Path selection for a wireless system with relays

1. A method of selecting a path for forwarding a data packet in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system including at least one base station, at least one relay station and at least one mobile station, the method comprising:

calculating a system capacity versus delay impact curve for a direct path to a mobile station, the direct path having a first capacity cost determined according to a communication quality of a direct link between a base station and the mobile station;

shifting the system capacity versus delay impact curve by a predetermined time to produce a projected capacity curve for a relay path, the predetermined time corresponding to an additional delay over the relay path, the relay path including the at least one relay station and having a second capacity cost determined according to a combined measure of signal quality of multiple links in the relay path;

multiplying the second capacity cost by a capacity cost ratio to produce a relay capacity curve; and

selecting one of the direct path and the relay path for forwarding the data packet, the path selection based on a comparison of the system capacity versus delay impact curve and the relay capacity curve at a point in the curves corresponding to a quality of service requirement of the data packet; and

forwarding the data packet along the selected path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the path selection is further based on at least one of a required data rate, a type of service, user priority, mobility, system loading, fairness, and an effective data rate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the path selection is further based on a modified combined index based on at least one of a required data rate, a type of service, user priority, mobility, system loading, fairness, and an effective data rate, the modified combined index created by biasing the path selection in consideration of additional capacity cost and delay impact.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the relay path is selected for the mobile station when a ratio of a resource usage gain for the mobile station and a capacity penalty is greater than 1.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the path selection is one of a dynamic path selection, a semi-static path selection and a static path selection.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the path selection is a dynamic path selection, the direct path and the relay path are dynamically selectable for forwarding the data packet corresponding to a same mobile station and having a same quality of service.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the one of the direct path and the relay path is selected based on a traffic pattern and a quality of service requirement.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the path selection is a semi-static path selection, the direct path and the relay path are dynamically selectable for forwarding the data packet corresponding to a same mobile station and having multiple service flows with differing qualities of service.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the path selection is a static path selection, the one of the direct path and the relay path is selected based on an effective data rate of each path and a quality of service requirement.

10. An apparatus for selecting a path for forwarding a data packet in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system including at least one base station, at least one relay station and at least one mobile station, the apparatus comprising:

a processor configured as a path selector to:

calculate a system capacity versus delay impact curve for a direct path to a mobile station, the direct path having a first capacity cost determined according to a communication quality of a direct link between a base station and the mobile station;

shift the system capacity versus delay impact curve a predetermined time to produce a projected capacity curve for a relay path, the predetermined time corresponding to an additional delay over the relay path, the relay path including the at least one relay station and having a second capacity cost determined according to a combined measure of signal quality of multiple links in the relay path;

multiply the second capacity cost by a capacity cost ratio to produce a relay capacity curve; and

select one of the direct path and the relay path for forwarding the data packet, the path selection based on a comparison of the system capacity versus delay impact curve and the relay capacity curve at a point in the curves corresponding to a quality of service requirement of the data packet.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the path selection is further based on at least one of a required data rate, a type of service, user priority, mobility, system loading, fairness, and an effective data rate.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the path selection is further based on a modified combined index based on at least one of a required data rate, a type of service, user priority, mobility, fairness, and an effective data rate, the modified combined index created by biasing the path selection in consideration of additional capacity cost and delay impact.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor configured as a path selector also selects the relay path for the mobile station when a ratio of a resource usage gain for the mobile station and a capacity penalty is greater than 1.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the path selection is one of a dynamic path selection, a semi-static path selection and a static path selection.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the path selection is a dynamic path selection, the direct path and the relay path are dynamically selectable for forwarding the data packets corresponding to a same mobile station and having a same quality of service.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the one of the direct path and the relay path is selected based on a traffic pattern and a quality of service requirement.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the path selection is a semi-static path selection, the direct path and the relay path are dynamically selectable for forwarding data packets corresponding to a same mobile station and having multiple service flows with differing qualities of service.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the path selection is a static path selection, the one of the direct path and the relay path is selected based on an effective data rate of each path and a quality of service requirement.

19. A wireless communication system comprising:

at least one base station, the at least one base station including a path selector configured to:

calculate a system capacity versus delay impact curve for a first path to a mobile station, the first path having a first capacity cost determined according to a communication quality of a direct link between a base station and the mobile station;

shift the system capacity versus delay impact curve by a predetermined time to produce a projected capacity curve for a second path, the predetermined time corresponding to an additional delay over the second path, the second path having a second capacity cost determined according to a combined measure of signal quality of multiple links in the second path;

multiply the second capacity cost by a capacity cost ratio to produce a relay capacity curve; and

select one of the first path and the second path for forwarding the data packet, the path selection based on a comparison of the system capacity versus delay impact curve and the relay capacity curve at a point in the curves corresponding to a quality of service requirement of the data packet;

at least one relay station communicatively coupled to the at least one base station; and

at least one mobile station communicatively coupled to the at least one base station and the at least one relay station, the at least one mobile station configured to communicate with the at least one base station through at least two paths, a selected path of the at least two paths selected for forwarding a data packet based on a delay requirement of at least one of a service flow and the data packet.