Apparatus and method for distinguishing a frame on channel shared by multiple users

A method at a mobile communication device of distinguishing a frame on a channel shared by a plurality of users, the method comprising:

• receiving a radio frequency signal for a frame;
• performing demodulation on the signal to obtain a scrambled signal;
• descrambling the scrambled signal to obtain a channel encoded signal;
• channel decoding the channel encoded signal to obtain a cyclic redundancy coded signal;
• cyclic redundancy code checking the cyclic redundancy coded signal;
• and
• if the cyclic redundancy coded signal fails the cyclic redundancy code check, examining a unique identifier to determine if the signal is intended for the mobile communication device.

A method on a network of distinguishing a frame on a channel shared by a plurality of users, the method comprising:

• determining a unique identifier for each of a set of mobile communication devices;
• obtaining a message intended for one of the mobile communication devices;
• scrambling the message using a long code generated using a mobile communication device specific long code mask to obtain a scrambled message;
• incorporating the unique identifier into the scrambled message for a frame intended for a selected mobile communication device;
• and
• transmitting the frame.

A method on a network of distinguishing a frame on a channel shared by a plurality of mobile communication devices, the method comprising:

• identifying a set of mobile communication devices;
• determining a unique identifier for at least one of the set of mobile communication devices;
• obtaining information bits intended for the at least one of the mobile communication devices;
• appending cyclic redundancy code bits to the information bits to obtain a cyclic redundancy coded message;
• performing channel coding on the cyclic redundancy coded message to obtain a channel coded message;
• scrambling the channel coded message using a long code generated using a mobile communication device specific long code mask to obtain a scrambled message;
• incorporating the unique identifier into the scrambled message for a frame intended for a selected mobile communication device;
• and
• transmitting the frame.

A communication device comprising:

• a receiver configured to receive a radio frequency signal for a frame;
• a demodulator coupled to the receiver, the demodulator configured to demodulate the signal to obtain a scrambled signal;
• a descrambler coupled to the demodulator, the descrambler configured to descramble the scrambled signal to obtain a descrambled signal;
• and
• a unique identifier match module configured to extract a unique identifier from the received signal and also configured to examine the unique identifier extracted from the received signal to determine if the signal is intended for the communication device.

A network controller comprising:

• unique identifier determination module configured to determine a unique identifier for a communication device recipient of a signal;
• a scrambler configured to scramble the signal using a long code generated using a communication device specific long code mask to obtain a scrambled signal;
• a unique identifier incorporator configured to incorporate the unique identifier into the scrambled signal for a frame intended for the communication device;
• and
• a transmitter configured to transmit the frame.