Communication apparatus and communication method

• US 10,667,261 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2019
• Issued: 05/26/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Patent Trust
• Original Assignee: Sun Patent Trust
• Inventors: Oizumi, Toru, Imamura, Daichi, Nishio, Akihiko, Suzuki, Hidetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Solinsky, Peter G
• Application Number:
  US16/453,763
• Publication Number:
  US 20190320438A1
• Time in Patent Office: 335 Days
• Field of Search: 370329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1854 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1861 Physical mapping arrangements for ACK signaling see also H04L5/0053
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/001 the frequencies being arranged in component carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0085 when channel conditions change
• 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 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to inhibit an increase in the amount of A/N resources, without changing the timing at which the error detection result of an SCell is notified when UL-DL configurations to be configured for each of the unit bands are different, from the timing at which the error detection result is notified when just a single unit band is configured. A control unit transmits, using a first unit band, a response signal including error detection results about data received with both the first unit band and a second unit band. In a first composition pattern set for the first unit band, an uplink communication subframe is set to be the same timing as at least an uplink communication subframe of a second composition pattern set for the second unit band.

Claims

1. A communication apparatus comprising:

a receiver, which, in operation, receives a higher layer signaling that indicates a reference configuration pattern that is a reference uplink/downlink (UL/DL) configuration, which is one of a plurality of configuration patterns, each configuration pattern defining allocation of one or more uplink subframe(s) and one or more downlink subframe(s) within a frame and, in operation, receives a downlink signaling for determining a configuration pattern for a component carrier;

control circuitry, which, in operation, determines, if the downlink signaling is received, and the configuration pattern for the component carrier according to the received downlink signaling, wherein when the determined configuration pattern is different from the reference UL/DL configuration, the reference UL/DL configuration defines the allocation of the one or more uplink subframe(s) that are inclusive of one or more second uplink subframes defined by the determined configuration pattern, and the reference UL/DL configuration defines at least one more uplink subframe than defined by the determined configuration pattern; and

a transmitter which, in operation, transmits an uplink signal on an uplink subframe of the component carrier, the uplink subframe being one of the one or more second uplink subframes defined by the determined configuration pattern.

2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the receiver does not receive the downlink signaling, the control circuitry determines the reference UL/DL configuration as the configuration pattern for the component carrier.

3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determined configuration pattern is the same as the reference UL/DL configuration.

4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a downlink subframe where a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS) measurement is allowed is a portion of second one or more downlink subframes that are defined by the determined configuration pattern.

5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiver, in operation, receives downlink data on the component carrier and the transmitter, in operation transmits a response signal that indicates error detection results of the received downlink data on an uplink subframe defined by the reference UL/DL configuration.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuitry determines the configuration pattern for the component carrier according to the received downlink signaling when the communication apparatus is a user terminal that supports LTE Release 11 and the control circuitry determines the reference UL/DL configuration as the configuration pattern for the component carrier when the communication apparatus is a legacy user terminal that does not support the LTE Release 11.

7. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuitry determines the configuration pattern for the component carrier for each frame.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the component carrier is a Primary Cell.

9. A communication method comprising:

receiving a higher layer signaling that indicates a reference configuration pattern that is a reference uplink/downlink (UL/DL) configuration, which is one of a plurality of configuration patterns, each configuration pattern defining allocation of one or more uplink subframe(s) and one or more downlink subframe(s) within a frame and receiving a downlink signaling for determining a configuration pattern for a component carrier;

determining, if the downlink signaling is received, and the configuration pattern for the component carrier according to the received downlink signaling, wherein when the determined configuration pattern is different from the reference UL/DL configuration, the reference UL/DL configuration defines the allocation of the one or more uplink subframe(d) that are inclusive of one or more second uplink subframes defined by the determined configuration pattern, and the reference UL/DL configuration defines at least one more uplink subframe than defined by the determined configuration pattern; and

transmitting an uplink signal on an uplink subframe of the component carrier, the uplink subframe being one of the second one or more uplink subframes defined by the determined configuration pattern.

10. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein if the downlink signaling is not received, the reference UL/DL configuration is determined as the configuration pattern for the component carrier.

11. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein the determined configuration pattern is the same as the reference UL/DL configuration.

12. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein a downlink subframe where a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS) measurement is allowed is a portion of the second one or more downlink subframes that are defined by the determined configuration pattern.

13. The communication method according to claim 9, comprising:

receiving downlink data on the component carrier; and

transmitting a response signal that indicates error detection results of the received downlink data on an uplink subframe defined by the reference UL/DL configuration.

14. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein the configuration pattern for the component carrier is determined according to the received downlink signaling when a communication apparatus is a user terminal that supports LTE Release 11 and the reference UL/DL configuration is determined as the configuration pattern for the component carrier when the communication apparatus is a legacy user terminal that does not support the LTE Release 11.

15. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein the configuration pattern for the component carrier is determined for each frame.

16. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein the component carrier is a Primary Cell.