HK1141190B - Scheduling of dynamic broadcast channel - Google Patents

Description

Scheduling of dynamic broadcast channels

Claiming priority in accordance with 35U.S.C. § 119

This patent application claims priority from U.S. provisional application No.60/894,893 entitled "SCHEDULING OFDYNAMIC BCH IN LTE" filed on 14/3/2007. The entire contents of the above application are expressly incorporated by reference into the present application.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to scheduling system information related to techniques for communication.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting simultaneous communication with multiple terminals by one or more base stations. Multiple access communication relies on sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.

Communication between a terminal and a base station in a wireless system (e.g., a multiple-access system) is achieved through transmissions over a wireless link that includes a forward link and a reverse link. Such communication links may be established through single-input-single-output (SISO) systems, multiple-input-single-output (MISO) systems, or multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The MIMO system is composed of multiple units (N)_TMultiple) transmitting antenna and multiple (N)_RAnd) a transmitter and a receiver for data transmission of the receiving antenna. SISO and MISO systems are special cases of MIMO systems. From N_TA transmitting antenna and N_RThe MIMO channel formed by the receiving antennas can be decomposed into N_VIndividual channels, also called spatial channels, where N_v≤min{N_T，N_R}。N_VEach of the individual channels corresponds to a dimension. MIMO systems may provide improved performance (e.g., higher throughput, greater capacity, or greater reliability) if the additional dimensionalities created by the multiple transmit and receive antennas are utilized.

Regardless of the characteristics of the various available wireless communication systems, in each such system, the operation of the wireless device relies on the successful receipt of system information. These system information is typically received in the device according to a scheduling mechanism employed by a scheduler operating in the serving base station. Generally, the efficiency of wireless device operation is significantly dependent on the scheduling mechanism of the system information. For example, when a scheduling mechanism uses too many transceivers and related components, battery utilization can be significantly affected. This typically occurs when a transceiver in the mobile station actively "listens" to the channel without receiving information (e.g., updated or new system information) that would cause the device to perform subsequent operations. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an efficient scheduling mechanism to reduce unnecessary use of transceivers and related components of a wireless device operating in a wireless environment.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the embodiments nor delineate the scope of such embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the described embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Systems and methods are disclosed that facilitate scheduling system information. Scheduling of system information employs a control channel associated with a Broadcast Channel (BCH) and utilizes reference information (e.g., a time reference or scheduling reference) in addition to system information typically carried by Scheduling Units (SUs). Scheduling is mainly done according to three scheme types. (i) An explicit scheduling scheme. The SU carries a time indication for another SU to be scheduled in a control channel associated with the BCH. The indicated time is the lower bound of a particular time slot or actual scheduling instant in the control channel. (ii) A periodic scheduling scheme. The first SU indicates a time period or period for scheduling different scheduling units in the control channel associated with the BCH. (iii) A transitional explicit scheduling scheme. The first SU carries a time indication for a second SU in the same control channel that indicates a time to schedule a third SU.

Specifically, in one aspect of the present invention, a method for scheduling system information in a wireless communication system is disclosed, the method comprising: scheduling a first scheduling unit, wherein the first scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a second scheduling unit is scheduled; scheduling the second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; communicate the first scheduling unit and communicate the second scheduling unit.

In another aspect, the disclosure describes a method for use in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: scheduling a first scheduling unit indicating a second scheduling unit, wherein the second scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a third scheduling unit is scheduled; scheduling the third scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; communicating the first, second, and third scheduling units.

In another aspect, a wireless communication device is disclosed, the device comprising a processor configured to: associating a control channel with a broadcast channel; scheduling a first Scheduling Unit (SU) carrying at least an indication of a time at which a second SU is scheduled; scheduling the second SU in the control channel associated with the broadcast channel; scheduling a third SU to indicate a fourth SU, wherein the fourth SU includes an indication of a time at which a fifth SU is scheduled; scheduling the fifth scheduling unit in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel; the apparatus also includes a memory coupled to the processor.

In another aspect, the present invention discloses a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium comprising: code for causing at least one computer to schedule a first scheduling unit that conveys at least an indication of a time at which a second scheduling unit is scheduled; code for causing the at least one computer to schedule the second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; code for causing the at least one computer to schedule a third scheduling unit indicating a fourth scheduling unit, wherein the fourth scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a fifth scheduling unit is scheduled; code for causing the at least one computer to schedule the fifth scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; code for causing the at least one computer to communicate the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth scheduling units.

In another aspect, an apparatus operable in a wireless communication system is described, the apparatus comprising: means for scheduling a first scheduling unit, wherein the first scheduling unit includes an indication of a set of times at which a second scheduling unit is scheduled; means for scheduling the second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; means for communicating the first scheduling unit and communicating the second scheduling unit.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to an apparatus operating in a wireless system, the apparatus comprising: means for scheduling a first scheduling unit indicating a second scheduling unit, wherein the second scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a third scheduling unit is scheduled; means for scheduling the third scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; means for communicating the third, fourth, and fifth scheduling units.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more embodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects and are representative of some of the various ways in which the principles of the embodiments may be employed. Other advantages and novel features may become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings and the disclosed embodiments are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a multiple access wireless communication system in which an access point with multiple antennas is capable of communicating simultaneously with various access terminals operating in SIMO, SU-MIMO, and MU-MIMO. The access point is able to use the flexible CQI reporting disclosed in this application;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example system that facilitates scheduling system information consistent with aspects described herein.

Fig. 3A and 3B are diagrams for illustrating scheduling of system information with a time reference for a control channel associated with a broadcast channel: (A) a specified time, and (B) a time period.

Fig. 4 illustrates scheduling system information using a time reference and a similar reference scheduling unit consistent with aspects described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example system that facilitates scheduling system information consistent with aspects described in the subject specification.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a transmitter system and a receiver system that may employ MIMO operation of the described aspects of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary MU-MIMO system.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a flow diagram of an example method for scheduling system information with time references for different scheduling units, consistent with aspects described herein.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an example methodology that facilitates scheduling system information by referencing disparate scheduling units in accordance with aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example methodology that facilitates generating a time reference in accordance with a scheduling policy consistent with aspects set forth herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example system that facilitates scheduling units in accordance with aspects described herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example system that facilitates scheduling units in accordance with aspects described herein.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident, however, that such embodiment(s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more embodiments.

