Device-to-device discovery resource allocation

• US 9,380,442 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2012
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Turtinen, Samuli, Ojala, Jussi K., Hakola, Sami-Jukka, Koskela, Timo K., Isokangas, Jari
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sharma, Gautam
• Application Number:
  US13/363,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20130188546A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,609 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/30 Resource management for broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

The specification and drawings present a new method, apparatus and software related product (e.g., a computer readable memory) for implementing a D2D discovery resource allocation by a network for D2D discovery by UEs belonging to multiple cells in a D2D discovery area, e.g., in LTE wireless systems. A network such as LTE may determine an allocation of one or more resources (UL and/or DL) for a device-to-device discovery among a plurality of UEs located in multiple cells of the network in a D2D discovery area. The allocation of the one or more resources is then may be provided by the network to the plurality of UEs for performing, using these one or more resources, the D2D discovery between any two UEs of the plurality of UEs located in the multiple cells in the D2D discovery area.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

allocating, by a network, at least a portion of one or more uplink resources for device-to-device discovery among a plurality of at least three user equipments located in multiple cells of the network in a device-to-device discovery area; and

broadcasting, by eNBs of the multiple cells, an indication of the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources to the plurality of user equipments on synchronous Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframes transmitted in the time synchronization by the eNBs of the multiple cells.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a determination of the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources is made by at least one network element and the determined at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for the allocation is provided to the eNBs of the multiple cells in the device-to-device discovery area for broadcasting the indication.

3. The method of claim 1, further wherein a multicell/multicast coordination entity determines the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for the allocation to the plurality of user equipments and provides to the eNBs of the multiple cells the determined at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for broadcasting.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a first eNB of the eNBs of the multiple cells determines the allocation of the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources and the first eNB provides to all other eNBs of the multiple cells the allocation of the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for the broadcasting the indication.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the device-to-device discovery area is a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network area.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources comprise at least a part of a bandwidth of a physical uplink shared channel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources comprise at least one resource for a downlink MBSFN subframe.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources comprise at least one sub frame on an uplink channel which maps from a downlink MBSFN subframe.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network is configured to drop or defer any other information on the uplink channel to avoid a collision with the at least one subframe.

10. A system comprising:

circuitry configured to;

allocate at least a portion of one or more uplink resources for a device-to-device discovery among a plurality of at least three user equipments located in multiple cells of the network in a device-to-device discovery area; and

control broadcasting, by eNBs of the multiple cells, an indication of the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources to the plurality of user equipments on synchronous Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframes transmitted in the time synchronization by the eNBs of the multiple cells.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein determination of the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources is made by at least one network element and the determined at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for the allocation is provided to the eNBs of the multiple cells in the device-to-device discovery area for broadcasting the indication.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein a multicell/multicast coordination entity determines the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for the allocation to the plurality of user equipments and provides to the eNBs of the multiple cells the determined at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for broadcasting the indication.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein a first eNB of the eNBs of the multiple cells determines the allocation of the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources and the first eNB provides to all other eNBs of the multiple cells the allocation of the at least portion of the one or more uplink resources for broadcasting the indication.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the device-to-device discovery area is a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network area.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources comprise at least a part of a bandwidth of a physical uplink shared channel.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources comprise at least one resource for a downlink MBSFN subframe.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the allocated at least portion of the one or more uplink resources comprise at least one sub frame on an uplink channel which maps from a downlink MBSFN subframe.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the uplink channel which maps from a downlink MBSFN subframe is a subframe configured to transmit multimedia broadcast service hybrid automatic repeat request (HARM) responses.

19. A method, comprising:

receiving, by an eNB from a network, allocation of one or more uplink resources for device-to-device discovery among a plurality of at least three user equipments located in multiple cells of the network in a device-to-device discovery area, wherein the eNB comprises one of the multiple cells; and

broadcasting, by the eNB in time synchronization with other eNBs of the multiple cells, an indication of the allocation of the one or more uplink resources to the plurality of user equipments on synchronous Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframes transmitted in the time synchronization by the eNBs of the multiple cells.

20. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to;

receive from a network allocation of one or more uplink resources for device-to device discovery among a plurality of at least three user equipments located in multiple cells of the network in a device-to-device discovery area, wherein the apparatus comprises an eNB of one of the multiple cells; and

broadcasting, in time synchronization with other eNBs of the multiple cells, an indication of the allocation of the one or more uplink resources to the plurality of user equipments on synchronous Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframes transmitted in the time synchronization by the eNBs of the multiple cells.