Data delivery in conjunction with a hybrid automatic retransmission mechanism in CDMA communication systems

In a CDMA communication system, a method for delivering data recovered by a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) entity in proper order to higher layers, comprising:

• receiving packets from the HARQ entity;
• detecting for missing packets among the received packets;
• stalling delivery of received packets later than the detected missing packets;
• and
• for each missing packet,
• determining a set of candidate HARQ channels that may be used to send the missing packet,
• removing each candidate HARQ channel in the set upon completion of a pending transaction on the HARQ channel,
• declaring the missing packet to be lost if all candidate HARQ channels are removed from the set, and
• delivering received packets stalled by the missing packet if the missing packet is declared to be lost or is subsequently received from the HARQ entity.

In a CDMA communication system, a method for delivering data recovered by a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) entity in proper order to higher layers, comprising:

• maintaining an inactivity timer for each of a plurality of HARQ channels that may be used for data transmission;
• detecting for missing packets among received packets;
• stalling delivery of received packets later than the detected missing packets;
• and
• delivering received packets stalled by each missing packet after the missing packet is either received or determined to be lost based on the inactivity timers for HARQ channels.

A method for transmitting packet data in a CDMA communication system, comprising:

• determining a priority of each packet to be transmitted;
• forming a control message for each packet and having included therein the priority of the packet;
• transmitting the packet on a data channel;
• and
• transmitting the control message on a control channel that accompanies the data channel.

A method for processing a packet data transmission in a CDMA communication system with a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) mechanism, comprising:

• receiving a flushing indication for the packet data transmission;
• identifying a set of one or more HARQ channels to be flushed by the flushing indication;
• flushing each HARQ channel in the set;
• and
• performing one or more tasks in response to the one or more HARQ channels in the set being flushed.

A memory communicatively coupled to a digital signal processing device (DSPD) capable of interpreting digital information to:

• receive packets from a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) entity;
• detect for missing packets among the received packets;
• stall delivery of received packets later than the detected missing packets;
• determine whether each missing packet is lost or subsequently received from the HARQ entity by successively eliminating HARQ channels that may be used to send the missing packet;
• and
• deliver received packets stalled by each missing packet after the missing packet is determined to be lost or is received from the HARQ entity.

An apparatus in a CDMA communication system with a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) mechanism, comprising:

• means for receiving packets from a HARQ entity;
• means for detecting for missing packets among the received packets;
• means for stalling delivery of received packets later than the detected missing packets;
• means for determining whether each missing packet is lost or subsequently received from the HARQ entity by successively eliminating HARQ channels that may be used to send the missing packet;
• and
• means for delivering received packets stalled by each missing packet after the missing packet is determined to be lost or is received from the HARQ entity.

An apparatus in a CDMA communication system with a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) mechanism, comprising:

• means for maintaining an inactivity timer for each of a plurality of HARQ channels that may be used for data transmission;
• means for detecting for missing packets among received packets;
• means for stalling delivery of received packets later than the detected missing packets;
• and
• means for delivering received packets stalled by each missing packet after the missing packet is either received or determined to be lost based on the inactivity timers for HARQ channels.

A receiver in a CDMA communication system with a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) mechanism, comprising:

• a RX data processor operative to process a data transmission to provide recovered packets;
• and
• a controller operative to
• detect for missing packets among the recovered packets,
• stall delivery of recovered packets later than the detected missing packets,
• determine whether each missing packet is lost or subsequently recovered by successively eliminating HARQ channels that may be used to send the missing packet, and
• deliver recovered packets stalled by each missing packet after the missing packet is determined to be lost or is subsequently recovered.

A terminal in a CDMA communication system with a hybrid automatic retransmission (HARQ) mechanism, comprising:

• a RX data processor operative to process a data transmission to provide recovered packets;
• and
• a controller operative to
• detect for missing packets among the recovered packets,
• stall delivery of recovered packets later than the detected missing packets,
• determine whether each missing packet is lost or subsequently recovered by successively eliminating HARQ channels that may be used to send the missing packet, and
• deliver recovered packets stalled by each missing packet after the missing packet is determined to be lost or is subsequently recovered.