As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to include a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. By way of example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., from one component in a local system, distributed system, and/or other system connected by way of the signal via a network such as the internet).

Furthermore, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, any of the following examples satisfies the term "X employs A or B", i.e.: x is A; x is B; or X adopts A and B. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.

Various embodiments are described herein in connection with a wireless terminal. A wireless terminal may refer to a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The wireless terminal may be connected to a computing device such as a laptop or desktop computer, or it may be a self-contained device such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). A wireless terminal can also be called a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile terminal, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user agent, user equipment (user device), user customized device, or user equipment (user equipment). A wireless terminal may be a subscriber station, a wireless device, a cellular telephone, a PCS telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or some other processing device connected to a wireless modulator.

A base station may refer to a device in an access network that communicates over the air-interface, through one or more sectors, with wireless terminals. The base station may act as a router between the wireless terminal and other parts of the access network (which may include an IP network) by converting received air-interface frames to IP packets. The base station may also coordinate management of attributes for the air interface. Furthermore, various embodiments are described herein in connection with a base station. A base station may be utilized for communicating with mobile device(s) and may also be referred to as an access point, node B, evolved node B (enodeb), or some other technology.

Systems and methods are provided that facilitate scheduling system information. Scheduling of system information employs a control channel associated with a Broadcast Channel (BCH) and utilizes reference information (e.g., time reference and scheduling reference) other than the system information typically carried by the Scheduling Units (SUs). Scheduling is mainly done according to three scheme types. (i) The SU carries a time indication that indicates when to schedule another SU in a control channel associated with the BCH. The indicated time is the lower bound of the designated time slot or actual scheduling instant in the control channel. (ii) The first SU carries a time indication for a second SU in the same control channel, which indicates a time to schedule a third SU. (iii) The first SU indicates a time period or period for scheduling additional scheduling units in a control channel associated with the BCH.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a multiple access wireless communication system 100 consistent with aspects disclosed herein, wherein an access point 110 having multiple antennas 113 and 128 simultaneously schedules and MU-MIMO and SIMO mobile terminals in the MU-MIMO mode of operationWith which communication is conducted. The operating mode is dynamic: access point 110 may rearrange terminals 130, 160 and 170₁-170₆An operating mode of each of the same. In addition, the access point 110 may dynamically adjust the reporting settings based on changes in operating conditions that cause changes in the operating mode. From the point of view of the characteristic that the mode of operation (including CQI reporting) is dynamic, fig. 1 shows a snapshot (snapshot) of the communication link between the terminal and the antenna. As shown, these terminals may be fixed or mobile and dispersed throughout a cell 180. As used herein and generally in the art, the term "cell" refers to a base station 110 and/or a geographic area 180 covered by the base station 110, depending on the context in which the term is used. Further, at any given moment, the terminals (e.g., 130-160 and 170)₁-170₆) May or may not communicate with any number of base stations (e.g., access point 110 as shown). It should be noted that terminal 130 has one antenna and therefore it operates substantially in SIMO mode at all times.

Generally, the access point 110 has N_TMore than or equal to 1 transmitting antenna. The antennas in access point 110(AP) are shown in multiple antenna groups, one including 113 and 128, another including 116 and 119, and an additional including 122 and 125. In fig. 1, two antennas are shown for each antenna group, but more or fewer antennas may be utilized for each antenna group. In the instant diagram shown in FIG. 1, an access terminal 130(AT) operating in SIMO is in communication with antennas 125 and 122, where antennas 125 and 122 are over forward link 135_FLSends information to access terminal 130 and over reverse link 135_RLInformation is received from access terminal 130. Each mobile terminal 140 and 150 communicates with antennas 119 and 116 in SU-MIMO mode, while terminal 160 operates in SISO. MIMO channels are formed between each of terminals 140, 150, and 160 and antennas 119 and 116 to generate different FLs (145)_FL、155_FL、165_FL) And a different RL (145)_RL、155_RL、165_RL). In addition, in the temporal diagram of FIG. 1, a group 185 of terminals 1701-1706 is scheduled in MU-MIMO, wherein the terminals and access in the group 185Multiple MIMO channels are formed between antennas 128 and 113 in point 110. Forward link 175_FLAnd reverse link RL 175_RLPresentation terminal 170₁-170₆And base station 110. Further, access point 110 may employ OFDMA to support communications from/to different groups of mobile stations. It should be understood that different devices in the cell 180 may execute different applications: thus, CQI reporting may be performed according to a reporting policy established by an operator of access point 110.

In one aspect, advanced systems such as LTE may employ MIMO operating in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) communications. In FDD communication, link 135_RL-175_RLRespectively using AND links 135_FL-175_FLA different frequency band. In TDD communications, link 135_RL-175_RLAnd 135_FL-175_FLUtilizing the same frequency resources; however, these resources are shared in time between forward link and reverse link communications.

