The present invention relates to the requirement for multiple blocks of information scheduled periodically to access a physical layer of a single channel. Specifically, the present invention relates to achieving efficient utilization of the physical layer of a single channel and the optimized scheduling access of a single channel.
In wireless communication systems, there may be multiple blocks of information from multiple sources required to be scheduled for periodic access of single channel. Due to constraints of the physical layer of the channel, such as limited transmission rate or power level, each block of information may need to be segmented into several segments, with each segment scheduled at a position for accessing the channel.
While scheduling the different sources of information, several requirements must be considered. The single channel is divided into multiple addresses or positions to which information segments are assigned or scheduled. As multiple sources of information have their associated information block segments scheduled along the channel positions, the scheduled information is considered multiplexed onto the channel. Therefore, conflicts of positions between different segments of information must be avoided, i.e., a channel position cannot be shared by segments of two different information blocks. Thus, the first requirement is that each position can be assigned to only one segment of information.
Second, since the repetition period required by each source of information is based on functions associated with the information, the different sources of information require different periods for accessing a single channel. For example, in 3G UMTS, a Broadcast Channel (BCCH) having System Information Blocks (SIBs) with different periods signifies various latency of system functions, such as Power Control or Cell Selection. Shorter repetition periods lead to shorter latency since User Equipment (UE) can receive system information faster than required to perform system functions. However, this requirement compromises efficient use of limited bandwidth of the channel. Shorter repetition periods also imply heavier loading to the single channel and limit the possibility to allocate the bandwidth for other usages.
Third, in order to maximize channel efficiency, unassigned positions on the channel should be kept to a minimum in order to maximize the utilization of the channel.
Fourth, segments of the same block of information should be scheduled as consecutively as possible, since information often cannot be read until all segments of the same source of information arrive at the receiver.
One solution to this problem has been to use a first come first service (FCFS) assignment method. In this method, the scheduler begins scheduling with a first source's block of information. Once the first source of information is scheduled, the scheduler then assigns positions to the block of information of a second source of information on to the single channel. While scheduling the second source of information, the scheduler needs to avoid assigning channel positions that are already assigned to the first source's block of information. Thus, while scheduling the subsequently scheduled blocks of information, the scheduler needs to keep track of all positions that are already assigned to previously scheduled blocks of information.
Using the FCFS approach results in several compromises, such as segments belonging to the same source's block of information cannot be scheduled consecutively since the solution does not reserve enough consecutive positions available that can satisfy information with large segment counts. This compromise is shown in
What is needed is a method and system that determines the required bandwidth for a given set of information blocks and that efficiently schedules information while optimizing for the above requirements.
The present invention comprises a method for multiplexed scheduling of information blocks from multiple sources on a single communication channel divided into multiple address positions. The information block from each source has a repetition period and is divided into a number of segments. Once the total number of positions on the channel to be scheduled is determined, positions are mapped in a non-sequential order corresponding to nodes in a binary tree, whereby each layer of the binary tree corresponds to a particular repetition period. The blocks of information are assigned in the order of ascending repetition period. The information segments of each block are scheduled to unassigned positions at the associated binary tree layer as well as to all corresponding child nodes.
The present invention will be described with reference to the drawing figures where like numerals represent like elements throughout.
According to the present invention, there are R blocks of information denoted by INFO1, INFO2, . . . , INFOR, each associated with a source of information. Each information block INFO has its own repetition period RP, which indicates how often the information should access the single channel, and is divided into segments SEGs with a segment count SC, which is the number of segments SEGs to a block of information. A single channel is divided into address positions P to which information segments SEGs are scheduled or assigned.
The following formula determines whether there is adequate bandwidth for a given set of information sources to be accessed by a single channel.
Adequate bandwidth exists if Equation 1 holds true.
Returning to
PMAX=2N−1 (Equation 2)
where N=log2(maxINFOr(RP)) (Equation 3)
For each information block INFO, positions P(i) for i=(0, 1, . . . , SC) are selected from among the positions from P=0 to P=2N−1.
