Base station apparatus, terminal apparatus, communication method, integrated circuit, and communication system

• US 9,510,337 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2013
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shimezawa, Kazuyuki, Imamura, Kimihiko, Nogami, Toshizo, Nakashima, Daiichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Brian D
• Application Number:
  US14/385,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20150036615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0051 of dedicated pilots, i.e. pilots destined for a single user or terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0053 Allocation of signaling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/00 Local resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A base station apparatus in the present invention includes a terminal-specific control channel generation unit that generates terminal-specific control channels mapped in a terminal-specific control channel region that is configured specifically to the terminal apparatus and that is constituted by a prescribed number of resource block pairs and transmitted. If a number of candidate specific control channels monitored by the terminal apparatus is smaller than or equal to a number of resource block pairs in the terminal-specific control channel region at each aggregation level, which indicates a number of the enhanced control channel elements used in each of the terminal-specific control channels, each of the candidate terminal-specific control channels corresponds to a different resource block pair in the terminal-specific control channel region. The terminal-specific control channels are mapped in one of the candidates.

As a result, in a radio communication system in which a base station and a terminal communicate with each other, the base station can efficiently transmit control information to the terminal, which is advantageous.

Claims

1. A base station apparatus that is configured to and/or programmed to communicate with a terminal apparatus, the base station apparatus comprising:

a transmitter configured to and/or programmed to transmit an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control CHannel (EPDCCH) in an EPDCCH region, wherein

physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region are indicated by higher layers,

the EPDCCH is transmitted using one or a plurality of enhanced control channel elements,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in one physical resource block pair in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a localized mapping,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in a plurality of physical resource block pairs in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a distributed mapping,

in a case of the localized mapping, an EPDCCH UE-specific search space monitored by the terminal apparatus at an aggregation level is defined by a plurality of EPDCCH candidates, n-th EPDCCH candidate and (n+1)-th EPDCCH candidate in the plurality of EPDCCH candidates correspond to enhanced control channel elements in different physical resource block pairs, and

a relationship between a number assigned to each EPDCCH candidate and a number assigned to each enhanced control channel element does not vary regardless of whether the enhanced control channel element is subject to the localized mapping or the distributed mapping.

2. The base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the number of the plurality of EPDCCH candidates at the aggregation level is smaller than or equal to the number of the physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region.

3. The base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a value obtained by dividing the number of the enhanced control channel elements in the EPDCCH region by the number of the plurality of EPDCCH candidates at the aggregation level is larger than or equal to the number of the enhanced resource element groups per the enhanced control channel element.

4. The base station apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

one or a plurality of the enhanced control channel elements corresponding to each EPDCCH candidate in the plurality of EPDCCH candidates are comprised in one physical resource block pair.

5. A terminal apparatus that is configured to and/or programmed to communicate with a base station apparatus, the terminal apparatus comprising:

a receiver configured to and/or programmed to monitor an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control CHannel (EPDCCH) UE-specific search space in an EPDCCH region, wherein

physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region are indicated by higher layers,

an EPDCCH is transmitted using one or a plurality of enhanced control channel elements in the EPDCCH UE-specific search space,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in one physical resource block pair in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a localized mapping,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in a plurality of physical resource block pairs in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a distributed mapping,

in a case of the localized mapping, the EPDCCH UE-specific search space monitored by the terminal apparatus at an aggregation level is defined by a plurality of EPDCCH candidates, n-th EPDCCH candidate and (n+1)-th EPDCCH candidate in the plurality of EPDCCH candidates correspond to enhanced control channel elements in different physical resource block pair pairs, and

a relationship between a number assigned to each EPDCCH candidate and a number assigned to each enhanced control channel element does not vary regardless of whether the enhanced control channel element is subject to the localized mapping or the distributed mapping.

6. The terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the number of the plurality of EPDCCH candidates at the aggregation level is smaller than or equal to the number of the physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region.

7. The terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

a value obtained by dividing the number of the enhanced control channel elements in the EPDCCH region by the number of the plurality of EPDCCH candidates at the aggregation level is larger than or equal to the number of the enhanced resource element groups per the enhanced control channel element.

8. The terminal apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

one or a plurality of the enhanced control channel elements corresponding to each EPDCCH candidate in the plurality of EPDCCH candidates are comprised in one physical resource block pair.

9. A communication method used by a base station apparatus that is configured to and/or programmed to communicate with a terminal apparatus, the communication method comprising:

transmitting an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control CHannel (EPDCCH) in an EPDCCH region, wherein

physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region are indicated by higher layers,

the EPDCCH is transmitted using one or a plurality of enhanced control channel elements,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in one physical resource block pair in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a localized mapping,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in a plurality of physical resource block pairs in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a distributed mapping,

in a case of the localized mapping, an EPDCCH UE-specific search space monitored by the terminal apparatus at an aggregation level is defined by a plurality of EPDCCH candidates, n-th EPDCCH candidate and (n+1)-th EPDCCH candidate in the plurality of EPDCCH candidates correspond to enhanced control channel elements in different physical resource block pair pairs, and

a relationship between a number assigned to each EPDCCH candidate and a number assigned to each enhanced control channel element does not vary regardless of whether the enhanced control channel element is subject to the localized mapping or the distributed mapping.

10. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein

the number of the plurality of EPDCCH candidates at the aggregation level is smaller than or equal to the number of the physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region.

11. A communication method used by a terminal apparatus that is configured to and/or programmed to communicate with a base station apparatus, the communication method comprising:

monitoring an Enhanced Physical Downlink Control CHannel (EPDCCH) UE-specific search space in an EPDCCH region, wherein

physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region are indicated by higher layers,

an EPDCCH is transmitted using one or a plurality of enhanced control channel elements in the EPDCCH UE-specific search space,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in one physical resource block pair in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a localized mapping,

the enhanced control channel element consists of a plurality of enhanced resource element groups in a plurality of physical resource block pairs in a case that the enhanced control channel element is subject to a distributed mapping,

in a case of the localized mapping, the EPDCCH UE-specific search space monitored by the terminal apparatus at an aggregation level is defined by a plurality of EPDCCH candidates, n-th EPDCCH candidate and (n+1)-th EPDCCH candidate in the plurality of EPDCCH candidates correspond to enhanced control channel elements in a-different physical resource block pairs, and

a relationship between a number assigned to each EPDCCH candidate and a number assigned to each enhanced control channel element does not vary regardless of whether the enhanced control channel element is subject to the localized mapping or the distributed mapping.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein

the number of the plurality of EPDCCH candidates at the aggregation level is smaller than or equal to the number of the physical resource block pairs corresponding to the EPDCCH region.