In another aspect, system 100 can utilize one or more multiple-access mechanisms in addition to OFDMA, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), or other suitable multiple-access schemes. TDMA utilizes Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), wherein different terminals 130 and 160 and 170₁-170₆Are mutually orthogonal by being sent in different time intervals. FDMA utilizes Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), wherein different terminals 130 and 160 and 170₁-170₆Are orthogonal to each other by being transmitted in different frequency sub-carriers. For example, TDMA and FDMA systems can also use Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), wherein multiple terminals (e.g., 130-160 and 170) transmit in the same time interval or frequency subcarrier even though the transmissions are sent in the same time interval or frequency subcarrier₁-170₆) The transmissions of (a) may also be orthogonal to each other by using different orthogonal codes, e.g., Walsh-Hadamard codes. OFDMA utilizes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and SC-FDMA utilizes single-carrier FDM. OFDM and SC-FDM can map system bandwidthDivided into a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers (e.g., tones, segments, bins), each of which may be modulated with data. Typically, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain for OFDM and in the time domain for SC-FDM. Additionally or alternatively, the system bandwidth may be divided into one or more frequency carriers, each of which may in turn include one or more subcarriers. Different carriers or subbands (e.g., a set of tones) may be designated or scheduled for different terminals or for different applications. To simplify system design, a homogenous traffic pattern is preferred for a particular set of subbands, which may result in substantially no heterogeneous traffic in each subband in the subband set. For example, one or more subbands may be designated for voice over IP (VoIP) traffic only, while the remaining subbands may be primarily used for high data rate applications (e.g., File Transfer Protocol (FTP)). As indicated above, the specific allocation of subbands may be dynamically changed according to changing traffic needs. In addition, the CQI reporting directive may also change dynamically according to changes in traffic. Other causes of dynamic variation in subband allocation and associated CQI reporting may result from improvements or losses in performance (e.g., sector or cell throughput, data peak rate) when various services are mixed into a subband. While the CQI reporting directive or mechanism described herein is generally described with respect to an OFDMA system, it should be understood that the CQI reporting directive disclosed herein is equally applicable to substantially any wireless communication system operating in multiple access.

In another aspect, base stations 110 and terminals 120 in system 100 can communicate data using one or more data channels and signaling using one or more control channels. The data channels used by system 100 may be assigned to active terminals 120 such that each data channel is used by only one terminal at any given time. Alternatively, data channels can be assigned to multiple terminals 120, where the terminals can be superimposed or orthogonally scheduled on the data channels. To conserve system resources, control channels used by system 100 (e.g., for reporting CQI) may also be shared among multiple terminals 120 (e.g., using code division multiplexing). In one example, data channels orthogonally multiplexed only in frequency and time (e.g., data channels not multiplexed using CDM) are less affected by loss of orthogonality due to channel conditions and receiver imperfections than corresponding control channels.

Each group of antennas, or the area in which they are designed to communicate (e.g., to send or receive traffic or CQI reports, as well as other control data), is often referred to as a sector of the access point. A sector may be the entire cell 180 as shown in fig. 1 or may be a smaller area (not shown). Typically, when sectorized, a cell (e.g., cell 180) includes several sectors (not shown) covered by one access point, such as 110. It should be appreciated that various aspects disclosed herein and related to flexible CQI reporting may be used in systems with sectorized and/or unsectorized cells. Moreover, it should be understood that all suitable wireless communication networks having any number of sectorized and/or unsectorized cells are intended to fall within the scope of the hereto appended claims. For simplicity, the term "base station" as used in this application can refer to both stations that serve a sector as well as stations that serve a cell. While the following description generally refers to a system in which each terminal communicates with one serving access point (e.g., 110) for the sake of simplicity, it should also be appreciated that terminals can communicate with substantially any number of serving access points.

In forward link 135_FL-175_FLIn order to improve the performance of the different access terminals 130, 160 and 170₁-170₆The transmit antennas of access point 110 may employ beamforming (e.g., to implement SDMA communication). In addition, an access point using beamforming to transmit to access terminals scattered randomly through its coverage causes less interference to access terminals in neighboring cells than an access point transmitting through one antenna to all its access terminals. An access point (e.g., AP 110) operating in a wireless system (e.g., system 100) may do soThe pattern is combined with scheduling of system information to reduce scheduling unit collisions and lost packets.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example system 200 that facilitates scheduling system information by reference to Scheduling Units (SUs) to be scheduled. The base station 210 includes a scheduler that can schedule scheduling units carrying system information (e.g., system bandwidth, antenna configuration, cell identification, Cyclic Prefix (CP) timing, subcarrier frequency, etc.). A scheduling unit is one time-frequency resource block in which system information is conveyed by a base station (e.g., BS 210). In one aspect, in an LTE system, scheduling units may be divided into at least two categories: SU-1, which corresponds to the most frequently repeated SU and typically carries scheduling information related to scheduling of different scheduling units in addition to timing information required for time and frequency synchronization; an SU-2 scheduling unit, the SU-2 unit is scheduled to: (i) communicate changes in system information (e.g., changes in bandwidth, CP timing), and other system information, or (ii) update previously obtained system information, such as obtained subcarrier frequencies. To schedule SUs, planning component 218 relies on a control channel associated with the broadcast channel. (it should be understood that the association with the broadcast channel ensures that the scheduling information is delivered to the entire coverage area of the base station and that the scheduling information can be read from substantially any mobile terminal, including those that are not fully synchronized with the serving cell.) such a control channel can be established by the base station 210 via the processor 225 to schedule the scheduling units of the SU-2 category. In one aspect, such a channel may be referred to as a stand-alone dedicated control channel (SDCCH). To efficiently schedule system information to mitigate unnecessary use of transceiver resources and the consequent battery performance degradation, the scheduling component 218 can implement at least three scheduling schemes that will be discussed next. Each of these three schemes is designed to reduce unnecessary use of transceiver resources in the access terminal and to mitigate possible collisions between scheduled SUs. These schemes extend the scheduling information associated with SU-1 by adding a time indication, e.g., a word of N bits, where N is a positive integer, which can be used to determine an explicit or specified time to schedule a resource block carrying system information, or to indicate the scheduling resources carrying such an indication. Fig. 3A and 3B and fig. 4 show the characteristics of each scheme as appropriate.

