performing
a contention base bandwidth request.
Finally, according to the procedure defined in the present
invention, in a systemof a newly developed standard, the mobile station
may transmit supplementary information (Quick Access message) to the
base station, thereby efficiently performing the bandwidth request.
Additional advantages of the present application will be set
forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become
apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination
of the following or may be learned from practice of the present
application.
[Description of Drawings]
FIG. 1 illustrates a layer structure of a general IEEE 802.16
system.
FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary MAC header format being used
in an IEEE 802.16 system based wireless MAN mobile telecommunications
system.
FIG. 3 illustrates a MAC signaling header type 1 being used in
a wireless MAN mobile telecommunications system, which is based on
a generally used IEEE 802.16 system.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary bandwidth request header being
transmitted to a base station, when a mobile station requests for
a bandwidth in the IEEE 802.16 system.
FIG. 5 illustrates a 5-step bandwidth request procedure of the
mobile station using a general contention-based request method.
FIG. 6 illustrates an uplink resource allocation procedure of
the mobile station using polling among general contention-free request
methods.
FIG. 7 illustrates a general contention-based 5-step bandwidth
request procedure in a frame structure of an IEEE 802.16m system.
FIG. 8 illustrates a bandwidth request procedure of the mobile
station using a contention-based request method according to another
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 illustrates a bandwidth request procedure of the mobile
station using a contention-based request method in a frame structure
of an IEEE 802 .16m system according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates a block view showing structures of a
transmitting end and a receiving end according to another embodiment
of the present invention.
[Mode for Invention]
In order to resolve the above-described technical problems (or
or to achieve the above-described technical objects), the present
invention discloses various methods enabling the mobile station (or
terminal) to efficiently request a bandwidth.
The embodiments described below correspond to predetermined
combinations of elements and features and characteristics of the
present invention. Moreover, unless mentioned otherwise, the
characteristics of the present invention may be considered as optional
features of the present invention. Herein, each element or
characteristic of the present invention may also be operated or
performed without being combined with other elements or
characteristics of the present invention. Alternatively, the
embodiment of the present invention may be realized by combining some
of the elements and/or characteristics of the present invention.
Additionally, the order of operations described according to the
embodiment of the present invention may be varied. Furthermore, part
of the configuration or characteristics of any one specific embodiment
of the present invention may also be included in (or shared by) another
embodiment of the present invention, or part of the configuration
or characteristics of any one embodiment of the present invention
may replace the respective configuration or characteristics of another
embodiment of the present invention.
In the description of the present invention, the embodiments
of the present invention will be described by mainly focusing on the
data transmission and reception relation between the base station
and the terminal (or mobile station). Herein, the base station may
refer to a terminal node of the network that performs direct
communication with the terminal. Occasionally, in the description
of the present invention, particular operations of the present
invention that are described as being performed by the base station
may also be performed by an upper node of the base station.
More specifically, in a network consisting of multiple network
nodes including the base station, it is apparent that diverse operations
that are performed in order to communicate with the terminal may be
performed by the base station or b network nodes other than the base
station. Herein, the term 'Base Station (BS) ' may be replaced by other
terms, such as fixed station, Node B, eNode B (eNB), Access Point
(AP), and so on. Additionally, the term 'Mobile station' may be
replaced by terms including UE (Mobile station) , Terminal, MSS (Mobile
Subscriber Station), SS (Subscriber Station), and so on.
The embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by
using a variety of methods . For example, the embodiments of the present
invention may be implemented in the form of hardware, firmware, or
software, or in a combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software.
In case of implementing the embodiments of the present invention
in the form of hardware, the method according to the embodiments of
the present invention may be implemented by using at least one of
Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Digital Signal
Processors (DSPs), Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs),
Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays
(FPGAs) , processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors,
and so on.
In case of implementing the embodiments of the present invention
in the form of firmware or software, the method according to the
embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form
of a module, procedure, or function performing the above-described
functions or operations. A software code may be stored in a memory
unit and driven by a processor . Herein, the memory unit may be located
inside or outside of the processor, and the memory unit may transmit
and receive data to and from the processor by using a wide range of
methods that have already been disclosed.
