Method and apparatus for scheduling user equipment uplink transmissions on an unlicensed carrier

• US 10,299,262 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility LLC (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Nory, Ravikiran, Nangia, Vijay, Narasimha, Murali, Nimbalker, Ajit
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huang, Weibin
• Application Number:
  US15/690,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20170367079A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1896 ARQ related signaling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/0006 Assessment of spectral gaps suitable for allocating digitally modulated signals, e.g. for carrier allocation in cognitive radio for spectrum sharing between different networks H04W16/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0044 allocation of payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0051 of dedicated pilots, i.e. pilots destined for a single user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0091 Signaling for the administration of the divided path
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• 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

Abstract

A method and apparatus schedule user equipment uplink transmissions on an unlicensed carrier. A grant for transmitting physical uplink shared channel on a serving cell operating on an unlicensed carrier can be received in a subframe. A set of subframes can be determined for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel. Listen before talk can be performed on the unlicensed carrier to determine an earliest unoccupied subframe in the set of subframes. A physical uplink shared channel can be transmitted in multiple subframes within the set of subframes on the unlicensed carrier, starting with the earliest unoccupied subframe, in response to receiving the grant.

Claims

1. A method in a user equipment, the method comprising:

receiving, in a subframe, a grant for transmitting a physical uplink shared channel on a serving cell operating on an unlicensed carrier, where the grant includes multiple new data indicators;

determining a set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel, where each new data indicator of the multiple new data indicators received within the grant is associated with each subframe within the determined set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel;

performing listen before talk on the unlicensed carrier to determine an earliest unoccupied subframe in the set of subframes; and

transmitting the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in multiple subframes within the set of subframes on the unlicensed carrier, starting with the earliest unoccupied subframe, in response to receiving the grant, wherein either new data or a retransmission is transmitted in the physical uplink channel in each subframe of the multiple subframes according to the new data indicator.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the grant for transmitting the physical uplink shared channel includes a hybrid automatic repeat request identifier, and

wherein the method further comprises determining a new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier for each physical uplink shared channel transmission of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in the multiple subframes made in response to the grant, where the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier is determined based on the received hybrid automatic repeat request identifier and a subframe index of each subframe of the multiple subframes, where the subframe index of each subframe of the multiple subframes is a position of each subframe within the set of subframes.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein determining the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier further comprises determining the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier for each physical uplink shared channel transmission of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in the multiple subframes made in response to the first grant, where the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier is determined using a formula x″

=MOD (x+m, M_UL_HARQ), where x″

is the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier, where x is the hybrid automatic repeat request identifier in the grant, where m is the position of each subframe within the set of subframes, and where M_UL_HARQ is the maximum number of uplink HARQ processes.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein different new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier values are used for each physical uplink shared channel transmission of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in the multiple subframes.

5. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the grant includes an indication of the set of subframes for possible transmission of physical uplink shared channel, and

wherein the method further comprises determining the set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel based on the received indication of the set of subframes in the grant.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a configuration indicating the maximum number of contiguous subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel from a higher layer, where the higher layer is higher than a physical layer; and

wherein determining the set of subframes further comprises determining the set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel based on the received configuration.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving signaling indicating a minimum time duration to perform listen before talk,

wherein performing listen before talk comprises performing listen before talk on the unlicensed carrier before transmitting the physical uplink shared channel, where performing listen before talk is based on the received signaling of the minimum time duration to perform listen before talk.

8. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the grant includes an indication of a starting symbol of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions, the starting symbol being one selected from a first symbol and a second symbol of the subframe, and

wherein transmitting the physical uplink channel transmissions comprises transmitting the physical uplink shared channel transmissions starting with the earliest unoccupied subframe and the indicated starting symbol.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in multiple subframes excluding a last symbol of the subframe.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a transceiver that receives, in a subframe, a grant for transmitting physical uplink shared channel on a serving cell operating on an unlicensed spectrum, where the grant includes multiple new data indicators; and

a controller that determines a set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel, and performs listen before talk on the unlicensed carrier to determine an earliest unoccupied subframe in the set of subframes, where each new data indicator of the multiple new data indicators received within the grant is associated with each subframe within the determined set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel,

wherein the transceiver transmits the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in multiple subframes within the set of subframes on the unlicensed carrier, starting with the earliest unoccupied subframe, in response to receiving the grant, wherein either new data or a retransmission is transmitted in the physical uplink channel in each subframe of the multiple subframes according to the new data indicator.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the grant for transmitting physical uplink shared channel includes a hybrid automatic repeat request identifier, and

wherein the controller determines a new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier for each physical uplink shared channel transmission of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in the multiple subframes made in response to the grant, where the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier is determined based on the received hybrid automatic repeat request identifier and a subframe index of each subframe of the multiple subframes, where the subframe index of each subframe of the multiple subframes is a position of each subframe within the set of subframes.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the controller determines the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier for each physical uplink shared channel transmission of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in the multiple subframes made in response to the first grant, where the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier is determined using a formula x″

=MOD (x+m, M_UL_HARQ), where x″

is the new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier, where x is the hybrid automatic repeat request identifier in the grant, where m is the position of each subframe within the set of subframes, and where M_UL_HARQ is the maximum number of uplink HARQ processes.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein different new hybrid automatic repeat request identifier values are used for each physical uplink shared channel transmission of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in the multiple subframes.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the grant includes an indication of the set of subframes for possible transmission of physical uplink shared channel, and

wherein the controller determines the set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel based on the received indication of the set of subframes in the grant.

15. The apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the transceiver receives a configuration indicating the maximum number of contiguous subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel from a higher layer, where the higher layer is higher than a physical layer, and

wherein the controller determines the set of subframes for possible transmission of the physical uplink shared channel based on the received configuration.

16. The apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the transceiver receives signaling indicating a minimum time duration to perform listen before talk, and

wherein the controller performs listen before talk on the unlicensed carrier before initiating the physical uplink shared channel transmission, where performing listen before talk is based on the received signaling of the minimum time duration to perform listen before talk.

17. The apparatus according to claim 10,

wherein the grant includes an indication of a starting symbol of the physical uplink shared channel transmissions, the starting symbol being one selected from a first symbol and a second symbol of the subframe, and

wherein the transceiver transmits the physical uplink shared channel transmissions starting with the earliest unoccupied subframe and the indicated starting symbol.

18. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the transceiver transmits the physical uplink shared channel transmissions in multiple subframes excluding a last symbol of the subframe.