System and method for multi-cell access

• US 8,792,924 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2011
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Xiao, Weimin, Liu, Deping, Yang, Yunsong
• Primary Examiner(s): Safaipour, Bobbak
• Application Number:
  US13/102,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20120282964A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 455328-338
• US Class Current: 455/515
• 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: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0061 of neighbour cell information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/146 Uplink power control

Abstract

A system and method for multi-cell access are provided. A method includes transmitting at least one control channel to a communications device. The at least one control channel includes control information, and the transmitting is performed by at least one cell in a subset of a cooperating set. The method also includes transmitting to the communications device based on control information transmitted to the communications device, or receiving from the communications device based on control information transmitted to the communications device. The transmitting is performed by at least one other cell in the cooperating set, or the receiving is performed by the at least one other cell in the cooperating set.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting at least one control channel to a communications device, wherein the at least one control channel comprises control information, and wherein the transmitting is performed by at least one cell in a subset of a cooperating set;

transmitting to and/or receiving from the communications device in accordance with the control information transmitted to the communications device, wherein the transmitting and/or receiving is performed by at least one other cell in the cooperating set;

transmitting an anchor cell change message to a cooperating cell in the cooperating set; and

initiating an anchor cell change when the cooperating cell agrees to change, wherein the anchor cell change is not initiated when the cooperating cell does not agree to change.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a cell in the cooperating set is an anchor cell, and wherein the anchor cell provides services comprising radio resource control signaling, non-access-stratum signaling, security key parameters, mobility management, radio link failure monitoring, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving control information from the communications device, wherein the control information is received by at least one receiving cell of the cooperating set.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one receiving cell is not in the subset.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one cell is indicated to the communications device by physical layer signaling or radio resource control signaling.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the anchor cell change message comprises a higher layer message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the anchor cell change message comprises an X2 application protocol message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooperating cell comprises a cooperating cell in the cooperating set selected for the anchor cell change.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cooperating cell comprises a plurality of cooperating cells in the cooperating set, wherein cooperating cell agrees to the change when at least one cooperating cell in the plurality of cooperating cells agrees to the change, and wherein the anchor cell change is initiated with the at least one cooperating cell.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating a anchor cell change comprises sending a reconfiguration message to the communications device.

11. A cell comprising:

a control channel unit configured to generate at least one control channel comprising control information;

a transmitter coupled to the control channel unit, the transmitter configured to transmit the at least one control channel to a communications device, and to transmit to the communications device in accordance with the control information;

a receiver coupled to the control channel unit, the receiver configured to receive from the communications device in accordance with the control information,

wherein the cell is part of at least one cell in a subset in a cooperating set, and wherein a transmission of the at least one control channel is performed by at least one cell in the subset;

a cell change unit coupled to the transmitter and to the receiver, the cell change unit configured to initiate an anchor cell change with a cooperating cell in the cooperating set; and

a message generate unit coupled to the cell change unit, the message generate unit configured to generate a message to initiate an anchor cell change with the cooperating cell,

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a response from the cooperating cell, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the message.

12. The cell of claim 11, the message comprises a higher layer message.

13. The cell of claim 12, wherein the message comprises an X2 application protocol message.

14. The cell of claim 11, the message generate unit is further configured to generate a reconfiguration message.

15. The cell of claim 14, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the reconfiguration message to the communications device.

16. A method comprising:

searching, by a communications device, for a first plurality of control channels from a first plurality of cells in a cooperating set;

receiving, by the communications device, the first plurality of control channels intended for the communications device;

receiving from and/or transmitting to, by the communications device, the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set in accordance with first control information in the first plurality of control channels

searching, by the communication device, for a second plurality of control channels from a second plurality of cells in the cooperating set;

receiving, by the communication device, the second plurality of control channels intended for the communication device; and

receiving from and/or transmitting to, by the communication device, the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set in accordance with second control information in the second plurality of control channels.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a cell in the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set is an anchor cell, and wherein the anchor cell provides services comprising radio resource control signaling, non-access-stratum signaling, security key parameters, mobility management, radio link failure monitoring, or a combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the anchor cell indicates to the communication device the second plurality of cells by physical layer signaling or radio resource control signaling.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first control information in the first plurality of the control channels further comprises uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information for the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting to a first cell in the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set, wherein the transmitting is conducted in accordance with uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information associated with the first cell,

