U.S. patent application number 13/868950 was filed with the patent office on 2013-09-12 for out-of-band radio for supporting compressed mode in a femto deployment.
The applicant listed for this patent is Soumya Das, Samir Salib Soliman. Invention is credited to Soumya Das, Samir Salib Soliman.
Application Number | 20130235750 13/868950 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45446238 |
Filed Date | 2013-09-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130235750 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Das; Soumya ; et
al. |
September 12, 2013 |
OUT-OF-BAND RADIO FOR SUPPORTING COMPRESSED MODE IN A FEMTO
DEPLOYMENT
Abstract
Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are
described for using communications over an out-of-band (OOB) link
to support compressed mode communications by user equipment (UE) in
a femto deployment. Typically, UEs must tune away from an active
communications channel to make inter-frequency and/or inter-RAT
measurements. When making these measurements, data communications
may be compressed to allow time to tune away for those
measurements. Embodiments integrate an OOB proxy with the femtocell
to provide OOB link capability to supplement WWAN link resources.
According to various techniques, the OOB link is used to compensate
for reductions in data rate and/or quality resulting from
compressed mode operation. For example, the OOB link is used to
communicate compressed mode signaling data, retransmissions, and/or
other compensatory data.
Inventors: |
Das; Soumya; (San Diego,
CA) ; Soliman; Samir Salib; (Poway, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Das; Soumya
Soliman; Samir Salib |
San Diego
Poway |
CA
CA |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
45446238 |
Appl. No.: |
13/868950 |
Filed: |
April 23, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12983576 |
Jan 3, 2011 |
8427975 |
|
|
13868950 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
370/252 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 36/0085 20180801;
H04W 88/06 20130101; H04W 24/10 20130101; H04W 36/00837
20180801 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/252 |
International
Class: |
H04W 24/10 20060101
H04W024/10 |
Claims
1. A method as described in the foregoing description.
2. User equipment as described in the foregoing description.
3. A processor as described in the foregoing description.
4. A computer program product residing on a processor-readable
medium and comprising processor-readable instructions, which, when
executed, cause a processor to perform steps, as described in the
foregoing description.
5. A system as described in the foregoing description.
6. A femto-proxy system as described in the foregoing description.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of Ser. No.
12/983,576 filed Jan. 3, 2011, patent issued on Apr. 23, 2013, as
U.S. Pat. No. 842,975, entitled "OUT-OF-BAND RADIO FOR SUPPORTING
COMPRESSED MODE IN A FEMTO DEPLOYMENT" and claims the benefit
thereto. The entirety of the aforementioned application is herein
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Information communication provided by various forms of
networks is in wide use in the world today. Networks having
multiple nodes in communication using wireless and wireline links
are used, for example, to carry voice and/or data. The nodes of
such networks may be computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs),
phones, servers, routers, switches, multiplexers, modems, radios,
access points, base stations, etc. Many client device nodes
(referred to herein as user equipment (UE)), such as cellular
phones, PDAs, laptop computers, etc. are mobile and thus may
connect with a network through a number of different
interfaces.
[0003] Mobile client devices may connect with a network wirelessly
via a base station, access point, wireless router, etc.
(collectively referred to herein as access points). A mobile client
device may remain within the service area of such an access point
for a relatively long period of time (referred to as being "camped
on" the access point) or may travel relatively rapidly through
access point service areas, with cellular handoff or reselection
techniques being used for maintaining a communication session or
for idle mode operation as association with access points is
changed.
[0004] Issues with respect to available spectrum, bandwidth,
capacity, etc. may result in a network interface being unavailable
or inadequate between a particular client device and access point.
Moreover, issues with respect to wireless signal propagation, such
as shadowing, multipath fading, interference, etc. may result in a
network interface being unavailable or inadequate between a
particular client device and access point.
[0005] Cellular networks have employed the use of various cell
types, such as macrocells, microcells, picocells, and femtocells,
to provide desired bandwidth, capacity, and wireless communication
coverage within service areas. For example, the use of femtocells
is often desirable to provide wireless communication in areas of
poor network coverage (e.g., inside of buildings), to provide
increased network capacity, to utilize broadband network capacity
for backhaul, etc.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods
for using communications over an out-of-band (OOB) link to support
compressed mode communications by user equipment (UE) in a femto
deployment. Typically, UEs must tune away from an active
communications channel to make inter-frequency and/or inter-RAT
measurements. When making these measurements, data communications
may be compressed to allow time to tune away for those
measurements. Embodiments integrate an OOB proxy with the femtocell
to provide OOB link capability to supplement WWAN link resources.
According to various techniques, the OOB link is used to compensate
for reductions in data rate and/or quality resulting from
compressed mode operation. For example, the OOB link is used to
communicate compressed mode signaling data, retransmissions, and/or
other compensatory data.
[0007] An exemplary method includes: detecting a measurement
trigger condition with user equipment while the user equipment is
communicating with a femtocell over a wireless wide area network
(WWAN) link on a first WWAN channel according to a first
communications mode at a data rate in satisfaction of a rate target
and at a data quality in satisfaction of a quality target; and
switching the user equipment to communicate according to a second
communications mode in response to detecting the measurement
trigger. Communicating according to the second communications mode
includes: interspersing measurement blocks with data frames, such
that the user equipment communicates with the femtocell over the
WWAN link on the first WWAN channel during the data frames and
performs measurements on at least a second WWAN channel during the
measurement blocks; compressing communications with the femtocell
over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel by reducing at least
one of the data rate or the data quality; and communicating
supplemental data between the user equipment and an out-of-band
(OOB) femto-proxy over an OOB link substantially concurrently with
communicating with the femtocell over the WWAN link, such that
communicating the supplemental data at least partially compensates
for the reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality.
[0008] According to certain configurations, the femtocell and the
OOB femto-proxy are integrated with each other as part of a
femto-proxy system. Additionally or alternatively, the second WWAN
channel is an inter-frequency neighbor or an inter-RAT (radio
access technology) neighbor of the first WWAN channel. Additionally
or alternatively, the OOB link is a Bluetooth link.
[0009] According to some such methods, communicating according to
the second communications mode further includes generating
signaling data configured to facilitate communications by the user
equipment according to the second mode; and communicating the
supplemental data between the user equipment and the OOB
femto-proxy over the OOB link includes communicating at least some
of the signaling data over the OOB link.
[0010] According to other such methods, the user equipment
communicates data with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the
first WWAN channel, the data having a payload portion and a
redundancy portion configured to satisfy the quality target;
compressing communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on
the first WWAN channel includes reducing the data quality by
reducing the redundancy portion of the data; and communicating the
supplemental data between the user equipment and the OOB
femto-proxy over the OOB link includes communicating
retransmissions over the OOB link to at least partially compensate
for the reducing of the data quality (e.g., without substantially
increasing instantaneous transmit power associated with the WWAN
link).
[0011] According to still other such methods, communicating
according to the second communications mode further includes
generating signaling data configured to facilitate communications
by the user equipment according to the second mode; and
communicating the supplemental data between the user equipment and
the OOB femto-proxy over the OOB link further includes
communicating at least some of the signaling data over the OOB
link. According to even other such methods, communicating according
to the first communications mode includes communicating data with
the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel during
the data frames, each data frame having a first duration; and
communicating according to the second communications mode includes
communicating data with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the
first WWAN channel during the data frames, each data frame having a
second duration that is shorter than the first duration.
[0012] According to yet other such methods, compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel includes reducing the data rate by communicating data
with the femtocell only during the data frames and without
substantially changing the data quality, such that only a first
portion of the data can be communicated over the WWAN link; and
communicating the supplemental data between the user equipment and
the OOB femto-proxy over the OOB link includes communicating a
remaining portion of the data over the OOB link to at least
partially compensate for the reducing of the data rate.
Additionally or alternatively, the remaining portion of the data is
communicated over the OOB link only during the measurement blocks.
Additionally or alternatively, communicating according to the
second communications mode further includes generating signaling
data configured to facilitate communications by the user equipment
according to the second mode; and communicating the supplemental
data between the user equipment and the OOB femto-proxy over the
OOB link further includes communicating at least some of the
signaling data over the OOB link.
[0013] An exemplary user equipment includes: an in-band
communications subsystem configured to communicatively couple with
a femtocell over a wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a
first WWAN channel and to communicate with at least one macrocell
over the WWAN link on a second WWAN channel; an out-of-band (OOB)
communications subsystem configured to communicatively couple with
an OOB femto-proxy over an OOB link; and a communications
management subsystem, communicatively coupled with the in-band
communications subsystem and the OOB communications subsystem, and
configured to: detect a measurement trigger condition while
communicating with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel according to a first communications mode at a data
rate in satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in
satisfaction of a quality target; and direct the in-band
communications subsystem and the OOB communications subsystem to
communicate according to a second communications mode in response
to detecting the measurement trigger. Communicating according to
the second communications mode includes: interspersing measurement
blocks with data frames, such that communications with the
femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel occur during
the data frames and measurements are performed on at least the
second WWAN channel during the measurement blocks; compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel by reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality; and communicating supplemental data with the OOB
femto-proxy over the OOB link substantially concurrently with
communicating with the femtocell over the WWAN link, such that
communicating the supplemental data at least partially compensates
for the reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality.
