Resource allocation and signaling method for multi-antenna LTE sounding

• US 20110170497A1
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Inventors: Liao, Pei-Kai, Lin, Chih-Yuan
• Application Number:
  US12/930,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20110170497A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0091 Signaling for the administration of the divided path
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

A method of multi-antenna resource allocation for uplink channel sounding in a wireless communication system is provided. A base station (eNB) first selects a number of sounding reference signal (SRS) parameters. The eNB then determines each selected SRS parameter for a first antenna of a user equipment (UE) having multiple antennas. The determined parameters are jointly encoded to a first set of parameter combination using a number of signaling bits. The eNB transmits the signaling bits for the first antenna to the UE without transmits additional signaling bits for other antennas. The UE receives the signaling bits for SRS resource allocation for the first antenna and derives a second set of parameter combination for a second antenna based on a predetermined rule. By implicitly signaling SRS resource allocation for multiple antennas, it is easy for the eNB to allocate SRS resource for different antennas of different UEs with reduced overhead.

Claims

1. A method of resource allocation for a sounding channel in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

selecting a number of parameters from a plurality of sounding reference signal (SRS) parameters;

determining each selected parameter for a first antenna of a user equipment (UE), wherein the determined parameters are jointly encoded to a first set of parameter combination using a number of signaling bits; and

transmitting the signaling bits for the first antenna from a base station to the UE, wherein a second set of parameter combination for a second antenna of the UE is derived from the signaling bits.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of parameter combination for a second antenna of the UE is derived based on a predetermined rule without transmitting additional signaling bits for the second antenna.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station determines multiple sets of parameter combinations for multiple UEs having multiple antennas, and wherein only one set of parameter combinations is used for one specific antenna of each UE.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected parameters comprise a cyclic shift (CS) option for SRS code sequence and a transmission comb option.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein different antennas of different UEs are multiplexed in a CS domain such that the different antennas in the CS domain are evenly spaced with maximal CS spacing.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station transmits the signaling bits via a radio control channel (RCC) for configuring periodic SRS (p-SRS).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station transmits the signaling bits contained in downlink control information (DCI) via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for triggering Aperiodic SRS (ap-SRS).

8. A base station, comprising:

an information encoding module that jointly encodes a selected number of sounding reference signal (SRS) parameters for a first antenna of a user equipment (UE) into a first set of parameter combination using a number of signaling bits;

a transceiver that transmits the signaling bits to the UE, wherein a second set of parameter combination for a second antenna of the UE are derived from the signaling bits; and

a channel estimation module that performs channel estimation based on a first and a second sounding signals transmitted from the first and the second antennas of the UE respectively, wherein the first and the second sounding signals are configured based on the first and the second set of parameter combinations respectively.

9. The base station of claim 8, wherein the second set of parameter combination for a second antenna of the UE is derived based on a predetermined rule without transmitting additional signaling bits for the second antenna.

10. The base station of claim 8, wherein the base station determines multiple sets of parameter combinations for multiple UEs having multiple antennas, and wherein only one set of parameter combinations is used for one specific antenna of each UE.

11. The base station of claim 8, wherein the selected parameters comprise a cyclic shift (CS) option for SRS code sequence and a transmission comb option.

12. The base station of claim 11, wherein different antennas of different UEs are multiplexed in a CS domain such that the different antennas in the CS domain are evenly spaced with maximal CS spacing.

13. The base station of claim 8, wherein the base station transmits the signaling bits via a radio control channel (RCC) for configuring periodic SRS (p-SRS).

14. The base station of claim 8, wherein the base station transmits the signaling bits contained in downlink control information (DCI) via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for triggering Aperiodic SRS (ap-SRS).

15. A method for providing a sounding channel in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

receiving a number of signaling bits from a base station by a user equipment (UE);

decoding the signaling bits into a first set of sounding reference signal (SRS) parameter combination for a first antenna of the UE;

deriving a second set of SRS parameter combination for a second antenna of the UE based on the same signaling bits; and

transmitting a first sounding signal based on the first set of SRS parameter combination from the first antenna and transmitting a second sounding signal based on the second set of SRS parameter combination from the second antenna.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the UE derives the second set of parameter combination for the second antenna based on a predetermined rule without receiving additional signaling bits for the second antenna.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the first set of parameter combination comprises a cyclic shift (CS) option for SRS code sequence and a transmission comb option.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein different antennas of different UEs are multiplexed in a CS domain such that the different antennas in the CS domain are evenly spaced with maximal CS spacing.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the UE receives the signaling bits via a radio control channel (RCC) for configuring periodic SRS (p-SRS).

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the UE receives the signaling bits contained in downlink control information (DCI) via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for triggering Aperiodic SRS (ap-SRS).