CLIAMS:We claim:

1. A method for efficient buffer status reporting at a base station, comprising:
identifying a transmission opportunity associated with a first protocol layer of the base station, the transmission opportunity indicating a transmission capacity of the base station;
determining, via one or more hardware processors, a time interval for sending a buffer status report from a second protocol layer of the base station to the first protocol layer based on at least the transmission opportunity;
determining, via the one or more hardware processors, an expected buffer occupancy based on at least the time interval and a packet incoming rate associated with downlink packets; and
sending the buffer status report from the second protocol layer to the first protocol layer based on at least the time interval.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the buffer status report indicates a buffer size associated with the expected buffer occupancy of the downlink packets to be transmitted by the first protocol layer.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining a current buffer occupancy based on at least a packet size of incoming downlink packets, wherein the current buffer occupancy is increased by the packet size of the incoming downlink packets based on receiving the incoming downlink packets.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the time interval further comprises:
determining an average transmission opportunity associated with the first layer; and
determining an average time interval between status indication messages sent from the first protocol layer to the second protocol layer, wherein the time interval is proportional to the current buffer occupancy and the average time interval between the status indication messages, and inversely proportional to the average transmission opportunity.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:
receiving one or more parameters from an application of the base station, wherein the one or more parameters are used by the base station to determine at least one of the average transmission opportunity, the average time interval between the status indication messages, or the packet incoming rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the packet incoming rate is determined by calculating an average number of packets received on a logical channel of a user equipment over a certain time period.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first protocol layer is a medium access control (MAC) layer and the second protocol layer is a radio link control (RLC) layer.

8. A system for efficient buffer status reporting at a base station, the system comprising:
one or more hardware processors; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the one or more hardware processors to perform operations including:
identifying a transmission opportunity associated with a first protocol layer of the base station, the transmission opportunity indicating a transmission capacity of the base station;
determining a time interval for sending a buffer status report from a second protocol layer of the base station to the first protocol layer based on at least the transmission opportunity;
determining an expected buffer occupancy based on at least the time interval and a packet incoming rate associated with downlink packets; and
sending the buffer status report from the second protocol layer to the first protocol layer based on at least the time interval.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the buffer status report indicates a buffer size associated with the expected buffer occupancy of the downlink packets to be transmitted by the first protocol layer.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the one or more hardware processors to further perform operations including:
determining a current buffer occupancy based on at least a packet size of incoming downlink packets, wherein the current buffer occupancy is increased by the packet size of the incoming downlink packets based on receiving the incoming downlink packets.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the time interval further comprises:
determining an average transmission opportunity associated with the first layer; and
determining an average time interval between status indication messages sent from the first protocol layer to the second protocol layer, wherein the time interval is proportional to the current buffer occupancy and the average time interval between the status indication messages, and inversely proportional to the average transmission opportunity.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the one or more hardware processors, cause the one or more hardware processors to further perform operations including:
receiving one or more parameters from an application of the base station, wherein the one or more parameters are used by the base station to determine at least one of the average transmission opportunity, the average time interval between the status indication messages, or the packet incoming rate.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the packet incoming rate is determined by calculating an average number of packets received on a logical channel of a user equipment over a certain time period.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the first protocol layer is a medium access control (MAC) layer and the second protocol layer is a radio link control (RLC) layer.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for efficient buffer status reporting at a base station that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including:
identifying a transmission opportunity associated with a first protocol layer of the base station, the transmission opportunity indicating a transmission capacity of the base station;
determining a time interval for sending a buffer status report from a second protocol layer of the base station to the first protocol layer based on at least the transmission opportunity;
determining an expected buffer occupancy based on at least the time interval and a packet incoming rate associated with downlink packets; and
sending the buffer status report from the second protocol layer to the first protocol layer based on at least the time interval.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the buffer status report indicates a buffer size associated with the expected buffer occupancy of the downlink packets to be transmitted by the first protocol layer r.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to further perform operations including:
determining a current buffer occupancy based on at least a packet size of incoming downlink packets, wherein the current buffer occupancy is increased by the packet size of the incoming downlink packets based on receiving the incoming downlink packets.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein determining the time interval further comprises:
determining an average transmission opportunity associated with the first layer; and
determining an average time interval between status indication messages sent from the first protocol layer to the second protocol layer, wherein the time interval is proportional to the current buffer occupancy and the average time interval between the status indication messages, and inversely proportional to the average transmission opportunity.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to further perform operations including:
receiving one or more parameters from an application of the base station, wherein the one or more parameters are used by the base station to determine at least one of the average transmission opportunity, the average time interval between the status indication messages, or the packet incoming rate.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the packet incoming rate is determined by calculating an average number of packets received on a logical channel of a user equipment over a certain time period.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first protocol layer is a medium access control (MAC) layer and the second protocol layer is a radio link control (RLC) layer.

Dated this 10th day of March, 2014
Sravan Kumar Gampa
Of K&S Partners
Agent for the Applicant
,TagSPECI:TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates generally to wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods for buffer status reporting in wireless communication systems.