(i) An explicit scheduling scheme. A first SU carrying system information can be scheduled in, for example, P-BCH in LTE. A first scheduled SU (e.g., SU-1320) carries a time indication τ 323 at which time a different SU (e.g., SU-2325) is to be scheduled in a control channel (e.g., SDCCH 312) associated with the BCH. Arrow 323 illustrates such an indication, which may be a word of N bits conveyed in a resource block associated with SU 320. It should be noted that there is no such time indication in conventional LTE systems. In general, in the description of the present invention, the arrow connecting the SU block (e.g., 330) and the SDCCH block (e.g., 314B) represents a time indication for the block designated "grounded". In one aspect, the time of "indicated" may be measured against resource block boundaries, as shown in diagram 200; however, other time origins may be chosen, such as the center time slot in the SU. It should be noted that in diagram 300, resource blocks 306 of the P-BCH and 314 of the SDCCH are depicted. Furthermore, the resource in which system information is to be scheduled is marked as a shaded block; e.g., 306A, 306B, 306C, and 306D, and 314A and 314B. Further, arrows 307A-307D and 315A and 315B illustratively describe the fact that the control block has a scheduled SU to communicate (e.g., transmit in DL-SCH in LTE). It should be noted that the SU may span a different number of time-frequencies that relate to those resources used to transmit the control channel block 306 or 314; thus, the size associated with SU blocks and P-BCH and SDCCH blocks in diagram 300 is different. In one aspect, the indicated time τ 323 is a designated time slot in the control channel SDCCH 312. It should be appreciated that such scheduling schemes have complexities in practical applications. In other words, the control channel SDCCH 312 needs to have the ability to indicate which SU is being scheduled (e.g., 325 or 345); and the latter can be done by scheduling the channel itself (assuming extra is put in it)Space of information is available) or by using multiple BCCH (broadcast control channel) -RNTIs. It is also to be appreciated that scheduler 215 should guarantee in advance that the timing of scheduled events (e.g., τ 323, τ' 333, or τ 343) for different SUs (e.g., SU-2325 and SU-2345) do not conflict. To mitigate conflicts, in one aspect, the time indication carried by the first scheduled SU (e.g., SU-1320) may express the timing as a lower bound (expressing the semantic concept "SU-2 will be scheduled at or shortly after 23873 time slots from now") rather than a specified time offset or time-e.g., "SU-2 is to be at τ ″_OFF23873 slots scheduled ").

(ii) A periodic scheduling scheme. Alternatively, the time indication conveyed by the first scheduling unit (e.g., SU-1320) may indicate a time period or epoch 365 used to schedule a different scheduling unit SU-2352 in a control channel associated with P-BCH 304 (e.g., SDCCH 312). For example, after scheduling a first scheduling unit (e.g., SU-1320), planning component 218 can determine and indicate that τ has elapsed after the time SU-1 was scheduled_OFF355 begins scheduling a second scheduling unit, SU-2352, every τ 365, where τ_OFF23873, and 24000 time slots. It should be understood that other timing sequences than a fixed period of period τ may be used by the scheduling component 218. In general, planning component 218 can determine to schedule SU-2352 according to substantially any time sequence-a time sequence that can be generated by time sequence generator 221. It should be appreciated that while in system 200, timing generator 221 resides outside of planning component 218, scheduler 215 may also rely on an integrated planning component 218 that includes timing generator 221.

(iii) A transitional explicit scheduling scheme. The characteristics of scheme (i) can be supplemented with the following aspects, resulting in a third scheduling scheme: a scheduled SU (e.g., SU-1410 or 420) may carry a time indication (e.g., 415 or 425) for a second SU (e.g., SU-1' 430) in the same control channel (e.g., P-BCH in LTE); the second SU (e.g., SU-1' 430) communicates a time indication 433, and a third SU (e.g., SU-2) is scheduled in a channel associated with the broadcast channel (e.g., SDCCH 312) at the time indicated by time indication 433.

It should be appreciated that scheduling of SUs of either class SU-1308 or class SU-2316 is performed in accordance with standard scheduling algorithms such as round-robin, fair queuing, maximum throughput, proportional fairness, etc. In addition, it should be noted that while SU-1308 and SU-2316 are exemplified as system information units, other classes of units that are not frequently scheduled may also be implemented in substantially the same manner as schemes (i) - (iii).

It should be noted that the processor 225 is configured to perform some or all of the functional actions of the components in the base station 210. As shown in block diagram 200, memory 235 is coupled to processor 225 and may be used to store various data, instructions, commands, and the like, that facilitate operation of processor 225.

Scheduled system information or scheduling unit 245 is typically communicated to access terminal 250 via a Forward Link (FL) and access terminal 250 decodes the system information via detection component 255. Detection component 255 typically includes a bank of correlators (not shown) for detecting pilot signals, data, and scheduling information; for example, cell IDs, timing information (e.g., symbol boundaries), frequency synchronization information, and the like can be detected by correlation operations performed on received SUs. In addition, detection component 255 can include serial-to-parallel and parallel-to-serial components (not shown), as well as fourier transform components, hadamard transform components, and components for generating inverse transforms of these transforms, particularly in mobile stations operating in MIMO and SIMO. It should be noted that processor 265 is configured to perform some or all of the functional actions (e.g., computations) of the components in detection component 255. As shown in block diagram 200, memory 275 is coupled to processor 265 and may be used to store various data structures, instructions, directives, and the like, that facilitate operation of processor 265.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example system 500 that facilitates scheduling system information in accordance with various aspects described herein. Base station 510 includes a scheduler 515, scheduler 515 providing a scheduling function for scheduling unit 245. It should be noted that processor 265 is configured to perform all or a portion of the functional actions (e.g., computations) of the components in scheduler 515. As shown in block diagram 500, memory 235 is coupled to the processor 225 and may be used to store various data structures, instructions, reference timings, scheduling schemes, and so forth that facilitate operation of the processor 225. The scheduler 515 includes the planning component 218 and the timing generator 221; these two components operate in substantially the same manner as disclosed above in connection with fig. 2. In addition, the scheduler 515 includes a policy store 518, the policy store 518 including a scheduling scheme (or policy). These scheduling schemes support scheduling performed by the planning component 218. For example, the scheduling scheme in the policy store may modify the timing for locating and scheduling the scheduling units to avoid conflicts that occur on the channels associated with the broadcast channels. Additionally, the scheduling scheme in the policy store can be based on communication conditions of a serving cell or sector served by the base station 510; for example, antenna configuration, loading of cells/sectors and other sector interference, and so on. It should be appreciated that the policy store 518 may also include a scheduling scheme for roaming mobile terminals into serving cells or sectors.

