Methods and apparatus for synchronization to, and measurements on, unlicensed frequency carriers
First Claim
1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) with a secondary cell (Scell) operating on an unlicensed carrier, the method comprising at the UE:
- determining, from an unlicensed spectrum measurement instance configuration message, one or more measurement instances where a discovery signal is scheduled to be transmitted on the S cell;
monitoring a primary cell (Pcell) operating in licensed spectrum for an unlicensed spectrum control channel message transmitted in the licensed spectrum and associated with the discovery signal, the unlicensed spectrum control channel message confirming whether the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell as determined from the unlicensed spectrum measurement instance configuration message;
determining, based on the unlicensed spectrum control channel message, whether the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell, the determining comprising unsuccessfully decoding the unlicensed spectrum control channel message to determine that the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell;
based on the determining whether the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell, detecting the discovery signal transmission on the Scell during the at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell;
performing a first measurement on the discovery signal during at least one measurement instance of the one or more measurement instances; and
reporting a measurement value based on at least the first measurement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Briefly, the present disclosure is directed to methods and apparatus that allow for the synchronization with, and measurement reporting of, unlicensed frequency carriers. A method and apparatus for synchronizing to an Scell operating on an unlicensed carrier determine, at a UE (108, 116), one or more measurement instances where a discovery signal may be transmitted, for example, by a base station (132), on the Scell from a higher layer configuration message. The method and apparatus may monitor a control channel for a control channel message and determine whether the discovery signal will be transmitted during one or more measurement instances on the Scell. The method and apparatus may detect the discovery signal transmission on the Scell during one or more of the measurement instances. The method and apparatus may also synchronize to and/or measure the Scell based on detected discovery signal transmissions.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE) with a secondary cell (Scell) operating on an unlicensed carrier, the method comprising at the UE:
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determining, from an unlicensed spectrum measurement instance configuration message, one or more measurement instances where a discovery signal is scheduled to be transmitted on the S cell; monitoring a primary cell (Pcell) operating in licensed spectrum for an unlicensed spectrum control channel message transmitted in the licensed spectrum and associated with the discovery signal, the unlicensed spectrum control channel message confirming whether the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell as determined from the unlicensed spectrum measurement instance configuration message; determining, based on the unlicensed spectrum control channel message, whether the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell, the determining comprising unsuccessfully decoding the unlicensed spectrum control channel message to determine that the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell; based on the determining whether the discovery signal is expected to be transmitted during at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell, detecting the discovery signal transmission on the Scell during the at least one of the one or more measurement instances on the Scell; performing a first measurement on the discovery signal during at least one measurement instance of the one or more measurement instances; and reporting a measurement value based on at least the first measurement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method in a UE connected to a primary cell (Pcell) operating on a licensed carrier, and configured with a secondary cell (Scell) operating on an unlicensed carrier, method comprising:
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determining, from a higher layer configuration message, a set of measurement instances where a discovery signal can be present;
the discovery signal comprising periodic transmissions of at least a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS);monitoring, on the Pcell, a control channel using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with the discovery signal, in a first subframe; determining a measurement instance associated with the first subframe from the set of measurement instances; attempting to decode the control channel;
when the control channel is not successfully decoded in the first subframe, determining that the discovery signal is present in the measurement instance;performing a first measurement on the discovery signal in at least one measurement instance in the set of measurement instances; and reporting a measurement value based on at least the first measurement. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification