Acknowledgement signaling in a wireless communications network

• US 9,060,313 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: He, Hong, Fwu, Jong-Kae
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Chirag
• Assistant Examiner(s): ULYSSE, JAEL M
• Application Number:
  US13/630,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20130188569A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/330
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/382 for resource allocation, admission control or handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0035 Resource allocation in a cooperative multipoint environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0096 Indication of changes in allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0061 of neighbour cell information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0066 of control information between different types of networks in order to establish a new radio link in the target network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/08 Closed loop power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/146 Uplink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/241 taking into account channel quality metrics, e.g. SIR, SNR, CIR, Eb/lo
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/54 based on quality criteria
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

An apparatus and method to facilitate provision of acknowledgement signals in a wireless communications network are disclosed herein. An evolved node B (eNodeB) transmits radio resource control (RRC) signals indicating inclusion of an enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channel (e-PHICH) in a radio frame. The eNodeB configures the radio frame including the e-PHICH. At least one subframe of the radio frame includes a first resource block (RB) associated with a first UE, a second RB associated with a second UE, and a third RB. The first RB includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) control region in a Slot 0 of the subframe and a first enhanced PDCCH (e-PDCCH) allocation in the Slot 0 and in a Slot 1 of the subframe. The e-PHICH allocation is included in the third RB or at least the Slot 1 of the subframe of the first RB.

Claims

1. A method to facilitate provision of acknowledgement signals for use by user equipments (UEs) operating in a wireless communications network, the method comprising:

transmitting, by an evolved node B (eNodeB), radio resource control (RRC) signals indicating inclusion of an enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channel (e-PHICH) in a radio frame; and

configuring, by the eNodeB, the radio frame including the e-PHICH, wherein at least one subframe of the radio frame includes a first layer of a resource block (RB) associated with a first UE and a second layer of the RB associated with a second UE, and wherein the first layer of the RB includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) control region in a Slot 0 of the subframe and a first enhanced PDCCH (e-PDCCH) allocation in the Slot 0 and in a Slot 1 of the subframe, and wherein the e-PHICH allocation is included in at least the Slot 1 of the subframe of the first layer of the RB; and

wherein a second layer of the RB includes a second e-PDCCH allocation in a second portion of the Slot 0 and in the Slot 1 of the subframe;

wherein the RRC signals assign a same user equipment-reference signal (UE-RS) code division multiplexing (CDM) group to decode both the e-PHICH allocation and the first e-PDCCH allocation; and

wherein a first resource element (RE) set for the e-PHICH allocation in the first layer of the RB is orthogonal with a first RE set for the first e-PDCCH allocation provided in the first layer of the RB and a second RE set for the second e-PDCCH allocation provided in the second layer of the RB.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second layer of the RB includes a PDCCH control region in a first portion of the Slot 0 of the subframe.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a first resource element (RE) set for the e-PHICH allocation in the first layer of the RB is orthogonal with a first RE set for the first e-PDCCH allocation provided in the first layer of the RB and not a second RE set for the second e-PDCCH allocation provided in the second layer of the RB.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the RRC signals include information about applicability of the e-PHICH allocation included in the first layer of the RB to the second layer of the RB for the second UE.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the eNodeB, the first UE, and the second UE operate within a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) network.

6. first user equipment (UE) operating in a wireless communications network, comprising:

a transceiver to receive a resource control (RRC) signal including information about an enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channel (e-PHICH) included in a radio frame; and

a processor in communication with the transceiver, the processor to demodulate the e-PHICH in accordance with the RRC signal, wherein at least one subframe of the radio frame includes a first layer of a resource block (RB) specific for the first UE and a second layer of the RB specific for a second UE, the first layer of the RB including a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) control region in a first portion of a Slot 0 of the subframe, a first enhanced PDCCH (e-PDCCH) allocation in a second portion of the Slot 0 and in a Slot 1 of the subframe, and the e-PHICH in at least the Slot 1 of the subframe;

wherein the processor demodulates both the e-PHICH and e-PDCCH allocations using a same user equipment reference signal (UE-RS) code division multiplexing (CDM) set; and

wherein a first resource element (RE) set for the e-PHICH in the first layer of the RB is orthogonal with a first RE set for the first e-PDCCH provided in the first layer of the RB and a second RE set for a second e-PDCCH provided in the second layer of the RB.

