Method and Arrangement in a Wireless Communication System

• US 20130028126A1
• Filed: 07/14/2010
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Kazmi, Muhammad
• Granted Patent: US 9,538,434 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0088 Scheduling hand-off measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/535 based on resource usage policies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

According to some embodiments of the invention, a method is provided in a radio network node for scheduling data transmission and/or reception. According to the method, the radio network node predicts (530) at least one autonomous gap occurrence in which user equipments served by the radio network node will use autonomously created gaps for acquiring system information from a neighboring base station and during which the UE is not able to receive data from, and/or transmit data to, the radio network node. Furthermore, the radio network node schedules (560) a user equipment for data transmission and/or reception in a time period which does not overlap with any predicted autonomous gap occurrence.

Claims

1-34. -34. (canceled)

35. A method in a radio network node for scheduling data transmission or reception, the method comprising:

predicting at least one autonomous gap occurrence in which user equipments served by the radio network node will use autonomously created gaps for acquiring system information from a neighboring base station and during which the user equipments are not able to receive data from the radio network node or is not able to transmit data to the radio network node; and

scheduling one or more of the user equipments for data transmission or reception in a time period that does not overlap with any predicted autonomous gap occurrence.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising requesting one of the user equipments to read system information from the neighboring base station.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the system information to be read comprises a Cell Global Identifier (CGI) of the neighboring base station.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein predicting the at least one autonomous gap occurrence comprises determining when the neighboring base station transmits system information.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein determining when the neighboring base station transmits system information comprises determining timing information for the neighboring base station, the timing information comprising at least one of frame start timing and the System Frame Number (SFN).

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the timing information is determined based on a measurement report received from a reporting one among the user equipments, and wherein the measurement report relates to the neighboring base station.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the frame start timing and the SFN are determined based on a message received from another network node.

42. The method of claim 39, wherein the timing information is determined by performing correlation over a pre-defined set of synchronization or pilot signals transmitted by the neighboring base station.

48. The method of claim 35, wherein the duration or number of autonomous gap occurrences are preconfigured.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the preconfigured duration of the autonomous gap occurrences is between 2 and 4 subframes.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the number of autonomous gap occurrences is preconfigured to be the maximum number of autonomous gap occurrences possible within a measurement period.

51. The method of claim 35, wherein predicting the at least one autonomous gap occurrence comprises:

transmitting data during a certain time period to one of the user equipments which has been requested to read system information from the neighboring base station; and

determining whether an autonomous gap occurrence was used in the certain time period, based on whether the radio network node receives HARQ NACK/ACK feedback for the transmitted data.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the transmitted data is dummy data.

53. The method of claim 35, wherein predicting the at least one autonomous gap occurrence comprises:

monitoring received reports of Channel State Information (CSI) from one of the user equipments which has been requested to read system information from the neighboring base station; and

determining whether an autonomous gap occurrence was created by the user equipment that was requested to read the system information, based on the presence or absence of a CSI report from that user equipment in a certain time period.

54. The method of claim 35, further comprising configuring a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle of the one or more user equipments to be scheduled such that DRX ON periods do not overlap with any predicted autonomous gap occurrence.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the same measurement period is used for acquiring the system information of the neighboring base station regardless whether DRX is used or not and regardless of the length of the DRX cycle when DRX is used.

56. A method in a user equipment that is served by a radio network node, the method comprising:

performing a measurement on a signal received from a neighboring base station;

determining, based on the measurement, at least one autonomous gap occurrence during which the user equipment will autonomously create gaps for acquiring system information from the neighboring base station; and

transmitting information to the radio network node indicating the at least one autonomous gap occurrence.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the information about the autonomous gap occurrence is separately reported by the user equipment to the radio network node for gaps created in an uplink between the radio network node and the user equipment and a downlink between the radio network node and the user equipment.

58. The method of claim 56, wherein the information about the autonomous gap occurrence signaled by the user equipment corresponds to the actual autonomous gap occurrence used by the user equipment for acquiring the system information of the neighboring base station.

59. The method of claim 56, wherein the information about the autonomous gap occurrence is signaled by the user equipment when reporting measurements.

60. The method of claim 56, wherein the reported measurements are at least one of a downlink signal quality, downlink signal strength, physical cell identity or global cell identity.

61. The method of claim 56, wherein the information about the autonomous gap occurrence is signaled by the user equipment when requested by the serving radio network node.

62. A method in a radio network node comprising:

receiving information from a first user equipment served by the radio network node, indicating at least one autonomous gap occurrence, during which the first user equipment will autonomously create gaps for acquiring system information from a neighboring base station;

predicting at least one autonomous gap occurrence in which the first or a second user equipment served by the radio network node will use autonomously created gaps for acquiring system information from the neighboring base station; and

scheduling the first or second user equipment for data transmission or reception in a time period which does not overlap with any predicted autonomous gap occurrence.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the information about the autonomous gap occurrence signaled by the first user equipment corresponds to the actual autonomous gap occurrence used by the first user equipment for acquiring the system information of the neighboring base station.

64. The method of claim 62, wherein the information indicating the autonomous gap occurrence is received in conjunction with a measurement report from the first user equipment.

65. The method of claim 62, further comprising the step of requesting the first user equipment to signal the information indicating the at least gap occurrence.

66. A radio network node comprising one or more processing circuits that are configured to:

predict at least one autonomous gap occurrence in which user equipments served by the radio network node will use autonomously created gaps for acquiring system information from a neighboring base station and during which the user equipments are not able to receive data from the radio network node or transmit data to the radio network node;

schedule one or more of the user equipments for data transmission or reception in a time period which does not overlap with any predicted autonomous gap occurrence.

67. A radio network node comprising one or more processing circuits that are configured to:

receive information from a first user equipment being served by the radio network node, the information indicating at least one autonomous gap occurrence, during which the first user equipment will autonomously create a gap for acquiring system information from a neighboring base station;

predict at least one autonomous gap occurrence in which the first or a second user equipment served by the radio network node will use autonomously created gaps for acquiring system information from the neighboring base station; and

schedule the first or second user equipments for data transmission or reception in a time period which does not overlap with any predicted autonomous gap occurrence.

68. A user equipment comprising one or more processing circuits that are configured to:

perform a measurement on a signal received from a neighboring base station;

determine, based on the measurement, at least one autonomous gap occurrence during which the user equipment will autonomously create gaps for acquiring system information from a neighboring base station;

transmit information to the radio network node serving the user equipment, the information indicating the at least one autonomous gap occurrence.