Method and apparatus for utilizing multiple carriers in high speed packet access communications

• US 8,305,998 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2009
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Marinier, Paul, Pani, Diana, Pelletier, Benoit
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Sai-Ming
• Application Number:
  US12/610,284
• Publication Number:
  US 20100110988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,102 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/334, 455/562.1
• US Class Current: 370/334
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/707 using direct sequence modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/04 using frequency diversity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1893 Physical mapping arrangements physical resource mapping in general H04L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0012 Hopping in multicarrier systems for frequency hopping in spread spectrum systems H04B1/713
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0044 allocation of payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1273 of downlink data flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for utilizing multiple carriers are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) capable of receiving on a single downlink carrier at a time may tune the receiver to one downlink carrier and switch the downlink carrier in accordance with a configured pattern. The WTRU may switch the carrier from an anchor carrier to a non-anchor carrier at a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) sub-frame boundary, and switches back at an end of a subsequent high speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH) subframe. The WTRU may switch the carrier at an HS-PDSCH sub-frame boundary. A WTRU capable of receiving on multiple downlink carriers simultaneously may tune the receiver to an anchor carrier and a supplementary carrier, and switch the supplementary carrier to another carrier based on a carrier switching order. The carrier switching order may be received via an HS-SCCH or via layer 2 signaling.

Claims

1. A method, implemented in a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), for utilizing multiple carriers, the method comprising:

monitoring, by the WTRU with a receiver capable of receiving on one downlink carrier at a time, a scheduling channel on a first downlink carrier;

receiving an indication via the scheduling channel to receive data on a second downlink carrier;

switching from the first downlink carrier to the second downlink carrier and receiving the data; and

switching from the second downlink carrier to the first downlink carrier, wherein the WTRU resumes monitoring the scheduling channel.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the switching is from an anchor carrier to a non-anchor carrier at a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) sub-frame boundary, and further comprising switching from the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier at an end of a subsequent high speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH) subframe.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the switching is performed at a high speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH) sub-frame boundary.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the switching is performed after a guard interval.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the WTRU interprets a missing E-DCH HARQ indicator channel (E-HICH) during the guard interval as a negative acknowledge (NACK).

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the WTRU does not transmit in a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process that has its corresponding E-DCH HARQ indicator channel (E-HICH) falling during the guard interval.

7. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for utilizing multiple carriers, the WTRU comprising:

a receiver configured to receive on one downlink carrier at a time; and

a processor configured to monitor a scheduling channel on a first downlink carrier;

wherein;

the receiver is further configured to receive an indication via the scheduling channel to receive data on a second downlink carrier;

the processor is further configured to switch from the first downlink carrier to the second downlink carrier, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the data; and

the processor is further configured to switch from the second downlink carrier to the first downlink carrier, wherein the WTRU resumes monitoring the scheduling channel.

8. The WTRU of claim 7 wherein the the switch from the first downlink carrier to the second downlink carrier is from an anchor carrier to a non-anchor carrier at a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH) sub-frame boundary, and wherein the processor is further configured to switch from the non-anchor carrier to the anchor carrier at an end of a subsequent high speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH) subframe.

9. The WTRU of claim 7 wherein the the switch is performed at a high speed physical downlink shared channel (HS-PDSCH) sub-frame boundary.

10. The WTRU of claim 7 wherein the the switch is performed after a guard interval.

11. The WTRU of claim 10 wherein the processor is further configured to interpret a missing E-DCH HARQ indicator (E-HICH) during the guard interval as a negative acknowledgement (NACK).

12. The WTRU of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to not transmit in a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process that has its corresponding E-DCH HARQ indicator channel (E-HICH) falling during the guard interval.