METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH LTE TERMINALS HAVING RESTRICTED CAPABILITIES
First Claim
1. A Long Term Evolution (LTE) system comprising:
- a) a Limited Capability Terminal Equipment (LCTE) configured, upon initiating a physical random access channel (PRACH) random access operation, to select a PRACH preamble from a predetermined subset of PRACH preambles, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles used in the LTE system, the selected PRACH preamble included in wireless transmission of a PRACH preamble message; and
b) an evolved Node B (eNB) configured, in response to receipt of the PRACH preamble belonging to said subset, to schedule transmission of an associated random access response (RAR) on a restricted set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) which is predictable and accessible to said LCTE.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for facilitating communication in an LTE network between an eNB and Limited Capability Terminal Equipments (LCTEs). A subset of PRACH preambles is defined for use by the LCTEs. PRACH preambles are selected by LCTEs only from said subset for inclusion in transmission of a PRACH preamble message to the eNB. Upon receipt of a PRACH preamble belonging to the subset, the eNB adjusts its operation to accommodate a limitation of the LCTE corresponding to the PRACH preamble. For example, the eNB may schedule transmission of the associated RAR on a restricted set of PRBs which is predictable and accessible to said LCTEs, to accommodate LCTE reception limitations. The subset of PRACH preambles can be adjusted in size in order to control system performance. The subset may include one or more preambles for exclusive use by LCTEs and/or preambles for non-exclusive use by LCTEs.
-
Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A Long Term Evolution (LTE) system comprising:
-
a) a Limited Capability Terminal Equipment (LCTE) configured, upon initiating a physical random access channel (PRACH) random access operation, to select a PRACH preamble from a predetermined subset of PRACH preambles, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles used in the LTE system, the selected PRACH preamble included in wireless transmission of a PRACH preamble message; and b) an evolved Node B (eNB) configured, in response to receipt of the PRACH preamble belonging to said subset, to schedule transmission of an associated random access response (RAR) on a restricted set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) which is predictable and accessible to said LCTE. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method for facilitating random access communication in an LTE network between an eNB and a Limited Capability Terminal Equipment (LCTE), the method comprising:
-
a) defining a subset of Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) preambles for use by the LCTE, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles available for use; b) upon initiating a PRACH random access operation by the LCTE, selecting PRACH preambles from said subset for inclusion in transmission of a PRACH preamble message to the eNB; c) in response to receipt of a PRACH preamble belonging to said subset by the eNB, scheduling transmission of an associated Random Access Response (RAR) on a restricted set of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) which is predictable and accessible to said LCTE. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. An evolved Node B (eNB) servicing a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, the eNB configured to:
-
a) receive Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) preamble messages from a plurality of Terminal Equipments (TEs) of the LTE system, said TEs including a Limited Capability Terminal Equipment (LCTE), at least one PRACH preamble from a predetermined subset of PRACH preambles, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles used by the plurality of TEs, the at least one PRACH preamble included in a corresponding PRACH preamble message; and b) upon receipt of the at least one PRACH preamble belonging to said subset, schedule transmission of an associated random access response (RAR) on a restricted set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) which is predictable and accessible to said LCTE, the restricted set of PRBs being strictly smaller than a set of all PRBs used in the LTE communication system.
-
-
22. A Limited Capability terminal equipment (LCTE) for use in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, the LCTE configured, upon initiation of a physical random access channel (PRACH) random access operation, to:
-
a) select a PRACH preamble from a predetermined subset of PRACH preambles, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles used in the LTE communication system; b) wirelessly transmit a PRACH preamble message including the selected PRACH preamble; c) predict and monitor a restricted set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) for a Random Access Response (RAR) to the PRACH preamble message, the restricted set of PRBs being strictly smaller than a set of all PRBs used in the LTE communication system, the RAR transmitted by an evolved Node B (eNB), wherein the eNB is configured, upon receipt of the PRACH preamble message containing the PRACH preamble belonging to said subset, to transmit the RAR on the restricted set of PRBs.
-
-
23. A Long Term Evolution (LTE) system comprising:
-
a) a Limited Capability Terminal Equipment (LCTE) configured, upon initiating a physical random access channel (PRACH) random access operation, to select a PRACH preamble from a predetermined subset of PRACH preambles, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles used in the LTE system, the selected PRACH preamble included in wireless transmission of a PRACH preamble message; and b) an evolved Node B (eNB) configured, in response to receipt of the PRACH preamble belonging to said subset, to adjust one or more operations pertaining to interaction with the LCTE in a manner which accommodates a limitation of the LCTE, said limitation indicated by membership of the PRACH preamble in the subset of PRACH preambles.
-
-
24. A method for facilitating communication in an LTE network between an eNB and a Limited Capability Terminal Equipment (LCTE), the method comprising:
-
a) defining a subset of Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) preambles for use by the LCTE, said subset being strictly smaller than a set of all PRACH preambles available for use; b) upon initiating a PRACH random access operation by the LCTE, selecting PRACH preambles from said subset for inclusion in transmission of a PRACH preamble message to the eNB; in response to receipt of a PRACH preamble belonging to said subset by the eNB, adjusting one or more operations pertaining to interaction with the LCTE in a manner which accommodates a limitation of the LCTE, said limitation indicated by membership of the PRACH preamble in the subset of PRACH preambles.
-
Specification