Additionally, to facilitate operation of scheduler 515 (e.g., determining reference timing for scheduling system information), an intelligent component can operate in the scheduler. In an aspect, intelligence component 521 can collect current and historical communication data and cell/sector communication conditions and infer optimized scheduling schemes and timing generation, which can ensure a reduced collision rate between scheduled system information scheduling units, for example. In addition, inferences can be employed to adjust the rate at which scheduling units are scheduled and located to substantially minimize "busy waiting". Moreover, through intelligent component 521, scheduler 515 can infer an optimized scheduling scheme based at least in part upon a size of a buffer of scheduling units currently waiting to be communicated for a mobile station (fig. 1) served by base station 210, operating modes (e.g., SISO, SIMO, and MIMO modes), and/or the like. Further, in accordance with machine learning techniques, intelligence component 321 can modify scheduling policies and schemes and store such schemes in policy store 318. The optimized scheme may improve user perceived QoS through improvements in access terminal operational performance (e.g., battery power, buffer utilization, processing and communication overhead, transmission power, etc.).

As used above and in other portions of the present invention, the term "intelligence" refers to the ability to reason about (e.g., infer) or draw conclusions about the current or future state of a system based on existing information about the system. Artificial intelligence can be employed to determine a particular environment or action, or to generate a probability distribution over specified states of a system, without requiring human intervention. Artificial intelligence relies on applying advanced mathematical algorithms-e.g., decision trees, neural networks, regression analysis, cluster analysis, genetic algorithms, and reinforced learning-to a set of available data (information) on the system. In particular, to implement the various automated aspects described above in connection with the policies for load indicator generation and other automated aspects relevant to the description herein, the AI component (e.g., component 320) can employ one of a number of methods for learning from data and then drawing inferences from the constructed models, e.g., Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and related prototypical dependency models, more general probabilistic graphical models such as Bayesian networks (e.g., created by structure search using Bayesian model scores or approximations), linear classifiers such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs), non-linear classifiers such as methods known as "neural networks" and fuzzy logic methods, and other methods suitable for performing data fusion, among others.

Fig. 6 is an illustration of a transmitter system 610 (e.g., base station 210) and a receiver system 650 (e.g., access terminal 250) in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system that can provide communication for a cell (or sector) in a wireless environment, in accordance with one or more aspects set forth herein. At the transmitter system 610, traffic data for a number of data streams can be provided from a data source 612 to Transmit (TX) data processor 614. In one embodiment, each data stream is transmitted over a respective transmit antenna. TX data processor 614 formats, codes, and interleaves the traffic data for each data stream based on a particular coding scheme selected for that data stream to provide coded data. The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot data using OFDM techniques. The pilot data is typically a known data pattern that is processed in a known manner and may be used at the receiver system to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data for each data stream is modulated (e.g., symbol mapped) based on a particular modulation scheme (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), multiple phase-shift keying (M-PSK), or M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)) selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols. The data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined by instructions performed by processor 630, which may be stored along with the data in memory 632.

The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TX MIMO processor 620, which may further process the modulation symbols (e.g., for OFDM). TX MIMO processor 620 then forwards N_TA transceiver (TMTR/RCVR)622_ATo 622_TProviding N_TA stream of modulation symbols. In certain embodiments, TX MIMO processor 620 applies beamforming weights (or precoding) to the symbols of the data streams and to the antenna from which the symbol is being transmitted. Each transceiver 622 receives and processes a respective symbol stream to provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g., amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide a modulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel. And then from the transceiver 622_ATo 622_TN of (A)_TEach modulated signal being from N_TAn antenna 624₁To 624_TAnd sending the message. At receiver system 650, the transmitted modulated signal consists of N_RAn antenna 652₁To 652_RTo receiveThe received signal from each antenna 652 is provided to a corresponding transceiver (RCVR/TMTR)654_ATo 654_R. Each transceiver 654₁-654_RConditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal, digitizes the conditioned signal to provide samples, and further processes the samples to provide a corresponding "received" symbol stream.

RX data processor 660 then proceeds from N_RA transceiver 654₁-654_RReceiving N_RA stream of symbols, and processing the stream of symbols in accordance with a particular receiver processing technique to provide N_TA stream of "detected" symbols. The RX data processor 660 then demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes each detected symbol stream to recover the traffic data for the data stream. The processing by RX data processor 660 is complementary to that performed by TX MIMO processor 620 and TX data processor 614 at transmitter system 610. A processor 670 periodically determines which precoding matrix to employ, such a matrix can be stored in a memory 672. Processor 670 also generates a reverse link message that includes a matrix index portion and a rank value portion. Memory 672 may hold instructions for execution by processor 670 to generate the reverse link message described above. The reverse link message may comprise various types of information regarding the communication link or the received data stream, or a combination of both. In particular, such information may include channel quality indicator reports (e.g., CQI 279), offsets for adjusting scheduled resources, or measurement reference signals for link (or channel) estimation. The reverse link message is then processed by a TX data processor 638 (which also receives traffic data for a number of data streams from a data source 636), modulated by a modulator 680, and transmitted by a transceiver 654_ATo 654_RConditioned, and transmitted back to transmitter system 610.

At transmitter system 610, the modulated signals from receiver system 650 are transmitted by antennas 624₁-624_TReceived by transceiver 622_A-622_TConditioned, demodulated by a demodulator 640, and processed by a RX data processor642 to extract the reverse link message transmitted by the receiver system 650. Processor 630 then determines which pre-coding matrix to use for determining the beamforming weights and processing the extracted message. In addition, processor 630 operates and provides functionality to scheduler component 644, or scheduler 644, which operates in accordance with aspects of the invention described in connection with components 215 and 515.

