METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING ANTENNAS IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

• US 20120106373A1
• Filed: 05/02/2011
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Gaal, Peter, Chen, Wanshi, Montojo, Juan, Damnjanovic, Aleksandar
• Granted Patent: US 8,948,196 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0413 MIMO systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0456 Selection of precoding matrices or codebooks, e.g. using matrices antenna weighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03343 Arrangements at the transmitter end
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/261 Details of reference signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are provided that facilitate sounding antennas in wireless communication. In an aspect, a method for wireless communication includes determining at least one resource reserved for transmitting a demodulation reference signal and transmitting a sounding reference signal over the at least one resource. In another aspect, a method of wireless communication includes signaling a parameter related to sounding multiple antenna ports, receiving signals from a device over the multiple antenna ports, and estimating a channel related to the signals at least in part by removing a precoding from the signals.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

determining at least one resource reserved for transmitting a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS); and

transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) over the at least one resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one resource is reserved for transmitting the DM-RS by a different device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the at least one resource includes determining a precoder extension;

and

the method further including applying the precoder extension to the DM-RS that results in the SRS being transmitted over one or more antenna ports.

4. The method of claim 1, further including determining a cyclic shift for the SRS, wherein the cyclic shift is different from another cyclic shift for the DM-RS.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a first frequency range for the SRS is the same as a second frequency range for the DM-RS.

6. The method of claim 1, further including determining a first orthogonal cover code (OCC) for the SRS, wherein the first OCC is different from a second OCC for the DM-RS.

7. The method of claim 1, further including selecting a number of SRSs to transmit to be equal to a number of available antenna ports;

and

wherein the transmitting the SRS includes transmitting the number of SRSs.

8. The method of claim 1, further including selecting a number of SRSs to transmit based at least in part on a number of antenna ports.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the selecting the number of SRSs to transmit includes selecting the number of SRSs to be less than a number of available antenna ports.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the selecting the number of SRSs to transmit includes selecting the number of SRSs to be equal to the number of available antenna ports less a number of precoded layers used for transmitting the DM-RS.

11. The method of claim 1, further including receiving one or more parameters related to sounding multiple antenna;

and

wherein the determining the at least one resource is based at least in part on the one or more parameters.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving the one or more parameters includes receiving one of a precoder or antenna port selection for sounding, a mapping of the precoder to one or more cyclic shifts, a periodicity for using the precoder, a mapping of the precoder to one or more subframes, and a power offset between using the precoder;

and

wherein the determining the at least one resource includes precoding the SRS according to the one or more parameters.

13. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for determining at least one resource reserved for transmitting a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS); and

means for transmitting a sounding reference signal (SRS) over the at least one resource.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one resource is reserved for transmitting the DM-RS by a different device.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for determining the at least one resource includes means for determining a precoder extension;

and

the apparatus further including means for applying the precoder extension to the DM-RS that results in the SRS being transmitted over one or more antenna ports.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, further including means for determining a cyclic shift for the SRS, wherein the cyclic shift is different from another cyclic shift for the DM-RS.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein a frequency range for the SRS is the same the frequency range for the DM-RS.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, further including means for determining an orthogonal cover code (OCC) for the SRS, wherein the OCC is different from a second OCC for the DM-RS.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, further including means for selecting a number of SRSs to transmit to be equal to a number of available antenna ports;

and

wherein the means for transmitting includes means for transmitting the number of SRSs.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, further including means for selecting a number of SRSs to transmit based at least in part on a number of antenna ports.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for selecting selects the number of SRSs to transmit to be less than a number of available antenna ports.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the means for selecting selects the number of SRSs to transmit to be equal to the number of available antenna ports less a number of precoded layers used for transmitting the DM-RS.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, further including means for receiving one or more parameters related to sounding multiple antennas;

and

wherein the means for determining the at least one resource is based at least in part on the one or more parameters.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more parameters include one of a precoder or antenna port selection for sounding, a mapping of the precoder to one or more cyclic shifts, a periodicity for using the precoder, a mapping of the precoder to one or more subframes, and a power offset between using the precoder;

and

wherein the means for determining the at least one resource is based on at least in part by precoding the SRS using the precoder.

25. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

determine at least one resource reserved for transmitting a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS); and

transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) over the at least one resource; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one resource is reserved for transmitting the DM-RS by a different device.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a cyclic shift for the SRS, wherein the cyclic shift is different from another cyclic shift for the DM-RS.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine an orthogonal cover code (OCC) for the SRS, wherein the OCC is different from a second OCC for the DM-RS.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to select a number of SRSs to transmit based at least in part on a number of antenna ports.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select the number of SRSs to be less than a number of available antenna ports.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select the number of SRSs to be equal to the number of available antenna ports less a number of precoded layers used for transmitting the DM-RS.

32. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:

instructions for causing at least one computer to determine at least one resource reserved for transmitting a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS); and

instructions for causing the at least one computer to transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) over the at least one resource.

33. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the at least one resource is reserved for transmitting the DM-RS by a different device.

34. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further includes instructions for causing the at least one computer to select a number of SRSs to transmit based at least in part on a number of antenna ports.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the instructions for causing the at least one computer to select the number of SRSs selects the number of SRSs to be less than a number of available antenna ports.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein the instructions for causing the at least one computer to select the number of SRSs selects the number of SRSs to be equal to the number of available antenna ports less a number of precoded layers used for transmitting the DM-RS.

37. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

signaling one or more parameters to a device, the one or more parameters being related to sounding multiple antenna ports;

receiving signals from the device over the multiple antenna ports; and

estimating one or more channels related to the signals at least in part by removing a precoding from the signals.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the signaling the one or more parameters includes signaling one of a precoder or antenna port selection for sounding, a mapping of the precoder to one or more cyclic shifts, a periodicity for using the precoder, a mapping of the precoder to one or more subframes, and a power offset between using the precoder, and wherein the precoder corresponds to the precoding.

39. The method of claim 37, further including:

determining a precoder for subsequent transmissions based at least in part on the estimating the one or more channels; and

specifying the precoder to the device.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein the signaling the one or more parameters includes signaling resources for sounding the multiple antenna ports, wherein the resources are utilized by another device to transmit a demodulation reference signal.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein the estimating the one or more channels further includes determining a plurality of cyclic shifts unused by the device in transmitting the signals.

42. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for signaling one or more parameters related to sounding multiple antenna ports to a device;

means for receiving signals from the device over the multiple antenna ports; and

means for estimating one or more channels related to the signals at least in part by removing a precoding from the signals.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the one or more parameters include one of a precoder or antenna port selection for sounding, a mapping of the precoder to one or more cyclic shifts, a periodicity for using the precoder, a mapping of the precoder to one or more subframes, and a power offset between using the precoder, and wherein the precoder corresponds to the precoding.

44. The apparatus of claim 42, further including:

means for determining a precoder for subsequent transmissions based at least in part on the estimating the one or more channels; and

means for specifying the precoder to the device.

45. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the one or more parameters include resources for sounding the multiple antenna ports, wherein the resources are utilized by another device to transmit a demodulation reference signal.

46. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the means for estimating the one or more channels further includes means for determining a plurality of cyclic shifts unused by the device in transmitting the signals.

47. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

signal one or more parameters related to sounding multiple antenna ports to a device;

receive signals from the device over the multiple antenna ports; and

estimate one or more channels related to the signals at least in part by removing a precoding from the signals; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the one or more parameters include one of a precoder or antenna port selection for sounding, a mapping of the precoder to one or more cyclic shifts, a periodicity for using the precoder, a mapping of the precoder to one or more subframes, and a power offset between using the precoder, and wherein the precoder corresponds to the precoding.

49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the one or more parameters include resources for sounding the multiple antenna ports, and wherein the resources are utilized by another device to transmit a demodulation reference signal.

50. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium comprising:

instructions for causing at least one computer to signal one or more parameters related to sounding multiple antenna ports to a device;

instructions for causing the at least one computer to receive signals from the device over the multiple antenna ports; and

instructions for causing the at least one computer to estimate one or more channels related to the signals at least in part by removing a precoding from the signals.

51. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the one or more parameters include resources for sounding the multiple antenna ports, and wherein the resources are utilized by another device to transmit a demodulation reference signal.

52. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the instructions for causing the at least one computer to estimate include instructions for causing the at least one computer to estimate the one or more channels based at least in part by determining a plurality of cyclic shifts unused by the device in transmitting the signals.