wherein the second control information in the second plurality of the control channels further comprises uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information for the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set, and wherein the method further comprises transmitting to a second cell in the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set, where in the transmitting is conducted in accordance with uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information associated with the second cell.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one cell in the second plurality of cells is not in the first plurality of cells.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising transmitting a first plurality of uplink control channels to a cell in the first plurality of cells of the cooperating set, and transmitting a second plurality of uplink control channels to a second cell in the second plurality of cells of the cooperating set.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the pluralities of uplink control channels include information for acknowledgements and/or negative acknowledgements, and channel quality indication (CQI) feedback.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein uplink control information transmitted to the second cell in the second plurality of cells of the cooperating set is in accordance with a received transmission from the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving a reconfiguration message, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of a new anchor cell.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the reconfiguration message is a radio resource control message.

42. The method of claim 17, wherein the first plurality of cells is configured by the anchor cell to provide the first plurality of control channels.

43. The method of claim 16, wherein the first plurality of cells is different from the second plurality of cells.

44. The method of claim 16, further comprising maintaining, by the communications device, a single user equipment identifier for the communications device across the first plurality of cells and the second plurality of cells.

45. The method of claim 16, further comprising searching for and receiving the first plurality of control channels and the second plurality of control channels at a same time or subframe.

46. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving from and/or transmitting to the first plurality of cells and the second plurality of cells at a different times and/or subframes.

47. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving from and/or transmitting to the first plurality of cells and the second plurality of cells at a same time and/or subframe.

26. A communications device comprising:

a control channel monitor configured to search for a first plurality of control channels from a first plurality of cells in a cooperating set, and to search for a second plurality of control channels from a second plurality of cells in the cooperating set;

a receiver coupled to the control channel monitor, the receiver configured to

receive the first plurality of control channels from the first plurality of cells,

receive the second plurality of control channels from the second plurality of cells,

receive from a the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set in accordance with first control information in the first plurality of control channels,

receive from the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set in accordance with second control information in the second plurality of control channels; and

a transmitter coupled to the control channel monitor, the transmitter configured to

transmit to the first plurality of cells in accordance with the first control information in the first plurality of control channels, and

transmit to the second plurality of cells in accordance with the second control information in the second plurality of control channels.

27. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the first control information in the first plurality of control channels comprises uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information for the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit to a first cell in the first plurality of cells in the cooperating set, wherein the transmitting is conducted in accordance with uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information associated with the first cell;

and

wherein the second control information in the second plurality of control channels comprises uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information for the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit to a second cell in the second plurality of cells in the cooperating set, wherein the transmitting is conducted in accordance with uplink power control information and/or uplink transmission timing information associated with the second cell.

28. The communications device of claim 26, wherein at least one cell in the second plurality of cells is not in the first plurality of cells.

29. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a first plurality of uplink control channels to a first cell in the first plurality of cells of the cooperating set, and to transmit a second plurality of uplink control channels to a second cell in the second plurality of cells of the cooperating set.

30. The communications device of claim 29, wherein the pluralities of uplink control channels include information for acknowledgements and/or negative acknowledgements, and channel quality indication (CQI) feedback.

31. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a reconfiguration message, wherein the reconfiguration message comprises an indication of a new anchor cell.

32. The communications device of claim 31, further comprising a cell change unit coupled to the receiver, the cell change unit configured to change anchor cells of the communications device in accordance with the reconfiguration message.

33. The communications device of claim 26, wherein a cell in the first plurality of cells of the cooperating set is an anchor cell, and wherein the anchor cell provides services comprising radio resource control signaling, non-access-stratum signaling, security key parameters, mobility management, radio link failure monitoring, or a combination thereof.

34. The communications device of claim 33, wherein the cells in the second plurality of cells of the cooperating set do not provide services comprising radio resource control signaling, non-access-stratum signaling, security key parameters, mobility management, or radio link failure monitoring.

35. The communications device of claim 33, wherein the first plurality of cells is configured by the anchor cell to provide the first plurality of control channels.

36. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the first plurality of cells is different from the second plurality of cells.

37. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the communications device is configured to maintain a single user equipment identifier for the communications device across the first plurality of cells and the second plurality of cells.

38. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the first plurality of cells and the second plurality of cells at a same time or subframe.

39. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the first plurality of cells and second plurality of cells at different times and/or subframes.

40. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the first plurality of cells and the transmitter is configured to transmit to the second plurality of cells at different times and/or subframes.

41. The communications device of claim 26, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive downlink data from each cell in the first plurality of cells and in the second plurality of cells at a same time and/or subframe.