Apparatus, method and computer program product providing uplink synchronization through use of dedicated uplink resource assignment

• US 20070254656A1
• Filed: 05/01/2007
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Dalsgaard, Lars
• Granted Patent: US 9,462,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/435.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2681 Synchronisation of a mobile station with one base station
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0045 compensating for timing error by altering transmission time
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation

Abstract

An assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal is transmitted to a user equipment. The user equipment sends on the uplink resource an uplink synchronization signal. From the uplink synchronization signal is determined a timing advance for the user equipment. Various indications are used to indicate to the user equipment that the assignment of uplink resources is for the purpose of sending its synchronization signal, such as expiration of its timing advance timer, a field in the allocation table that assigns the uplink resources, or explicit signaling from the network. Methods, devices, and computer program products are detailed for both network and user equipment embodiments.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

transmitting to a user equipment an assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal;

receiving from the user equipment on the assigned uplink resource the uplink synchronization signal; and

determining from the uplink synchronization signal a timing advance for the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, where the assigned uplink resource is a shared channel uplink resource.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending the determined timing advance to the user equipment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the timing advance is sent using either control signaling;

a header in a data transmission;

or an allocation table.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the said user equipment comprises a first user equipment, said uplink synchronization signal comprises a first uplink synchronization signal, and said timing advance comprises a first timing advance;

wherein transmitting comprises transmitting to the first user equipment and to a second user equipment a first allocation table comprising the assignment of the uplink resource;

wherein receiving comprises receiving from the first user equipment on the uplink resource the first uplink synchronization signal and receiving from the second user equipment on the uplink resource a second uplink synchronization signal; and

wherein determining comprises determining from the first uplink synchronization signal the first timing advance for the first user equipment and determining from the second uplink synchronization signal of the second user equipment a second timing advance for the second user equipment;

the method further comprising;

sending to the first and second user equipment the first and second timing advance in a second allocation table.

6. The method of claim 1, where the assignment of the uplink resource is transmitted to the user equipment in an allocation table.

7. The method of claim 1, where the uplink synchronization signal received from the user equipment is comprised of one of a cell specific pilot code sequence and a preamble associated with the user equipment and transmitted to the user equipment with the assignment of the uplink resource.

8. The method in claim 1, where the uplink synchronization signal received from the user equipment comprises a guard time equal to a guard time in a transmission over a non-synchronous random access channel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the assignment of the uplink resource further comprises an indication that no timing advance value is available.

10. The method of claim 1, executed in response to the user equipment becoming established in a cell by a non-synchronized handover.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving from a network device an assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal; and

transmitting on the assigned uplink resource the uplink synchronization signal.

12. The method of claim 11, where the assigned uplink resource is a shared channel uplink resource.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising after transmitting, receiving a timing advance and synchronizing a further transmission to the timing advance.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the timing advance is received in one of control signaling;

a data transmission; and

an allocation table.

15. The method of claim 11, where the uplink synchronization signal is comprised of one of a cell specific pilot code sequence and a preamble associated with the user equipment and transmitted to the user equipment with the assignment of the uplink resource.

16. The method in claim 11, where the transmitted uplink synchronization signal comprises a guard time equal to a guard time in a transmission over a non-synchronous random access channel.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the assignment of the uplink resource further comprises an indication that no timing advance value is available.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting is conditional on expiration of a timing advance timer.

19. A computer program product embodied on a memory and executable by a processor to perform operations, comprising:

transmitting to a user equipment an assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal;

receiving from the user equipment on the assigned uplink resource the uplink synchronization signal; and

determining from the uplink synchronization signal a timing advance for the user equipment.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, where the assigned uplink resource is a shared channel uplink resource.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising sending the determined timing advance to the user equipment.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, where the timing advance is sent using either control signaling;

a header in a data transmission;

or an allocation table.

23. The computer program product of claim 19, where the assignment of the uplink resource is transmitted to the user equipment in an allocation table.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, where the uplink synchronization signal is comprised of one of a cell specific pilot code sequence and a preamble associated with the user equipment and transmitted to the user equipment with the assignment of the uplink resource.

25. The computer program product of claim 19, where the uplink synchronization signal received from the user equipment comprises a guard time equal to a guard time in a transmission over a non-synchronous random access channel.

26. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the assignment of the uplink resource further comprises an indication that no timing advance value is available.

27. The computer program product of claim 19, executed in response to the user equipment becoming established in a cell by a non-synchronized handover.

28. A network element, comprising:

a transmitter adapted to transmit to a user equipment an assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal;

a receiver adapted to receive from the user equipment on the assigned uplink resource the uplink synchronization signal; and

a processor adapted to determine from the uplink synchronization signal a timing advance for the user equipment.

29. The network element of claim 28, where the assigned uplink resource transmitted to the user equipment is a shared channel uplink resource.

30. The network element of claim 28, where the transmitter is further adapted to transmit the timing advance to the user equipment.

31. The network element of claim 28 comprising a Node B.

32. A user equipment, comprising:

a receiver adapted to receive from a network device an assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal;

a processor coupled to a memory and adapted to determine the uplink synchronization signal; and

a transmitter adapted to transmit on the uplink resource the uplink synchronization signal.

33. The user equipment of claim 32, further comprising after the transmitter transmits the uplink synchronization signal, the receiver is adapted to receive a timing advance and the processor is adapted to synchronize a further transmission from the transmitter to the timing advance.

34. The user equipment of claim 32, where the uplink synchronization signal comprises one of a cell specific pilot code sequence and a preamble associated with the user equipment and transmitted to the user equipment with the assignment of the uplink resource.

35. The user equipment of claim 32, wherein the transmitter is adapted to transmit the uplink synchronization signal conditional on expiration of a timing advance timer.

36. An apparatus, comprising:

means for transmitting to a user equipment an assignment of an uplink resource on which to send an uplink synchronization signal;

means for receiving from the user equipment on the assigned uplink resource the uplink synchronization signal; and

means for determining from the uplink synchronization signal a timing advance for the user equipment.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein

the means for transmitting comprises a transmitter;

the means for receiving comprises a receiver; and

the means for determining comprises a processor coupled to a computer readable memory.