[0014] An exemplary processor includes: an in-band communications
controller configured to communicatively couple with a femtocell
over a wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a first WWAN
channel and to communicate with at least one macrocell over the
WWAN link on a second WWAN channel; an out-of-band (OOB)
communications controller configured to communicatively couple with
an OOB femto-proxy over an OOB link; and
a communications management controller, communicatively coupled
with the in-band communications subsystem and the OOB
communications subsystem, and configured to: detect a measurement
trigger condition while communicating with the femtocell over the
WWAN link on the first WWAN channel according to a first
communications mode at a data rate in satisfaction of a rate target
and at a data quality in satisfaction of a quality target; and
direct the in-band communications controller and the OOB
communications controller to communicate according to a second
communications mode in response to detecting the measurement
trigger. Communicating according to the second communications mode
includes: interspersing measurement blocks with data frames, such
that communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the
first WWAN channel occur during the data frames and measurements
are performed on at least the second WWAN channel during the
measurement blocks; compressing communications with the femtocell
over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel by reducing at least
one of the data rate or the data quality; and communicating
supplemental data with the OOB femto-proxy over the OOB link
substantially concurrently with communicating with the femtocell
over the WWAN link, such that communicating the supplemental data
at least partially compensates for the reducing at least one of the
data rate or the data quality.
[0015] An exemplary computer program product residing on a
processor-readable medium has processor-readable instructions,
which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps including:
detecting a measurement trigger condition with user equipment while
the user equipment is communicating with a femtocell over a
wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a first WWAN channel
according to a first communications mode at a data rate in
satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in satisfaction
of a quality target; and switching the user equipment to
communicate according to a second communications mode in response
to detecting the measurement trigger. Communicating according to
the second communications mode includes: interspersing measurement
blocks with data frames, such that the user equipment communicates
with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel
during the data frames and performs measurements on at least a
second WWAN channel during the measurement blocks; compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel by reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality; and communicating supplemental data between the user
equipment and an out-of-band (OOB) femto-proxy over an OOB link
substantially concurrently with communicating with the femtocell
over the WWAN link, such that communicating the supplemental data
at least partially compensates for the reducing at least one of the
data rate or the data quality.
[0016] Another exemplary system includes: means for communicating
with a femtocell over a wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a
first WWAN channel according to a first communications mode at a
data rate in satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in
satisfaction of a quality target; means for detecting a measurement
trigger condition while the means for communicating is
communicating according to the first communications mode; and means
for directing the means for communicating to communicate according
to a second communications mode in response to detecting the
measurement trigger. Communicating according to the second
communications mode includes: interspersing measurement blocks with
data frames, such that the user equipment communicates with the
femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel during the
data frames and performs measurements on at least a second WWAN
channel during the measurement blocks; compressing communications
with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel by
reducing at least one of the data rate or the data quality; and
communicating supplemental data with an out-of-band (OOB)
femto-proxy over an OOB link substantially concurrently with
communicating with the femtocell over the WWAN link, such that
communicating the supplemental data at least partially compensates
for the reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality.
[0017] An exemplary femto-proxy system includes: a femtocell,
configured to provide macro network access to a number of user
equipment authorized to attach to the femtocell according to an
access control list over a wireless wide area network (WWAN) link
on a first WWAN channel; an out-of-band (OOB) communications
subsystem, integrated with the femtocell and configured to
communicatively couple with the number of user equipment over an
OOB link; and a communications management subsystem,
communicatively coupled with the femtocell and the OOB
communications subsystem, and configured to: detect a measurement
trigger condition for one of the user equipment that is in
communication with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel according to a first communications mode at a data
rate in satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in
satisfaction of a quality target; and direct the one of the user
equipment to communicate according to a second communications mode
in response to detecting the measurement trigger. Communicating
according to the second communications mode includes: interspersing
measurement blocks with data frames, such that communications with
the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel occur
during the data frames and measurements are performed on at least
the second WWAN channel during the measurement blocks; compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel by reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality; and communicating supplemental data with the OOB
communications subsystem over the OOB link substantially
concurrently with communicating with the femtocell over the WWAN
link, such that communicating the supplemental data at least
partially compensates for the reducing at least one of the data
rate or the data quality.
[0018] Another exemplary processor includes: a femtocell
controller, configured to direct a femtocell to provide macro
network access to a number of user equipment authorized to attach
to the femtocell according to an access control list over a
wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a first WWAN channel; an
out-of-band (OOB) communications controller, configured to direct
an OOB radio integrated with the femtocell to communicatively
couple with the number of user equipment over an OOB link; and a
communications management controller, communicatively coupled with
the femtocell controller and the OOB communications controller, and
configured to: detect a measurement trigger condition for one of
the user equipment that is in communication with the femtocell over
the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel according to a first
communications mode at a data rate in satisfaction of a rate target
and at a data quality in satisfaction of a quality target; and
direct the one of the user equipment to communicate according to a
second communications mode in response to detecting the measurement
trigger. Communicating according to the second communications mode
includes: interspersing measurement blocks with data frames, such
that communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the
first WWAN channel occur during the data frames and measurements
are performed on at least the second WWAN channel during the
measurement blocks; compressing communications with the femtocell
over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel by reducing at least
one of the data rate or the data quality; and communicating
supplemental data with the OOB radio over the OOB link
substantially concurrently with communicating with the femtocell
over the WWAN link, such that communicating the supplemental data
at least partially compensates for the reducing at least one of the
data rate or the data quality.
[0019] Another computer program product residing on a
processor-readable medium has processor-readable instructions,
which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps including:
detecting a measurement trigger condition corresponding to a user
equipment while the user equipment is communicating with a
femtocell over a wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a first
WWAN channel according to a first communications mode at a data
rate in satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in
satisfaction of a quality target; and directing the user equipment
to communicate according to a second communications mode in
response to detecting the measurement trigger. Communicating
according to the second communications mode includes: interspersing
measurement blocks with data frames, such that the user equipment
communicates with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel during the data frames and performs measurements on at
least a second WWAN channel during the measurement blocks;
compressing communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on
the first WWAN channel by reducing at least one of the data rate or
the data quality; and communicating supplemental data between the
user equipment and an out-of-band (OOB) femto-proxy over an OOB
link substantially concurrently with communicating with the
femtocell over the WWAN link, such that communicating the
supplemental data at least partially compensates for the reducing
at least one of the data rate or the data quality.
[0020] Another exemplary system includes: means for detecting a
measurement trigger condition corresponding to a user equipment
while the user equipment is communicating with a femtocell over a
wireless wide area network (WWAN) link on a first WWAN channel
according to a first communications mode at a data rate in
satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in satisfaction
of a quality target; and means for directing the user equipment to
communicate according to a second communications mode in response
to detecting the measurement trigger, communicating according to
the second communications mode including: interspersing measurement
blocks with data frames, such that the user equipment communicates
with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first WWAN channel
during the data frames and performs measurements on at least a
second WWAN channel during the measurement blocks; compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel by reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality; and communicating supplemental data between the user
equipment and an out-of-band (OOB) femto-proxy over an OOB link
substantially concurrently with communicating with the femtocell
over the WWAN link, such that communicating the supplemental data
at least partially compensates for the reducing at least one of the
data rate or the data quality.
[0021] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
technical advantages of examples according to disclosure in order
that the detailed description that follows may be better
understood. Additional features and advantages will be described
hereinafter. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be
readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other
structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present
disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the
spirit and scope of the appended claims. Features which are
believed to be characteristic of the concepts disclosed herein,
both as to their organization and method of operation, together
with associated advantages, will be better understood from the
following description when considered in connection with the
accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the
purpose of illustration and description only and not as a
definition of the limits of the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of
examples provided by the disclosure may be realized by reference to
the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings
wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the several
drawings to refer to similar components. In some instances, a
sub-label is associated with a reference numeral to denote one of
multiple similar components. When reference is made to a reference
numeral without specification to an existing sub-label, the
reference numeral refers to all such similar components.
[0023] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communications
system;
[0024] FIG. 2A shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless
communications system that includes a femto-proxy system;
[0025] FIG. 2B shows a block diagram of an exemplary wireless
communications system that includes an architecture of a
femto-proxy system that is different from the architecture shown in
FIG. 2A;
[0026] FIG. 3 shows detail regarding an example of a femtocell
architecture for an illustrative Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) network;
[0027] FIG. 4A shows a block diagram of an example of a mobile user
equipment for use with the femto-proxy systems of FIGS. 2A and 2B
in the context of the communications systems and networks of FIGS.
1-3;
[0028] FIG. 4B shows a block diagram of another configuration of a
mobile user equipment for use with the femto-proxy systems of FIGS.
2A and 2B in the context of the communications systems and networks
of FIGS. 1-3;
[0029] FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for using
multiple communications modes to support inter-frequency and/or
inter-RAT measurements;
[0030] FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for using
OOB communications to facilitate compressed mode operations;
[0031] FIG. 7A shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for
using OOB communications to communicate signaling data in support
of compressed mode operations;
[0032] FIG. 7B shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for
using OOB communications to communicate retransmissions and/or
similar supplemental data in support of compressed mode
operations;
[0033] FIG. 7C shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method for
using OOB communications to communicate portions of data not
communicated over the WWAN link in support of compressed mode
operations;
[0034] FIG. 8A shows a simplified communication diagram for data
communications over a communications link in a non-compressed
mode;
[0035] FIG. 8B shows a simplified communication diagram for data
communications over a communications link in a compressed mode;
[0036] FIG. 9A shows a simplified communication diagram for data
communications over a communications link in a compressed mode,
where the OOB link is used for communication of
retransmissions;
[0037] FIG. 9B shows a simplified communication diagram for data
communications over a communications link in a compressed mode,
where the OOB link is used for communication of remaining data not
communicated over the WWAN link;
[0038] FIG. 9C shows a simplified communication diagram for data
communications over a communications link in a compressed mode,
where the OOB link is used for communication of signaling data;
and
[0039] FIGS. 9D and 9E show simplified communication diagrams for
data communications over a communications link in a compressed
mode, where the OOB link is used for communication of combinations
of supplemental data.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods
for using an out-of-band (OOB) link to facilitate one or more
compressed modes of operation of user equipment (UE) in a femto
deployment. To make certain measurements (e.g., inter-frequency,
inter-RAT, etc.), a UE typically tunes away from its current
frequency during measurement blocks, which may reduce resources
available for data (i.e., non-measurement-related) communications.
While various techniques are available for compressing data
communications, various factors limit the ability of those
techniques to preserve desired data rates and/or data fidelities
during compressed mode operation of the UE.
[0041] Accordingly, a femto-proxy system is provided including a
femtocell and an out-of-band (OOB) proxy. The OOB proxy is used to
establish an OOB link with the UE which is used in one or more ways
to compensate for impacts of compressed mode operations on data
rate and/or data fidelity by concurrently communicating one or more
types of supplemental data over the OOB link. In some embodiments,
data blocks are compressed (e.g., by reducing redundancy
communicated with each data block), and the OOB link is used to
communicate retransmissions and/or other similar types of data.
This may allow compression of data blocks without increasing
instantaneous transmit power, while substantially maintaining data
fidelity. In other embodiments, data blocks are not compressed,
data is not communicated over the in-band link during measurement
blocks, and the not communicated during the measurement blocks is
communicated instead using the OOB link. In still other
embodiments, the OOB link is used to communicate various types of
signaling data to support compressed mode operations of the UE
without using in-band bandwidth for that data. Yet other
embodiments include combinations of multiple of those
techniques.
[0042] Techniques described herein may be used for various wireless
communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and
other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used
interchangeably. A CDMA system may implement a radio technology
such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc.
CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. IS-2000
Releases 0 and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc.
IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High
Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA)
and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system may implement a radio
technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).
An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra
Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi),
IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM.RTM., etc. UTRA and
E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
(UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are
new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE,
LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization
named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB
are described in documents from an organization named "3rd
Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described
herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned
above, as well as for other systems and radio technologies.
[0043] Thus, the following description provides examples, and is
not limiting of the scope, applicability, or configuration set
forth in the claims. Changes may be made in the function and
arrangement of elements discussed without departing from the spirit
and scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute,
or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For
instance, the methods described may be performed in an order
different from that described, and various operations may be added,
omitted, or combined. Also, features described with respect to
certain examples may be combined in other examples.
[0044] Referring first to FIG. 1, a block diagram illustrates an
example of a wireless communications system 100. The system 100
includes transceiver stations (referred to herein as NodeBs 105),
disposed in cells 110, mobile user equipment 115 (UE), and a base
station controller (BSC) 120. It is worth noting that, while the
term user equipment (UE) typically denotes UNIVERSAL MOBILE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM (UMTS) networks, similar functionality
may be deployed in other types of networks via their corresponding
network elements (e.g., mobile stations (MSs), access terminals
(ATs), etc.) without departing from the scope of the disclosure or
the claims.
[0045] The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers
(waveform signals of different frequencies). Multi-carrier
transmitters can transmit modulated signals simultaneously on the
multiple carriers. Each modulated signal may be a CDMA signal, a
TDMA signal, an OFDMA signal, a SC-FDMA signal, etc. Each modulated
signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot,
redundancy information, data, etc. The system 100 may be a
multi-carrier LTE network capable of efficiently allocating network
resources.
[0046] The NodeBs 105 can wirelessly communicate with the UEs 115
via a base station antenna. The NodeBs 105 are configured to
communicate with the UEs 115 under the control of the BSC 120 via
multiple carriers. Each of the NodeBs 105 can provide communication
coverage for a respective geographic area, here the cell 110-a,
110-b, or 110-c. The system 100 may include NodeBs 105 of different
types, e.g., macro, pico, and/or femto base stations.
[0047] The UEs 115 can be dispersed throughout the cells 110. The
UEs 115 may be referred to as mobile stations, mobile devices, or
subscriber units. The UEs 115 here include cellular phones and a
wireless communication device, but can also include personal
digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks,
notebook computers, etc.
[0048] For the discussion below, the UEs 115 operate on (are
"camped" on) a macro or similar network facilitated by multiple
"macro" NodeBs 105. Each macro NodeB 105 may cover a relatively
large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may
allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription.
The UEs 115 are also registered to operate on at least one femto
network facilitated by a "femto" or "home" NodeB 105 (as described
below). It will be appreciated that, while the macro NodeBs 105 may
typically be deployed according to network planning (e.g.,
resulting in the illustrative hexagonal cells 110 shown in FIG. 1),
a femto NodeB 105 may typically be deployed by individual users (or
user representatives) to create a localized femtocell. The
localized femtocell does not typically follow the macro network
planning architecture (e.g., the hexagonal cells), although it may
be accounted for as part of various macro-level network planning
and/or management decisions (e.g., load balancing, etc.).
[0049] The UE 115 may generally operate using an internal power
supply, such as a small battery, to facilitate highly mobile
operations. Strategic deployment of network devices, such as
femtocells, can mitigate mobile device power consumption to some
extent. For example, femtocells may be utilized to provide service
within areas which might not otherwise experience adequate or even
any service (e.g., due to capacity limitations, bandwidth
limitations, signal fading, signal shadowing, etc.), thereby
allowing client devices to reduce searching times, to reduce
transmit power, to reduce transmit times, etc. Femtocells provide
service within a relatively small service area (e.g., within a
house or building). Accordingly, a client device is typically
disposed near a femtocell when being served, often allowing the
client device to communicate with reduced transmission power.
[0050] For example, the femtocell is implemented as a femto NodeB,
referred to herein as a Home Node B (HNB), located in a user
premises, such as a residence, an office building, etc. The
location may be chosen for maximum coverage (e.g., in a centralized
location), to allow access to a global positioning satellite (GPS)
signal (e.g., near a window), and/or in any other useful location.
For the sake of clarity, the disclosure herein assumes that a set
of UEs 115 are registered for (e.g., on a whitelist of) a single
HNB that provides coverage over substantially an entire user
premises. The HNB provides the UEs 115 with access to communication
services over the macro network. As used herein, the macro network
is assumed to be a wireless wide-area network (WWAN). As such,
terms like "macro network" and "WWAN network" are interchangeable.
Similar techniques may be applied to other types of network
environments without departing from the scope of the disclosure or
claims.
[0051] In example configurations, the HNB is integrated with one or
more out-of-band (OOB) proxies as a femto-proxy system. As used
herein, "out-of-band," or "OOB," includes any type of
communications that are out of band with respect to the WWAN link.
For example, the OOB proxies and/or the UEs 115 may be configured
to operate using Bluetooth (e.g., class 1, class 1.5, and/or class
2), ZigBee (e.g., according to the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 wireless
standard), WiFi, and/or any other useful type of communications out
of the macro network band. Notably, OOB integration with the HNB
may provide a number of features, including, for example, reduced
interference, lower power femto discovery, etc.
[0052] Further, the integration of OOB functionality with the HNB
may allow the UEs 115 attached to the HNB to also be part of an OOB
piconet. The piconet may facilitate enhanced HNB functionality,
other communications services, power management functionality,
and/or other features to the UEs 115. These and other features will
be further appreciated from the description below.
[0053] FIG. 2A shows a block diagram of a wireless communications
system 200a that includes a femto-proxy system 290a. The
femto-proxy system 290a includes a femto-proxy module 240a, a HNB
230a, and a communications management subsystem 250. The HNB 230a
may be a femto NodeB 105, as described with reference to FIG. 1.
The femto-proxy system 290a also includes antennas 205, a
transceiver module 210, memory 215, and a processor module 225,
which each may be in communication, directly or indirectly, with
each other (e.g., over one or more buses). The transceiver module
210 is configured to communicate bi-directionally, via the antennas
205, with the UEs 115. The transceiver module 210 (and/or other
components of the femto-proxy system 290a) is also configured to
communicate bi-directionally with a macro communications network
100a (e.g., a WWAN). For example, the transceiver module 210 is
configured to communicate with the macro communications network
100a via a backhaul network. The macro communications network 100a
may be the communications system 100 of FIG. 1.
[0054] The memory 215 may include random access memory (RAM) and
read-only memory (ROM). The memory 215 may also store
computer-readable, computer-executable software code 220 containing
instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the
processor module 225 to perform various functions described herein
(e.g., call processing, database management, message routing,
etc.). Alternatively, the software 220 may not be directly
executable by the processor module 225, but may be configured to
cause the computer, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform
functions described herein.
[0055] The processor module 225 may include an intelligent hardware
device, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) such as those made by
Intel.RTM. Corporation or AMD.RTM., a microcontroller, an
application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor
module 225 may include a speech encoder (not shown) configured to
receive audio via a microphone, convert the audio into packets
(e.g., 30 ms in length) representative of the received audio,
provide the audio packets to the transceiver module 210, and
provide indications of whether a user is speaking. Alternatively,
an encoder may only provide packets to the transceiver module 210,
with the provision or withholding/suppression of the packet itself
providing the indication of whether a user is speaking.
