Method and apparatus for controlling carrier selection in wireless communications systems

• US 9,209,954 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2012
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SCA IPLA Holdings Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Young, Philip, Darwood, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Jay P
• Application Number:
  US14/126,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20140126508A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,275 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/003 Arrangements for allocating sub-channels of the transmission path
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0446 Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities

Abstract

A mobile communications system including: at least one base station configured to communicate data to/from different terminal devices via respective of plural logically separate carriers of a wireless access interface; first and second terminal devices operable to camp-on to first and second carriers of plural carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the at least one base station via the first and second carriers. The first and second carriers support compatible synchronization signalling such that the first and second terminal devices both can synchronize with the first and second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure. Following synchronization with one of the first or second carriers to begin the camp-on procedure, the second terminal device is configured to determine whether or not to continue with the camp-on procedure in dependence on an aspect of physical layer signalling associated with a control channel of the carrier with which it has synchronized.

Claims

1. A mobile communications system comprising:

an arrangement of at least one base station configured to communicate data to and/or from different types of terminal device via respective ones of a plurality of logically separate carriers of a wireless access interface;

a first terminal device operable to camp-on to a first carrier of the plurality of carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the arrangement of at least one base station via the first carrier, and

a second terminal device operable to camp-on to a second carrier of the plurality of carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the arrangement of at least one base station via the second carrier, wherein

the first and second carriers support compatible synchronisation signalling such that the first and second terminal devices both have the ability to synchronise with the first and second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure, and wherein following synchronisation with one of the first or second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure, the second terminal device is configured to determine whether or not to continue with the camp-on procedure in dependence on an aspect of physical layer signalling associated with a control channel of the carrier with which it has synchronised, and

the second device is configured to seek to synchronise with another carrier and begin another camp-on procedure in the event the second device determines to not continue with the camp-on procedure with the carrier with which it has synchronised.

2. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, wherein the control channel is a Physical Broadcast Channel.

3. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, wherein the aspect of physical layer signalling comprises the presence or absence of an indicator broadcast on the control channel.

4. The mobile communications system according to claim 3, wherein the second carrier is configured to broadcast the indicator and the first carrier is configured to not broadcast the indicator.

5. The mobile communications system according to claim 3, wherein the presence or absence of the indicator is derivable from a Master Information Block of the carrier with which the second device has synchronised.

6. The mobile communications system according to claim 5, wherein the presence or absence of the indicator is derivable from information contained within the Master Information Block.

7. The mobile communications system according to claim 5, wherein the presence or absence of the indicator is determined from signalling on a physical transmission resource derivable from the Master Information Block.

8. The mobile communications system according to claim 1, wherein the aspect of physical layer signalling comprises an indication of a carrier operating bandwidth for the carrier with which the second device has synchronised.

9. The mobile communications system according to claim 8, wherein the indication of the operating bandwidth of the carrier is derivable from a Master Information Block of the carrier with which the second device has synchronised.

10. A mobile communications system comprising:

an arrangement of at least one base station configured to communicate data to and/or from different types of terminal device via respective ones of a plurality of logically separate carriers of a wireless access interface;

a first terminal device operable to camp-on to a first carrier of the plurality of carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the arrangement of at least one base station via the first carrier, and

a second terminal device operable to camp-on to a second carrier of the plurality of carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the arrangement of at least one base station via the second carrier, wherein

the first and second carriers support compatible synchronisation signalling such that the first and second terminal devices both have the ability to synchronise with the first and second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure, and wherein following synchronisation with one of the first or second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure, the second terminal device is configured to determine whether or not to continue with the camp-on procedure in dependence on an aspect of physical layer signalling associated with a control channel of the carrier with which it has synchronized,

the aspect of physical layer signalling comprises an indication of a carrier operating bandwidth for the carrier with which the second device has synchronized, and

the second device is configured to not continue the camp-on procedure if the carrier operating bandwidth is greater than a device operating bandwidth for the second device.

11. The mobile communications system according to claim 10, wherein the control channel is a Physical Broadcast Channel.

12. The mobile communications system according to claim 10, wherein the aspect of physical layer signalling comprises the presence or absence of an indicator broadcast on the control channel.

13. The mobile communications system according to claim 12, wherein the second carrier is configured to broadcast the indicator and the first carrier is configured to not broadcast the indicator.

14. The mobile communications system according to claim 12, wherein the presence or absence of the indicator is derivable from a Master Information Block of the carrier with which the second device has synchronised.

15. A mobile communications system according to claim 14, wherein the presence or absence of the indicator is derivable from information contained within the Master Information Block.

16. The mobile communications system according to claim 14, wherein the presence or absence of the indicator is determined from signalling on a physical transmission resource derivable from the Master Information Block.

17. The mobile communications system according to claim 10, wherein the aspect of physical layer signalling comprises an indication of a carrier operating bandwidth for the carrier with which the second device has synchronised.

18. The mobile communications system according to claim 17, wherein the indication of the operating bandwidth of the carrier is derivable from a Master Information Block of the carrier with which the second device has synchronised.

19. A mobile communications system comprising:

an arrangement of at least one base station configured to communicate data to and/or from different types of terminal device via respective ones of a plurality of logically separate carriers of a wireless access interface;

a first terminal device operable to camp-on to a first carrier of the plurality of carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the arrangement of at least one base station via the first carrier, and

a second terminal device operable to camp-on to a second carrier of the plurality of carriers and to subsequently communicate data with the arrangement of at least one base station via the second carrier, wherein

the first and second carriers support compatible synchronisation signalling such that the first and second terminal devices both have the ability to synchronise with the first and second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure, and wherein following synchronisation with one of the first or second carriers to begin a camp-on procedure, the second terminal device is configured to determine whether or not to continue with the camp-on procedure in dependence on an aspect of physical layer signalling associated with a control channel of the carrier with which it has synchronized, and

the first and second carriers employ incompatible physical layer signalling associated with control channels of their respective camp-on procedures such that the first terminal device is unable to complete a camp-on procedure with the second carrier.