Support of UL ACK/NACK Feedback for Carrier Aggregation During Timing Uncertainty Component Carrier (Re-) Configuration/Activation/De-activation Period

• US 20130064209A1
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Tiirola, Esa Tapani, Pajukoski, Kari Pekka, Chen, Peng, Gao, Chun Yan
• Granted Patent: US 9,419,753 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1671 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1692 Physical properties of the supervisory signal, e.g. acknowledgement by energy bursts
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1825 Adaptation of specific ARQ protocol parameters according to transmission conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1829 Arrangements specially adapted for the receiver end
• 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 5/0055 Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861

Abstract

An apparatus and a method is described, by which a component carrier configuration, re-configuration, activation or deactivation is performed. In particular, a signaling format used for acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel is detected, and a codebook size of the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages is decided based on the detected signaling format.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising

a processor configured to perform a component carrier configuration, re-configuration, activation or de-activation, the processor comprising

a detector configured to detect a signaling format used for acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel, and

a deciding unit configured to decide a codebook size of the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages based on the detected signaling format.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deciding unit is configured to decide the codebook size based on the maximum number of downlink component carriers in case as a signaling format for the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on the uplink control channel a channel selection is applied.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the maximum number of downlink component carriers

is defined based on how many downlink component carriers are supported by a network element,

is a predefined value,

is defined based on a maximum number of downlink component carriers supported by the channel selection, or

is a semi-statically configured parameter defined by a network control element.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deciding unit is configured to decide the codebook size based on the number of configured or activated downlink component carriers in case as a signaling format for the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on the uplink control channel a channel selection is not applied.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to use a predefined uplink control channel selection table according to the maximum number of downlink component carriers.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured

to reserve uplink control channel resources based on a number of scheduled component carriers or a number of configured component carriers, and/or

to reserve uplink control channel resources corresponding to downlink component carriers scheduled via a primary downlink component carrier based on the number of scheduled component carriers, and to reserve uplink control channel resources corresponding to downlink component carriers scheduled via secondary downlink control channels based on the number of configured component carriers.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to change an uplink control channel resource for multiple acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on performing a component carrier configuration, re-configuration, activation or de-activation.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to avoid concurrent transmission of a PUSCH and multiple acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages at predetermined time periods with time uncertainty related to component carrier configuration.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to include data-associated control signaling in a multiple acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement message for signaling the status of a component carrier configuration, re-configuration, activation or de-activation.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to use a unified channel selection table in case a possible maximum number of configured and/or activated downlink component carriers is not bigger than a predetermined number.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to apply the decided codebook size of the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages in at least one of the following cases:

when signaling acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel,

when signaling acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink shared channel, and/or

when signaling acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel and an uplink shared channel.

12. A method comprising

performing a component carrier configuration,

re-configuration, activation or de-activation, the performing further comprising detecting a signaling format used for acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel, and

deciding a codebook size of the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages based on the detected signaling format.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in case as a signaling format for the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on the uplink control channel a channel selection is applied, the codebook size is decided based on the maximum number of downlink component carriers.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the maximum number of downlink component carriers

is defined based on how many downlink component carriers are supported by a network element,

is a predefined value,

is defined based on a maximum number of downlink component carriers supported by the channel selection, or

is a semi-statically configured parameter defined by a network control element.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein in case as a signaling format for the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on the uplink control channel a channel selection is not applied, the codebook size is decided based on the number of configured or activated downlink component carriers.

16. The method according to claim 13, further comprising

using a predefined uplink control channel selection table according to the maximum number of downlink component carriers.

17. The method according to claim 12, further comprising

reserving uplink control channel resources based on a number of scheduled component carriers or a number of configured component carriers, and/or

reserving uplink control channel resources corresponding to downlink component carriers scheduled via a primary downlink component carrier based on the number of scheduled component carriers, and reserving uplink control channel resources corresponding to downlink component carriers scheduled via secondary downlink control channels based on the number of configured component carriers.

18. The method according to claim 12, further comprising

changing an uplink control channel resource for multiple acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on performing a component carrier configuration, re-configuration, activation or de-activation.

19. The method according to claim 12, further comprising avoiding concurrent transmission of a PUSCH and multiple acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages at predetermined time periods with time uncertainty related to component carrier configuration.

20. The method according to claim 12, further comprising including data-associated control signaling in a multiple acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement message for signaling the status of a component carrier configuration, re-configuration, activation or de-activation.

21. The method according to claim 12, further comprising using a unified channel selection table in case a possible maximum number of configured and/or activated downlink component carriers is not bigger than a predetermined number.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein the decided codebook size of the acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages is applied in at least one of the following cases:

when signaling acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel,

when signaling acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink shared channel, and/or

when signaling acknowledgment/negative acknowledgement messages on an uplink control channel and an uplink shared channel.

23. A computer program product comprising code means for performing a method according to claim 12 when run on a processing means or module.

24. The computer program product according to claim 23, wherein the computer program product is embodied on a computer-readable medium.