Determination of the Timing Advance Group

• US 20140185595A1
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Published: 07/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Wu, Chunli, Sebire, Benoist Pierre
• Granted Patent: US 10,778,400 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/336
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/001 the frequencies being arranged in component carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0078 Timing of allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/00 Synchronisation arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0045 compensating for timing error by altering transmission time
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/006 in the downlink, i.e. towards the terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/0833 Random access procedures, e.g. with 4-step access

Abstract

A technique, including initiating an access procedure by making from a communication device an uplink transmission on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with an access node; thereafter receiving at said communication device group information specifying a group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information as a group to which said one component carrier belongs; and making from said communication device a further uplink transmission on said one component carrier using uplink transmission timing information for said group specified in said group information.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

initiating an access procedure by making from a communication device an uplink transmission on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with an access node;

thereafter receiving at said communication device group information specifying a group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information as a group to which said one component carrier belongs; and

making from said communication device a further uplink transmission on said one component carrier using uplink transmission timing information for said group specified in said group information.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said access procedure is a Random Access Procedure.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said uplink transmission comprises an access request message, and wherein the method comprises receiving said group information in a response to said access request message.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said response also specifies uplink timing information for said group specified in said group information.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein said access request message is a Random Access Preamble Message, and said response is a Random Access Response Message.

6. A method according to claim 1, comprising initiating said access procedure in response to an order from said access node.

7. A method according to claim 1, comprising configuring said uplink transmission on the basis of configuration information detected from one or more transmissions from said access node before initiating said access procedure.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said configuration information does not specify a group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information to which said one component carrier belongs.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein said configuration information specifies a group of said plurality of component carriers sharing common uplink transmission timing information as a group to which said one component carrier belongs;

and wherein the method comprises, in the event that the group specified in said configuration information is different to the group specified in said group information, making said further uplink transmission on said one component carrier preferentially using the uplink transmission timing information for said group specified in said group information.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein said configuration information is received in a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

11. A method according to claim 1, comprising receiving said group information in a radio resource control reconfiguration message.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the uplink transmission timing information is timing advance information.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein said one component carrier is a secondary cell for the communication device, and the plurality of component carriers associated with said access node include at least one other component carrier configured for use by the communication device as a primary cell.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving at an access node on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with said access node an uplink transmission from a communication device initiating an access procedure;

at least partly on the basis of a measurement of a parameter of said uplink transmission, determining which group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information is to include said one component carrier on which said uplink transmission was received; and

transmitting the result of said determination from said access node to said communication device.

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27. An apparatus comprising:

a processor and memory including computer program code, wherein the memory and computer program code are configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to;

initiate an access procedure by making from a communication device an uplink transmission on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with an access node;

thereafter receive at said communication device group information specifying a group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information as a group to which said one component carrier belongs; and

make from said communication device a further uplink transmission on said one component carrier using uplink transmission timing information for said group specified in said group information.

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40. An apparatus comprising:

a processor and memory including computer program code, wherein the memory and computer program code are configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to;

receive at an access node on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with said access node an uplink transmission from a communication device initiating an access procedure;

at least partly on the basis of a measurement of a parameter of said uplink transmission, determine which group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information is to include said one component carrier on which said uplink transmission was received; and

transmit the result of said determination from said access node to said communication device.

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58. A computer program product comprising program code means which when loaded into a computer controls the computer to:

initiate an access procedure by making from a communication device an uplink transmission on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with an access node;

thereafter receive at said communication device group information specifying a group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information as a group to which said one component carrier belongs; and

make from said communication device a further uplink transmission on said one component carrier using uplink transmission timing information for said group specified in said group information.

59. A computer program product comprising program code means which when loaded into a computer controls the computer to:

receive at an access node on one component carrier of a plurality of component carriers associated with said access node an uplink transmission from a communication device initiating an access procedure;

at least partly on the basis of a measurement of a parameter of said uplink transmission, determine which group of said plurality of component carriers sharing uplink transmission timing information is to include said one component carrier on which said uplink transmission was received; and

transmit the result of said determination from said access node to said communication device.