Herein, the embodiments of the present invention may be supported
by at least one the disclosed standard documents for wireless access
systems including the IEEE 802 system, the 3GPP LTE system, and the
3GPP2 system. More specifically, among the embodiments of the present
invention, partial operation steps or structures of the present
invention, which have been omitted from the description of the present
invention in order to specify and clarify the technical scope and
spirit of the present invention may also be supported by the
above-de scribed standard documents . Furthermore, the terms disclosed
in the description of the present invention may be described based
upon the above-mentioned standard documents. Most particularly, the
embodiments of the present invention may be supported by at least
one of the standard documents for the IEEE 802.16 system, such as
P802.16-2004, P802.16e-2005, and P802.16Rev2.
The specific terms used in the following description of the present
invention are provided to facilitate the understanding of the present
invention. And, therefore, without deviating from the technical scope
and spirit of the present invention, such specific terms may also
be varied and/or replaced by other terms.
The method for requesting a bandwidth in a broadband wireless
access system is divided into a contention-based request method and
a contention-free request method. The contention-based request
method corresponds to a method wherein a plurality of users is in
contention to request for a bandwidth in a single channel. The
contention-free method corresponds to a method wherein each user sends
a bandwidth request to its allocated (or assigned) channel. When using
the contention-free method, the mobile station may send a bandwidth
request message in a unicast method through a channel allocated by
a polling of the base station. Alternatively, the mobile station may
send a bandwidth request message by using a piggy back method to a
remaining region of the bandwidth initially allocated (or assigned)
by the base station. Hereinafter, the contention-based request method
will first be described with reference to FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 illustrates a 5-step bandwidth request procedure of the
mobile station using a general contention-based request method.
Referring to FIG. 5, when data that are to be transmitted to
the base station are generated, the mobile station first transmits
a Bandwidth Request Indicator to the base station (S510) .
More specifically, as an example of the Bandwidth Request
Indicator, among the CDMA codes for a contention-based bandwidth
request (i.e., BR codes (Bandwidth Request codes)), a CDMA ranging
code (sequence or ranging preamble code) may be randomly selected
by the mobile station. Among the uplink resource, the mobile station
may transmit the selected code to a slot, which is randomly selected
from a region allocated by the base station for the Bandwidth Request
in the uplink resource.
If the base station recognizes the CDMA code transmitted by the
mobile station, the base station uses a CDMA allocation information
element (CDMA_Allocation_IE) so as to allocate a resource to which
the mobile station is to transmit a bandwidth request message (S520) .
After receiving the information on the uplink resource for
transmitting the bandwidth request message, the mobile station
transmits the bandwidth request message to the corresponding resource
region. At this point, the mobile stationmay use the bandwidth request
header (BR header) , and the header includes information on the size
of the requested bandwidth and the service type (S530).
The base station may transmit a response to the bandwidth request
message transmitted from the mobile station to the mobile station,
and, if the bandwidth requested by the mobile station is available,
the base station allocates the uplink resource corresponding to the
information included in the header to the mobile station (S540) .
The mobile station transmits data to the allocated uplink resource
(S550) . At this point, if the allocated uplink resource remains, the
mobile station may additionally request for resource allocation to
the base station by using the piggy back method.
Subsequently, the bandwidth request process using the
contention-free request method will now be described in detail with
reference to FIG. 6.
FIG. 6 illustrates an uplink resource allocation procedure of
the mobile station using polling among general non-contention request
methods.
Referring to FIG. 6, the base station periodically allocates
an uplink resource enabling the mobile station to transmit a bandwidth
request message through a polling process (S610).
The mobile station uses the allocated uplink resource so as to
transmit a bandwidth request message to the base station by using
the contention-free request method, wherein the bandwidth request
message uses a bandwidth request header (BR header) including
information on the bandwidth corresponding to the size of the data
that are to be transmitted by the mobile station (S620) .
After receiving the corresponding bandwidth request, when the
requested bandwidth is available, the base station allocates the uplink
resource to the mobile station (S630).
The mobile station then transmits the corresponding data to the
uplink region allocated by the base station (S640).
First Embodiment
In a system more evolved (or advanced) than the general system,
e.g., in a system following the IEEE 802.16m standard, in order to
enable the mobile station to request the base station for a bandwidth,
information other than those of the general system may be required.
More specifically, in a bandwidth request header (BR Header)
of the IEEE 802.16e system, a mobile station and a QoS (Quality of
Service) may be identified by using a CID (Connection IDentifier)
having the length of 16 bits. However, in an IEEE 802.16m system,
a station identifier (STID) is used as a logical identifier for
identifying themobile station. And, a connection of themobile station
or the respective QoS may be identified through a flow identifier
(FID).
Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention proposes
a method enabling the mobile station to efficiently transmit the
above-described information to the base station, so as to request
a bandwidth.
In order to do so, the present invention proposes a Quick Access
message. Herein, a Quick Access message refers to a message including
information that is to be transmitted by the mobile station to the
base station, in an advanced system, in order to request for a bandwidth.
Such Quick Access message may include information for identifying
the mobile station (AMS (Advanced Mobile Station)) (AMS addressing
information (e.g., STID)), information on the size of the bandwidth
that is to be requested (request size), information on an uplink
transmission power (Uplink transmit power report or UL Tx power),
a QoS identifier (e.g., FID), information on a buffer size of the
mobile station, information on the priority level, and so on.
Herein, when a Quick Access message is transmitted to the base
station, the information on the Uplink transmit power report may
indicate the power level used, or may indicate the remaining power
from the maximum available power level of the mobile station.
Furthermore, the information on the priority level may correspond
to whether or not emergency transmission has been performed, priority
levels respective to the mobile station class, or user level determined
by the communications service provider.
The Quick Access message including the above-described
information may be transmitted along with the bandwidth request
indicator in step S510 of FIG. 5 or with the bandwidth request message
in step S530 of FIG. 5.
In case the Quick Access message is transmitted along with the
bandwidth request message, the Quick Access message may be transmitted
to the base station through a bandwidth request header (BR header)
for transmitting the bandwidth request message . In other words, each
set of information included in the Quick Access message may be included
in the bandwidth request header in the form of fields configuring
the bandwidth request header.
Accordingly, by using the method provided in the embodiment of
the present invention, the mobile station may efficiently transmit
information for requesting a bandwidth to the base station in an advanced
system, without having to separately perform any additional process
steps.
Second Embodiment
According to another embodiment of the present invention, by
having the base station allocate an uplink resource enabling the mobile
station to periodically transmit a bandwidth request message, the
present invention provides a method enabling the mobile station to
request for an uplink resource to the base station more quickly.
In the general contention-based bandwidth request method
described above with reference to FIG. 5, a delay may occur due to
the procedure for being allocated with the uplink resource for
transmitting the bandwidth request message, i.e., due to the process
of transmitting a Bandwidth Request Indicator to the base station
and the process of receiving an uplink resource information for
transmitting a bandwidth request message as a response to the
transmitted bandwidth request indicator (i.e., UL grant for BW REQ
message) . This procedure will be described in detail with reference
to FIG. 7.
FIG. 7 illustrates a general contention based 5-step bandwidth
request procedure in a frame structure of an IEEE 802.16m system.
In FIG. 7, a super-frame has the length of 2 0ms and includes
4 frames. Herein, it is assumed that one frame includes 8 sub-frames,
and, according to TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) 5 of the sub-frames
are allocated as downlink sub-frames, and that the remaining 3
sub-frames are allocated as uplink sub-frames. Furthermore, since
the details on each step are similar to those of FIG. 5, the detailed
description of the same will be omitted for simplicity.
First of all, when data that are to be transmitted to the base
station are generated, the mobile station uses one of the uplink
sub-frames included in the last frame of the first super-frame to
transmit a Bandwidth Request Indicator to the base station (S710) .
Then, as a response to the received Bandwidth Request Indicator,
the base station allocates an uplink resource for transmitting a
bandwidth request message (CDMA alloc IE or UL grant for BW REQ) to
the mobile station through a downlink sub-frame of the next frame
(S720).
The mobile station uses the allocated uplink resource (in case
of FIG. 7, the mobile station uses an uplink sub-frame included in
the same frame as the frame to which the CDMA alloc IE is transmitted)
so as to transmit the bandwidth request message to the base station
(S730) .
Thereafter, the base station allocates information on the uplink
resource (UL grant), which corresponds to the information included
in the bandwidth request message, to the mobile station through a
downlink sub-frame of the next frame (S740) .
The mobile station uses the uplink resource indicated by an uplink
grant (UL grant) information (in case of FIG. 7, the mobile station
uses an uplink sub-frame included in the same frame as the frame to
which the UL grant is transmitted) so as to transmit data to the base
station (S750) .
