System and Method For Autonomous Combining
A user agent capable of autonomous combining. The user agent can be implemented as a processor configured to promote receiving a first signal from an access node and a second signal from a relay node. The processor may be further configured to combine the first and second signals.
1 . An access node comprising:
a processor configured to provide an address indicating one of a plurality of relay nodes and further indicating one of a plurality of user agents, wherein the processor is further configured to promote transmission of the address to one or more of the plurality of relay nodes.
2 . The access node of claim 1 wherein the address comprises a first set of bits and a second set of bits, wherein the first set of bits identifies a corresponding relay node and wherein the second set of bits identifies a corresponding user agent within a donor cell of the corresponding relay node.
3 . The access node of claim 1 wherein the access node is further configured to:
transmit a signal to a particular user agent to instruct the particular user agent to disable autonomous combining.
4 . The access node of claim 1 wherein the access node is further configured to:
transmit a signal to a particular user agent to instruct the particular user agent to enable autonomous combining.
5 . The access node of claim 1 wherein the access node is further configured to:
add a field to a downlink control channel signal, wherein the field includes an index to identify a medium access control packet data unit (MAC PDU) at a user agent.
6 . A method implemented in an access node, the method comprising:
providing an address indicating one of a plurality of relay nodes and further indicating one of a plurality of user agents; and
transmitting the address to one or more of the plurality of relay nodes.
7 . The method of claim 6 wherein the address comprises a first set of bits and a second set of bits, wherein the first set of bits identifies a corresponding relay node and wherein the second set of bits identifies a corresponding user agent within a donor cell of the corresponding relay node.
8 . The method of claim 6 further comprising:
transmitting a signal to a particular user agent to instruct the particular user agent to disable autonomous combining.
9 . The method of claim 6 further comprising:
transmitting a signal to a particular user agent to instruct the particular user agent to enable autonomous combining.
10 . The method of claim 6 further comprising:
adding a field to a downlink control channel signal, wherein the field includes an index to identify a medium access control packet data unit (MAC PDU) at a user agent.