Interference notification in device-to-device communication

• US 8,942,173 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2012
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Honggang, Li, Qinghua, Huang, Rui, Fwu, Jong-Kae, Zhu, Yuan, Chen, Xiaogang, Davydov, Alexei
• Primary Examiner(s): CHO, HONG SOL
• Application Number:
  US13/665,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20130272196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 818 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/044 based on the type of the allocated resource

Abstract

Systems and techniques for wireless device-to-device (D2D) communication are provided herein. A D2D group identifier may be included in wireless transmissions within D2D groups. D2D interference mitigation processes may be initiated when a D2D group identifier is detected by a wireless device outside the D2D group.

Claims

1. A wireless device comprising:

first circuitry to detect a group identifier in a wireless transmission from a second wireless device served by a second eNB, the group identifier representative of a second device-to-device (D2D) communication group to which the second wireless device belongs, the wireless transmission directed to a third wireless device that belongs to the second D2D communication group, the group identifier comprising data representative of an identifier of the second eNB, and the second D2D communication group different from a first D2D communication group to which the wireless device belongs; and

second circuitry to, in response to detection of the group identifier, transmit the group identifier or the identifier of the second eNB to a first eNB serving the wireless device to notify the first eNB of interference from the second D2D communication group.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein detect a group identifier in a wireless transmission from a second wireless device comprises:

receive the wireless transmission on a channel allocated, by the first eNB, to the first D2D communication group.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the first eNB is a same eNB as the second eNB.

4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the second circuitry is further to:

transmit, to the first eNB, a measurement of a level of interference from the second wireless device.

5. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein detect a group identifier in a wireless transmission from a second wireless device served by a second eNB comprises identify a group identifier in a group identifier field of a control header of the wireless transmission.

6. The wireless device of claim 5, wherein the control header of the wireless transmission further comprises a control type field and a control message field.

7. The wireless device of claim 5, wherein the control header of the wireless transmission further comprises a duration field with a value indicative of a number of time slots occupied by the control header and a following related transmission.

8. The wireless device of claim 5, wherein the control header of the wireless transmission further comprises a control message size field and a data payload size field.

9. The wireless device of claim 5, wherein the control header shares a resource block time slot with a data payload.

10. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the second circuitry is further to:

communicate with at least one other member of the first D2D communication group according to a multiple access protocol.

11. An eNB, comprising:

a first module for detecting, in a wireless transmission from a first wireless communications device belonging to a first device-to-device (D2D) communication group, an identifier of a second D2D communication group to which a second wireless communications device belongs or an identifier of a second eNB serving the second wireless communications device, wherein the wireless transmission is transmitted to the eNB by the first wireless communications device in response to detection by the first wireless communications device of a wireless transmission between two members of the second D2D communication group, the wireless transmission between the two members of the second D2D communication group includes the identifier of the second D2D communication group, and the identifier of the second D2D communication group comprises data representative of an identifier of the second eNB;

a second module for determining an identity of the second eNB based at least in part on the identifier; and

a third module for initiating a D2D interference mitigation process with the identified second eNB.

12. The eNB of claim 11, wherein the second module comprises a mapping module that outputs the identity of the second eNB in response to an input of the identifier.

13. The eNB of claim 11, wherein initiating a D2D interference mitigation process with the identified second eNB comprises:

determining that the second eNB is a same eNB as the first eNB; and

re-allocating a communication channel assigned to at least one of the first D2D communication group and the second D2D communication group.

14. The eNB of claim 11, wherein initiating a D2D interference mitigation process with the identified second eNB comprises:

determining that the second eNB is a different eNB than the first eNB; and

transmitting a signal to the second eNB to initiate the D2D interference mitigation process.

15. The eNB of claim 14, wherein the signal comprises a channel re-allocation request.

16. A device-to-device (D2D) communications device, comprising:

a first module for receiving, in a wireless transmission from an eNB serving the D2D communications device, an identifier of a D2D group to which the D2D communications device belongs, the identifier comprising data representative of an identifier of the eNB; and

a second module for wirelessly transmitting the identifier of the D2D group in a control header of a wireless communication directed to another D2D communications device in the D2D group.

17. The D2D communications device of claim 16, wherein the data representative of the identifier of the eNB serving the D2D communications device comprises a shortened version of an eNB identifier.

18. The D2D communications device of claim 16, wherein the identifier of the D2D group is a same identifier as an identifier of another D2D group.

19. The D2D communications device of claim 18, wherein the another D2D group is served by the eNB.

20. The D2D communications device of claim 18, wherein the another D2D group is served by an eNB different from the eNB serving the D2D communications device.

21. The D2D communications device of claim 16, wherein a size of the identifier of the D2D group is selected by the eNB based at least in part on a number of D2D groups served by the eNB.

22. The D2D communications device of claim 16, wherein a size of the identifier of the D2D group is selected by the eNB based at least in part on inter-group proximity of D2D groups served by the eNB.

23. At least one machine-accessible medium comprising instructions stored thereon that are configured to cause an eNB, in response to execution of the instructions by the eNB, to:

transmit, to a first wireless communications device belonging to a first device-to-device (D2D) communication group, an identifier of the first D2D group for inclusion in a control header of wireless communications transmitted by the first wireless communications device to other wireless communications devices belonging to the first D2D communication group; and

transmit, to the first wireless communications device, a signal indicative of a format to be followed by the control header.

24. The at least one machine-accessible medium of claim 23, wherein the control header format includes one of a short control header format and a long control header format.

25. The at least one machine-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the short control header format does not include a sender identification field.

26. The at least one machine-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the short control header format does not include a control message size field or a data payload size field.

27. The at least one machine-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein transmit, to the first wireless communications device, a control header format comprises:

determine that the first wireless communications device receives D2D packets from at most one other wireless communications device in the first D2D group; and

select the short control header format for transmission to the first wireless communications device.