Telecommunications apparatus and methods

• US 10,271,320 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2014
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Webb, Matthew William, Wakabayashi, Hideji
• Primary Examiner(s): Huq, Obaidul
• Application Number:
  US15/112,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20160345301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 370310, 370328, 370329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/02 Arrangements for increasing efficiency of notification or paging channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0833 Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A wireless telecommunication system that comprises a base station and a terminal device communicating over a radio interface. The radio interface supports a downlink control channel for conveying control messages from the base station to the terminal device and a downlink data channel (e.g. a physical downlink shared channel) for conveying higher-layer messages from the base station to the terminal device. The control messages convey information on resource allocations for the higher-layer messages on the downlink data channel. The terminal device is configured to receive a control message from the base station conveying an indication of allocated transmission resources on the downlink data channel and determine a validity period for the control-plane message. During the validity period for the control message the terminal device is configured to receive a plurality of different higher-layer messages from the base station on the downlink data channel using the allocated transmission resources.

Claims

1. A method of operating a terminal device communicating with a telecommunications network over a radio interface provided by the telecommunications network supporting a downlink control channel for conveying control messages to the terminal device and a downlink data channel for conveying other messages to the terminal device, wherein the control messages convey information on resource allocations for the other messages on the downlink data channel, and wherein the method comprises:

receiving a control message from the telecommunications network conveying an indication of allocated transmission resources on the downlink data channel;

determining a validity period for the control message; and

receiving a plurality of other messages from the telecommunications network on the downlink data channel using the allocated transmission resources within the validity period for the control message, wherein

the radio interface is based on a radio frame structure comprising a plurality of subframes, and the timing of a subframe used to convey a first one of the plurality of other messages is used to determine the timing of a subframe used to convey a second one of the plurality of other messages within the validity period for the control message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the other messages comprise system information messages.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the system information messages comprise one or more system information blocks.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the validity period for the control message is determined in dependence on an identifier used in association with the control message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the identifier comprises an indication of one or more terminal devices to which the control message is addressed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the validity period for the control message is determined in dependence on a transmission characteristic of the control message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the transmission characteristic of the control message comprises a transmission time associated with the control message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the timing of the subframe used to convey the first one of the plurality of other messages relative to a first predefined range of subframes is used to determine the timing of the subframe used to convey the second one of the plurality of other messages relative to a second predefined range of subframes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the validity period is determined in dependence on a validity period indicator received in association with the control message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the validity period is determined in dependence on the time at which a subsequent control message is received.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the other messages comprise random access response messages and/or paging messages.

12. Circuitry for a terminal device communicating with a telecommunications network over a radio interface provided by the telecommunications network supporting a downlink control channel for conveying control messages to the terminal device and a downlink data channel for conveying other messages to the terminal device, wherein the control messages convey information on resource allocations for the other messages on the downlink data channel, and wherein the circuitry comprises:

a controller element and a transceiver element configured to

operate together to cause the terminal device to receive a control message from the telecommunications network conveying an indication of allocated transmission resources on the downlink data channel;

determine a validity period for the control message; and

receive a plurality of other messages from the telecommunications network on the downlink data channel using the allocated transmission resources within the validity period for the control message, wherein

the radio interface is based on a radio frame structure comprising a plurality of subframes, and the timing of a subframe used to convey a first one of the plurality of other messages is used to determine the timing of a subframe used to convey a second one of the plurality of other messages within the validity period for the control message.

13. A terminal device for communicating with a telecommunications network that provides a downlink control channel for conveying control messages to the terminal device and a downlink data channel for conveying other messages to the terminal device, wherein the control messages convey information on resource allocations for the other messages on the downlink data channel, and wherein the terminal device comprises:

a controller and a transceiver unit configured to

operate together to receive a control message from the telecommunications network conveying an indication of allocated transmission resources on the downlink data channel;

determine a validity period for the control message; and

receive a plurality of other messages from the telecommunications network on the downlink data channel using the allocated transmission resources within the validity period for the control message, wherein

the radio interface is based on a radio frame structure comprising a plurality of subframes, and the timing of a subframe used to convey a first one of the plurality of other messages is used to determine the timing of a subframe used to convey a second one of the plurality of other messages within the validity period for the control message.