PILOT GROUPING AND ROUTE PROTOCOLS IN MULTI-CARRIER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods and systems for pilot grouping, route protocols, and scheduling in multi-carrier communication systems. In an embodiment, an access terminal may group a plurality of pilot signals characterized by different frequencies into one or more pilot groups, each pilot grouping being identified by a plurality of parameters (e.g., a PN offset and a group ID). Each pilot group may include pilot signals having substantially the same coverage area. The access terminal may further select a representative pilot signal from each pilot group for pilot strength reporting. The access terminal may also use the pilot grouping for effective set management.
1 . A method in a communication system, comprising:
receiving a message indicating a plurality of forward link channels each carrying reverse link-related information for each of reverse link channels associated with an access terminal; and
assigning one of the reverse link channels to carry forward link-related information associated with at least one of the forward link channels.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the forward link-related information includes at least one of a cell selection, a sector selection, an automatic repeat request (ARQ) acknowledgment (ACK), and a signal-to-noise-and-interference (C/I) feedback.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reverse link-related information includes a reverse power control (RPC) bit stream.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring a control channel carried by one of the forward link channels.
5 . An apparatus adapted for multi-carrier communications, comprising:
means for receiving a message indicating a plurality of forward link channels each carrying reverse link-related information for each of reverse link channels associated with an access terminal; and
means for assigning one of the reverse link channels to carry forward link-related information associated with at least one of the forward link channels.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the forward link-related information includes at least one of a cell selection, a sector selection, an automatic repeat request (ARQ) acknowledgment (ACK), and a signal-to-noise-and-interference (C/I) feedback
7 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the reverse link-related information includes a reverse power control (RPC) bit stream.
8 . The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising means for monitoring a control channel carried by one of the forward link channels.
9 . A method in a multi-carrier communication system, comprising:
grouping a plurality of pilot signals into one or more scheduler groups in accordance with sequence numbers of the pilot signals, the pilot signals characterized by a plurality of frequencies; and
associating each scheduler group with a transmission queue.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein each scheduler group includes one or more pilot signals having a same sequence number.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the sequence number is associated with detecting gaps in a received data packet.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein each scheduler group includes one or more pilot signals associated with a sub-active set of an access terminal.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the pilot signals in each scheduler group are associated with a plurality of sectors in softer handoff.
14 . An apparatus adapted for multi-carrier communications, comprising:
means for grouping a plurality of pilot signals into one or more scheduler groups in accordance with sequence numbers of the pilot signals, the pilot signals characterized by a plurality of frequencies; and
means for associating each scheduler group with a transmission queue.
15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein each scheduler group includes one or more pilot signals having a same sequence number.
16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the sequence number is associated with detecting gaps in a received data packet.
17 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein each scheduler group includes one or more pilot signals associated with a sub-active set of an access terminal
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the pilot signals in each scheduler group are associated with a plurality of sectors in softer handoff.