1. A radio access network node adapted to receive at least one control message with increased space for acknowledgement information and non-acknowledgment information from a mobile station, the radio access network node comprising:
at least one processor; and,
at least one memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the at least one processor interfaces with the at least one memory to execute the processor-executable instructions, whereby said radio access network node is operable to:
send data blocks to the mobile station using two or more downlink carriers within a single radio block period;
send a poll indication to the mobile station; and,
receive at least one radio block with at least one control message on an uplink carrier from the mobile station in response to the poll indication, wherein the at least one control message contains at least one of acknowledgment information and non-acknowledgement information associated with a subset of the sent data blocks, wherein the at least one control message is coded with a selected coding scheme that is a coding scheme 1 (CS-1) or higher, and wherein the selected coding scheme is based at least in part on at least one predefined condition.
2. The radio access network node of claim 1, further operable to:
Detect the coding scheme used in the at least one received radio block; and,
detect that the at least one received radio block contains at least one control block which contains the at least one control message rather than payload.
3. The radio access network node of claim 1, further operable to:
if the at least one control message contains the non-acknowledgement information for one or more of the sent data blocks which indicates that the mobile station has not correctly received the corresponding one or more data blocks, then retransmit the one or more data blocks which have not been correctly received by the mobile station; and,
if the at least one control message contains the acknowledgement information for one or more of the sent data blocks which indicates that the mobile station has correctly received the corresponding one or more data blocks including an oldest data block for which acknowledgment information has not yet been received, then slide a transmit window forward to reflect the next oldest data block that was sent but for which acknowledgment information has not yet been received in a control message from the mobile station.
4. The radio access network node of claim 1, further operable to:
determine a fixed coding scheme or a highest allowable coding scheme that the mobile station can use to generate the at least one control message; and,
send an indication of the determined fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme to the mobile station.
5. The radio access network node of claim 4, wherein the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme is determined based on the at least one predefined condition which follows:
a received uplink signal level in view of predefined thresholds;
an estimated bit error rate probability (BEP) for uplink in view of predefined thresholds;
an estimated block error rate probability (BLER) for uplink in view of predefined thresholds;
a total number of downlink timeslots assigned in view of predefined thresholds; and,
a downlink coding scheme used to send the data blocks to the mobile station.
6. The radio access network node of claim 4, wherein the indication of the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme is sent to the mobile station by using at least one of following:
reserved values of a length indicator in the sent data blocks to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a reserved length indicator value in the sent data blocks to indicate that a next octet immediately following the reserved length indicator indicates the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a packet uplink AckNack message to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a piggy backed AckNack field to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a Packet Associated Control Channel (PACCH) message to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a Radio Link ControlMedium Access Control (RLCMAC) header associated with the sent data blocks to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
an uplink coding scheme command which is further defined to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme; and,
a subset of coding schemes used for sending downlink data blocks to implicitly indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme.
7. The radio access network node of claim 1, wherein the at least one control message is a multi-segmented Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) message.
8. The radio access network node of claim 1, wherein the at least one control message is multiple Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) messages.
9. A method in a radio access network node for receiving at least one control message with increased space for acknowledgement information and non-acknowledgment information from a mobile station, the method comprising:
sending data blocks to the mobile station using two or more downlink carriers within a single radio block period;
sending a poll indication to the mobile station; and,
receiving at least one radio block with at least one control message on an uplink carrier from the mobile station in response to the poll indication, wherein the at least one control message contains at least one of acknowledgment information and non-acknowledgement information associated with a subset of the sent data blocks, wherein the at least one control message is coded with a selected coding scheme that is a coding scheme 1 (CS-1) or higher, and wherein the selected coding scheme is based at least in part on at least one predefined condition.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
detecting the coding scheme used in the at least one received radio block; and,
detecting that the at least one received radio block contains at least one control block which contains the at least one control message rather than payload.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
if the at least one control message contains the non-acknowledgement information for one or more of the sent data blocks which indicates that the mobile station has not correctly received the corresponding one or more data blocks, then retransmitting the one or more data blocks which have not been correctly received by the mobile station; and,
if the at least one control message contains the acknowledgement information for one or more of the sent data blocks which indicates that the mobile station has correctly received the corresponding one or more data blocks including an oldest data block for which acknowledgment information has not yet been received, then sliding a transmit window forward to reflect the next oldest data block that was sent but for which acknowledgment information has not yet been received in a control message from the mobile station.
