Method and Apparatus for Timing Advance Estimation

• US 20120127964A1
• Filed: 11/18/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Turtinen, Samuli, Hakola, Sami-Jukka, Koskela, Timo Kalevi, Phan, Vinh Van
• Granted Patent: US 9,078,207 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0045 compensating for timing error by altering transmission time

Abstract

In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: determine a first timing associated with a first signal; detect a second timing associated with a second signal; and estimate a timing advance value based at least in part on the detected first timing and the second timing, is disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following;

determine a first timing associated with a first signal;

detect a second timing associated with a second signal; and

estimate a timing advance value based at least in part on the detected first timing and the second timing.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to further perform:

determine a time difference between the first timing and the second timing, wherein the timing advance value is estimated based at least in part on the determined time difference.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to further perform:

detect a common downlink signal to obtain frame timing, wherein the first timing is determined at least in part based on the obtained frame timing.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first signal comprises a downlink signal or an uplink signal and the second signal comprises an uplink signal.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second timing comprises the earliest arrival timing of the second signal.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to further perform:

receive system information from a remote node; and

determine the position of the first signal and the second signal within a frame based on the received system information,

wherein the system information comprises at least one of subframe configuration, preamble format configuration of physical random access channel, and resource allocation of physical random access channel.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a time difference is derived by subtracting the end of the first signal from the earliest arrival timing of the second signal, and the timing advance value is derived by subtracting the time difference from a guard period, wherein the first signal comprises a downlink pilot time slot, the second signal comprises an uplink pilot time slot.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first timing associates with the start or the end of the first signal, and the second timing associates with at least one of the start and the end of the second signal.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimated timing advance value associates with a cellular user that is synchronized with a cellular base station.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to further perform:

transmit signals with a timing associated with the estimated timing advance value.

11. A method, comprising:

determining a first timing associated with a first signal;

detecting a second timing associated with a second signal; and

estimating a timing advance value based at least in part on the detected first timing and the second timing.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the estimating the timing advance value further comprises determining a time difference between the first timing and the second timing, wherein the timing advance value is estimated based at least in part on the determined time difference.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the determining the first timing further comprises detecting a common downlink signal to obtain frame timing.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first signal comprises a downlink signal or an uplink signal and the second signal comprises an uplink signal.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein detecting the second timing comprising detecting the earliest arrival timing of the second signal.

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

receiving system information from a remote node; and

determining the position of the first signal and the second signal within a frame based on the received system information,

wherein the system information comprises at least one of subframe configuration, preamble format configuration of physical random access channel, and resource allocation of physical random access channel.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein a time difference is derived by subtracting the end of the first signal from the earliest arrival timing of the second signal, and the timing advance value is derived by subtracting the time difference from a guard period, wherein the first signal comprises a downlink pilot time slot, the second signal comprises an uplink pilot time slot.

18. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting signals with a timing associated with the estimated timing advance value.

19. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising:

code for determining a first timing associated with a first signal;

code for detecting a second timing associated with a second signal; and

code for estimating a timing advance value based at least in part on the detected first timing and the second timing.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, further comprising

code for transmitting signals with a timing associated with the estimated timing advance value.