Patent ID: 8897240

Claim:
A method for scheduling downlink (DL) data on a downlink subframe from a base station directed to at least one wireless terminal in a wireless network, the method comprising: selecting a control channel element (CCE) region for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carried in a control region of the downlink subframe; determining whether a DL assignment corresponding to the DL data can be allocated on the selected CCE region based on a load imposed on a corresponding physical resource block (PRB) of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) of a future uplink subframe that will carry an ACK/NACK response corresponding to the DL assignment; and allocating the DL assignment on the selected CCE region when the DL assignment can be allocated, wherein determining whether the DL assignment can be allocated on the selected CCE region comprises: determining an uplink (UL) load of the corresponding PUCCH PRB; and determining whether the UL load of the corresponding PUCCH PRB is below a maximum UL load threshold; wherein the DL assignment can be allocated on the selected CCE region when the UL load of the corresponding PUCCH PRB is below the maximum UL load threshold; wherein the DL assignment cannot be allocated on the selected CCE region when the UL load of the corresponding PUCCH PRB is not below the maximum UL load threshold; and wherein the UL load of the corresponding PUCCH PRB is determined based on a number of ACK/NACK responses already scheduled to be carried by the corresponding PUCCH PRB.