[0056] The transceiver module 210 may include a modem configured to
modulate the packets and provide the modulated packets to the
antennas 205 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received
from the antennas 205. While some examples of the femto-proxy
system 290a may include a single antenna 205, the femto-proxy
system 290a preferably includes multiple antennas 205 for multiple
links. For example, one or more links may be used to support macro
communications with the UEs 115. Also, one or more out-of-band
links may be supported by the same antenna 205 or different
antennas 205.
[0057] Notably, the femto-proxy system 290a is configured to
provide both HNB 230a and femto-proxy module 240a functionality.
For example, when the UE 115 approaches the femtocell coverage
area, the UE's 115 OOB radio may begin searching for the OOB
femto-proxy module 240a. Upon discovery, the UE 115 may have a high
level of confidence that it is in proximity to the femtocell
coverage area, and a scan for the HNB 230a can commence.
[0058] The scan for the HNB 230a may be implemented in different
ways. For example, due to the femto-proxy module 240a discovery by
the UE's 115 OOB radio, both the UE 115 and the femto-proxy system
290a may be aware of each other's proximity. The UE 115 scans for
the HNB 230a. Alternatively, the HNB 230a polls for the UE 115
(e.g., individually, or as part of a round-robin polling of all
registered UEs 115), and the UE 115 listens for the poll. When the
scan for the HNB 230a is successful, the UE 115 may attach to the
HNB 230a.
[0059] When the UE 115 is in the femtocell coverage area and
attached to the HNB 230a, the UE 115 may be in communication with
the macro communications network 100a via the HNB 230a. As
described above, the UE 115 may also be a slave of a piconet for
which the femto-proxy module 240a acts as the master. For example,
the piconet may operate using Bluetooth and may include Bluetooth
communications links facilitated by a Bluetooth radio (e.g.,
implemented as part of the transceiver module 210) in the HNB
230a.
[0060] Examples of the HNB 230a have various configurations of base
station or wireless access point equipment. As used herein, the HNB
230a may be a device that communicates with various terminals
(e.g., client devices (UEs 115, etc.), proximity agent devices,
etc.) and may also be referred to as, and include some or all the
functionality of, a base station, a Node B, and/or other similar
devices. Although referred to herein as the HNB 230a, the concepts
herein are applicable to access point configurations other than
femtocell configuration (e.g., picocells, microcells, etc.).
Examples of the HNB 230a utilize communication frequencies and
protocols native to a corresponding cellular network (e.g., the
macro communications network 100a, or a portion thereof) to
facilitate communication within a femtocell coverage area
associated with the HNB 230a (e.g., to provide improved coverage of
an area, to provide increased capacity, to provide increased
bandwidth, etc.).
[0061] The HNB 230a may be in communication with other interfaces
not explicitly shown in FIG. 2A. For example, the HNB 230a may be
in communication with a native cellular interface as part of the
transceiver module 210 (e.g., a specialized transceiver utilizing
cellular network communication techniques that may consume
relatively large amounts of power in operation) for communicating
with various appropriately configured devices, such as the UE 115,
through a native cellular wireless link (e.g., an "in band"
communication link). Such a communication interface may operate
according to various communication standards, including but not
limited to wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA),
CDMA2000, global system for mobile telecommunication (GSM),
worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), and
wireless LAN (WLAN). Also or alternatively, the HNB 230a may be in
communication with one or more backend network interfaces as part
of the transceiver module 210 (e.g., a backhaul interface providing
communication via the Internet, a packet switched network, a
switched network, a radio network, a control network, a wired link,
and/or the like) for communicating with various devices or other
networks.
[0062] As described above, the HNB 230a may further be in
communication with one or more OOB interfaces as part of the
transceiver module 210 and/or the femto-proxy module 240a. For
example, the OOB interfaces may include transceivers that consume
relatively low amounts of power in operation and/or may cause less
interference in the in-band spectrum with respect to the in-band
transceivers. Such an OOB interface may be utilized according to
embodiments to provide low power wireless communications with
respect to various appropriately configured devices, such as an OOB
radio of the UE 115. The OOB interface may, for example, provide a
Bluetooth link, an ultra-wideband (UWB) link, an IEEE 802.11 (WLAN)
link, etc.
[0063] The terms "high power" and "low power" as used herein are
relative terms and do not imply a particular level of power
consumption. Accordingly, OOB devices (e.g., OOB femto-proxy module
240a) may simply consume less power than native cellular interface
(e.g., for macro WWAN communications) for a given time of
operation. In some implementations, OOB interfaces also provide
relatively lower bandwidth communications, relatively shorter range
communication, and/or consume relatively lower power in comparison
to the macro communications interfaces. There is no limitation that
the OOB devices and interfaces be low power, short range, and/or
low bandwidth. Devices may use any suitable out-of-band link,
whether wireless or otherwise, such as IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth,
PEANUT, UWB, ZigBee, a wired link, etc.
[0064] Femto-proxy modules 240a may provide various types of OOB
functionality and may be implemented in various ways. A femto-proxy
module 240a may have any of various configurations, such as a
stand-alone processor-based system, a processor-based system
integrated with a host device (e.g., access point, gateway, router,
switch, repeater, hub, concentrator, etc.), etc. For example, the
femto-proxy modules 240a may include various types of interfaces
for facilitating various types of communications.
[0065] Some femto-proxy modules 240a include one or more OOB
interfaces as part of the transceiver module 210 (e.g., a
transceiver that may consume relatively low amounts of power in
operation and/or may cause less interference than in the in-band
spectrum) for communicating with other appropriately configured
devices (e.g., UE 115) for providing interference mitigation and/or
femtocell selection herein through a wireless link. One example of
a suitable communication interface is a Bluetooth-compliant
transceiver that uses a time-division duplex (TDD) scheme.
[0066] Femto-proxy modules 240a may also include one or more
backend network interfaces as part of the transceiver module 210
(e.g., packet switched network interface, switched network
interface, radio network interface, control network interface, a
wired link, and/or the like) for communicating with various devices
or networks. A femto-proxy module 240a that is integrated within a
host device, such as with HNB 230a, may utilize an internal bus or
other such communication interface in the alternative to a backend
network interface to provide communications between the femto-proxy
module 240a and other devices, if desired. Additionally or
alternatively, other interfaces, such as OOB interfaces, native
cellular interfaces, etc., may be utilized to provide communication
between the femto-proxy module 240a and the HNB 230a and/or other
devices or networks.
[0067] Various communications functions (e.g., including those of
the HNB 230a and/or the femto-proxy module 240a) may be managed
using the communications management subsystem 250. For example, the
communications management subsystem 250 may at least partially
handle communications with the macro (e.g., WWAN) network, one or
more OOB networks (e.g., piconets, UE 115 OOB radios, other
femto-proxies, OOB beacons, etc.), one or more other femtocells
(e.g., HNBs 230), UEs 115, etc. For example, the communications
management subsystem 250 may be a component of the femto-proxy
system 290a in communication with some or all of the other
components of the femto-proxy system 290a via a bus.
[0068] Various other architectures are possible other than those
illustrated by FIG. 2A. The HNB 230a and femto-proxy module 240a
may or may not be collocated, integrated into a single device,
configured to share components, etc. For example, the femto-proxy
system 290a of FIG. 2A has an integrated HNB 230a and femto-proxy
module 240a that at least partially share components, including the
antennas 205, the transceiver module 210, the memory 215, and the
processor module 225.
[0069] FIG. 2B shows a block diagram of a wireless communications
system 200b that includes an architecture of a femto-proxy system
290b that is different from the architecture shown in FIG. 2A.
Similar to the femto-proxy system 290a, the femto-proxy system 290b
includes a femto-proxy module 240b and a HNB 230b. Unlike the
system 290a, however, each of the femto-proxy module 240b and the
HNB 230b has its own antenna 205, transceiver module 210, memory
215, and processor module 225. Both transceiver modules 210 are
configured to communicate bi-directionally, via their respective
antennas 205, with UEs 115. The transceiver module 210-1 of the HNB
230b is illustrated in bi-directional communication with the macro
communications network 100b (e.g., typically over a backhaul
network).
[0070] For the sake of illustration, the femto-proxy system 290b is
shown without a separate communications management subsystem 250.
In some configurations, a communications management subsystem 250
is provided in both the femto-proxy module 240b and the HNB 230b.
In other configurations, the communications management subsystem
250 is implemented as part of the femto-proxy module 240b. In still
other configurations, functionality of the communications
management subsystem 250 is implemented as a computer program
product (e.g., stored as software 220-1 in memory 215-1) of one or
both of the femto-proxy module 240b and the HNB 230b.
[0071] In yet other configurations, some or all of the
functionality of the communications management subsystem 250 is
implemented as a component of the processor module 225. For
example, the processor module 225a may include a WWAN
communications controller and a user equipment controller, and may
be in communication (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B) with
the HNB 230 and the femto-proxy module 240. In an exemplary
configuration, the WWAN communications controller is configured to
receive a WWAN communication for a designated UE 115. The user
equipment controller 320 determines how to handle the
communication, including affecting operation of the HNB 230 and/or
the femto-proxy module 240.