In case of the above-described FIG. 7, while being processed
over the 5 steps, by using an uplink sub-frame and a downlink sub-frame
of each frame, a total of 3 frames are used herein. If the process
step S710 and step S720 can be omitted, the mobile station may be
able to request for a bandwidth with more efficiency. In order to
do so, this embodiment of the present invention proposes a method
of having the mobile station periodically allocate an uplink resource,
which can transmit the bandwidth request message using a
contention-based method, and also a method of transmitting information
on the allocated uplink resource through a predetermined broadcast
channel. This process will hereinafter be described in more detail
with reference to FIG. 8.
FIG. 8 illustrates a bandwidth request procedure of the mobile
station using a contention based request method according to another
embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 8, the base station (or ABS (Advanced Base
Station)) may transmit information on uplink resources (hereinafter
referred to as a "BR (Bandwidth Request) channel information") , which
are allocated so that the mobile station (AMS) can transmit the bandwidth
request message by using the contention-based method through a
predetermined broadcast channel (hereinafter referred to as a "BR
(Bandwidth Request) channel") to the mobile station (S810).
Herein, it is preferable that the predetermined broadcast channel
is a Super Frame Header (SFH). More preferably, the predetermined
broadcast channel may be a broadcast channel (BCH) of the super frame
header, i.e.', a secondary super frame header (S-SFH) .
Furthermore, the BR channel may correspond to an uplink resource
identical to that of the generally used 5-step method for requesting
a bandwidth, which is described with reference to FIG. 5, or the BR
channel may correspond to an uplink resource that- is separately
allocated to each group, which is classified (or differentiated) by
mobile station type, service type, or priority level. In case the
BR channel is differentiated for each group, a time-division method
may be used. More specifically, a BR channel for each group may be
allocated to different uplink sub-frames of each group, or a BR channel
for each group may be allocated to different symbol regions.
If a group is set-up, the group may be decided by SBC
(Subscriber Station Basic Capability) or DSA (Dynamic Service Addition)
procedures between the mobile station and the base station, and, then,
the decided group may be notified to the mobile station.
In this case, the base station may allocate any one identifier
for identifying (or addressing) a group to which the mobile station
belongs through the SBC procedure or the DSA procedure. Examples of
the identifiers may include a broadcast connection identifier
(broadcast CID), a multicast connection identifier (multicast CID) ,
a broadcast station identifier (broadcast STID), and a multicast
station identifier (multicast STID).
When data that are to be transmitted to the base station are
generated, the mobile station transmits a bandwidth request message
to the corresponding BR channel based upon the information acquired
in step S810.
At this point, the bandwidth request message may be transmitted
to the base station in a bandwidth request header (BR header) format.
And, the bandwidth request messagemay include a preamble and additional
information enabling the mobile station to request for the bandwidth
to the base station, wherein the additional information may correspond
to a Quick Access message.
Herein, as described in the embodiment of the present invention,
in addition to the conventional preamble (i.e., ranging preamble
sequence), the Quick Access message may include an identifier for
identifying (or addressing) the mobile station (CID or STID), QoS
level information (i.e., an identifier for identifying the QoS (SF
ID or FID)), information on the priority level, information on the
size of the bandwidth that is being requested (BR length) , information
on a buffer size of the mobile station, information on an uplink
transmission power (UL Tx power or Uplink transmit power report),
and so on.
Herein, when a Quick Access message is transmitted to the base
station, the information on the Uplink transmit power report may
indicate the power level used, or may indicate the remaining power
from the maximum available power level of the mobile station.
Furthermore, the information on the priority level may correspond
to whether or not emergency transmission has been performed, priority
levels respective to the mobile station class, or user level determined
by the communications service provider.
After receiving the bandwidth request message including the
above-described information, the base station may transmit a response
signal respective to the received bandwidth request message to the
mobile station. Based upon the information included in the bandwidth
request message, the base station allocates an uplink resource to
the mobile station through an uplink grant (UL grant) information
(S830) .
The mobile station may transmit data to the base station through
the uplink resource indicated by the uplink grant (UL grant), and,
if any, remaining resource may be requested for additional allocation
in a piggyback format (S840).
Hereinafter, a delay that may occur when using the above-described
method for requesting a bandwidth will now be described in detail
with reference to FIG. 9.
