Distinguishing between data packets sent over the same set of channels
View Patent ↗Embodiments of the present invention distinguish a first type of data packet transmitted over a random access communication channel of a wireless cellular communications system from a second type of data packet transmitted over the same random access communication channel, allowing the first and second data packet data packet types to share a common set of random access channels through the use of different types of channel coding. This reduces data packet collision probability by eliminating the need to segregate the set of random access channels according to data packet type. Backward compatibility with legacy base stations that handle only the first data packet type is maintained in that no changes to the first data packet type are needed.
1. A method of transmitting data packets over a common physical resource, the method comprising, at a User Equipment (UE):
encoding a first type of random access data packet for a transmission to be terminated at a base station;
encoding a second type of random access data packet for a transmission to be terminated at a radio network controller (RNC);
transmitting the first type of random access data packet to the base station using the common physical resource;
transmitting the second type of random access data packet to the base station on using the common physical resource, wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by at least one different channel coding parameter and being capable of satisfying a data integrity criterion of a first decoder and not being capable of satisfying a data integrity criterion of a second decoder.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet and is for allowing the base station to determine routing for the random access data packet.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the common physical resource is described by a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) Time Division Duplex (TDD) specification, and carries signaling information related to an enhanced uplink packet data communication from the UE to a scheduling function in the base station.
4. The method claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) of the random access data packet.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the CRC of the random access data packet is modified by combining with a masking bit sequence using an exclusive OR function.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by a forward error correction (FEC) code of the random access data packet.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by a bit-interleaving pattern of the random access data packet.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by a rate matching pattern of the data packet.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by a bit scramble of the data packet.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet and the second type of random access data packet have at least a section of bit ordering reversal.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of random access data packet indicates signaling information from the UE to an uplink scheduling entity in the base station.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second type of random access data packet indicates information from the UE to a Radio Network Controller (RNC).
13. A User Equipment (UE) for encoding random access data packets for transporting over a common physical resource, the UE comprising:
logic for encoding a first type of random access data packet for a transmission to be terminated at a base station;
logic for encoding a second type of random access data packet for a transmission to be terminated at a radio network controller (RNC);
logic for transmitting the first type of random access data packet to the base station using the common physical resource;
logic for transmitting the second type of random access data packet to the base station using the common physical resource, wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by at least one different channel coding parameter and being capable of satisfying a data integrity criterion of a first decoder and not being capable of satisfying a data integrity criterion of a second decoder.
14. A non-transitory computer program product having executable program code stored therein for modifying a data packet, the program code operable for, when executed at a User Equipment (UE):
encoding a first type of random access data packet for a transmission over a common physical resource to be terminated at a base station;
encoding a second type of random access data packet for a transmission over the common physical resource to be terminated at a radio network controller (RNC);
transmitting the first type of random access data packet to the base station on using the common physical resource;
transmitting the second type of random access data packet to the base station using the common physical resource, wherein the first type of random access data packet is distinguishable from the second type of random access data packet by at least one different channel coding parameter and being capable of satisfying a data integrity criterion of a first decoder and not being capable of satisfying a data integrity criterion of a second decoder.
15. A method of decoding a type of random access data packet, received over a common physical resource, the method comprising, at a base station:
receiving a random access data packet using the common physical resource from a User Equipment (UE);
determining, by a first random access decoder, whether the received random access data packet is of a first type of random access data packet to be terminated at the base station by determining if a data integrity criterion of the first random access decoder is met; and
routing the received random access data packet to a radio network controller (RNC) to be terminated at the RNC when the received random access data packet is determined not to be of the first type of random access data packets, wherein said first type random access packet is distinguishable from a second type random access packet by at least one different channel coding parameter.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the common physical resource is described by a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) Time Division Duplex (TDD) specification, and the received random access data packet carries signaling information pertaining to an enhanced uplink packet data communication from the UE to a scheduling function in the base station.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first random access decoder determines whether the received random access data packet comprises a modified cyclic redundancy code.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the modified cyclic redundancy code of the received random access data packet is combined with a masking bit sequence by an exclusive OR function.
19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising determining by a second random access decoder, whether the received random access data packet is of the second type of random access data packet by determining if a data integrity criterion of the second random access decoder is met.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the first random access decoder has a different de-interleaver than the second random access decoder.
21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the first random access decoder has a different inverse rate matching than the second random access decoder.
22. The method of claim 19 , wherein the first random access decoder has a different bit de-scrambling than the second random access decoder.
23. The method of claim 19 , wherein the first random access decoder reverses bit ordering for at least a section of the received data compared to the second random access decoder.
24. A base station for decoding a random access data packet received over a common physical resource, the base station comprising:
logic for receiving a random access data packet using a random access channel using the common physical resource from a User Equipment (UE);
a first random access decoder for determining whether the received random access data packet is of a first type of random access data packet to be terminated at the base station by determining if a data integrity criterion of the first random access decoder is met;
and
logic for routing the received random access data packet to a radio network controller (RNC) to be terminated at the RNC when the received random access data packet is determined not to be of the first type of random access data packets, wherein said first type random access packet is distinguishable from a second type random access packet by at least one different channel coding parameter.
25. A non-transitory computer program product having executable program code stored therein for modifying a data packet, the program code operable for, when executed at a base station:
receiving a random access data packet on a random access channel using a common physical resource from a User Equipment (UE);
determining, by a first random access decoder, whether the received random access data packet is of a first type of random access data packet to be terminated at the base station by determining if a data integrity criterion of the first random access decoder is met;
routing the received random access data packet to a radio network controller (RNC) to be terminated at the RNC when the received random access data packet is determined not to be of the first type of random access data packets, wherein said first type random access packet is distinguishable from a second type random access packet by at least one different channel coding parameter.