As discussed above in connection with fig. 1, receiver 650 may be dynamically scheduled to operate in SIMO, SU-MIMO, and MU-MIMO based at least in part on channel quality indicators reported by the receiver. Next, communication in these operation modes is described. It should be noted that in SIMO mode, the receiver is switched off (N)_R1) is used for communication, SIMO mode of operation may therefore be considered a special case of SU-MIMO. As previously shown in fig. 6 and in accordance with the operations described in connection with the figure, a single user MIMO mode of operation corresponds to the case where a single receiver system 650 communicates with transmitter system 610. In such a system, N_TA transmitter 624₁-624_T(also called TX antenna) and N_R652 of₁-652_RThe receiver (also referred to as RX antenna) constitutes a MIMO matrix channel (e.g., a rayleigh channel or a gaussian channel with slow fading or fast fading) for wireless communications. N consisting of random complex numbers, as described above_R×N_TDescribes the SU-MIMO channel. The rank of the channel is equal to the N_R×N_TAlgebraic rank of the matrix, in terms of space-time coding or space-frequency coding, equal to the number N of independent data streams (or layers) that can be transmitted over the SU-MIMO channel without causing inter-stream interference_V≤min{N_T，N_R}。

In an aspect, in SU-MIMO mode, the OFDM transmit/receive symbol at tone ω can be modeled as:

y(ω)＝H(ω)c(ω)+n(ω) (1)

where y (ω) is the received data stream and it is N_RA vector of x 1, the vector of x 1,H(ω) is N at tone ω_R×N_TE.g., a time-varying channel response matrixhFourier transform of (c) c (ω) is N_TX 1, N (ω) is N_RA noise vector of x 1 (e.g., additive white gaussian noise). The precoding may be N_VConversion of layer vector of x 1 to N_TA precoded output vector of x 1. N is a radical of_VIs the actual number of data streams (layers) transmitted by transmitter 610, and a transmitter (e.g., transmitter 610, node B210, or access point 110) may, as appropriate, pair N depending at least in part on channel conditions and a rank reported in a scheduling request of a terminal (e.g., receiver 650)_VAnd carrying out scheduling. Similarly, N can be used_VThe layers convey system information in a MIMO configuration. It should be understood that c (ω) is the result of at least one multiplexing scheme and at least one precoding (or beamforming) scheme applied by the transmitter. In addition, c (ω) may be convolved with a power gain matrix that determines the allocation of transmitter 610 for transmitting each data stream N_VThe amount of power of. It should be appreciated that such a power gain matrix can be a resource allocated to a terminal (e.g., access terminal 250, receiver 650, or UE 160) by a scheduler in a serving node that is responsive, at least in part, to reported CQI.

As described above, according to one aspect, a set of terminals (e.g., mobile station 170)₁-170₆) MU-MIMO operation of (3) is within the scope of the present invention. Further, scheduled MU-MIMO terminals work in conjunction with SU-MIMO terminals and SIMO terminals. Fig. 7 illustrates an example multi-user MIMO system 700 in which three ATs 650_P、650_UAnd 650_SRepresenting a receiver substantially identical to receiver 650, the three ATs communicate with transmitter 610, represented by a node B. It should be understood that the operation of system 700 is representative of any such operation as terminal 170₁-170₆Such as a group of wireless devices (e.g., 185) in which a centralized scheduler located in a serving access point (e.g., 110 or 250) operates the wireless devices as MUs-MIMs in a serving cellAnd performing scheduling in an O working mode. As described above, transmitter 610 has N_TA TX antenna 624₁-624_TEach AT has multiple RX antennas, i.e. AT_PWith N_PAn antenna 652₁-652_P、AP_UWith N_UAn antenna 652₁-652_U、AP_SWith N_SAn antenna 652₁-652_S. Communication between the terminal and the access point is via an uplink 715_P、715_UAnd 715_STo be implemented. Similarly, the downlink 710_P、710_UAnd 710_SFacilitating node B610 and terminal AT, respectively_P、AT_UAnd AT_STo communicate between them. In addition, communication between each terminal and the base station is accomplished by substantially the same components in substantially the same manner as shown in fig. 6 and discussed in the description of the figure.

The terminals may be located in substantially different locations in the cell (e.g., cell 180) served by access point 610, and thus, each user equipment 650_P、650_UAnd 650_SWith its own MIMO matrix channel h_αAnd a response matrix H_α(α -P, U and S), which have their own rank (or equivalent singular value decomposition) and their own associated channel quality indicator. Since there are multiple users in the cell served by the base station 610, intra-cell interference may occur and affect each terminal 650_P、650_UAnd 650_SReported CQI values. These interferences particularly affect the scheduling of system information SU (e.g., scheduling unit 245) because the scheduled packets cannot be detected by the access terminal (e.g., 650)_P、650_UAnd 650_S). In an aspect, scheduling schemes for one or more terminals can be dynamically and autonomously modified by intelligent component 521 once interference reaches a specified threshold.

Although three terminals are shown in fig. 7, it should be understood that a MU-MIMO system may include substantially any number of terminals (e.g., group 185 includes six terminals 170)₁-170₆) (ii) a Lower partThe facet indicates each terminal with an index k. According to various aspects, each access terminal 650 may be in accordance with at least one of aspects (i), (ii), and (iii) described in conjunction with fig. 2_P、650_UAnd 650_SSystem information is received from node B610. In addition, node B610 may operate in different modes (e.g., SU-MIMO or SISO) for each terminal 650_P、650_UAnd 650_SDynamically rescheduling and establishing different system information scheduling schemes for each terminal.

In one aspect, the OFDM transmitted/received symbol for user k at tone ω can be modeled as:

y_k(ω)＝H _k(ω)c_k(ω)+H _k(ω)∑′c_m(ω)+n_k(ω) (2)

here, the meaning of the symbol is the same as in the formula (1). It should be appreciated that because of multi-user diversity, the second term in the right hand side of equation (2) is used to model other user interference in the signal received by user k. The prime (') symbol indicates that the symbol vector c sent is not included in the summation_k. The terms in the series represent the response by user k (through its channel response)H _k) Received symbols sent by a transmitter (e.g., access point 250) to other users in the cell.

From the perspective of the exemplary system and related aspects set forth and described above, methodologies for enabling flexible channel quality indicator reporting consistent with the present disclosure may be better appreciated with reference to the flowcharts of fig. 8, 9, and 10. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the number or order of blocks, as some blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may be required to implement the methodologies described herein. It is to be understood that the functionality associated with these blocks may be implemented in software, hardware, a combination of both, or in any other suitable manner (e.g., device, system, process, component). It should also be appreciated that the methodologies disclosed hereinafter in the specification may be stored in an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies to various devices. Those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram.

Fig. 8A and 8B are flow diagrams of example methods 800 and 850, respectively, for scheduling system information with time references for different scheduling units. Referring to fig. 8A, in act 810, a first scheduling unit is scheduled, the scheduling unit including an indication of a time at which a second scheduling unit is scheduled. In act 820, a second scheduling unit is scheduled in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel, as discussed above in connection with fig. 4A, 4B, and 5. In act 830, the first and second scheduling units are communicated.

Referring to fig. 8B, in act 860, a first scheduling unit is scheduled. The scheduling unit includes at least a timing indication according to which a set of different scheduling units is to be scheduled. At act 870, the set of different scheduling units is scheduled. At act 880, the set of scheduling units is communicated.

Fig. 9 is a flow diagram of an example method 900 that facilitates scheduling system information by locating disparate scheduling units. In act 910, a first scheduling unit is scheduled to indicate a second scheduling unit. The indicated second scheduling unit comprises a time indication for scheduling the third scheduling unit. At act 920, a third scheduling sequence is scheduled in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel. It should be appreciated that the first and second scheduling units are typically scheduled in the same channel (e.g., DL-SCH in LTE systems); the associated control channel is used to schedule the located SU. In act 930, the first, second, and third scheduling units are communicated.

FIG. 10 is an example methodology 1000 that facilitates generating timing in accordance with a scheduling policy. As described above, the scheduling policy may reside in a policy store (e.g., policy store 518) of the base station. Typically, the scheduling policy is determined by a service provider serving mobile terminals in the area covered by the base station. In one aspect, policy stores associated with different service providers may be stored in a base station to facilitate roaming of a wireless device. At act 1010, a scheduling policy is received. At act 1020, a set of times is generated according to the received scheduling policy. The set of times is used as a time reference to indicate a scheduling reference for the scheduling unit.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a system 1100 that facilitates scheduling units in accordance with aspects described herein. The system 1100 includes: means 1110 for scheduling a first scheduling unit, wherein the first scheduling unit comprises an indication of a set of times at which a second scheduling unit is scheduled; means 1120 for scheduling a second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel, means 1130 for communicating the first scheduling unit and communicating the second scheduling unit; a module 1140 for scheduling units, wherein the scheduling units include at least a time period indication according to which a set of different scheduling units are to be scheduled; a module 1150 for scheduling the set of different scheduling units. The modules 1110, 1120, 1130, 1140, and 1150 may be processors or any electronic devices and may be coupled to a memory module 1160.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of a system 1200 that facilitates scheduling units, in accordance with aspects described in the subject specification. The system 1200 includes: a module 1210 for scheduling a first scheduling unit indicating a second scheduling unit, wherein the second scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a third scheduling unit is scheduled; means 1220 for scheduling a third scheduling unit in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel; a module 1230 for communicating the third, fourth, and fifth scheduling units; a module 1240 for scheduling a scheduling unit, the scheduling unit comprising at least a time period indication according to which a set of different scheduling units is to be scheduled; a module 1250 for scheduling the set of different scheduling units. Modules 1210, 1220, 1230, 1240, and 1250 may be processors or any electronic devices and may be coupled to memory module 1260.

For a software implementation, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art.

Various aspects or features described herein may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer-readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk (CD), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card, stick, key drive, etc.). In addition, various storage media described herein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readable media that can be used to store information. The term "machine-readable medium" can include, without being limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, holding, or carrying instruction(s) or data.

As used in this application, the term "processor" may refer to a classical architecture or a quantum computer. Classical architectures include, but are not limited to, those including single-core processors, single-core processors with software multithreading capability, multi-core processors with software multithreading capability, multi-core processors with hardware multithreading, parallel platforms, and parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a processor may refer to an integrated circuit, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the foregoing designed to perform the functions described herein. Quantum computer architectures may be based on qubits (qubits) incorporated in gated or self-assembled quantum dots, nuclear magnetic resonance platforms, superconducting josephson junctions, and the like. Processors may employ nanoscale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum dot based transistors, switching circuits, and gates, in order to optimize space utilization or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

Further, in the present invention, the term "memory" refers to data memories, algorithm memories, and other information memories such as, but not limited to, image memories, digital music and video memories, charts and databases. It will be appreciated that the data store components described herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include Read Only Memory (ROM), programmable ROM (prom), electrically programmable ROM (eprom), electrically erasable prom (eeprom), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM can take many forms, such as Synchronous RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), Enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). The disclosed memory components of systems and/or methods herein are intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

What has been described above includes examples of one or more embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the aforementioned embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of various embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments described in this application are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes," "including," "has," "having," or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, they are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

Claims (37)

1. A method for scheduling system information in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

scheduling a first scheduling unit carrying system information in a broadcast channel, wherein the first scheduling unit contains an indication of a time at which a second scheduling unit carrying system information is scheduled, wherein the indication of the time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled conveys a lower bound on the time that the second scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after the timing indicated by the lower bound;

scheduling the second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel;

communicate the first scheduling unit and communicate the second scheduling unit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of the time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled conveys an explicit time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the steps of scheduling the first scheduling unit and the second scheduling unit comprises at least one of a round robin algorithm, a fair queuing algorithm, a maximum throughput algorithm, and a proportional fairness algorithm.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

scheduling a third scheduling unit, wherein the third scheduling unit at least comprises an indication of a timing sequence according to which a group of different scheduling units is to be scheduled;

scheduling the set of different scheduling units;

communicating the set of different scheduling units.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the timing is a periodic sequence.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the indication of the timing comprises an offset that conveys a slot in which the periodic sequence begins.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the periodic sequence of periods is determined by a service provider.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of: the timing for optimizing the scheduling policy is inferred.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a scheduling strategy;

generating a set of times according to the received scheduling policy, wherein the set of times is used to locate the first scheduling unit.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of scheduling the set of distinct scheduling units comprises at least one of a round robin algorithm, a fair queuing algorithm, a maximum throughput algorithm, and a proportional fairness algorithm.

