摘要:
Methods and apparatus for collecting, measuring, reporting and/ or using information which can be used for interference control purposes. Wireless terminals (300) measured signals transmitted from one or more basestations, e.g., base stations sector transmitters (304). The measured signals may be, e.g., beacon signals and/or pilot signals. From the measured signals, the wireless terminal (300) generates one or more gain ratios which provide information about the relative gain of the communications channels from different base station sectors to the wireless terminals(300). Bases on the signal energy measurements and relative gains generated from the energy measures, reports are generated in accordance with the invention and sent to one or more base station.
摘要:
Group communications methods and apparatus (700) are described. Multiple modes of group communications signaling are supported. In a first mode (706), copies of packets are separately transmitted to each group member in a sector or cell. In a second mode (712) a copy of a packet is directed to multiple group members at the same time. Transitions between the two modes may be determined as a function of the cost of operating in each of the modes (708) in terms of system cost and/or the number of group members (704) in a cell or sector being serviced by a transmitter.
摘要:
Group communications methods and apparatus are described. Multicast operation is supported with the transmission characteristics (1003, 1052), e.g., transmission power level, coding rate, and/or modulation method being selected to reliably communicate information to the end nodes (134, 136, 144, 146, 154, 156) in the group but not necessarily to all end nodes within the cell or sector (138, 148, 158). Thus resources can be conserved by matching transmission requirements with information on the requirements of one or more group members. The requirements for reliably reaching the end node with the worst channel conditions can, and in some embodiments is, used to determine the group transmission requirements. Power level and other transmission resource allocations can change in response to changes in group membership and/or conditions corresponding to existing group members.
摘要:
Transmit and/or receive diversity is achieved using multiple antennas. In some embodiments, a single transmitter chain within a wireless terminal is coupled over time to a plurality of transmit antennas (312). At any given time, a controllable switching module (310) couples the single transmitter chain to one the plurality of transmit antennas. Over time, the switching module couples the output signals from the single transmitter chain to different transmit antennas. Switching decisions are based upon predetermined information, dwell information, and/or channel condition feedback information. Switching is performed on some dwell and/or channel estimation boundaries. In some OFDM embodiments, each of multiple transmitter chains is coupled respectively to a different transmit antenna. Information to be transmitted is mapped to a plurality of tones. Different subsets of tones are formed for and transmitted through different transmit chain/antenna sets simultaneously. The balance of tones allocated to the subsets for each antenna are changed as a function of predetermined information, dwell information, and/or channel condition feedback information.
摘要:
Methods of using superposition coding in a communications systems, e.g., a multi-user communications system. Superpostion coding in accordance with the invention occurs in the case of an uplink (1212, 1216) by transmissions of different wireless terminals (1204, 1206) transmitting using the same communications resource, e.g., simultaneously transmitting using the same frequencies. The signals combine in the communications channel resulting in one transmission being superimposed on the other transmission. The device, e.g., base station (1207), receiving the superimposed signals uses superposition decoding techniques to recover both signals. To obtain the benefit of the superposition, assignments of channel segments to multiple wireless terminals is controlled by the base station and/or transmission power levels are controlled by on or more wireless terminals sharing the same uplink communications resource, e.g., time slot, to make sure that the received signals from the different devices will have different received power levels making superposition decoding possible.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus for routing messages between an end node and an access node via another access node are described. Physical layer identification information is used when identifying a remote, e.g., adjacent, access node as a message destination. Thus, when a connection identifier based on one or more physical layer identifiers is available to a wireless terminal, e.g., from one or more downlink signals received from a destination access node, the wireless terminal can use the connection identifier corresponding to the destination node to route a message via an access node with which it has an established uplink connection. Such connection identifier information can be used even when other addressing information, e.g., network layer address information, associated with the destination access node, may not be available to the wireless terminal.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus for using end nodes, e.g., wireless terminals, to discover base stations and communicate information about discovered access nodes, e.g., base stations, to other access nodes in a system are described. As the wireless terminal roams in the system and new access nodes are encountered, one or more physically adjacent access nodes will be informed of the presence of the new access node as a result of communications with the wireless terminal. A message indicating an access node's inability to route a message to another access node which is known to a wireless terminal may trigger the wireless terminal to begin the process of updating access node routing and neighbor information.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus for routing messages between an end node and an access node via another access node are described. Physical layer identification information is used when identifying a remote, e.g., adjacent, access node as a message destination. Thus, when a connection identifier based on one or more physical layer identifiers is available to a wireless terminal, e.g., from one or more downlink signals received from a destination access node, the wireless terminal can use the connection identifier corresponding to the destination node to route a message via an access node with which it has an established uplink connection. Such connection identifier information can be used even when other addressing information, e.g., network layer address information, associated with the destination access node, may not be available to the wireless terminal.
摘要:
Methods and apparatus for supporting and using multiple communications channels corresponding to different transmit technologies and/or access technologies in parallel within a cell of a wireless communications system are described. Mobile nodes support multiple technologies and can switch between the technology being used at a particular point in time, e.g., from a first channel corresponding to a first technology to a second channel corresponding to a different technology which provides better transmission characteristics, e.g., a better perceived channel quality. Mobiles maintain at least two sets of channel quality information at any one point in time. Mobiles select the better channel and communicate the channel selection to the base station or communicate channel quality information for multiple channels to the basestation and allow the base station to select the channel corresponding to the technology providing the better conditions for the mobile. Different mobiles in the same cell may support different technologies.
摘要:
First and second sets of information are transmitted using a relatively large transmission block including a plurality of minimum transmission units (MTUs), each MTU corresponds to a unique combination of resources. A first set of said MTUs is used in conveying said first set of information, said first set including at least a majority of said MTUs in the transmission block. A second set of said MTUs is defined, e.g., selected, for use in conveying said second set of information, said second set of MTUs including less MTUs than first set and at least some MTUs included in the first set. The first and second sets of information are communicated by transmitting at least some MTUs included in said first and second sets of MTUs with the corresponding information modulated thereon. The communicating of the information may be through superposition of the first and second information on shared MTUs.