Method and system for cross-subframe scheduling during carrier aggregation

• US 10,111,248 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2012
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Wang, Yiping, Li, Jun, Weng, Jianfeng
• Primary Examiner(s): Sloms, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US13/538,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20140003356A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,307 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/001 the frequencies being arranged in component carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

A method and user equipment for cross-subframe scheduling at a user equipment, the method receiving an indication for scheduling a subframe; mapping the indication to the subframe; and detecting the subframe on a frequency at a time associated with the subframe. Further, a method and apparatus of cross-carrier scheduling, the method obtaining an indication that at least one downlink subframe on at least one secondary carrier is not scheduled by a primary carrier; and scanning the at least one secondary carrier for scheduling information for the at least one downlink subframe.

Claims

1. A method for cross-subframe scheduling at a user equipment comprising:

defining a plurality of cross-scheduling search spaces, the plurality of cross-scheduling search spaces having starting Control Channel Element (CCE) indices distinct from starting CCE indices of existing search spaces;

receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message comprising an indication for a mapping between a search space and a subframe;

detecting a Downlink Control Information (DCI) for the user equipment in the search space;

determining a starting Control Channel Element (CCE) index of the search space;

determining that the search space is a cross-scheduling search space from the plurality of cross-scheduling search spaces based on the starting CCE index of the search space;

mapping the starting CCE index to the subframe based on the indication wherein mapping includes associating the starting CCE index with the time for the subframe; and

detecting the subframe on a frequency at a time associated with the subframe.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising restricting a number of subframes capable of being scheduled to one.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising expanding a search space.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein expanding the search space is used to support cross-subframe scheduling.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising listening to a control channel for the subframe at a restricted location for subframe scheduling.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein mapping includes determining an offset of the index of the search space from an index for a search space for current subframe assignments.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the index of the search space for downlink cross-subframe assignment is restricted to an odd number when an aggregation level is two, four or eight.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the subframe is an inter-carrier subframe.