Method and apparatus for component carrier aggregation in wireless communications

• US 8,385,281 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pan, Kyle Jung-Lin, Zhang, Guodong, Pietraski, Philip J., Shin, Sung-Hyuk, Gauvreau, Jean-Louis
• Primary Examiner(s): ABELSON, RONALD B
• Application Number:
  US12/696,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20100303011A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/329, 370/336, 370/345
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2656 Frame synchronisation, e.g. packet synchronisation, time division duplex [TDD] switching point detection or subframe synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• 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 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0091 Signaling for the administration of the divided path
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) receives a downlink subframe having multiple component carriers, each component carrier having control information encoded in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The WTRU performs a blind decoding of control information in a first PDCCH located within a first component carrier to obtain a location of a second PDCCH located within a second component carrier, where the location of the second PDCCH is relative to a location of the first PDCCH as control channel element offset. The WTRU decodes the second PDCCH at the obtained location.

Claims

1. A method of component carrier aggregation implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit, the method comprising:

receiving a message activating a second component carrier via a first component carrier;

attempting to decode a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on the first component carrier, the first PDCCH transmission including first control information comprising scheduling information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) associated with the first component carrier;

attempting to decode a second PDCCH transmission on the first component carrier, the second PDCCH transmission including second control information comprising scheduling information for a PDSCH associated with the second component carrier, wherein the WTRU determines a location to attempt to decode the second PDCCH transmission based on a control channel element (CCE) offset value; and

receiving data over the first component carrier and the second component carrier.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the CCE offset value is indicative of the location to attempt to decode the second PDCCH transmission relative to a starting CCE candidate location associated with the attempt to decode the first PDCCH transmission.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the second PDCCH transmission comprises a carrier identification field that indicates that the second PDCCH transmission is associated with the second component carrier.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the WTRU determines the location to attempt to decode the second PDCCH transmission relative to a starting CCE position of a WTRU-specific search space.

5. The method as in claim 1, further comprising receiving a radio resource control (RRC) message from an evolved Node B (eNB), the RRC message indicating one or more WTRU-specific search spaces to be monitored on the plurality of component carriers.

6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising receiving information regarding the CCE offset value via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the message activating the second component carrier is a medium access control (MAC) control element.

8. The method as in claim 1, wherein receiving the data over the first component carrier and the second component carrier comprises:

receiving first data over the PDSCH associated with the first component carrier; and

receiving second data over the PDSCH associated with the second component carrier.

9. The method as in claim 8, wherein the scheduling information for the PDSCH associated with the first component carrier is scheduling information for the first data and the scheduling information for the PDSCH associated with the second component carrier is scheduling information for the second data.

10. A method of component carrier aggregation implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), comprising:

receiving a downlink subframe having a plurality of component carriers, each component carrier having control information encoded in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH);

receiving a search space restriction for detection of a PDCCH, wherein the search space pertains to at least one of a common search space or a WTRU-specific search space, and the search space restriction is based on a control channel element (CCE) aggregation level restriction and a specific CCE candidate restriction; and

performing a decoding of control information of a first PDCCH in a first component carrier within the restricted search space.

11. The method as in claim 10, wherein the search space restriction is received by the WTRU with dynamic signaling.

12. The method as in claim 10, wherein the search space restriction is received by the WTRU with semi-static signaling.

13. The method as in claim 10, wherein the search space restriction relates to search spaces defined for at least two different OFDMA-based radio access systems, where any partial overlap of the search spaces of different OFDMA-based radio access systems does not include common control channel element (CCE) candidates.

14. A wireless transmit/receive unit comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a message activating a second component carrier via a first component carrier;

a processor configured to

attempt to decode a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission on the first component carrier, the first PDCCH transmission including control information comprising scheduling information for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) associated with the first component carrier, and

attempt to decode a second PDCCH transmission on the first component carrier, the second PDCCH transmission including second control information comprising scheduling information for a PDSCH associated with the second component carrier, wherein the processor is configured to determine a location to attempt to decode the second PDCCH transmission based on a control channel element (CCE) offset value; and

the receiver further configured to receive data over the first component carrier and the second component carrier.

15. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the CCE offset value is indicative of the location to attempt to decode the second PDCCH transmission relative to a starting CCE candidate location associated with the attempt to decode the first PDCCH transmission.

16. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the second PDCCH transmission comprises a carrier identification field that indicates that the second PDCCH transmission is associated with the second component carrier.

17. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the WTRU determines the location to attempt to decode the second PDCCH transmission relative to a starting CCE position of a WTRU-specific search space.

18. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a radio resource control (RRC) message from an evolved Node B (eNB), the RRC message indicating one or more WTRU-specific search spaces to be monitored on the plurality of component carriers.

19. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to determine a location to attempt to decode the first PDCCH transmission based on an aggregation level.

20. The WTRU as in claim 14, further comprising an antenna and a battery.

21. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive information regarding the CCE offset value via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

22. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the message activating the second component carrier is a medium access control (MAC) control element.

23. The WTRU as in claim 14, wherein the receiver is configured to receive the data over the first component carrier and the second component carrier by:

receiving first data over the PDSCH associated with the first component carrier; and

receiving second data over the PDSCH associated with the second component carrier.

24. The WTRU as in claim 23, wherein the scheduling information for the PDSCH associated with the first component carrier is scheduling information for the first data and the scheduling information for the PDSCH associated with the second component carrier is scheduling information for the second data.