12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
determining a fixed coding scheme or a highest allowable coding scheme that the mobile station can use to generate the at least one control message; and,
sending an indication of the determined fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme to the mobile station.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme is determined based on the at least one predefined condition which follows:
a received uplink signal level in view of predefined thresholds;
an estimated bit error rate probability (BEP) for uplink in view of predefined thresholds;
an estimated block error rate probability (BLER) for uplink in view of predefined thresholds;
a total number of downlink timeslots assigned in view of predefined thresholds; and,
a downlink coding scheme used to send the data blocks to the mobile station.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication of the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme is sent to the mobile station by using at least one of following:
reserved values of a length indicator in the sent data blocks to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a reserved length indicator value in the sent data blocks to indicate that a next octet immediately following the reserved length indicator indicates the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a packet uplink AckNack message to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a piggy backed AckNack field to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a Packet Associated Control Channel (PACCH) message to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
a Radio Link ControlMedium Access Control (RLCMAC header) associated with the sent data blocks to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme;
an uplink coding scheme command which is further defined to indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme; and,
a subset of coding schemes used for sending downlink data blocks to implicitly indicate the fixed coding scheme or the highest allowable coding scheme.
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one control message is a multi-segmented Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) message.
16. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one control message is multiple Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) messages.
17. A mobile station adapted to send at least one control message with increased space for acknowledgement information and non-acknowledgment information to a radio access network node the mobile station comprising:
at least one processor; and,
at least one memory that stores processor-executable instructions, wherein the at least one processor interfaces with the at least one memory to execute the processor-executable instructions, whereby said mobile station is operable to:
receive data blocks on two or more downlink carriers within a single radio block period from the radio access network node;
receive a poll indication from the radio access network node; and,
send at least one radio block with at least one control message on an uplink carrier to the radio access network node in response to the poll indication, wherein the at least one control message contains at least one of acknowledgment information and non-acknowledgement information associated with a subset of the data blocks received on the two or more downlink carriers, wherein the at least one control message is coded with a selected coding scheme that is a coding scheme 1 (CS-1) or higher, and wherein the selected coding scheme is based at least in part on at least one predefined condition.
18. The mobile station of claim 17, further operable to:
generate the at least one control message to contain the non-acknowledgement information for one or more of the data blocks which have not been correctly received; and,
generate the at least one control message to contain the acknowledgement information for one or more of the data blocks which have been correctly received.
19. The mobile station of claim 17, further operable to:
Receive an indication from the radio access network node, wherein the indication indicates a fixed coding scheme or a highest allowable coding scheme that can be used to generate the at least one control message.
20. The mobile station of claim 17, further operable to:
select the coding scheme used to generate the at least one control message based at least in part on the at least one predefined condition.
21. The mobile station of claim 20, wherein the coding scheme is selected based at least in part on at least one predefined condition which follows:
a coding scheme indication received from the radio access network node;
an estimated uplink channel quality based on reception of the downlink data blocks; and,
avoid use of a coding scheme higher than what is required by the acknowledgment information and the non-acknowledgment information to be conveyed in the at least one control message.
23. The mobile station of claim 17, wherein the at least one control message is a multi-segmented Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) message.
24. The mobile station of claim 17, wherein the at least one control message is multiple Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) messages.