[0072] Both the HNB 230a of FIG. 2A and the HNB 230b of FIG. 2B are
illustrated as providing a communications link only to the macro
communications network 100a. However, the HNB 230 may provide
communications functionality via many different types of networks
and/or topologies. For example, the HNB 230 may provide a wireless
interface for a cellular telephone network, a cellular data
network, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network
(MAN), a wide area network (WAN), the public switched telephone
network (PSTN), the Internet, etc.
[0073] FIG. 3 shows detail regarding an exemplary femtocell (HNB)
deployment in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)
network. For example, the illustrative architecture shows a 3GPP
deployment, which may include portions of the communications
systems and networks shown in FIGS. 1-2B. As illustrated, a UE 115
is in communication with a HNB 230 deployed as part of consumer
premises equipment (CPE). The CPE facilitates communications with a
security gateway through the public network infrastructure (e.g.,
the Internet), which further provides access to the HNB's gateway
(HNB-GW) and the HNB's management system.
[0074] For example, the HNB 230 supports NodeB and RNC-like
functions. It connects to the UEs 115 via existing "Uu" interface
and to the HNB-GW via a new "Iu-h" interface and may typically be
owned by an end user. The HNB-GW concentrates HNB 230 connections
(many-to-one relationship between HNBs and HNB-GW) and presents
itself as a single RNC to the core network using the existing "Iu"
interface. This may allow for scaling to large numbers of HNBs 230,
and may avoid new interfaces and HNB-specific functions at the core
network. The HNB management system may provision HNB configuration
data remotely (e.g., using the TR-069 family of standards). The
security gateway may authenticate the HNB 230, and/or may use
"IPSec" to provide a secure link between the HNB 230 and the HNB-GW
(e.g., over "Iu-h") and between the HNB 230 and the HNB management
system (e.g., using a single or different security gateways).
[0075] As described above, the femto-proxy systems 290 are
configured to communicate with client devices, including the UEs
115. FIGS. 4A and 4B show exemplary configurations of UEs 115.
Turning to FIG. 4A, a block diagram 400a of a mobile user equipment
(UE) 115a for use with the femto-proxy systems 290 of FIGS. 2A and
2B in the context of the communications systems and networks of
FIGS. 1-3 is shown. The UE 115a may have any of various
configurations, such as personal computers (e.g., laptop computers,
netbook computers, tablet computers, etc.), cellular telephones,
PDAs, digital video recorders (DVRs), internet appliances, gaming
consoles, e-readers, etc. For the purpose of clarity, the UE 115a
is assumed to be provided in a mobile configuration, having an
internal power supply (not shown), such as a small battery, to
facilitate mobile operation.
[0076] The UE 115a includes an in-band communications subsystem
430a in communication with an in-band antenna 405a, an OOB
communications subsystem 435a in communication with an OOB antenna
407a, a communications management subsystem 440a, memory 415, and a
processor module 425a, which each may be in communication, directly
or indirectly, with each other (e.g., via one or more buses). The
in-band communications subsystem 430a and the OOB communications
subsystem 435a are each configured to communicate bi-directionally,
via their respective in-band antenna 405a and OOB antenna 407a,
and/or via one or more wired or wireless links, with one or more
networks, as described above.
[0077] In some configurations, the in-band communications subsystem
430a communicates bi-directionally with NodeBs 105 of the macro
communications network (e.g., the communications system 100 of FIG.
1) and with at least one HNB 230. The in-band communications
subsystem 430a communicates over at least one in-band link. For
example, one or more WWAN channels (e.g., frequencies) are used to
communicate with macrocells, femtocells, etc. As described more
fully below, the in-band communications subsystem 430a may be tuned
in to a particular WWAN channel over which active communications
are conducted. The in-band communications subsystem 430a may tune
away to other WWAN channels to make inter-frequency and/or
inter-RAT measurements, as desired.
[0078] Configurations of the OOB communications subsystem 435a are
configured to communicate over one or more OOB links. For example,
the UE 115a communicates with a femto-proxy system 290 (e.g., as
described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B) over both an in-band
(e.g., WWAN) link to the HNB 230 and at least one OOB link to the
femto-proxy module 240. The in-band communications subsystem 430a
and the in-band antenna 405a are used for the WWAN communications,
and the OOB communications subsystem 435a and the OOB antenna 407a
are used for the OOB communications. Each communications subsystem
may include a modem configured to modulate the packets and provide
the modulated packets to the respective antennas (i.e., 405a and
407a) for transmission, and to demodulate packets received via the
respective antennas.
[0079] Notably, in some configurations, components of the
communications subsystems are combined (e.g., shared, integrated,
etc.). For example, the UE 115a may include a single antenna that
can be used for both in-band and OOB communications. Similarly, a
single modem and/or other devices may be used by both the in-band
communications subsystem 430a and the OOB communications subsystem
435a.
[0080] The memory 415 may include random access memory (RAM) and
read-only memory (ROM). The memory 415 may store computer-readable,
computer-executable software code 420 containing instructions that
are configured to, when executed, cause the processor module 425a
to perform various functions described herein (e.g., call
processing, database management, message routing, etc.).
Alternatively, the software 420 may not be directly executable by
the processor module 425a but be configured to cause the computer,
e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform functions described
herein.
[0081] The processor module 425a may include an intelligent
hardware device, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) such as
those made by Intel.RTM. Corporation or AMD.RTM., a
microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC),
etc. The processor module 425a may include a speech encoder (not
shown) configured to receive audio via a microphone, convert the
audio into packets (e.g., 30 ms in length) representative of the
received audio, provide the audio packets to one or more of the
communications subsystems, and provide indications of whether a
user is speaking. Alternatively, an encoder may only provide
packets to the communications subsystems, with the provision or
withholding/suppression of the packet itself providing the
indication of whether a user is speaking.
[0082] According to the architecture of FIG. 4A, the UE 115a
further includes a communications management subsystem 440. The
communications management subsystem 440 may manage communications
with the macro (e.g., WWAN) network, one or more OOB networks
(e.g., piconets, femto-proxy modules 240, etc.), one or more
femtocells (e.g., HNBs 230), other UEs 115 (e.g., acting as a
master of a secondary piconet), etc. For example, the
communications management subsystem 440 may be a component of the
UE 115a in communication with some or all of the other components
of the UE 115a via a bus. Alternatively, functionality of the
communications management subsystem 440 is implemented as a
computer program product, and/or as one or more controller elements
of the processor module 425.
[0083] The UE 115a includes communications functionality for
interfacing with both the macro (e.g., cellular) network and one or
more OOB networks (e.g., the femto-proxy module 240 link). For
example, some UEs 115 include native cellular interfaces as part of
the in-band communications subsystem 430a or the communications
management subsystem 440 (e.g., a transceiver utilizing cellular
network communication techniques that consume relatively large
amounts of power in operation) for communicating with other
appropriately configured devices (e.g., for establishing a link
with a macro communication network via HNB 230) through a native
cellular wireless link. The native cellular interfaces may operate
according to one or more communication standards, including, but
not limited to, W-CDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, WiMax, and WLAN.
[0084] Furthermore, the UEs 115 may also include OOB interfaces
implemented as part of the OOB communications subsystem 435a and/or
the communications management subsystem 440 (e.g., a transceiver
that may consume relatively low amounts of power in operation
and/or may cause less interference than in the in-band spectrum)
for communicating with other appropriately configured devices over
a wireless link. One example of a suitable OOB communication
interface is a Bluetooth-compliant transceiver that uses a
time-division duplex (TDD) scheme.
[0085] According to exemplary configurations of UEs 115, like the
one illustrated in FIG. 400a, the in-band communications subsystem
430a is configured to communicatively couple with a femtocell
(e.g., HNB 230) over a WWAN link on a first WWAN channel and to
communicate with at least one macrocell (e.g., macro NodeB 105)
over the WWAN link on a second WWAN channel. The OOB communications
subsystem 435a is configured to communicatively couple with an OOB
femto-proxy 240 over an OOB link. The communications management
subsystem 440a is communicatively coupled with the in-band
communications subsystem 430a and the OOB communications subsystem
435a, and is configured to perform various functions in support of
compressed mode operations, as described below.
[0086] FIG. 4B shows a block diagram 400b of another configuration
of a mobile user equipment (UE) 115b for use with the femto-proxy
systems 290 of FIGS. 2A and 2B in the context of the communications
systems and networks of FIGS. 1-3. The configuration of the UE 115b
illustrated in FIG. 4B provides similar or identical functionality
to the configuration of the UE 115a illustrated in FIG. 4A, except
that much of the functionality is implemented as controllers of the
processor 425b, rather than as subsystems.
[0087] In particular, the UE 115b includes an in-band
communications controller 430b in communication with an in-band
antenna 405b, an OOB communications controller 435b in
communication with an OOB antenna 407b, and a communications
management controller 440b, all implemented as part of the
processor module 425b. The processor module 425b may be in
communication, directly or indirectly, with a memory 415 (e.g., via
one or more buses).
[0088] According to exemplary configurations of UEs 115, like the
one illustrated in FIG. 4B, the in-band communications controller
430a is configured to communicatively couple with a femtocell
(e.g., HNB 230) over a WWAN link on a first WWAN channel and to
communicate with at least one macrocell (e.g., macro NodeB 105)
over the WWAN link on a second WWAN channel. The OOB communications
controller 435a is configured to communicatively couple with an OOB
femto-proxy 240 over an OOB link. The communications management
controller 440a is communicatively coupled with the in-band
communications subsystem 430a and the OOB communications subsystem
435a, and is configured to perform various functions in support of
compressed mode operations, as described below.