FIG. 9 illustrates a bandwidth request procedure of the mobile
station using a contention based request method in a frame structure
of an IEEE 802 .16m system according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
In FIG. 9, a super-frame has the length of 20ms and includes
4 frames. Herein, it is assumed that one frame includes 8 sub-frames,
and, according to TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) 5 of the sub-frames
are allocated as downlink sub-frames, and that the remaining 3
sub-frames are allocated as uplink sub-frames. Furthermore, since
the details on each step are similar to those of FIG. 8, the detailed
description of the same will be omitted for simplicity.
First of all, BR channel information is included in a broadcast
channel (BCH or S-SFH) of the first super-frame, and the BR channel
information designates a second uplink sub-frame 900 of the last frame
within the same sub-frame as the BR channel (S910).
In case data that are to be transmitted to the base station exist,
the mobile station transmits a bandwidth request message to the BR
channel 900 by using a contention-based method (S920) . At this point,
the above-described quick access message may be included in the
bandwidth request message.
The base station uses the information included in the bandwidth
request message transmitted from the mobile station, so as to transmit
downlink sub-frame of a next frame to the mobile station and uplink
grant (UL grant) information, thereby allocating a bandwidth (S930) .
The mobile station may transmit data to the base station by using
the uplink resource indicated by the UL grant information and, then,
may use the remaining resource so as to request the base station for
additional allocation in a piggyback format (S940).
If data that are to be transmitted to the mobile station generates
from the second super-frame, the mobile station may request the base
station for a bandwidth by using the BR channel 901, which is designated
by the BR channel information included in the super-frame header of
the second super-frame (S940) .
Referring to FIG. 9, the above-described method for requesting
a bandwidth may transmit data from a BR channel within a delay
corresponding to one frame. This indicates that the method for
requesting a bandwidth provided by the present invention is
advantageous in showing a large decrease in delay as compared to the
delay corresponding to 3 frames, as shown in FIG. 7.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention,
a mobile station and base station that can perform the above-described
embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail.
The mobile station may operate as a transmitter in an uplink,
and the mobile station may operate as a receiver in a downlink. Also,
the base station may operate as a receiver in an uplink, and the base
stationmay operate as a transmitter in a downlink. More specifically,
the mobile station and the base station may each include a transmitter
and a receiver for transmitting information or data to and from one
another.
The transmitter and receiver may each include a processor, a
module, a part, and/or a medium. Most particularly, the transmitter
and receivermay each include amodule (medium) for encrypting amessage,
a module for interpreting an encrypted message, an antenna for
transmitting and receiving messages, and so on. An example of such
transmitting end and receiving end will now be described in detail
with reference to FIG. 9.
FIG. 10 illustrates a block view showing structures of a
transmitting end and a receiving end according to another embodiment
of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 10, the left side represents the structure
of the transmitting end, and the right side represents the structure
of the receiving end. Each of the transmitting end and the receiving
end may include an antenna 1000 and 1010, a processor 1020 and 1030,
a transmission module (Tx module) 1040 and 1050, a receiving module
(Rx module) 1060 and 1070, and a memory 1080 and 1090. Each element
may perform its corresponding function. Hereinafter, each element
will now be described in detail.
The antenna 1000 and 1010 either transmits a signal created from
the Tx module 1040 and 1050 to the outside, or receives a wireless
signal from the outside, thereby delivering the received signal to
the Rx module 1060 and 1070. When a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output
(MIMO) antenna function is supported, at least 2 or more antennae
may be provided herein.
The processor 1020 and 1030 generally controls the overall
operations of the transmitting end or the receiving end. Most
particularly, the transmitting end or the receiving end may perform
a controller function for performing the above-described embodiments
of the present invention, a MAC (Medium Access Control) frame variable
control function based upon service characteristics and frequency
environment (or condition), a hand over function, and authentication
and encryption functions.
For example, in performing the process steps associated with
the above-described methods for requesting a bandwidth, the processor
of the mobile station may determine whether or not data that are to
be transmitted to the base station exist. If it is determined that
data, which are to be transmitted to the base station, exist, contents
that are to be included in the bandwidth request method including
a bandwidth request indicator, a quick access message, and information
corresponding to the data that are to be transmitted may be decided
and generated. Also, the process of the mobile stationmay also control
the transmitting module 1050 so that the generated indicator or message
can be transmitted to the base station at an appropriate moment.
Furthermore, the processor 1030 may control the receiving module 1070
so as to interpret the contents included in the MAC message, such
as uplink grant (UL grant) information being transmitted from the
base station, thereby determining and performing an appropriate
responsive operation with respect to the interpreted content.