25. A method in a mobile station adapted to send at least one control message with increased space for acknowledgement information and non-acknowledgment information to a radio access network node, the method comprising:
receiving data blocks on two or more downlink carriers within a single radio block period from the radio access network node;
receiving a poll indication from the radio access network node; and,
sending at least one radio block with at least one control message on an uplink carrier to the radio access network node in response to the poll indication, wherein the at least one control message contains at least one of acknowledgment information and non-acknowledgement information associated with a subset of the data blocks received on the two or more downlink carriers, wherein the at least one control message is coded with a selected coding scheme that is a coding scheme 1 (CS-1) or higher, and wherein the selected coding scheme is based at least in part on at least one predefined condition.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the sending operation further comprises:
generating the at least one control message to contain the non-acknowledgement information for one or more of the data blocks which have not been correctly received; and,
generating the at least one control message to contain the acknowledgement information for one or more of the data blocks which have been correctly received.
27. The method of claim 25, further comprising:
receiving an indication from the radio access network node, wherein the indication indicates a fixed coding scheme or a highest allowable coding scheme that can be used to generate the at least one control message.
28. The method of claim 25, further comprising:
selecting the coding scheme used to generate the at least one control message based at least in part on the at least one predefined condition.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the coding scheme is selected based in part on at least one predefined condition as follows:
a coding scheme indication received from the radio access network node;
an estimated uplink channel quality based on reception of the downlink data blocks; and,
avoid use of a coding scheme higher than what is required by the acknowledgment information and the non-acknowledgment information to be conveyed in the at least one control message.
30. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one control message is a multi-segmented Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) message.
31. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one control message is multiple Packet Downlink AckNack (PDAN) messages.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A transmitter for optically transferring information, comprising:
an optical carrier signal generator for generating an optical carrier signal having a first polarization state;
an optical data signal generator for generating an optical data signal separate from the optical carrier signal and having a second polarization state; and
means for matching the first polarization state and the second polarization state.
2. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the optical carrier signal generator is capable of generating an optical carrier signal with a dominant second order harmonic.
3. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the optical carrier signal generator is capable of suppressing odd harmonics.
4. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the optical carrier signal generator comprises a radio frequency (RF) signal generator for generating at least one RF signal.
5. The transmitter of claim 4, wherein the optical carrier signal generator further comprises at least one phase modulator for modulating radiation with the at least one RF signal to produce at least one modulated signal.
6. The transmitter of claim 5, wherein the at least one RF signal comprises a first RF signal and a second RF signal, wherein the at least one phase modulator comprises a first phase modulator and a second phase modulator, and wherein the optical carrier signal generator further comprises a phase shifter for phase shifting a phase modulated signal from one of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator to produce a phase shifted signal.
7. The transmitter of claim 6, wherein the optical carrier signal generator further comprises a combiner for combining the phase shifted signal with a phase modulated signal from the other of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator.
8. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the optical data signal generator comprises at least one electrical data signal generator.
9. The transmitter of claim 8, wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises at least one amplifier for amplifying the at least one electrical data signal to produce an amplified signal.
10. The transmitter of claim 9, wherein the at least one amplifier comprises a modulator driver.
11. The transmitter of claim 9, wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises at least one modulator for modulating radiation with the amplified signal to produce a modulated data signal.
12. The transmitter of claim 11, wherein the at least one modulator modulates the optical carrier signal with the amplified signal to produce the optical data signal.
13. The transmitter of claim 11, wherein the at least one modulator comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator.
14. The transmitter of claim 11, wherein the at least one electrical data signal generator comprises a first electrical data signal generator and a second electrical data signal generator, wherein the at least one amplifier comprises a first amplifier and a second amplifier, wherein the at least one modulator comprises a first modulator and a second modulator, and wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises:
at least one phase shifter for phase shifting the radiation to one of the first modulator and the second modulator; and
a combiner for combining a first modulated signal from the first modulator and a second modulated signal from the second modulator to produce the optical data signal.