[0089] Compressed Mode Operations
[0090] Compressed modes of operation are used by UEs 115 to make
measurements, when desired, for example, to determine suitable
target cells for handoffs, etc. Many UMTS femtocell deployments are
dedicated frequency deployments where femtocells and macrocells are
deployed on different frequencies. For such deployments, the Femto
UEs (referred to herein as UEs 115, when the UEs 115 are attached
to a serving femtocell) have to do inter-frequency and/or inter-RAT
measurements when the serving femtocell's signal strength (e.g.,
CPICH Ec/Io) drops below a certain threshold (e.g., the
S_intersearch threshold). For example, the measurements may be
needed to determine whether handoffs are required, to determine
suitable target cells for handoffs, etc.
[0091] Typically, UEs 115 are configured to communicate only on a
single WWAN channel (e.g., WCDMA carrier frequency) at any given
time. Accordingly, in order to make the inter-frequency
measurements, the UEs 115 tune away from the current WWAN channel
(where femtocell is deployed) to make the measurements on the
different WWAN channel. It is generally desirable to maintain a
target data rate at a target data quality. Each data packet
includes a payload portion and a redundancy portion, and the amount
of redundancy is configured to provide certain data quality. For
example, a larger amount of redundancy at a given instantaneous
transmit power may reduce the number of retransmissions needed, the
average bit error rate, etc. To allow the UE 115 time to tune away
from the current WWAN channel while still maintaining a target data
rate, techniques may be used for compressing the data
communications.
[0092] In the so-called compressed mode, transmission and reception
are stopped for a short time and the measurements are performed on
another frequency or another RAT in that time. For the sake of
illustration and clarity, the communications over the WWAN link
when not in compressed mode can be considered as having data frames
of certain duration, where a certain amount of data is communicated
during each frame (e.g., to satisfy the target data rate). During
compressed mode operations, the data frames may be compressed to
make room for interspersed (e.g., periodic) measurement blocks. For
example, the measurement blocks are effectively gaps in the data
transmissions. The measurement blocks may be configured to have a
duration that is long enough to support tuning away from the
current WWAN channel, making one or more measurements (typically a
measurement on a single WWAN channel per measurement block), and
tuning back to the active WWAN channel.
[0093] It will be appreciated that various techniques are possible
for implementing frames. For example, in some configurations, each
data frame includes a number of slots, and 1 to 7 slots per data
frame can be allocated as a measurement block for the UE 115 to
perform inter-frequency measurements. Further, the slots designated
for the measurement block can be in the middle of a single data
frame, spread over two data frames, etc.
[0094] Conventionally, because of bandwidth and/or other
constraints, compressed mode operations involve reducing the amount
of payload and/or redundancy data being communicated. For example,
a spreading factor may be decreased (e.g., by a factor of 2) to
increase the data rate so bits will get sent twice as fast, bits
may be "punctured" by removing various bits from the original data
to reduce the amount of information that needs to be transmitted,
or higher layer scheduling can be changed to use fewer timeslots
for user traffic. It will be appreciated that attempting to send
the same amount of data in a smaller amount of time may limit the
amount of redundancy data that may be communicated, which may
reduce the quality (e.g., fidelity) of the data. Accordingly, the
instantaneous transmit power may be increased in the compressed
frame in an attempt to maintain satisfaction of the quality target
(BLER, FER, etc.) in light of reduced processing gain. The amount
of power increase may depend on the compression technique used.
[0095] In many typical femto deployments, the transmit power of the
femtocell is capped. Accordingly, it may be difficult or impossible
to increase the transmit power to a level that is sufficient to
compensate for the data compression. For example, transmitting with
higher transmit power during compressed data frames may increase
interference between the femtocell and any neighboring macrocells
and femtocells, especially those on the same frequency (note that
macrocells sharing a frequency with the femtocell could belong to a
different RAT, as well).
[0096] Limitations of conventional compressed mode operations may
be further impacted by additional signaling needed to support the
compressed mode. For example, signaling may be needed to dictate
when and how measurement blocks are interspersed among data frames
(e.g., if measurement blocks occur periodically, if measurement
blocks are requested on demand, etc.). The rate and type of
compressed frames may be variable and may depend on the environment
and on various measurement requirements. The added signaling data
may further reduce the amount of resources available for
communicating payload data, which may require, for example, further
data compression, further transmit power increases, etc.
[0097] FIGS. 5-9E describe various novel techniques for using an
OOB link to address certain limitations of conventional compressed
mode operations. These techniques may be implemented, for example,
using UEs 115 like those described with reference to FIGS. 4A and
4B, in communication with femto-proxy systems 290, like those
described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. According to various
embodiments, certain conventional communications are implemented
between the in-band communications subsystem 430a of the UE 115 and
the HNB 230 of the femto-proxy system 290, and supplemental
communications are implemented to support compressed mode
operations over the OOB link between the OOB communications
subsystem 435a of the UE 115 and the OOB femto-proxy 240 of the
femto-proxy system 290.
[0098] FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method 500 for
using multiple communications modes to support inter-frequency
and/or inter-RAT measurements. The method 500 begins at stage 504
when a UE is communicating with a femtocell over a WWAN link on
first WWAN channel according to a first communications mode at a
data rate in satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in
satisfaction of a quality target. For example, a UE 115 is
communicating with a HNB 230 of a femto-proxy system 290 over the
WWAN link according to a normal (i.e., uncompressed) communications
mode.
[0099] At stage 508, a determination is made as to whether a
measurement trigger condition has been detected. For example, it
may be desirable for the UE 115 to perform inter-frequency
measurements when the serving femtocells signal strength (CPICH
Ec/Io) drops below a predetermined S_intersearch threshold. If it
is determined at stage 508 that no measurement trigger condition
has been detected, the UE 115 may continue to communicate according
to the first communications mode (e.g., according to stage
504).
[0100] If it is determined at stage 508 that a measurement trigger
condition has been detected, the UE 115 may be switched to
communicate according to a second communications mode at stage 512.
For example, the UE 115 may enter a compressed mode of operation,
whereby data communications are compressed to make room for
interspersed measurement blocks. At stage 516, according to the
second (e.g., compressed) communications mode, the UE 115 performs
inter-frequency and/or inter-RAT measurements. For example, each
measurement block is long enough to allow the UE 115 to tune away
from the serving femtocell's WWAN channel, measure signal strength
on a different WWAN channel, and tune back to the serving
femtocell's WWAN channel.
[0101] At stage 520, a determination is made as to whether
measurements no longer need to be made. For example, the signal
strength on the current channel may rise above a predetermined
threshold level before any handoff occurs, a handoff may occur,
etc. If it is determined at stage 520 that measurements still need
to be made, additional inter-frequency and/or inter-RAT
measurements are made at stage 516.
[0102] If it is determined at stage 520 that no more measurements
need to be made, the method 500 may proceed in various ways. For
example, as illustrated, a determination may be made at stage 524
as to whether a handoff is required according to the measurements
made in stage 520. If a handoff is required, a handoff routine may
commence at stage 528, Otherwise, the UE 115 may switch back to
operating in the first (non-compressed mode) communications mode at
stage 504.
[0103] As described above, embodiments include various novel
approaches to compressed mode operations. FIG. 6 shows a flow
diagram of an exemplary method 600 for using OOB communications to
facilitate compressed mode operations. For the sake of clarity, the
method is shown in context of stages 504 and 512 of FIG. 5. In
particular, the method 600 may begin at stage 504 when a UE 115 is
communicating with a femtocell over a WWAN link on first WWAN
channel according to a first communications mode at a data rate in
satisfaction of a rate target and at a data quality in satisfaction
of a quality target.
[0104] Unlike the determination at stage 508 shown in FIG. 5, it is
assumed in the context of the method 600 of FIG. 6 that a
measurement trigger condition is detected by the UE 115 while
communicating in the first communications mode at stage 608.
Accordingly, at stage 512, the UE 115 may be switched to
communicate according to a second communications mode. As described
above, the second communications mode is a type of compressed mode
of operation, whereby data communications are compressed to make
room for interspersed measurement blocks.
[0105] At stage 616, measurement blocks are interspersed with data
frames, such that the UE communicates with the femtocell over the
WWAN link on the first WWAN channel during the data frames and
performs measurements on at least a second WWAN channel during the
measurement blocks. Interspersing of measurement blocks may be
implemented in a number of different ways. According to one
technique, each data frame includes a number of slots. In the first
communications mode, all these slots are used for data
communications, while, in the second communications mode, a portion
of the slots (e.g., 1-7 per frame) are used as a measurement
block).
[0106] As discussed above, interspersing measurement blocks at
stage 616 may reduce the resources available on the WWAN link for
data communications. Accordingly, at stage 620, communications with
the femtocell are compressed over the WWAN link on the first WWAN
channel by reducing at least one of the data rate or the data
quality. For example, techniques like bit puncturing or adjustment
of coding or modulation schemes may be used to send substantially
the same amount of payload data in a smaller effective data frame
(e.g., a data frame having fewer slots, etc.). Some of these
techniques are described more fully below.
[0107] The reduction in data rate or data quality according to
stage 620 may cause undesirable effects, such as a decrease in the
amount of data that can be communicated during compressed mode
operations, or an increase in packet erasure rate, bit error rate,
etc. To avoid or at least mitigate these undesirable effects,
techniques are used to compensate for the reduction in data rate or
data quality. As discussed above, conventional deployments may
increase instantaneous transmit power, which may create other
undesirable effects (e.g., increased interference) and/or may not
be sufficient to compensate for the reduction in data rate or data
quality.
[0108] At stage 624, supplemental data is communicated between the
UE and an out-of-band (OOB) femto-proxy over an OOB link
substantially concurrently with communicating with the femtocell
over the WWAN link, such that communicating the supplemental data
at least partially compensates for the reducing at least one of the
data rate or the data quality. In some configurations, more than
one OOB link is used (e.g., concurrently) for communicating the
supplemental data. For example, as described with reference to FIG.
4A, the UE 115a communicates with a femto-proxy system 290 (e.g.,
as described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B) over both an
in-band (e.g., WWAN) link to the HNB 230 and at least one OOB link
to the femto-proxy module 240. The in-band communications subsystem
430a and the in-band antenna 405a are used for the WWAN
communications, and the OOB communications subsystem 435a and the
OOB antenna 407a are used for the OOB communications of
supplemental data in support of the compressed mode operations.
Alternatively, multiple OOB antennae 407 can be used to support
multiple concurrent OOB links (e.g., Bluetooth and Zigbee).
[0109] Various techniques for using the OOB link to provide
supplemental data in support of the compressed mode operations are
illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7C. FIG. 7A shows a flow diagram of an
exemplary method 700a for using OOB communications to communicate
signaling data in support of compressed mode operations. For the
sake of context, the method 700a is shown beginning at stage 512,
when the UE 115 is communicating in the second communications mode
(e.g., compressed mode) in response to detecting a measurement
trigger condition.
[0110] At stage 704, signaling data is generated to facilitate
communications by the user equipment according to the second mode.
For example, signaling data can be used in compressed mode to
define what frames are compressed; a rate, periodicity, and/or type
of compressed frames, a request for on-demand compressed frames,
etc. At stage 616, measurement blocks are interspersed with data
frames according to the signaling data generated in stage 704.
[0111] Data communications over the WWAN link may be compressed at
stage 620. According to some techniques, compression of the data
communications is implemented in a conventional way (e.g., by
compressing data into smaller frames with less redundancy and
increasing instantaneous transmit power as a compensatory
technique). According to other techniques, compression of the data
communications is implemented in such a way that substantially the
same amount of payload data is communicated in a smaller amount of
time (e.g., by reducing redundancy, and thereby reducing the data
quality) without increasing instantaneous transmit power to
compensate for the reduction in data quality. According to still
other techniques, compression of the data communications is
implemented in such a way that data communications over the WWAN
link are effectively halted during measurement blocks (e.g.,
thereby reducing the data rate).
[0112] According to some embodiments of stage 624 of FIG. 6
(illustrated as stage 624a in FIG. 7A), at least a portion of the
signaling data is communicated over the OOB link at stage 708. For
example, as described above, the added signaling data may further
impact resources available on the WWAN link for data
communications. Accordingly, the method 700a uses the OOB link to
communicate the added signaling data, thereby leaving the WWAN link
for the compressed data communications only.
[0113] FIG. 7B shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method 700b for
using OOB communications to communicate retransmissions and/or
similar supplemental data in support of compressed mode operations.
As in FIG. 7A, for the sake of context, the method 700b is shown
beginning at stage 512, when the UE 115 is communicating in the
second communications mode (e.g., compressed mode) in response to
detecting a measurement trigger condition. Also as in FIG. 7A, some
configurations of the method 700b include generation of compressed
mode signaling data at stage 704 and communication of at least some
of the signaling data over the OOB link at stage 708.
[0114] For the sake of clarity, the method is shown in the context
of stages 616-624 of FIG. 6. Measurement blocks are interspersed
with data frames at stage 616, data communications over the WWAN
link are compressed to make room for the measurement blocks at
stage 620, and supplemental data is communicated over the OOB link
in support of the compressed mode operations at stage 624.
[0115] According to the technique of FIG. 7B, compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel (illustrated as 620b) involves reducing the data
quality by reducing the redundancy portion of the data at stage
712. As used herein, the "redundancy data" or "redundancy portion
of the data" is intended to generally refer to any bits used to
reinforce the data transmission for more reliable communications.
This may typically include redundant bits and/or data that can be
used to derive redundant bits using defined algorithms. One
illustrative technique uses bit puncturing to reduce the amount of
data being transmitted. Another illustrative technique selects a
higher order modulation scheme and/or coding scheme that uses a
smaller amount of redundancy data (e.g., forward error correction
(FEC) data, etc.).
[0116] Compressing the data communications according to stage 712
may allow substantially continued satisfaction of the data rate
target at the expense of a reduction in data quality. For example,
a reduction in redundancy data may cause fewer packets to be
successfully delivered. Rather than increasing instantaneous
transmit power to compensate for these effects (e.g., or rather
than increasing instantaneous transmit power to the same extent as
in conventional deployments), the OOB link can be used to
compensate for the reduction in data quality.
[0117] Notably, the total data rate will certainly be reduced by
reducing the redundancy. However, the data rate target is concerned
with the "goodput," or the effective throughput. This goodput can
be increased or maintained without sending more redundant bits, so
long as other compensatory techniques are used. Accordingly,
reference to increasing or maintaining the "data rate" herein is
intended to suggest increasing or maintaining the goodput. For
example, maintaining the data rate according to stage 712
corresponds to maintaining the amount of desired payload data that
is successfully delivered, even though the total amount of sent
data is reduced.
[0118] Compensatory use of the OOB link according to the method
700b is illustrated as stage 624b. For example, it may be assumed
that the reduction in data quality will cause an increase in the
amount of retransmissions and/or other compensatory data needed to
satisfy the quality target. At stage 716, retransmissions are
communicated over the OOB link to at least partially compensate for
the reducing of the data quality. As used herein, "retransmissions"
is used to generally include any type of compensatory data that may
be useful for improving the data quality (e.g., FEC data, punctured
bits, etc.). Further, as discussed above, the need for additional
signaling data (according to stage 704) may place additional
resource burdens on the compressed mode communications.
Accordingly, in some embodiments, the compensatory use of the OOB
link (according to stage 624b) also includes communication of at
least some signaling data over the OOB link at stage 708.
[0119] FIG. 7C shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method 700c for
using OOB communications to communicate portions of data not
communicated over the WWAN link in support of compressed mode
operations. As in FIGS. 7A and 7B, for the sake of context, the
method 700c is shown beginning at stage 512, when the UE 115 is
communicating in the second communications mode (e.g., compressed
mode) in response to detecting a measurement trigger condition.
Also as in FIGS. 7A and 7B, some configurations of the method 700c
include generation of compressed mode signaling data at stage 704
and communication of at least some of the signaling data over the
OOB link at stage 708.
[0120] For the sake of clarity, the method is shown in the context
of stages 616-624 of FIG. 6. Measurement blocks are interspersed
with data frames at stage 616, data communications over the WWAN
link are compressed to make room for the measurement blocks at
stage 620, and supplemental data is communicated over the OOB link
in support of the compressed mode operations at stage 624.
[0121] According to the technique of FIG. 7C, compressing
communications with the femtocell over the WWAN link on the first
WWAN channel (illustrated as 620c) involves communicating data with
the femtocell only during the data frames and without substantially
changing the data quality, such that only a first portion of the
data can be communicated over the WWAN link at stage 720. For
example, in the first communications mode, each data frame includes
a number of slots, and a certain amount of data is communicated at
a certain fidelity during each slot. In the second communications
mode (e.g., compressed mode), the number of frames available for
data communications is decreased to make room for measurement
blocks (e.g., according to stage 612). In the reduced number of
data communications slots, data continues to be communicated at
substantially the same rate and fidelity, causing the overall data
rate to be reduced (i.e., due to fewer slots being available for
the communications).
[0122] Compensatory use of the OOB link according to the method
700c is illustrated as stage 624c. For example, suppose a certain
amount of data would be communicated over a certain amount of time
and at a certain fidelity according to the first communications
mode, but only a portion of the data is communicated over the same
amount of time at the same fidelity according to the second
communications mode (i.e., as data is not communicated during the
measurement blocks and is not otherwise being substantially
compressed). This may effectively leave a remaining portion of data
that is not communicated over the WWAN link (e.g., the portion that
would otherwise have been communicated during the measurement
blocks). At stage 724, the remaining portion of the data is
communicated over the OOB link to at least partially compensate for
reducing the data rate. According to various techniques, the
remaining portion of the data may be communicated over the OOB link
only during the measurement blocks, or alternatively, communication
of the remaining portion may be spread over a larger and/or or
other time duration. Further, as discussed above, the need for
additional signaling data (according to stage 704) may place
additional resource burdens on the compressed mode communications.
Accordingly, in some embodiments, the compensatory use of the OOB
link (according to stage 624b) also includes communication of at
least some signaling data over the OOB link at stage 708.
[0123] For the sake of added clarity, FIGS. 8A-9E illustrate
various embodiments of compressed mode techniques, with FIGS. 9A-9E
focusing on various embodiments of the methods 700 of FIGS. 7A-7C.
The embodiments shown are intended only to be illustrative and
should not be construed as limiting. Rather, it will be appreciated
that the various techniques described in FIGS. 7A-7C can be used
independently or in various combinations, and can be modified in
various ways without departing from the scope of the disclosure or
the claims.