Additionally, the processor of the base station may interpret
the bandwidth request message, MACmessage, or data that are transmitted
to the base station from the mobile station, so as to allocate the
required uplink resource to the mobile station, and the processor
of the base station may also generate an uplink grant (UL grant) for
notifying the mobile station of the allocation details and perform
scheduling in order to transmit the generated UL grant. Furthermore,
the processor of the base station may allocate identifiers, such as
the STID, FID, and so on, required by the mobile station and may generate
a MAC message including the corresponding information, thereby
transmitting the generated MAC message to the mobile station.
The Tx module 1040 and 1050 may perform predetermined coding
and modulation processes on the data scheduled by the processor 1020
and 1030 and to be transmitted to the outside, thereby delivering
the processed data to the antenna 1010.
The Rx module 1060 and 1070 may perform decoding and demodulation
processes on a wireless signal received from the outside through the
antenna 1000 and 1010, so as to recover the processed data to the
original (or initial) state, thereby delivering the recovered data
to the processor 1020 and 1030.
A program for processing and controlling the processor 1020 and
1030 may be stored in the memory 1080 and 1090. The memory 1080 and
1090 may also perform functions for temporarily storing input/output
data (in case of the mobile station, temporarily storing an uplink
grant (UL grant), system information, STID, FID, operating time, and
so on, which are allocated by the base station). Furthermore, the
memory 1080 and 1090 may include at least one type of storage means,
such as a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro
type, a card-type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory) , a RAM (Random Access
Memory) , a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) , a ROM (Read-Only Memory) ,
an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a
PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), a magnetic memory, a magnetic
disk, and an optical disk.
Meanwhile, the base station may perform a controller function
for performing the above-described embodiments of the present
invention, an OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)
packet scheduling, TDD (Time Division Duplex) packet scheduling, and
channel multiplexing functions, MAC frame variable control function
based upon service characteristics and frequency environment (or
condition), a high-speed traffic real-time control function, a hand
over function, authentication and encoding (or encryption) functions,
packet modulation/demodulation functions for transmitting data, a
high-speed channel coding function, and a real-time modem control
function through at least one of the above-described modules, or the
base station may further include a separate means, module, or part
for performing such functions.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made in the present invention
without departing from the technical and essential spirit or scope
of the invention. Therefore, the detailed description of the present
invention should not be interpreted as limiting in all aspects of
the present invention, but should be considered as exemplary. The
scope of the appended claims of the present invention shall be decided
based upon rational interpretation, and all modifications within the
scope of the appended claims and their equivalents will be included
in the scope of the present invention.
Although the above-described method for requesting a bandwidth
and a mobile station structure for the same have been described in
detail based upon an example being applied to the IEEE 802.16 system,
in addition to the IEEE 802.16 system, the present invention may also
be applied to a wide range of mobile telecommunications systems having
similar procedures for requesting a bandwidth.
[industrial Applicability]
The embodiments of the present invention can be applied to various
wireless access systems. Examples of various wireless access systems
include 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) system, 3GPP2 system
and/or IEEE 802.xx (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
802) system. The embodiments of the present invention can be applied
to all technical fields to which the various access systems are applied,
as well as the various access systems.
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A method of a mobile station for requesting a bandwidth in a
broadband wireless access system, the method comprising:
transmitting a bandwidth request preamble sequence (BR preamble
sequence) and a quick access message to a base station;
receiving uplink grant (UL grant) information corresponding to
information included the quick access message from the base station;
and
transmitting data to the base station by using an uplink
resource indicated by the uplink grant information,
wherein the quick access message comprises a mobile station
identifier for identifying (or addressing) the mobile station and
information representing quality of service (QoS) level and a size of
the requested bandwidth.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving
allocation information of bandwidth request channels corresponding to
an uplink resource for transmitting the BR preamble sequence and the
quick access message from the base station through a predetermined
broadcast channel,
wherein the BR preamble sequence and the quick access message
are transmitted through randomly selected one of the bandwidth
request channels.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the transmission of the BR
preamble sequence is performed by using a contention-based method.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined broadcast
channel comprises a secondary super-frame header (S-SFH).
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving a
response signal in response to the BR preamble sequence from the base
station.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information representing
quality of service (QoS) level and a size of the requested bandwidth
is included in the quick access message in the form of a
predetermined index.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information representing
quality of service (QoS) level and a size of the requested bandwidth
is negotiated through any one of a Dynamic Service Change (DSC)
procedure or a Dynamic Service Addition (DSA) procedure.