15. The transmitter of claim 14, wherein the at least one phase shifter comprises a first phase shifter and a second phase shifter for phase shifting the radiation to the one of the first modulator and the second modulator and phase shifting a combined signal out of the combiner, and wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises an attenuator for attenuating a signal out of the second phase shifter to produce the optical data signal.
16. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the means for matching comprises polarization maintaining optical fiber.
17. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the means for matching comprises a single crystal comprising the optical carrier signal generator and the optical data signal generator.
18. A system for optically transferring information, comprising:
a transmitter, comprising:
an optical carrier signal generator for generating an optical carrier signal having a first polarization state;
an optical data signal generator for generating an optical data signal separate from the optical carrier signal and having a second polarization state; and
means for matching the first polarization state and the second polarization state;
a combiner for combining the optical carrier signal with the optical data signal to produce a combined signal;
an optical wave guide for transferring the combined signal; and
a receiver coupled to the optical wave guide for receiving the combined signal.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the optical wave guide comprises optical fiber.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the optical fiber comprises single mode optical fiber.
21. The system of claim 18, further comprising a radiation source for providing radiation to the optical carrier signal generator and the optical data signal generator.
22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a splitter for splitting the radiation from the radiation source and providing to the optical carrier signal generator and the optical data signal generator.
23. The system of claim 18, further comprising an optical filter prior to the optical wave guide.
24. The system of claim 18, wherein the optical carrier signal generator is capable of generating an optical carrier signal with a dominant second order harmonic.
25. The system of claim 18, wherein the optical carrier signal generator is capable of suppressing odd harmonics.
26. The system of claim 18, wherein the optical carrier signal generator comprises a radio frequency (RF) signal generator for generating at least one RF signal.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the optical carrier signal generator further comprises at least one phase modulator for modulating radiation with the at least one RF signal to produce at least one modulated signal.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein the at least one RF signal comprises a first RF signal and a second RF signal, wherein the at least one phase modulator comprises a first phase modulator and a second phase modulator, and wherein the optical carrier signal generator further comprises a phase shifter for phase shifting a phase modulated signal from one of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator to produce a phase shifted signal.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein the optical carrier signal generator further comprises a combiner for combining the phase shifted signal with a phase modulated signal from the other of the first phase modulator and the second phase modulator.
30. The system of claim 18, wherein the optical data signal generator comprises at least one electrical data signal generator.
31. The system of claim 30, wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises at least one amplifier for amplifying the at least one electrical data signal to produce an amplified signal.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the at least one amplifier comprises a modulator driver.
33. The system of claim 31, wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises at least one modulator for modulating radiation with the amplified signal to produce a modulated data signal.
34. The system of claim 33, wherein the at least one modulator modulates the optical carrier signal with the amplified signal to produce the optical data signal.
35. The system of claim 33, wherein the at least one modulator comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator.
36. The system of claim 33, wherein the at least one electrical data signal generator comprises a first electrical data signal generator and a second electrical data signal generator, wherein the at least one amplifier comprises a first amplifier and a second amplifier, wherein the at least one modulator comprises a first modulator and a second modulator, and wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises:
at least one phase shifter for phase shifting the radiation to one of the first modulator and the second modulator; and
a combiner for combining a first modulated signal from the first modulator and a second modulated signal from the second modulator to produce the optical data signal.
37. The system of claim 36, wherein the at least one phase shifter comprises a first phase shifter and a second phase shifter for phase shifting the radiation to the one of the first modulator and the second modulator and phase shifting a combined signal out of the combiner, and wherein the optical data signal generator further comprises an attenuator for attenuating a signal out of the second phase shifter to produce the optical data signal.
38. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for matching comprises polarization maintaining optical fiber.
39. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for matching comprises a single crystal comprising the optical carrier generator and the optical data signal generator.
