Signalling of Channel Information

• US 20130089043A1
• Filed: 03/25/2010
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Lunttila, Timo Erkki, Frederiksen, Frank, Pedersen, Klaus Ingemann
• Granted Patent: US 8,867,472 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0027 Scheduling of signalling, e.g. occurrence thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0007 the frequencies being orthogonal, e.g. OFDM(A), DMT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0057 Physical resource allocation for CQI
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal

Abstract

An apparatus and a method are described by which a request for providing aperiodic channel information with respect to a selected downlink component carrier of a plurality of component carriers is received, the selected downlink component carrier is determined, channel information with respect to the selected downlink component carrier is established, and the channel information with respect to the selected downlink component carrier is sent.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising

a receiver configured to receive a request for providing aperiodic channel information with respect to a selected downlink component carrier of a plurality of component carriers,

a processor configured to determine the selected downlink component carrier and to establish channel information with respect to the selected downlink component carrier, and

a sender configured to send the channel information with respect to the selected downlink component carrier.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the selected downlink component carrier based on which component carrier carried the request for providing the aperiodic channel information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the selected downlink component carrier based on an indicator sent with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information and the indicator are included in an uplink grant.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selected downlink component carrier is a predetermined downlink component carrier, and the processor is configured to establish channel information with respect to the predetermined downlink component carrier when the request for providing aperiodic channel state information is received.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is a primary downlink component carrier.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is configured by a network control element.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in an uplink grant, wherein the uplink grant comprises a combined indication of a scheduled uplink component carrier and the selected downlink component carrier.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the combined indication is included in a carrier indicator field.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included an uplink grant, and wherein, when the aperiodic channel information is requested to be transmitted without simultaneous uplink data, the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in unused signalling bits or states, or some of the signalling bits or states are reinterpreted with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

11. The apparatus according to any of the claim 1, wherein

the processor is configured to provide channel information for at least one of the other component carriers than the selected component carrier, and

the sender is configured to send the channel information for the at least one of the other component carriers.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the channel information for the at least one of the other component carriers is a wideband channel information.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one of the other component carriers are configured by a network control element.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein information regarding the at least one of the other component carriers is included in the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in an uplink grant.

16. An apparatus comprising

a processor configured to generate a request for providing aperiodic channel information with respect to a selected downlink component carrier of a plurality of component carriers, and

a sender configured to send the request.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a receiver configured to receive aperiodic channel information sent in response to the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the sender is configured to send the request for providing the aperiodic channel information on the component carrier for which the aperiodic channel information is to be provided.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to generate an indicator for determining the selected downlink component carrier, and the sender is configured to send the indicator with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information and the indicator are included in an uplink grant.

21. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the selected downlink component carrier is a predetermined downlink component carrier.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is a primary downlink component carrier.

23. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is configured using control signalling.

24. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to include the request for providing aperiodic channel information in an uplink grant, wherein the uplink grant comprises a combined indication of a scheduled uplink component carrier and the selected downlink component carrier.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the processor is configured to include the combined indication in a carrier indicator field.

26. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to include the request for providing aperiodic channel information in an uplink grant, and to include, when the aperiodic channel information is requested to be transmitted without simultaneous uplink data, the request for providing aperiodic channel information in unused signalling bits or states, or some of the signalling bits or states are reinterpreted with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

27. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein

the processor is configured to generate a request for providing channel information for at least one of the other component carriers than the selected component carrier.

28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the channel information for the at least one of the other component carriers is a wideband channel information.

29. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to include the request for providing aperiodic channel information in an uplink grant.

30. A method comprising

receiving a request for providing aperiodic channel information with respect to a selected downlink component carrier of a plurality of component carriers,

determining the selected downlink component carrier,

establishing channel information with respect to the selected downlink component carrier, and

sending the channel information with respect to the selected downlink component carrier.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the selected downlink component carrier is determined based on which component carrier carried the request for providing the aperiodic channel information.

32. The method according to claim 30, wherein the selected downlink component carrier is determined based on an indicator sent with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information and the indicator are included in an uplink grant.

34. The method according to claim 30, wherein the selected downlink component carrier is a predetermined downlink component carrier, and the channel information is established with respect to the predetermined downlink component carrier when the request for providing aperiodic channel information is received.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is a primary downlink component carrier.

36. The method according to claim 34, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is configured by a network control element.

37. The method according to claim 30, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in an uplink grant, wherein the uplink grant comprises a combined indication of a scheduled uplink component carrier and the selected downlink component carrier.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the combined indication is included in a carrier indicator field.

39. The method according to claim 30, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included an uplink grant, and wherein, when the aperiodic channel information is requested to be transmitted without simultaneous uplink data, the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in unused signalling bits or states, or some of the signalling bits or states are reinterpreted with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

40. The method according to claim 30, further comprising

providing channel information for at least one of the other component carriers than the selected component carrier, and

sending the channel information for the at least one of the other component carriers.

41. The method according to claim 40, wherein the channel information for the at least one of the other component carriers is a wideband channel information.

42. The method according to claim 40, wherein the at least one of the other component carriers are configured by a network control element.

43. The method according to claim 40, wherein information regarding the at least one of the other component carriers is included in the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

44. The method according to claim 30, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in an uplink grant.

59. A computer program product comprising code means for performing a method according to claim 30 when run on a processing means or module.

60. The computer program product according to claim 59, wherein the computer program product is embodied on a computer-readable medium.

45. A method comprising

generating a request for providing aperiodic channel information with respect to a selected downlink component carrier of a plurality of component carriers, and

sending the request.

46. The method according to claim 45, further comprising receiving aperiodic channel information sent in response to the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

47. The method according to claim 45, wherein the request for providing the aperiodic channel information is sent on the component carrier for which the aperiodic channel information is to be provided.

48. The method according to claim 45, further comprising generating an indicator for determining the selected downlink component carrier, wherein the indicator is sent with the request for providing aperiodic channel information.

49. The method according to claim 48, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information and the indicator are included in an uplink grant.

50. The method according to claim 45, wherein the selected downlink component carrier is a predetermined downlink component carrier.

51. The method according to claim 50, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is a primary downlink component carrier.

52. The method according to claim 50, wherein the predetermined downlink component carrier is configured using control signalling.

53. The method according to claim 45, further comprising including the request for providing aperiodic channel information included in an uplink grant, wherein the uplink grant comprises a combined indication of a scheduled uplink component carrier and the selected downlink component carrier.

54. The method according to claim 53, wherein the combined indication is included in a carrier indicator field.

55. The method according to claim 45, further comprising

including the request for providing aperiodic channel information in an uplink grant, and,

including the request for providing aperiodic channel information in unused signalling bits or states or some of the signalling bits or states are reinterpreted with the request for providing aperiodic channel information, when the aperiodic channel information is requested to be transmitted without simultaneous uplink data.

56. The method according to claim 45, further comprising

generating a request for providing channel information for at least one of the other component carriers than the selected component carrier.

57. The method according to claim 56, wherein the channel information for the at least one of the other component carriers is a wideband channel information.

58. The method according to claim 45, wherein the request for providing aperiodic channel information is included in an uplink grant.