Next, in step 102, an information list, LIST A, is created for all of the information blocks INFOs sorted in ascending order of their repetition periods RP. Some systems might require specific positions for a certain type of information. For instance, when the block of information INFO is control information, such as a management information base (MIB), it is considered to be a header INFO, and is placed on the top of LIST A. When sorting the information blocks INFOs in LIST A, the non-header INFOs are sorted in ascending order of RP, directly below the header INFO in LIST A. The scheduler refers to LIST A for the order in which to assign information segments onto the single channel. Using the format as shown in
m=log2(INFO1(RP))≦N Equation 4
In step 106, positions for the first information block INFO1 are chosen using consecutive numbers from P=0 to P=(SC−1). Nodes on the m layer that represent assigned positions for the first information block INFO1, are virtually marked on the binary tree in step 107. All child nodes below the virtually marked nodes on the m layer are also marked as assigned and are removed from consideration for assigning positions to any segment SEG of the remaining information blocks INFOs. In step 108, the next INFO is retrieved from LIST A. Layer k represents a layer for any subsequently scheduled information block INFOr, and is defined by Equation 5:
k=log2(INFOr(RP))≦N Equation 5
Two criteria are examined in step 109 when assigning information segments SEGs of INFO to positions P: 1) whether INFO immediately proceeds the header INFO (i.e., INFO is the first non-header INFO in LIST A); and 2) whether k<m. If both criteria of step 109 are satisfied, then INFO SEGs are assigned in step 111 to available positions P in the k layer having the greatest numerical value and with the smallest possible range among the available positions P from P(0) to P (SC−1). Otherwise, if the step 109 criteria are not satisfied, then INFO SEGs are assigned to positions P on layer k with the least numerical values and the smallest possible range among the available positions P (step 110).
In step 112, all assigned P nodes are virtually marked and, as in step 107, all nodes below the marked P nodes on the k layer are marked as assigned and are removed from consideration for the remaining INFOs. Finally, steps 108 through 112 are repeated until all information blocks INFOs are scheduled (step 113).
An example is shown in
Thus, there is adequate bandwidth and the utilization of the broadcast channel is 93.75%.
The maximum repetition period RP among the eleven information blocks is 128, corresponding with INFO5 and INFO6 of
With the number layers established as N=7, a binary tree with seven layers and positions from P=0 to P=127 is created (step (103) as shown in
The five segments of MIB are then assigned (step 106) to consecutive positions P=0, 1, 2, 3, 4 for positions P(0) to P(4) as shown in Table 2. As each information segment is scheduled for an information block INFO, the corresponding position P is recorded in LIST B.
Referring to the binary tree of
The next block of information to be scheduled is INFO10 since it directly follows MIB in LIST A (step 108). Based on Equation 5, the layer k value for INFO10 is k=3. Looking on the binary tree of
With INFO10 scheduled, LIST A is consulted for the next information block for scheduling. As shown on Table 1, INFO1 is next in line for scheduling. The layer value k=5 associated with INFO1 is calculated from Equation 5 (step 108). Referring to
Repeating steps 108, 109, 110 and 112, information blocks INFO4 and INFO7 are scheduled next in accordance with the order shown in LIST A. Similar to INFO1, information blocks INFO4 and INFO7 have a layer value of k=5, and thus the next available consecutive positions P=8 and P=9 are assigned to INFO4 and INFO7 respectively. The marking of these positions is shown in
Information blocks INFO2 and INFO3 have identical repetition periods RP of 32 and a layer value of k=5 accordingly. Consulting
The next information block shown in LIST A for scheduling is INFO9, which has a layer value of k=6. The five information segments of INFO9 are scheduled at the five consecutive positions available at layer 6 with the least numerical values, which are P=24, 25, 26, 27, 28. These positions are recorded in LIST B and the positions that fall below these nodes in layer 7 are eliminated from future consideration as shown in
The last column of Table 3 shows the P range for each information block. For information blocks INFO5 and INFO6 with ten segments of information each, the range of position values is 34. This shows that out of 128 positions, the complete set of information segments for INFO5 and INFO6 is received optimized, as the segments are assigned to a group of positions that are relatively compact along the single channel. Thus, the receiver can read INFO5 and INFO6 more quickly and efficiently than if their information segments had been spread over a greater range along the 128 available positions. All other information blocks INFOs have a P range exactly equivalent to the segment count SC, which is the maximum possible efficiency.
To one skilled in the art, it would be evident that the method of the present invention can be implemented by a microprocessor with memory. The binary tree mapping can reside in memory. As segments of information are scheduled, the microprocessor updates the mapping to reflect that information segments are assigned to their respective positions in the corresponding binary tree layer as well as all corresponding child node positions.
It should also be recognized to one skilled in the art that a B-tree or splay tree could similarly be mapped in accordance with the present invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/314,691, filed on Dec. 9, 2002, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/010,868, filed on Dec. 7, 2001 and claims priority from Provisional Patent Application No. 60/297,807, filed on Jun. 13, 2001.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050201377 A1 | Sep 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60297807 | Jun 2001 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10314691 | Dec 2002 | US |
Child | 11122538 | US | |
Parent | 10010868 | Dec 2001 | US |
Child | 10314691 | US |