Relay and hierarchical transmission scheme

1. A method of transmitting data in a radio communication system, the method comprising:

dividing data intended for a communication receive node into a high priority code stream and a low priority code stream; and

in response to demand for system resources in the radio communication system exceeding a threshold during a first period of demand, transmitting the high priority code stream to the communication receive node and a relay node without transmitting the low priority code stream to the communication receive node;

wherein:

the relay node is configured to receive, amplify and forward the high priority code stream to the communication receive node; and

the communication receive node is configured to receive the high priority code stream substantially during first time intervals and is further configured to receive the amplified high priority code stream substantially during second time intervals interleaved with the first time intervals.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data is divided into the high priority and low priority code streams by a communication transmit node.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the high priority code stream is configured to ensure basic communication service for the communication receive node.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the low priority code stream is configured to enhance communication service for the communication receive node, the method further comprising, in response to demand for the system resources in the radio communication system being less than the threshold during a second period of demand, transmitting the low priority code stream to the communication receive node during the second time intervals.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the high priority code stream to the communication receive node and the relay node includes transmitting data included in the high priority code stream during the first time intervals.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that are executable by a computing device to perform operations comprising:

dividing data intended for a communication receive node into a high priority code stream and a low priority code stream; and

in response to demand for system resources in a radio communication system exceeding a threshold during a first period of demand, transmitting the high priority code stream to the communication receive node and a relay node without transmitting the low priority code stream to the communication receive node;

wherein:

the relay node is configured to amplify and forward the high priority code stream to the communication receive node; and

the communication receive node is configured to receive the high priority code stream substantially during first time intervals and is further configured to receive the amplified high priority code stream substantially during second time intervals interleaved with the first time intervals.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the computing device is included in a communication transmit node.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the communication transmit node comprises a base station or an evolved Node B.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the high priority code stream is configured to ensure basic communication service for the communication receive node.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the low priority code stream is configured to enhance communication service for the communication receive node, the operations further comprising, in response to demand for the system resources in the radio communication system being less than the threshold during a second period of demand, transmitting the low priority code stream to the communication receive node during the second time intervals.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein transmitting the high priority code stream to the communication receive node and the relay node includes transmitting data included in the high priority code stream during the first time intervals.

12. A method of receiving data in a radio communication system, the method comprising:

receiving, substantially during first time intervals, a high priority code stream from a communication transmit node, wherein the high priority code stream together with a low priority code stream form data intended for a communication receive node; and

during a first period of demand for system resources in the radio communication system, receiving, substantially during second time intervals, an amplified high priority code stream from a relay node without receiving the low priority code stream from the communication transmit node, wherein the second time intervals are interleaved with the first time intervals.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising, during a second period of demand for system resources that occurs before or after the first period of demand:

receiving, substantially during the second time intervals, the low priority code stream from the communication transmit node and the amplified high priority code stream from the relay node; and

separating the amplified high priority code stream from the low priority code stream, wherein demand for system resources is lower during the second period of demand than during the first period of demand.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein separating the amplified high priority code stream from the low priority code stream includes performing a minimum mean squared error analysis of the received low priority code stream and the amplified high priority code stream.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving the high priority code stream substantially during the first time intervals and an amplified high priority code stream substantially during the second time intervals provides time diversity for data included in the high priority code stream.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that are executable by a computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, substantially during first time intervals, a high priority code stream from a communication transmit node in a radio communication system, wherein the high priority code stream together with a low priority code stream form data intended for a communication receive node; and

during a first period of demand for system resources in the radio communication system, receiving, substantially during second time intervals, an amplified high priority code stream from a relay node without receiving the low priority code stream from the communication transmit node, wherein the second time intervals are interleaved with the first time intervals.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the computing device is included in the communication receive node.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the communication receive node comprises a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a laptop computer.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the operations further comprise, during a second period of demand for system resources that occurs before or after the first period of demand:

receiving, substantially during the second time intervals, the low priority code stream from the communication transmit node and the amplified high priority code stream from the relay node; and

separating the amplified high priority code stream from the low priority code stream, wherein demand for system resources is lower during the second period of demand than during the first period of demand.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein separating the amplified high priority code stream from the low priority code stream includes performing a minimum mean squared error analysis of the received low priority code stream and amplified high priority code stream.