8. A method of a base station for allocating a bandwidth to a
mobile station in a broadband wireless access system, the method
comprising:
receiving a bandwidth request preamble sequence (BR preamble
sequence) and a quick access message from the mobile station;
transmitting uplink grant (UL grant) information corresponding
to information included the quick access message to the mobile
station; and
receiving data from the mobile station through an uplink
resource indicated by the uplink grant information,
wherein the quick access message comprises a mobile station
identifier for identifying (or addressing) the mobile station and
information representing quality of service (QoS) level and a size of
the requested bandwidth.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising broadcasting
allocation information of bandwidth request channels corresponding to
an uplink resource for receiving the BR preamble sequence through a
predetermined broadcast channel,
wherein the BR preamble sequence and the quick access message
are received through one of the bandwidth request channels.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the reception of the BR
preamble sequence is performed by using a contention-based method.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined broadcast
channel corresponds to a secondary super-frame header (S-SFH).
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the information representing
quality of service (QoS) level and a size of the requested bandwidth
is included in the quick access message in the form of a
predetermined index.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the information representing
quality of service (QoS) level and a size of the requested bandwidth
is negotiated through any one of a Dynamic Service Change (DSC)
procedure or a Dynamic Service Addition (DSA) procedure.
14. A mobile station for requesting a bandwidth in a broadband
wireless access system, the mobile station comprising:
a processor;
a receiving module;
a transmitting module; and
an antenna configured to transmit radio signals received from an
external source to the receiving module and to transmit radio signals
being delivered from the transmitting module to an external source,
wherein the receiving module performs demodulating and decoding
on the wireless signals being delivered from the antenna, and wherein
the transmitting module performs modulating and encoding on the data
being delivered from the processor, and
wherein the processor controls a bandwidth request preamble
sequence (BR preamble sequence) and a quick access message to be
transmitted to a base station through the transmitting module,
controls uplink grant (UL grant) information corresponding to
information included the quick access message to be received from the
base station through the receving module, and controls data to be
transmitted to the base station by using an uplink resource indicated
by the uplink grant information, and
wherein the quick access message comprises a mobile station
identifier for identifying (or addressing) the mobile station and
information representing quality of service (QoS) level and a size of
the requested bandwidth.
15. The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the controller
controls allocation information of bandwidth request channels
corresponding to an uplink resource for transmitting the BR preamble
sequence to be received from the base station through a predetermined
broadcast channel,
wherein the BR preamble sequence and the quick access message
are transmitted through randomly selected one of the bandwidth
request channels.


The present invention deals with a method for requesting and allocating
an uplink resource efficiently in a broadband wireless access
system. The method of the present invention wherein a terminal
requests bandwidth in a broadband wireless access system may include
a step in which a bandwidth request header (BR header), including
a bandwidth request message and a high-speed access message, is
transmitted to a base station; a step in which uplink grant (UL grant)
information corresponding to the information included in said
bandwidth request message and said high-speed access message is
received from said base station; and a step in which the uplink resource
indicated by said uplink grant information is used to transmit data
to said base station.

Documents:

http://ipindiaonline.gov.in/patentsearch/GrantedSearch/viewdoc.aspx?id=n57YlC7K/rq3u7ZE4My7NA==&loc=wDBSZCsAt7zoiVrqcFJsRw==


Patent Number 278856
Indian Patent Application Number 250/KOLNP/2011
PG Journal Number 01/2017
Publication Date 06-Jan-2017
Grant Date 31-Dec-2016
Date of Filing 17-Jan-2011
Name of Patentee LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Applicant Address 20, YEOUIDO-DONG, YEONGDEUNGPO-GU, SEOUL 150-721 REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 YOUN, AE RAN LG INSTITUTE, HOGYE 1(IL)-DONG, DONGAN-GU, ANYANG-SI, GYEONGGI-DO 431-080 REPUBLIC OF KOREA
2 IHM, BIN CHUL LG INSTITUTE, HOGYE 1(IL)-DONG, DONGAN-GU, ANYANG-SI, GYEONGI-DO 431-080 REPUBLIC OF KOREA
PCT International Classification Number H04B 7/26
PCT International Application Number PCT/KR2009/004296
PCT International Filing date 2009-07-31
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 61/085,000 2008-07-31 U.S.A.