Ultra Large Cell Communications

• US 20110128873A1
• Filed: 11/23/2010
• Published: 06/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Farag, Emad N.
• Application Number:
  US12/952,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20110128873A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0045 compensating for timing error by altering transmission time
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/10 between terminal device and access point, i.e. wireless air interface

Abstract

To address the need for new techniques that are able to support communications in ultra large cells various embodiments are described. For example, one method involves determining that user equipment (UE) is located in a far zone of a transceiver node'"'"'s coverage area and then determining a timing advance value for the UE such that a transmission from the UE will be received at the transceiver node one slot period after a transmission of a near zone UE assigned to the same HARQ process. This timing advance value is then indicated to the UE.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining that user equipment (UE) is located in a far zone of a transceiver node'"'"'s coverage area;

determining a timing advance value for the UE such that a transmission from the UE will be received at the transceiver node one slot period after a transmission of a near zone UE assigned to the same HARQ process;

indicating to the UE the timing advance value determined.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the UE is located in the far zone comprises:

performing multiple access channel correlations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein performing multiple access channel correlations comprises:

performing multiple Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) correlations.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein indicating to the UE the timing advance value determined comprises:

sending a time advance command to the UE.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising

reserving certain PRBs for allocation to far zone UEs and certain other PRBs for allocation to near zone UEs.

6. An article of manufacture comprising a processor-readable storage medium storing one or more software programs which when executed by one or more processors performs the steps of the method of claim 1.

7. A transceiver node of a communication system, the transceiver node being configured to communicate with other devices in the system, wherein the transceiver node is operative

to determine that user equipment (UE) is located in a far zone of the transceiver node'"'"'s coverage area,

to determine a timing advance value for the UE such that a transmission from the UE will be received at the transceiver node one slot period after a transmission of a near zone UE assigned to the same HARQ process, and

to indicate to the UE the timing advance value determined.

8. The transceiver node of claim 7, wherein being operative to determine that the UE is located in the far zone comprises:

being operative to perform multiple access channel correlations.

9. The transceiver node of claim 8, wherein being operative to perform multiple access channel correlations comprises:

being operative to perform multiple Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) correlations.

10. The transceiver node of claim 7, wherein being operative to indicate to the UE the timing advance value determined comprises:

being operative to send a time advance command to the UE.

11. The transceiver node of claim 7, being further operative to

reserve certain PRBs for allocation to far zone UEs and certain other PRBs for allocation to near zone UEs.