CARRIER AGGREGATION PERFORMANCE

• US 20150223265A1
• Filed: 04/11/2012
• Published: 08/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Fwu, Jong-Kae, Niu, Huaning, Zhang, Yujian, Zhu, Yuan
• Granted Patent: US 10,070,383 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0417 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0456 Selection of precoding matrices or codebooks, e.g. using matrices antenna weighting
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0613 using simultaneous transmission H04B7/0686 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0615 of weighted versions of same signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0619 using feedback from receiving side feedback signaling for adaptive modulation/coding H04L1/0001
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/189 in combination with wireless systems selective distribution or broadcast in wireless communication networks H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0204 of multiple channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/41 by acting on aggregated flows or links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0032 Distributed allocation, i.e. involving a plurality of allocating devices, each making partial allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0007 for multicast or broadcast services, e.g. MBMS multicast or broadcast application services H04W4/06; resource management for broadcast services H04W72/30; connection management for selective distribution or broadcast H04W76/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/12 using downlink control channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0222 in packet switched networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 : where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 : TPC
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/146 : Uplink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/244 : Interferences in heterogeneous networks, e.g. among macro and femto or pico cells or other sector / system interference [OSI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/365 : Power headroom reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/54 : Signalisation aspects of the TPC commands, e.g. frame structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 : Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 : for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 : Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/27 : between access points
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 : Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 : using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/28 : Discontinuous transmission [DTX]; Discontinuous reception [DRX]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/34 : Selective release of ongoing connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/40 : for selective distribution or broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 : Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A system and method for using carrier aggregation and enhanced inter-cell interference coordination in carrier scheduling is disclosed. The method comprises scheduling a communication of control channel information from at least one low power node on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) over at least one of a first low power component carrier and a second low power component carrier. A sub-frame having a lowest level of interference caused by a corresponding macro component carrier is identified at each corresponding subframe of the component carriers. The identified sub-frame is selected to transmit the control channel information on the PDCCH from the at least one low power node to a mobile wireless device.

Claims

1. A method for carrier scheduling, comprising:

scheduling a communication of control channel information from a low power node on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) over at least one of a first low power component carrier and a second low power component carrier;

identifying at each corresponding sub-frame of the first and second low power component carriers, the sub-frame having a lowest level of interference caused by a corresponding macro component carrier; and

selecting the identified sub-frame at each corresponding sub-frame of the first and second low power component carriers on which to transmit the control channel information on the PDCCH to a wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the sub-frame having a lowest level of interference further comprises:

identifying when a sub-frame in one of the first and second low power component carriers is a light interference sub-frame that corresponds with an almost blank sub-frame of the corresponding macro component carrier; and

selecting the light interference sub-frame to transmit the control channel information for both of the first low power component carrier and the second low power component carrier from the low power node via the PDCCH.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the control channel information for the first low power component carrier on the first low power component carrier and transmitting the control channel information for the second low power component carrier on the second low power component carrier when a corresponding sub-frame of one of the first and second low power component carriers is not a light interference sub-frame that corresponds with an almost blank sub-frame of the corresponding macro component carrier.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

scheduling a communication of the control channel information from a macro node on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) over at least one of a first macro component carrier and a second macro component carrier;

identifying at each corresponding sub-frame of the first and second macro component carriers, if the sub-frame is configured as an almost blank sub-frame (ABS);

selecting one of the first and second macro component carriers as a primary cell (PCell); and

transmitting, at each sub-frame, the control channel information for the first and second macro component carriers on the Pcell when the sub-frame on the PCell is not configured as an ABS.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting, at each sub-frame, the control channel information for the first and second macro component carriers on one of the first and second macro component carriers that is not selected as the PCell, when the sub-frame on the PCell is configured as an ABS.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein scheduling a communication of control channel information further comprises scheduling a communication of at least one of downlink control information (DCI) and uplink control information (UCI) on the PDCCH.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein the carrier scheduling module is configured to schedule control channel information that is comprised of at least one of downlink control channel information and uplink control channel information.

7. A wireless system using carrier aggregation and enhanced inter-cell interference coordination, comprising:

a low power node configured to communicate with a wireless device via a first low power component carrier and a second low power component carrier using the carrier aggregation, wherein the first and second low power component carriers include light macro interference sub-frames associated with almost blank sub-frames in a first macro component carrier and a second macro component carrier, respectively;

a carrier scheduling module configured to communicate with the low power node, wherein the carrier scheduling module is configured to schedule control channel information for the first low power component carrier for transmission on the second low power component carrier during light macro interference sub-frames of the second low power component carrier.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the carrier scheduling module is configured to schedule PDCCH information for the first low power component carrier for transmission on the first low power component carrier when there are not light macro interference sub-frames on a corresponding sub-frame of the second low power component carrier.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the carrier scheduling module is configured to schedule PDCCH information for transmission to the wireless device on one of the first and second low power component carriers that has a lowest interference level.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the carrier scheduling module is configured to schedule PDCCH information for transmission to the wireless device on one of the first and second macro component carrier sub-frames that does not have an almost blank sub-frame.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the carrier scheduling module is further configured to communicate an updated PDCCH monitoring pattern to the wireless device when a change in the carrier aggregation occurs.

13. A method for carrier scheduling, comprising:

receiving, at a user equipment (UE), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring pattern to identify, for each sub-frame, a component carrier on which the PDCCH will be monitored at the UE.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, at the UE, a first PDCCH monitoring pattern to identify, for each sub-frame, one of a first macro component carrier and a second macro component carrier, on which the PDCCH will be monitored at the UE; and

receiving, at the UE, a second PDCCH monitoring pattern to identify, for each sub-frame, one of a first low power component carrier and a second low power component carrier, on which the PDCCH will be monitored at the UE.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining from the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, that the PDCCH will be monitored, at each corresponding sub-frame of the first and second low power component carriers, on the sub-frame having a lowest level of interference caused by a corresponding macro component carrier.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining from the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, when a sub-frame in one of the first and second low power component carriers is a light interference sub-frame that corresponds with an almost blank sub-frame of the corresponding component carrier, that the PDCCH will be monitored on the light interference sub-frame.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining from the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, that the PDCCH for the first low power component carrier will be monitored on on the first low power component carrier and the PDCCH for the second low power component carrier will be monitored on the second low power component carrier when a corresponding sub-frame of one of the first and second low power component carriers is not a light interference sub-frame that corresponds with an almost blank sub-frame of the corresponding macro component carrier.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining, from the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, at each sub-frame, that the macro component carrier designated as a primary cell (PCell) should be monitored for PDCCH when the PCell is not designated as an almost blank subframe (ABS).

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining, from the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, that the PDCCH shall be monitored on one of the first and second macro component carriers that is not selected as the PCell, when the sub-frame on the PCell is designated as an ABS.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving the first and second PDCCH monitoring patterns at the UE via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.