# US 2014/0349660 A1 · Resource scheduling in a mobile communication network supporting machine-to-machine (m2m) and user equipment (ue) traffic > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0349660 A1 - Document ID: US20140349660A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/900,709 - Filed: 2013-05-23 - Published: 2014-11-27 - Earliest claimed: 2013-05-23 - Assignees: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ) - Inventors: Isam Abdalla - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140349660A1 ## CPC - H04W 4/70: Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] - H04W 72/51: based on terminal or device properties - H04W 72/543: based on requested quality, e.g. QoS - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract A system and method that differentiates between Machine-to-Machine (M2M) traffic and User Equipment (UE) traffic when scheduling radio Resource Units (RUs) to M2M terminals and UEs in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. Prior to allocation of RUs, the available RUs are divided into two disjoint sets—a UE-specific set (dedicated for UE users) and an M2M-specific set (dedicated for M2M terminals). A hybrid scheduler allocates RUs to M2M terminals from the M2M-specific set only. Any unallocated RUs from the M2M-specific set and the RUs assigned to the UE-specific set are then allocated to the UEs. New M2M-specific Quality of Service Class Indicators (QCIs) are defined as well for classifying M2M traffic only. These new QCIs are disjoint from the existing QCIs, which classify the UE traffic only. The M2M-specific QCIs separate M2M traffic classification from UE traffic classification so as not to impact UE human users' Quality of Experience (QoE). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method in a mobile communication network for scheduling radio resources among a plurality of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) terminals being utilized for M2M communication and a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) being utilized for UE-based communication, wherein the M2M terminals and the UEs are in wireless communication with a network entity that allocates radio Resource Units (RUs) to the UEs and the M2M terminals in the mobile communication network, the method comprising: prior to allocation of any RU by the network entity over a pre-defined scheduling interval, dividing all RUs that are available for allocation during the pre-defined scheduling interval into a first set of RUs dedicated to M2M terminals and a second set of RUs dedicated to UEs, wherein the first and the second sets are disjoint sets; the network entity allocating RUs only from the first set to one or more M2M terminals; and the network entity allocating only remaining RUs to one or more UEs, wherein the remaining RUs are selected from the following: all unallocated RUs from the first set, and all RUs from the second set. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein: allocating RUs only from the first set includes allocating only first set-specific RUs to M2M bearers according to a first set of Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI) values defined exclusively for classifying M2M traffic; and allocating the remaining RUs to the UEs includes allocating the remaining RUs to UE-specific bearers according to a second set of QCI values configured for classifying UE traffic, wherein the first and the second sets of QCI values are disjoint sets. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein at least one QCI value in the first set of QCI values has a Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) priority level associated therewith. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the network entity is one of the following: a Radio Base Station (RBS); a Base Station Controller (BSC); an evolved Node B (eNodeB); and a mobile communication node comprising a scheduler. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each RU in the first and the second sets equals two Resource Blocks (RBs) over the pre-defined scheduling interval. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the p defined scheduling interval is a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) of 1 ms duration. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein dividing all RUs includes dividing the RUs into the first and second sets of RUs based at least on the number of M2M terminals and the number of UEs for which radio resources are to be allocated during the pre-defined scheduling interval. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein dividing all RUs comprises: assigning p % of all RUs that are available for allocation over the pre-defined scheduling interval to the first set of RUs; and assigning (1−p) % of all RUs that are available for allocation over the pre-defined scheduling interval to the second set of RUs, wherein the value of “p” is determined prior to the division of the RUs into the first and the second sets. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, further comprising: dynamically adjusting the value of “p” to adapt to M2M traffic and UE traffic in the mobile communication network. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving by the network entity, scheduling requests for radio resources from a number of the M2M terminals and a number of the UEs, and wherein the network entity allocating RUs only from the first set includes: the network entity allocating RUs only from the first set to the one or more M2M terminals requesting radio resources until all scheduling requests from the one or more M2M terminals have been fulfilled or until all RUs in the first set have been allocated, whichever occurs first. ### Claim 11 A method for scheduling radio resources among a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) and a plurality of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) terminals using a network entity that utilizes Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI) values in determining allocation of radio Resource Units (RUs) to the UEs and the M2M terminals, the method comprising: defining a first set of QCI values only for M2M traffic from/to the M2M terminals, wherein the first set of QCI values is disjoint from a second set of QCI values to be used for communication traffic from/to the UEs. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, wherein at least one QCI value in the first set has a Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) priority level associated therewith. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, the method further comprising: the network entity allocating RUs to the M2M terminals by using one or more QCI values only from the first set; and the network entity allocating RUs to the UEs by using one or more QCI values only from the second set. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11, the method further comprising: defining a first set of RUs containing p % of all RUs that are available for allocation over a pre-defined scheduling interval; further defining a second set of RUs containing (1−p) % of all RUs that are available for allocation over the pre-defined scheduling interval, wherein the first and the second sets of RUs are disjoint sets, and wherein the value of “p” is determined before the first and the second sets are defined and is dynamically adjustable; the network entity allocating RUs only from the first set of RUs to one or more M2M terminals, using one or more QCI values only from the first set; and the network entity allocating to one or more UEs only those RUs that are selected from the group consisting of: all unallocated RUs from the first set of RUs and all RUs from the second set of RUs, using one or more QCI values only from the second set. ### Claim 15 A method for scheduling radio resources among a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) and a plurality of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) terminals that are in wireless communication with a network entity in a mobile communication network, wherein the network entity allocates radio Resource Units (RUs) to the UEs and the M2M terminals, the method comprises performing the following using the network entity: selecting RUs to be allocated to one or more M2M terminals only from a first set of RUs containing p % of all RUs that are available for allocation over a pre-defined scheduling interval; allocating the selected RUs to the one or more M2M terminals; selecting remaining RUs to be allocated to one or more UEs from the following: all RUs from the first set of RUs that are not allocated to the one or more M2M terminals, and a second set of RUs containing (1−p) % of all RUs that are available for allocation over the pre-defined scheduling interval, wherein the first and the second sets of RUs are disjoint sets, and wherein the value of “p” is determined before the available RUs are divided into the first and the second sets; and allocating the selected remaining RUs to the one or more UEs. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein: allocating the selected RUs to the one or more M2M terminals includes allocating the selected RUs to the one or more M2M terminals according to Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI) values only from a first set of QCI values defined exclusively for classifying M2M traffic from/to the M2M terminals; and allocating the selected remaining RUs to the one or more UEs includes allocating the selected remaining RUs to the one or more UEs according to QCI values only from a second set of QCI values configured for classifying communication traffic from/to the UEs, wherein the first set of QCI values is disjoint from the second set of QCI values. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the value of “p” is variable. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein each RU in the first and the second sets of RUs equals two Resource Blocks (RBs) over the pre-defined scheduling interval, and wherein the pre-defined scheduling interval is a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) of 1 ms duration. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the network entity is one of following: a Radio Base Station (RBS); a Base Station Controller (BSC); an evolved Node B (eNodeB); and a mobile communication node comprising a scheduler. ### Claim 20 A mobile communication node configured to schedule radio resources among a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) and a plurality of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) terminals that are in wireless communication with the mobile communication node in a mobile communication network, wherein the mobile communication node comprises: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals to/from the UEs and the M2M terminals; and a scheduler coupled to the transceiver and configured to send radio resource scheduling information to the UEs and the M2M terminals via the transceiver, wherein the scheduler is configured to perform the following: allocate up to p % of all radio Resource Units (RUs) that are available for allocation over a pre-defined scheduling interval only to one or more M2M terminals, and allocate to one or more UEs only those RUs that are selected from the group consisting of: any RU that remains unallocated to the M2M terminals, and the remaining (1−p) % of the total RUs available for allocation over the pre-defined scheduling interval, wherein the value of “p” is determined prior to allocation of any RU over the pre-defined scheduling interval. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The mobile communication node of claim 20, further comprising: a memory configured to store a first set of Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI) values defined for classifying only M2M traffic from/to the M2M terminals, and a second set of QCI values configured for classifying UE traffic from/to the UEs, wherein the first and the second sets are disjoint sets, and wherein the scheduler is coupled to the memory and is further configured to perform the following: allocate RUs to the M2M terminals using one or more QCI values only from the first set, and allocate RUs to the UEs using one or more QCI values only from the second set. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The mobile communication node of claim 20, wherein each RU equals two Resource Blocks (RBs) over the pre-defined scheduling interval, and wherein the pre-defined scheduling interval is a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) of 1 ms duration. ### Claim 23 (depends on 20) The mobile communication node of claim 20, wherein the value of “p” is variable, and wherein the mobile communication node further comprises a processor coupled to the scheduler and configured to provide the value of “p” to the scheduler for the pre-defined scheduling interval based on M2M traffic and UE traffic in the mobile communication network. ### Claim 24 A mobile communication node configured to schedule radio resources among a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) and a plurality of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) terminals that are in wireless communication with the mobile communication node in a mobile communication network, wherein the mobile communication node is further configured to perform the following: select radio Resource Units (RUs) to be allocated to one or more M2M terminals only from a first set of RUs containing p % of all RUs that are available for allocation during a pre-defined scheduling interval; allocate the selected RUs to the one or more M2M terminals using one or more Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI) values only from an M2M-specific set of QCI values, wherein the M2M-specific set contains QCI values defined only for M2M traffic from/to the M2M terminals, and wherein the M2M-specific set of QCI values is disjoint from a UE-specific set of QCI values to be used for UE traffic from/to the UEs; and using one or more QCI values only from the UE-specific set, allocate to one or more UEs only those RUs that are selected from the following: all RUs from the first set that are not allocated to the one or more M2M terminals, and all RUs from a second set of RUs containing (1−p) % of all RUs that are available for allocation during the pre-defined scheduling interval, wherein the first and the second sets are disjoint sets, and wherein the value of “p” is determined before the available RUs are divided into the first and the second sets.