40. A method of optically transferring information, comprising:
generating an optical carrier signal having a first polarization state;
generating an optical data signal separate from the optical carrier signal and having a second polarization state;
matching the first polarization state and the second polarization state;
combining the optical carrier signal with the optical data signal to create a combined optical signal; and
transferring the combined optical signal over an optical wave guide.
41. The method of claim 40, wherein generating the optical carrier signal comprises generating the optical carrier signal such that a second order harmonic dominates.
42. The method of claim 40, wherein generating the optical carrier signal comprises generating the optical carrier signal such that odd harmonics are suppressed.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein generating the optical carrier signal comprises:
providing radiation;
generating a first RF signal and a second RF signal;
phase modulating the radiation with each of the first RF signal and the second RF signal to produce a first modulated signal and a second modulated signal, respectively;
phase shifting one of the first modulated signal and the second modulated signal to produce a phase shifted signal; and
combining the phase shifted signal with the other of the first modulated signal and the second modulated signal.
44. The method of claim 43, wherein the phase modulating comprises splitting the radiation into a first part and a second part, wherein phase modulating with the first RF signal comprises phase modulating with one of the first part and the second part, and wherein phase modulating with the second RF signal comprises modulating with the other of the first part and the second part.
45. The method of claim 40, further comprising providing radiation, wherein generating the optical data signal comprises modulating the radiation with an electrical data signal.
46. The method of claim 45, wherein modulating the radiation with the electrical data signal comprises:
amplifying the electrical data signal to produce an amplified signal; and
modulating the radiation with the amplified signal to produce the optical data signal.
47. The method of claim 46, wherein the amplifying comprises amplifying the electrical data signal with a modulator driver.
48. The method of claim 45, wherein the electrical data signal comprises a first electrical data signal and a second electrical data signal, and wherein modulating the radiation with the electrical data signal comprises:
amplifying the first electrical data signal to produce a first amplified signal;
modulating the radiation with the first amplified signal to produce a first optical signal;
phase shifting the radiation to produce phase shifted radiation;
amplifying the second electrical data signal to produce a second amplified signal;
modulating the phase shifted radiation with the second amplified signal to produce a second optical signal; and
combining the first optical signal with the second optical signal to produce the optical data signal.
49. The method of claim 48, wherein the phase shifting comprises phase shifting about 90 degrees.
50. The method of claim 45, wherein the electrical data signal comprises a first electrical data signal and a second electrical data signal, and wherein modulating the radiation with an electrical data signal comprises:
amplifying the first electrical data signal to produce a first amplified signal;
modulating the radiation with the first amplified signal to produce a first optical signal;
phase shifting the radiation to produce a phase shifted radiation;
amplifying the second electrical data signal to produce a second amplified signal;
modulating the phase shifted radiation with the second amplified signal to produce a second optical signal;
combining the first optical signal with the second optical signal to produce a combined optical signal; and
reducing an amplitude of the frequency of the radiation source in the combined optical signal to produce the optical data signal.
51. The method of claim 50, wherein the reducing comprises:
phase shifting the combined optical signal; and
attenuating the phase shifted combined optical signal to produce the optical data signal.
52. The method of claim 40, wherein the matching comprises matching with at least one polarization maintaining optical fiber.
53. The method of claim 40, wherein the transferring comprises transferring the combined optical signal over an optical fiber.
54. A method of optically transferring information, comprising:
generating an optical source signal having a first polarization state;
generating an optical carrier signal from the optical source signal having a second polarization state;
generating an optical data signal from the optical carrier signal having a third polarization state;
matching the first polarization state and the third polarization state;
combining the optical source signal with the optical data signal to create a combined optical signal; and
transferring the combined optical signal over an optical wave guide.
55. The method of claim 54, wherein generating the optical data signal comprises:
generating an electrical data signal;
amplifying the electrical data signal to produce an amplified signal; and
modulating the optical carrier signal with the amplified signal to produce the optical data signal.