User apparatus and signal synchronization method

• US 10,548,103 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2016
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Yasukawa, Shimpei, Nagata, Satoshi, Zhao, Qun
• Primary Examiner(s): Levitan, Dmitry
• Application Number:
  US15/751,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20180234928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 370310, 370315, 370324, 370328, 370336, 370345, 370503
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/00 Synchronisation arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/002 Mutual synchronization
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/20 between access points

Abstract

There is provided a user apparatus of a radio communication system supporting D2D communication, the user apparatus including a receiver configured to receive a signal of an external synchronization source, a synchronization signal transmitted from a base station, or a synchronization signal transmitted from another user apparatus; and a synchronization processor configured to execute, in accordance with priority information indicating priority order of signals used for synchronization, radio frame synchronization and frequency synchronization using any one of the signal of the external synchronization source, the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, or the synchronization signal transmitted from the other user apparatus, which is received by the receiver.

Claims

1. A user apparatus of a radio communication system supporting Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, the user apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a signal of an external synchronization source, a synchronization signal transmitted from a base station, or a synchronization signal transmitted from another user apparatus;

a synchronization processor configured to execute, in accordance with priority information indicating priority order of signals used for synchronization, at least one of radio frame synchronization and frequency synchronization using any one of the signal of the external synchronization source, the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, or the synchronization signal transmitted from the other user apparatus, which is received by the receiver; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a D2D signal,

wherein, when the synchronization signal from the other user apparatus received by the receiver is a synchronization signal indicating that no synchronization is established with the signal of the external synchronization source or the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, and when the synchronization processor executes at least one of the radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization using any one of the signal of the external synchronization source or the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, which is received by the receiver, the transmitter is configured to transmit a synchronization signal indicating that the synchronization is established with the signal of the external synchronization source or the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station.

2. The user apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when a type of the user apparatus is a Road-Side Unit (RSU), the transmitter is configured to transmit the synchronization signal, and

wherein, when the type of the user apparatus is a type other than the RSU, the transmitter is configured not to transmit the synchronization signal.

3. The user apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, based on radio resource allocation information that includes, among radio resources with which the D2D signal can be transmitted, a first offset during which the synchronization signal using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for executing synchronization can be transmitted and a second offset during which the synchronization signal using a synchronization signal for executing synchronization can be transmitted, the transmitter is configured to transmit the synchronization signal using the GNSS for executing synchronization in the first offset, and the transmitter is configured to transmit the synchronization signal using the synchronization signal for executing synchronization in the second offset.

4. The user apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiver is configured to receive a plurality of synchronization signals transmitted in a respective plurality of cells, and

wherein the synchronization processor is configured to execute the radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization using a synchronization signal transmitted in a cell of the plurality of cells that is allowed to be used for the radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization.

5. The user apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, upon detecting that execution of the radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization using the signal of the external synchronization source is allowed, the synchronization processor is configured to execute the at least one of radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization using the signal of the external synchronization source.

6. A user apparatus of a radio communication system supporting Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, the user apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a signal of an external synchronization source, a synchronization signal transmitted from a base station, or a plurality of types of synchronization signals transmitted from another user apparatus;

a transmitter configured to transmit a synchronization signal toward another user apparatus; and

a synchronization processor configured to execute at least one of radio frame synchronization and frequency synchronization,

wherein, within a coverage of the base station, the synchronization processor is configured to execute, based on a command from the base station, at least one of the radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization using the signal of the external synchronization source or the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, which is received by the receiver,

wherein, outside an area of the external synchronization source and outside the coverage of the base station, the synchronization processor is configured to execute, based on priority order of the plurality of types of synchronization signals, at least one of the radio frame synchronization and the frequency synchronization using a type of synchronization signal with high priority of the plurality of types of synchronization signals received by the receiver,

wherein, when the synchronization processor is synchronized with a signal from an external synchronization source, the transmitter is configured to transmit a synchronization signal associated with the priority order corresponding to the priority order of the external synchronization source, and

wherein, when the synchronization processor is synchronized with a synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, the transmitter is configured to transmit a synchronization signal associated with the priority order corresponding to the priority order of the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station.

7. A synchronization method executed by a user apparatus of a radio communication system supporting Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, the synchronization method comprising:

receiving a signal of an external synchronization source, a synchronization signal transmitted from a base station, or a synchronization signal transmitted from another user apparatus;

executing, in accordance with priority information indicating priority order of signals used for synchronization, at least one of radio frame synchronization and frequency synchronization using any one of the signal of the external synchronization source, the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, or the synchronization signal transmitted from the other user apparatus; and

transmitting a D2D signal,

wherein, when the executing is synchronized with a signal from an external synchronization source, the transmitting transmits a synchronization signal associated with the priority order corresponding to the priority order of the external synchronization source, and

wherein, when the executing is synchronized with a synchronization signal transmitted from the base station, the transmitting transmits a synchronization signal associated with the priority order corresponding to the priority order of the synchronization signal transmitted from the base station.