Systems and Methods for Packet Flow Control

Abstract

Systems and methods for transmitting packets and controlling packet flow are provided in wireless communication systems. A time stamping technique synchronizes timers/and clocks between one or more senders and receivers in a wireless communication system. Additionally, a global acknowledgement frame carries a plurality of acknowledgement messages, such as one for each services identification (SID).

1 . A global acknowledgment frame for transmitting between a sender and a receiver, the frame comprising: 
 a first portion that holds a plurality of acknowledgements corresponding to a plurality of packets received at the receiver; and    a second portion that holds an acknowledgement time when the acknowledgement was generated at the receiver.    
   
   
       2 . The frame of  claim 1 , the sender being a wireless access termination modem system and the receiver being a wireless modem, the acknowledgement time being derived from a base time established in the wireless access termination modem.  
   
   
       3 . The frame of  claim 1 , the receiver being a wireless access termination modem system and the sender being a wireless modem, the acknowledgement time being derived from a base time established in the wireless access termination modem and a transmission delay between the sender and receiver.  
   
   
       4 . A system for controlling packet flow, comprising: 
 at least one packet receiver that receives packets from a sending component;    at least one acknowledger that generates a plurality of acknowledgements corresponding to the received packets;    an acknowledgement aggregator that packages the plurality of acknowledgements and a single time stamp into an acknowledgement frame; and    an acknowledgement frame transmitter that sends the acknowledgement frame to the sending component.    
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 4 , the sender being a wireless access termination modem system and the receiver being a wireless modem, the acknowledgement time being derived from a base time established in the wireless access termination modem.  
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 4 , the single time stamp corresponding to a time that the acknowledgement frame was generated.  
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 4 , the receiver being a wireless access termination modem system and the sender being a wireless modem, the acknowledgement time being derived from a base time established in the wireless access termination modem and a transmission delay between the sender and receiver.  
   
   
       8 . The system of  claim 4 , the acknowledgement frame being transmitted across a plurality of messages.  
   
   
       9 . A method for controlling packet flow, comprising: 
 receiving at plurality of packets from a sending component;    producing acknowledgements corresponding to the plurality of received packets;    aggregating the acknowledgements into an acknowledgement frame; and    transmitting the acknowledgement frame to the sending component.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising providing the acknowledgement frame with a single time stamp.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , the single time stamp corresponding to a time that the acknowledgement frame was generated.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising deriving the timestamp from a base time established in a wireless access termination modem.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9 , the transmitting the acknowledgement frame to the sending component comprising transmitting the acknowledgement frame across one of a plurality of message headers and a single MAC management message.  
   
   
       14 . A system for controlling packet flow, comprising: 
 means for receiving a plurality packets from a sending component;    means for producing acknowledgements to the plurality of packets;    means for aggregating the acknowledgements into an acknowledgement frame;    means for providing a single timestamp in the acknowledgment frame; and    means for transmitting the acknowledgement frame to the sending component.    
   
   
       15 . An acknowledgement frame for transmitting data between a wireless access termination modem and a wireless modem, comprising: 
 a first portion that holds a plurality of packet acknowledgements; and    a second portion that holds a packet identifier that identifies a packet as an acknowledgement frame.    
   
   
       16 . The frame of  claim 15  further comprising a single time stamp corresponding to a time that the acknowledgement frame was generated.