Method and Apparatus for Contention-Based Granting in a Wireless Communication Network
First Claim
1. A method in a wireless communication network node for signaling contention-based uplink grants to user equipments, said method comprising:
- allocating a range of uplink resource blocks for use in making a plurality of contention-based uplink grants within a given scheduling interval, wherein the range of uplink resource blocks comprises different subsets of uplink resource blocks and wherein each contention-based uplink grant in the plurality of contention-based uplink grants maps to a subset of uplink resource blocks out of the different subsets within the allocated range of uplink resource blocks; and
transmitting a single contention-based uplink grant message that indicates the allocated range of uplink resource blocks.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one aspect of the disclosed teachings, associating a plurality of contention-based uplink grants with a range of uplink resource blocks allows one contention-based uplink grant message to signal the entire plurality of grants. As an example in the LTE context, the signaling load on the PDCCH is reduced by using a single contention-based uplink grant message to signal a plurality of contention-based uplink grants. The message indicates an allocated set of uplink resource blocks and the number of separate uplink resource grants represented by the set is known or signaled, such that user terminals recognize that separate subsets of uplink resource blocks within the set each correspond to a separate contention-based uplink grant. Information included in the contention-based uplink grant message, or otherwise signaled can be used to control the probability at which the user terminals attempt contention-based uplink transmissions and/or to control the MCS used for such transmissions.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method in a wireless communication network node for signaling contention-based uplink grants to user equipments, said method comprising:
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allocating a range of uplink resource blocks for use in making a plurality of contention-based uplink grants within a given scheduling interval, wherein the range of uplink resource blocks comprises different subsets of uplink resource blocks and wherein each contention-based uplink grant in the plurality of contention-based uplink grants maps to a subset of uplink resource blocks out of the different subsets within the allocated range of uplink resource blocks; and transmitting a single contention-based uplink grant message that indicates the allocated range of uplink resource blocks. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A wireless communication network node configured to signal contention-based uplink grants to user equipments, said wireless communication network node comprising:
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a transceiver configured to transmit downlink signals to said user equipments and receive uplink signals from said user equipments; and a scheduling processor operatively associated with the transceiver and configured to; allocate a range of uplink resource blocks for use in making a plurality of contention-based uplink grants within a given scheduling interval, wherein the range of uplink resource blocks comprises different subsets of uplink resource blocks and wherein each contention-based uplink grant in the plurality of contention-based uplink grants maps to a subset of uplink resource blocks out of the different subsets within the allocated range of uplink resource blocks; and transmit, via said transceiver, a single contention-based uplink grant message that indicates the allocated range of uplink resource blocks. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method in a user equipment for making contention-based uplink transmissions in a wireless communication network, said method comprising:
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receiving a single contention-based uplink grant message that indicates a range of uplink resource blocks allocated to a plurality of contention-based uplink grants within a given scheduling interval, wherein the range of uplink resource blocks comprises different subsets of uplink resource blocks and wherein each contention-based uplink grant in the plurality of contention-based uplink grants maps to a subset of uplink resource blocks out of the different subsets within the allocated range of uplink resource blocks; and selectively sending a contention-based uplink transmission on a particular subset of uplink resource blocks corresponding to one of the plurality of contention-based uplink grants. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A user equipment configured to make contention-based uplink transmissions in a wireless communication network, said user equipment comprising:
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a transceiver configured to transmit uplink signals to the wireless communication network and to receive downlink signals from the wireless communication network; a receive circuit operatively associated with said transceiver and configured to receive a single contention-based uplink grant message that indicates a range of uplink resource blocks allocated to a plurality of contention-based uplink grants within a given scheduling interval, wherein the range of uplink resource blocks comprises different subsets of uplink resource blocks and wherein each contention-based uplink grant in the plurality of contention-based uplink grants maps to a subset of uplink resource blocks out of the different subsets within the allocated range of uplink resource blocks; and a transmit circuit operatively associated with said transceiver and configured to selectively send a contention-based uplink transmission on a particular subset of uplink resource blocks corresponding to one of the plurality of contention-based uplink grants. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification