Sounding reference signal configuration

• US 8,849,292 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2009
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Tiirola, Esa Tapani, Hooli, Kari Juhani, Pajukoski, Kari Pekka
• Primary Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Application Number:
  US13/504,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20120252474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,793 Days
• Field of Search: 455/450, 455/513
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• 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

Abstract

The present invention is related to configuration of uplink sounding reference signal transmissions in a modern cellular telecommunication system. A terminal device of a cellular telecommunication system is configured to apply a sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal from the terminal device to a base station. In connection with the scheduling of the transmission of the sounding reference signal, the present invention utilizes a downlink control message transmitted to the terminal device regardless of whether or not uplink data transmission is scheduled to the terminal device at the same time.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

configuring a terminal device of a cellular telecommunication system to apply

a sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal from the terminal device to a base station, and

a second sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a second sounding reference signal periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station,

wherein the both sounding reference signal configurations are in parallel use; and

utilizing, in connection with the scheduling of the transmission of the sounding reference signal, a downlink control message transmitted to the terminal device regardless of whether or not uplink data transmission is scheduled to the terminal device at the same time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

triggering one-shot transmission of the sounding reference signal associated with semi-static communication resources of the sounding reference signal configuration.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein communication parameters of the sounding reference signal configuration are configured in a semi-static manner.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the semi-statically configured communication parameters include at least one of the following:

a bandwidth communication resource, a cyclic shift resource defining a cyclic shift of a signal sequence of the sounding reference signal, a spectral shape resource defining the spectral shape of the sounding reference signal, a periodicity parameter defining the periodicity of the sounding reference signal, and a sub-frame offset parameter defining a transmission timing of the sounding reference signal.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prioritizing transmission of the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal over the transmission of the periodic sounding reference signal if the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal is scheduled such that it collides with transmission of the periodic sounding reference signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink control message is a physical downlink control channel Format 3A message according to the specification of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, Long-Term Evolution comprising information elements used for scheduling the second sounding reference signal.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink control message comprises a one-bit information element indicating to the terminal device whether or not the transmission of the second sounding reference signal is scheduled to the terminal device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the terminal device to apply a plurality of different dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal configurations used for transmitting dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals; and

triggering sequential one-shot transmission of all dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals with one scheduling command.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

allocating the same dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal configuration to a plurality of terminal devices; and

scheduling only one of the plurality of terminal devices to utilize the sounding reference signal configuration at a time.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the terminal device to apply a second sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a second sounding reference signal periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station;

communicating the periodic second sounding reference signal in a first transmission time instant;

scheduling the transmission of the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal to a second transmission time instant, wherein the time duration between the first transmission time instant and second transmission time instant is shorter than the assumed coherence time of a radio channel between the terminal device and the base station; and

aggregating the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal and the second sounding reference signal to improve reliability of sounding reference signal analysis.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

scheduling the transmission of two dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals to two transmission time instants, wherein the time duration between the two transmission time instants is shorter than the assumed coherence time of a radio channel between the terminal device and the base station; and

aggregating the two dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals to improve reliability of sounding reference signal analysis.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the terminal device to apply two sounding reference signal configurations used for transmitting periodic sounding reference signals periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station;

allocating periodic transmission timings of said two sounding reference signal configurations such that the time duration between transmission time instants of said two sounding reference signal configurations is shorter than the assumed coherence time of a radio channel between the terminal device and the base station; and

aggregating the sounding reference signals received in consecutive transmission time instants associated with the two sounding reference signal configurations to improve reliability of sounding reference signal analysis.

29. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory medium readable by a computer and comprising program instructions which, when loaded into an apparatus, execute the method according to claim 1.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a communication control circuitry configured

to configure a terminal device of a cellular telecommunication system to apply

a sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal from the terminal device to a base station, and

a second sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a second sounding reference signal periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station,

wherein the both sounding reference signal configurations are in parallel use; and

to utilize, in connection with the scheduling of the transmission of the sounding reference signal, a downlink control message transmitted to the terminal device regardless of whether or not uplink data transmission is scheduled to the terminal device at the same time.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to trigger one-shot transmission of the sounding reference signal associated with semi-static communication resources of the sounding reference signal configuration.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein communication parameters of the sounding reference signal configuration are configured in a semi-static manner.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the semi-statically configured communication parameters include at least one of the following:

a bandwidth communication resource, a cyclic shift resource defining a cyclic shift of a signal sequence of the sounding reference signal, a spectral shape resource defining the spectral shape of the sounding reference signal, a periodicity parameter defining the periodicity of the sounding reference signal, and a sub-frame offset parameter defining a transmission timing of the sounding reference signal.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the communication control circuitry is configured to prioritize transmission of the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal over the transmission of the periodic sounding reference signal if the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal is scheduled such that it collides with transmission of the periodic sounding reference signal.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the downlink control message is a physical downlink control channel Format 3A message according to the specification of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, Long-Term Evolution comprising information elements used for scheduling the second sounding reference signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the downlink control message comprises a one-bit information element indicating to the terminal device whether or not the transmission of the second sounding reference signal is scheduled to the terminal device.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to configure the terminal device to apply a plurality of different dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal configurations used for transmitting dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals, and to trigger sequential one-shot transmission of all dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals with one scheduling command.

21. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is applicable to the base station and wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to allocate the same dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal configuration to a plurality of terminal devices and to schedule only one of the plurality of terminal devices to utilize the sounding reference signal configuration at a time.

22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is applicable to the base station and wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to configure the terminal device to apply a second sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a second sounding reference signal periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station, to communicate the periodic second sounding reference signal in a first transmission time instant, to schedule the transmission of the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal to a second transmission time instant, wherein the time duration between the first transmission time instant and second transmission time instant is shorter than the assumed coherence time of a radio channel between the terminal device and the base station, and to aggregate the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal and the periodic second sounding reference signal to improve reliability of sounding reference signal analysis.

23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein apparatus is applicable to the base station and wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to schedule the transmission of two dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals to two transmission time instants, wherein the time duration between the two transmission time instants is shorter than the assumed coherence time of a radio channel between the terminal device and the base station, and to aggregate the dynamically scheduled sounding reference signals to improve reliability of sounding reference signal analysis.

24. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is applicable to the base station, wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to configure the terminal device to apply two sounding reference signal configurations used for transmitting periodic sounding reference signals periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station, and wherein the communication control circuitry is further configured to allocate periodic transmission timings of said two sounding reference signal configurations such that the time duration between the transmission time instants of said two sounding reference signal configurations is shorter than the assumed coherence time of a radio channel between the terminal device and the base station, and to aggregate the sounding reference signals received in consecutive transmission time instants associated with the two sounding reference signal configurations to improve reliability of sounding reference signal analysis.

25. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is the base station of the cellular telecommunication system.

26. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is the terminal device of the cellular telecommunication system.

27. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including a computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to;

configure a terminal device of a cellular telecommunication system to apply

a sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal from the terminal device to a base station, and

a second sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a second sounding reference signal periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station,

wherein the both sounding reference signal configurations are in parallel use; and

utilize, in connection with the scheduling of the transmission of the sounding reference signal, a downlink control message transmitted to the terminal device regardless of whether or not uplink data transmission is scheduled to the terminal device at the same time.

28. An apparatus, comprising:

means for configuring a terminal device of a cellular telecommunication system to apply

a sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a dynamically scheduled sounding reference signal from the terminal device to a base station, and

a second sounding reference signal configuration used for transmitting a second sounding reference signal periodically in a semi-static manner from the terminal device to the base station,

wherein the both sounding reference signal configurations are in parallel use; and

means for utilizing, in connection with the scheduling of the transmission of the sounding reference signal, a downlink control message transmitted to the terminal device regardless of whether or not uplink data transmission is scheduled to the terminal device at the same time.