OPTIMIZED UPLINK CONTROL SIGNALING FOR EXTENDED BANDWIDTH

• US 20120093097A1
• Filed: 09/23/2009
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Che, Xiang Guang, Tiirola, Esa, Pajukoski, Kari
• Granted Patent: US 9,136,998 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• 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 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0092 Indication of how the channel is divided
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

According to an embodiment a user equipment UE transmits uplink control signals using one or more chunks of uplink frequency spectrum that contain a simultaneous uplink shared channel; and for the case where there is no simultaneous uplink shared channel available, the UE transmits uplink control signals using only a single chunk of uplink frequency spectrum. In various embodiments the control signals are ACK/NACK control signals transmitted on an uplink control channel, the uplink shared channel comprises a chunk-specific uplink control channel, and each chunk comprises a component carrier of a LTE-A system. Downlink assignment index bits may be included in a downlink grant to the UE which indicates how many chunks in total are allocated in a current downlink subframe. The UE can also use ACK/NACK control signal bundling over chunks in addition to either or both of chunk- specific ACK/NACK control signals or ACK/NAK control signal multiplexing.

Claims

1-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A method comprising:

receiving at an apparatus data signals on a downlink shared channel using one or more chunks of downlink frequency spectrum; and

transmitting from the apparatus uplink control signals corresponding to the downlink shared channel of each of the received chunks of downlink frequency spectrum, wherein a single uplink control channel resource on a single chunk of uplink frequency spectrum at a time is used for the transmission of the uplink control signals.

30. The method according to claim 29, in which the uplink control signals comprise acknowledge/not-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) control signals which are transmitted on an uplink control channel,

in which each uplink control channel is chunk-specific, is reserved from at least one uplink chunk and corresponds to the chunk of downlink frequency spectrum, and each chunk comprises a component carrier.

31. The method according to claim 29, in which downlink assignment index bits are included in a downlink grant which is received at the apparatus on a downlink control channel, the downlink assignment index bits indicating how many chunks in total are allocated in a current downlink subframe;

in which transmitting the uplink control signals are in response to the data signals received on the downlink shared channel that is allocated to the apparatus by the received downlink grant.

32. The method according to claim 30, further comprising using at least one of:

ACK/NACK control signal multiplexing including ACK/NACK control signal bundling over a spatial domain; and

ACK/NAK control signal bundling over a component carrier domain.

33. The method according to claim 30, in which transmitting the ACK/NACK control signals are on more than one physical uplink control channel ACK/NAK resource per chunk for the case where more than one control channel element per chunk-specific physical downlink control channel is allocated.

34. The method according to claim 30, further comprising utilizing all constellation points in two slots of one physical uplink control channel subframe for different ACK/NAK control signals.

35. The method according to claim 30, in which the transmitting comprises using repetition or hopping over two slots of one physical uplink control channel subframe while making at least one many-to-one mapping of a multi-bit ACK/NAK control signal to a plurality of physical uplink control channel ACK/NAK constellation points.

36. The method according to claim 35, in which a number of chunks that are allocated varies from subframe to subframe.

37. The method according to claim 35, in which the apparatus comprises a mobile user equipment operating in a long term evolution - advanced (LTE-A) system in which the chunks comprise component carriers which are aggregated to form a whole bandwidth of the LTE-A system.

38. An apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to receive data signals on a downlink shared channel using one or more chunks of downlink frequency spectrum; and

a transmitter configured to transmit uplink control signals corresponding to the downlink shared channel of each of the received chunks of downlink frequency spectrum, wherein a single uplink control channel resource on a single chunk of uplink frequency spectrum at a time is used for the transmission of the uplink control signals.

39. The apparatus according to claim 38, in which the uplink control signals comprise acknowledge/not-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) control signals which the transmitter is configured to transmit on an uplink control channel,

in which the uplink control channel is chunk-specific, is reserved from at least one uplink chunk and corresponds to the chunk of downlink frequency spectrum, and each chunk comprises a component carrier.

40. The apparatus according to claim 38 , in which the receiver is configured to receive, on a downlink control channel, a downlink grant that comprises downlink assignment index bits, the downlink assignment index bits indicating how many chunks in total are allocated in a current downlink subframe;

in which the transmitter is configured to transmit the uplink control signals in response to the data signals received on the downlink shared channel that is allocated to the apparatus by the downlink grant.

41. The apparatus according to claim 39, in which the transmitter is configured to perform at least one of:

ACK/NACK control signal multiplexing including ACK/NACK control signal bundling over a spatial domain;

ACK/NAK control signal bundling over a component carrier domain;

utilizing all constellation points in two slots of one physical uplink control channel subframe for different transmitted ACK/NAK control signals; and

using repetition or hopping over two slots of one physical uplink control channel subframe while making at least one many-to-one mapping of a multi-bit ACK/NAK control signal to a plurality of physical uplink control channel ACK/NAK constellation points.

42. The apparatus according to claim 41, in which a number of chunks that are allocated varies from subframe to subframe.

43. The apparatus according to claim 41, in which the apparatus comprises a mobile user equipment operating in a long term evolution—

advanced (LTE-A) system in which the component carriers are aggregated to form a whole bandwidth of the LTE-A system.

44. A memory storing a program of computer-readable instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform actions comprising:

receiving data signals on a downlink shared channel using one or more chunks of downlink frequency spectrum; and

transmitting uplink control signals corresponding to the downlink shared channel of each of the received chunks of downlink frequency spectrum, wherein a single uplink control channel resource on a single chunk of uplink frequency spectrum at a time is used for the transmission of the uplink control signals.

45. The memory according to claim 44, in which the uplink control signals comprise acknowledge/not-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) control signals which are transmitted on an uplink control channel,

in which each uplink shared channel is chunk-specific, is reserved from at least one uplink chunk and corresponds to the chunk of downlink frequency spectrum, and each chunk comprises a component carrier.

46. The memory according to claim 45, in which the processor and the memory are disposed in a mobile user equipment operating in a long term evolution- advanced (LTE-A) system in which the component carriers are aggregated to form a whole bandwidth of the LTE-A system.