11. A method for use in a wireless communication system, comprising the steps of:

scheduling a first scheduling unit carrying system information in a broadcast channel, wherein the first scheduling unit indicates a time for scheduling a second scheduling unit carrying system information, wherein the second scheduling unit comprises an indication of a time for scheduling a third scheduling unit carrying system information, wherein the indication of the time for scheduling the third scheduling unit is a lower time bound which conveys that the third scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after a timing indicated by the lower bound;

scheduling the third scheduling unit in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel;

communicate the first, second, and third scheduling units.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the steps of scheduling the first, second, and third scheduling units comprises at least one of a round robin algorithm, a fair queuing algorithm, a maximum throughput algorithm, and a proportional fairness algorithm.

13. An apparatus for scheduling system information in a wireless communication system, comprising:

means for associating a control channel with a broadcast channel;

means for scheduling a first scheduling unit carrying system information in the broadcast channel, wherein the first scheduling unit carries at least an indication of a time at which a second scheduling unit carrying system information is scheduled, wherein the indication of the time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled is a lower bound of time that conveys that the second scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after the timing represented by the lower bound;

means for scheduling the second scheduling unit in the control channel associated with the broadcast channel;

means for scheduling a third scheduling unit carrying system information in the broadcast channel, the third scheduling unit indicating a time at which a fourth scheduling unit carrying system information is scheduled, wherein the fourth scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a fifth scheduling unit carrying system information is scheduled, wherein the indication of a time at which the fifth scheduling unit is scheduled is a lower bound of time that conveys that the fifth scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after the timing indicated by the lower bound;

means for scheduling the fifth scheduling unit in the control channel associated with the broadcast channel.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising: means for communicating the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth scheduling units.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising means for scheduling the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth scheduling units using at least one of: a round robin algorithm, a fair queuing algorithm, a maximum throughput algorithm, and a proportional fairness algorithm.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

means for scheduling a sixth scheduling unit, wherein the sixth scheduling unit includes at least an indication of a time period according to which a set of different scheduling units is to be scheduled;

means for scheduling the set of different scheduling units.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the sixth scheduling unit further comprises an indication of a time offset that conveys a time slot at which the time period begins.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the indication of the time offset conveys at least one of an explicit communication slot, an explicit radio frame, or an explicit radio subframe.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is integrated with a base station.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising means for communicating the set of disparate scheduling units.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

means for receiving a scheduling policy;

means for generating a set of times according to the received scheduling policy, wherein the set of times is used to locate a scheduling unit.

22. The device of claim 16, wherein the time period is determined by a service provider serving the device.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the times at which different scheduling units are scheduled are determined according to a scheduling scheme.

24. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

means for scheduling a first scheduling unit carrying system information in a broadcast channel, wherein the first scheduling unit conveys at least an indication of a time at which a second scheduling unit carrying system information is scheduled, wherein the indication of the time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled is a lower bound of time that conveys that the second scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after a timing represented by the lower bound;

means for scheduling the second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel;

means for scheduling a third scheduling unit indicating a time at which a fourth scheduling unit is scheduled, wherein the fourth scheduling unit includes an indication of a time at which a fifth scheduling unit is scheduled, wherein the indication of the time at which the fifth scheduling unit is scheduled is a lower bound in time that conveys that the fifth scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after the timing represented by the lower bound;

means for scheduling the fifth scheduling unit in the control channel associated with the broadcast channel; and

means for communicating the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth scheduling units.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the indication of a time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled conveys an explicit time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the indication of a time at which the fifth scheduling unit is scheduled conveys an explicit time at which the fifth scheduling unit is scheduled.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

means for scheduling a scheduling unit, wherein the scheduling unit comprises at least an indication of a timing indicating a time at which a group of different scheduling units are scheduled;

means for scheduling the set of different scheduling units.

28. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising: a module for inferring a timing for optimizing a scheduling policy.

29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the apparatus is integrated with a base station.

30. An apparatus operable in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

means for scheduling a first scheduling unit carrying system information in a broadcast channel, wherein the first scheduling unit contains an indication of a set of times at which a second scheduling unit carrying system information is scheduled, wherein the time at which the second scheduling unit is scheduled is a lower bound of time that conveys that the second scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after the timing indicated by the lower bound;

means for scheduling the second scheduling unit in a control channel associated with a broadcast channel; and

means for communicating the first scheduling unit and communicating the second scheduling unit.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:

means for scheduling a third scheduling unit, wherein the third scheduling unit includes at least an indication of a time period according to which a set of different scheduling units is to be scheduled;

means for scheduling the set of different scheduling units.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the apparatus is a base station.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the indication of the time period comprises a time offset conveying a time slot at which the time period begins.

34. An apparatus operating in a wireless system, the apparatus comprising:

means for scheduling a first scheduling unit carrying system information in a broadcast channel, the first scheduling unit indicating a time at which a second scheduling unit is scheduled, wherein the second scheduling unit contains an indication of a time at which a third scheduling unit is scheduled, wherein the time at which the third scheduling unit is scheduled is a lower time bound conveying that the third scheduling unit is to be scheduled at or shortly after the timing indicated by the lower bound;

means for scheduling the third scheduling unit in a control channel associated with the broadcast channel;

means for communicating the first, second, and third scheduling units.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

means for scheduling a fourth scheduling unit, wherein the fourth scheduling unit includes at least an indication of a time period according to which a set of different scheduling units is to be scheduled;

means for scheduling the set of different scheduling units.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the apparatus is a base station.

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the fourth scheduling unit further comprises an indication of a time offset conveying a time slot at which the time period begins.