7. The first UE of claim 6, wherein the RRC signal comprises a UE-specific dedicated RRC signal.

8. The first UE of claim 6, wherein a first resource element (RE) set for the e-PHICH in the first layer of the RB is orthogonal with a first RE set for the first e-PDCCH provided in the first layer of the RB and not a second RE set for the second e-PDCCH provided in the second layer of the RB.

9. The first UE of claim 6, wherein the RRC signal specifies applicability of the e-PHICH included in the first layer of the RB to the second layer of the RB for the second UE.

10. The first UE of claim 6, wherein a resource element group (REG) aggregation level of the e-PHICH is dynamically defined in a downlink control information (DCI) message included in an e-PDCCH channel of the radio frame, the DCI message comprising a latest DCI message used for initial transmission or re-transmission of a corresponding uplink data transmission associated with the e-PHICH.

11. The first UE of claim 10, wherein the RRC signal identifies a pre-defined set of candidate REG aggregation levels, the DCI message dynamically defining a REG aggregation level from among the pre-defined set of the candidate REG aggregation levels.

12. The first UE of claim 10, wherein a resource element group (REG) aggregation level of the e-PHICH is semi-statically configured by an evolved node B (eNodeB) associated with the first UE.

13. The first UE of claim 10, wherein the REG aggregation level corresponds to a control channel element (CCE) aggregation level associated with the e-PDCCH channel, and wherein the CCE aggregation level is 1, 2, 4, or 8 aggregation levels.

14. The first UE of claim 6, wherein the e-PHICH comprises a plurality of resource element groups (REGs), the plurality of REGs comprising 2, 3, 4, or 6 REGs and each of the plurality of REGs configured in an e-PHICH REG pattern.

15. The first UE of claim 14, wherein a first e-PHICH REG pattern corresponding to a first REG is a subset of a second e-PHICH REG pattern corresponding to a second REG, the first REG being smaller than the second REG.

16. The first UE of claim 14, wherein a first e-PHICH REG pattern corresponding to a first REG and a second e-PHICH REG pattern corresponding to a second REG are distributed between the Slot 0 and Slot 1 of the subframe, the first and second REGs being different from each other.

17. The first UE of claim 14, wherein REs comprising the e-PHICH REG pattern are allocated between proximate reference symbols (RSs).

18. The first UE of claim 14, wherein REs comprising the e-PHICH REG pattern are evenly allocated into different Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) symbols.

19. The first UE of claim 6, wherein the first UE operates within a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) network.

20. An evolved node B (eNodeB), comprising:

a transceiver to transmit a radio resource control (RRC) signal including information about an enhanced physical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channel (e-PHICH) in a radio frame; and

a processing circuitry in communication with the transceiver, the processing circuitry to configure the radio frame, wherein at least one subframe of the radio frame includes a first layer of a resource block (RB) associated with a first user equipment (UE) and a second layer of the RB specific for a second UE, the first layer of the RB including a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) control region in a first portion of a Slot 0 of the subframe, the first layer of the RB further including in a second portion of the Slot 0 and in a Slot 1 of the subframe an enhanced physical downlink control channel (e-PDCCH) and the e-PDCCH, and wherein a second layer of the RB includes a second e-PDCCH allocation in a second portion of the Slot 0 and in the Slot 1 of the subframe;

wherein the RRC signals assign a same user equipment-reference signal (UE-RS) code division multiplexing (CDM) group to decode both the e-PHICH channel and the e-PDCCH channel; and

wherein a first resource element (RE) set for the e-PHICH in the first layer of the RB is orthogonal with a first RE set for the first e-PDCCH provided in the first layer of the RB and a second RE set for the second e-PDCCH provided in the second layer of the RB.