[0124] Turning to FIG. 8A, a simplified communication diagram 800a
is shown for data communications over a communications link in a
non-compressed mode. As illustrated, data is communicated in data
blocks 810. Each data block 810 may represent a data frame, which
may include a number of slots during which data is communicated at
a certain rate and at a certain quality (e.g., fidelity). For the
sake of simplicity, each data block 810 is shown to directly follow
a preceding data block 810 of the same duration. It will be
appreciated that various communications protocols and techniques
are possible, which may, for example, have different and/or varying
data block 810 durations, certain periods during which data is not
communicated, etc.
[0125] FIG. 8B shows a simplified communication diagram 800b for
data communications over a communications link in a compressed
mode. As illustrated, data is communicated in compressed data
blocks 812 with interspersed measurement blocks 815. Each
compressed data block 812 may represent a data frame having fewer
slots than a corresponding uncompressed data block 810 (e.g., with
the other slots being used as a measurement block 815. For the sake
of simplicity, each compressed data block 812 is shown to directly
follow a preceding compressed data block 812 of the same duration,
and measurement blocks 815 are shown interspersed with each
compressed data block 812.
[0126] It will be appreciated that various compressed mode
techniques are possible, which may, for example, have different
and/or varying compressed data block 812 durations; different
and/or varying measurement block 815 durations, periodicity, etc.
(e.g., including on-demand techniques); certain periods during
which data is not communicated; etc. As described above, these
various compressed mode techniques are typically supported by
generation and communication of signaling data 820.
[0127] According to conventional techniques, non-compressed
communications modes as in FIG. 8A and compressed communications
modes as in FIG. 8B involve data communications only on a WWAN
channel (e.g., with measurement blocks involving measurements on
one or more other WWAN channels). As described above, novel
techniques described herein use the OOB link to communicate
supplementary data in support of compressed mode operations. Some
such techniques are illustrated in FIGS. 9A-9E.
[0128] FIG. 9A shows a simplified communication diagram 900a for
data communications over a communications link in a compressed
mode, where the OOB link is used for communication of
retransmissions. The communication diagram 900a may, for example,
represent an embodiment of techniques, such as those described with
reference to FIG. 7B. As in FIG. 8B, data is communicated on the
in-band (WWAN) link in compressed data blocks 812 with interspersed
measurement blocks 815. Signaling data 820 is also communicated on
the in-band link. The OOB link is used to communicate
retransmissions and/or other types of data to compensate for any
reduction in data quality resulting from the use of compressed data
blocks 812.
[0129] FIG. 9B shows a simplified communication diagram 900b for
data communications over a communications link in a compressed
mode, where the OOB link is used for communication of remaining
data not communicated over the WWAN link. The communication diagram
900b may, for example, represent an embodiment of techniques, such
as those described with reference to FIG. 7C. Rather than using
compressed data blocks 812 to communicate data over the WWAN link,
partial data blocks are used with uncompressed data communications,
indicated as partial un-compressed data blocks 910.
[0130] For example, each un-compressed data block 810 includes a
number of slots for data communications, and each partial
un-compressed data block 910 includes fewer slots for data
communications. However, the data communicated during those slots
is communicated at substantially the same rate and quality for both
un-compressed data blocks 810 and partial un-compressed data blocks
910. Accordingly, slots that were used for data communications in
non-compressed mode are now used for measurement block 815 in
compressed mode, and data that would otherwise be communicated
during those slots in non-compressed mode is not communicated over
the WWAN link. This "remaining" data 935 is, instead, communicated
over the OOB link to maintain satisfaction of the overall data rate
target. Notably, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, signaling data 820 may
also be communicated on the in-band link.
[0131] FIG. 9C shows a simplified communication diagram 900c for
data communications over a communications link in a compressed
mode, where the OOB link is used for communication of signaling
data. The communication diagram 900c may, for example, represent an
embodiment of techniques, such as those described with reference to
FIG. 7A. As shown, some or all of the signaling data 920 for
compressed mode operation is communicated over the OOB link, while
conventional techniques are otherwise used for compressed mode
communications over the WWAN link (e.g., including compressed data
blocks 812 with interspersed measurement blocks 815.
[0132] FIGS. 9D and 9E show simplified communication diagrams 900d
and 900e for data communications over a communications link in a
compressed mode, where the OOB link is used for communication of
combinations of supplemental data. The communication diagram 900d
of FIG. 9D may represent alternate embodiments of techniques, such
as those described with reference to FIGS. 7B and 9A. The
communication diagram 900e of FIG. 9E may represent alternate
embodiments of techniques, such as those described with reference
to FIGS. 7C and 9B.
[0133] According to the communication diagram 900d of FIG. 9D, data
is communicated on the in-band (WWAN) link in compressed data
blocks 812 with interspersed measurement blocks 815. The OOB link
is used concurrently to communicate signaling data 920 and
retransmissions and/or other types of data to compensate for any
reduction in data quality resulting from the use of compressed data
blocks 812. According to the communication diagram 900e of FIG. 9E,
data is communicated on the in-band (WWAN) link in partial
un-compressed data blocks 910 with interspersed measurement blocks
815. The OOB link is used concurrently to communicate signaling
data 920 and "remaining" data 935 (i.e., data that would otherwise
be communicated during those slots being used for the measurement
blocks 815 in compressed mode).
[0134] It is worth noting that the diagrams 900 of FIGS. 9A-9E are
illustrative only and are not intended to show all possible
scenarios. For example, in FIG. 9A, retransmissions may be
communicated periodically, at a variable data rate as needed, using
multiple OOB links concurrently, etc. Similarly, remaining data 935
in FIG. 9B may be communicated in a way that takes more or less
time than the measurement blocks 815 (e.g., at different times, as
bursts, at different data rates, etc.). For example, mismatches
between physical rates supported over the WWAN and OOB links may
cause there to be more or less remaining data 935 than the
compressed mode measurement gap durations. Accordingly, the
"remaining data" may, in fact, not be an identical dataset to the
dataset not otherwise transmitted during the compressed mode
measurement blocks 815.
[0135] The signaling data 820 shown in FIGS. 9C-9E may similarly be
communicated in a number of different ways not illustrated by the
figures. For example, the signaling data 820 can be communicated in
short bursts, at different data rates, over multiple OOB links
concurrently or at different times, etc. Further, use of the OOB
link to communicate the data may affect the amount and type of
signaling data 820.
[0136] The various operations of methods described above may be
performed by any suitable means capable of performing the
corresponding functions. The means may include various hardware
and/or software component(s) and/or module(s), including, but not
limited to a circuit, an application specific integrate circuit
(ASIC), or processor.
[0137] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and
circuits described may be implemented or performed with a general
purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a
field programmable gate array signal (FPGA), or other programmable
logic device (PLD), discrete gate, or transistor logic, discrete
hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform
the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be
a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any
commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or
state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination
of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a
microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more
microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such
configuration.
[0138] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection
with the present disclosure may be embodied directly in hardware,
in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination
of the two. A software module may reside in any form of tangible
storage medium. Some examples of storage media that may be used
include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash
memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a
removable disk, a CD-ROM, and so forth. A storage medium may be
coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information
from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the
alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. A
software module may be a single instruction, or many instructions,
and may be distributed over several different code segments, among
different programs, and across multiple storage media.
[0139] The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more actions
for achieving the described method. The method and/or actions may
be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope
of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of actions
is specified, the order and/or use of specific actions may be
modified without departing from the scope of the claims.
[0140] The functions described may be implemented in hardware,
software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in
software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions
on a tangible computer-readable medium. A storage medium may be any
available tangible medium that can be accessed by a computer. By
way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media
can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, or other optical disk
storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices,
or any other tangible medium that can be used to carry or store
desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures
and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used
herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,
digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-Ray.RTM. disc
where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs
reproduce data optically with lasers.
[0141] Thus, a computer program product may perform operations
presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may
be a computer readable tangible medium having instructions tangibly
stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable
by one or more processors to perform the operations described
herein. The computer program product may include packaging
material.
[0142] Software or instructions may also be transmitted over a
transmission medium. For example, software may be transmitted from
a website, server, or other remote source using a transmission
medium such as a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,
digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology such as
infrared, radio, or microwave.
[0143] Further, modules and/or other appropriate means for
performing the methods and techniques described herein can be
downloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or base
station as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to
a server to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the
methods described herein. Alternatively, various methods described
herein can be provided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a
physical storage medium such as a CD or floppy disk, etc.), such
that a user terminal and/or base station can obtain the various
methods upon coupling or providing the storage means to the device.
Moreover, any other suitable technique for providing the methods
and techniques described herein to a device can be utilized.
[0144] Other examples and implementations are within the scope and
spirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to
the nature of software, functions described above can be
implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware,
firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features
implementing functions may also be physically located at various
positions, including being distributed such that portions of
functions are implemented at different physical locations. Also, as
used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of
items prefaced by "at least one of" indicates a disjunctive list
such that, for example, a list of "at least one of A, B, or C"
means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).
Further, the term "exemplary" does not mean that the described
example is preferred or better than other examples.
[0145] Various changes, substitutions, and alterations to the
techniques described herein can be made without departing from the
technology of the teachings as defined by the appended claims.
Moreover, the scope of the disclosure and claims is not limited to
the particular aspects of the process, machine, manufacture,
composition of matter, means, methods, and actions described above.
Processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means,
methods, or actions, presently existing or later to be developed,
that perform substantially the same function or achieve
substantially the same result as the corresponding aspects
described herein may be utilized. Accordingly, the appended claims
include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture,
compositions of matter, means, methods, or actions.
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