Patent ID: 8743676
Filing Date: 2014-06-03
Classification: H04B,H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method of scheduling orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) frames, each OFDM frame comprising at least one OFDM symbol, each OFDM symbol comprising a plurality of subcarriers, the method comprising: for each packet to be scheduled, assigning the packet a plurality of scheduling metrics; producing at least one ordering of packets using the scheduling metrics; using the at least one ordering of packets to select a set of packets to send in a current OFDM frame; for each OFDM frame, constructing the OFDM frame from packets assigned to the OFDM frame by placing each packet in a respective rectangular time-frequency burst within the OFDM frame, at least some of the OFDM frames including packets for multiple users; allocating at least some time-frequency bursts for simultaneous transmission using multiple input multiple output (MIMO), performed for uplink (UL) collaborative MIMO by determining sets of time-frequency bursts that are appropriate for simultaneous transmission using MIMO, which comprises determining sets of wireless stations with sufficient orthogonality of channel conditions for MIMO and, for such determined sets of wireless stations, determining a number of OFDM symbols that can be saved by using MIMO as opposed to not using MIMO for the sets of time-frequency bursts; and transmitting the OFDM frames using at least one transmit antenna.