POWER EFFICIENT RELAY DISCOVERY PROTOCOL

• US 20140112162A1
• Filed: 10/19/2012
• Published: 04/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Tavildar, Saurabh R., Li, Junyi, Jiang, Libin, Sadiq, Bilal
• Granted Patent: US 9,072,000 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0417 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for wireless communication are provided. The apparatus receives discovery resource information from a base station, sends a discovery signal based on the discovery resource information, and receives from at least one user equipment (UE) a request for relaying with the base station based on the discovery signal. The apparatus may also receive a discovery signal from a relay, and send to the relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal. The apparatus may further receive a discovery signal from each of a plurality of relays, determine to select one of the plurality of relays based on the discovery signal from each relay, and send to a selected relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal when one of the plurality of relays is determined to be selected.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving discovery resource information from a base station;

sending a discovery signal based on the discovery resource information; and

receiving from at least one user equipment (UE) a request for relaying with the base station based on the discovery signal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, wherein the discovery signal comprises the determined at least one of the downlink SINR, the uplink interference, or the uplink pathloss.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting the discovery signal to the at least one user equipment (UE).

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the discovery signal is sent periodically.

5. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from a relay; and

sending to the relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the discovery signal comprises at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted periodically.

9. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from each of a plurality of relays;

determining to select one of the plurality of relays based on the discovery signal from each relay; and

sending to a selected relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal when one of the plurality of relays is determined to be selected.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating with the base station via the selected relay.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining to select one of the plurality of relays comprises:

for each of the plurality of relays;

measuring an access link pathloss between a relay and the UE based on the received discovery signal,

receiving at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, and

determining at least one of a backhaul downlink SINR and rate, a backhaul uplink SINR and rate, an access link downlink rate, or an access link uplink rate based on the received discovery signal and the access link pathloss; and

selecting one of the plurality of relays based on a respective determining of the at least one of the backhaul downlink SINR and rate, the backhaul uplink SINR and rate, the access link downlink rate, or the access link uplink rate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the selected relay is selected to be at least one of a downlink relay or an uplink relay.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE periodically.

14. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving discovery resource information from a base station;

means for sending a discovery signal based on the discovery resource information; and

means for receiving from at least one user equipment (UE) a request for relaying with the base station based on the discovery signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

means for determining at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, wherein the discovery signal comprises the determined at least one of the downlink SINR, the uplink interference, or the uplink pathloss.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the means for sending is configured to broadcast the discovery signal to the at least one user equipment (UE).

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the discovery signal is sent periodically.

18. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from a relay; and

means for sending to the relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the discovery signal comprises at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted periodically.

22. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from each of a plurality of relays;

means for determining to select one of the plurality of relays based on the discovery signal from each relay; and

means for sending to a selected relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal when one of the plurality of relays is determined to be selected.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for communicating with the base station via the selected relay.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for determining to select one of the plurality of relays is configured to:

for each of the plurality of relays;

measure an access link pathloss between a relay and the UE based on the received discovery signal,

receive at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, and

determine at least one of a backhaul downlink SINR and rate, a backhaul uplink SINR and rate, an access link downlink rate, or an access link uplink rate based on the received discovery signal and the access link pathloss; and

select one of the plurality of relays based on a respective determining of the at least one of the backhaul downlink SINR and rate, the backhaul uplink SINR and rate, the access link downlink rate, or the access link uplink rate.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the selected relay is selected to be at least one of a downlink relay or an uplink relay.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE periodically.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a processing system configured to;

receive discovery resource information from a base station;

send a discovery signal based on the discovery resource information; and

receive from at least one user equipment (UE) a request for relaying with the base station based on the discovery signal.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, the processing system further configured to:

determine at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, wherein the discovery signal comprises the determined at least one of the downlink SINR, the uplink interference, or the uplink pathloss.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, the processing system further configured to broadcast the discovery signal to the at least one user equipment (UE).

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the discovery signal is sent periodically.

31. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a processing system configured to;

receive at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from a relay; and

send to the relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the discovery signal comprises at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted periodically.

35. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a processing system configured to;

receive at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from each of a plurality of relays;

determine to select one of the plurality of relays based on the discovery signal from each relay; and

send to a selected relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal when one of the plurality of relays is determined to be selected.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, the processing system further configured to communicate with the base station via the selected relay.

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the processing system configured to determine to select one of the plurality of relays is configured to:

for each of the plurality of relays;

measure an access link pathloss between a relay and the UE based on the received discovery signal,

receive at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, and

determine at least one of a backhaul downlink SINR and rate, a backhaul uplink SINR and rate, an access link downlink rate, or an access link uplink rate based on the received discovery signal and the access link pathloss; and

select one of the plurality of relays based on a respective determining of the at least one of the backhaul downlink SINR and rate, the backhaul uplink SINR and rate, the access link downlink rate, or the access link uplink rate.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the selected relay is selected to be at least one of a downlink relay or an uplink relay.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE periodically.

40. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising code for;

receiving discovery resource information from a base station;

sending a discovery signal based on the discovery resource information; and

receiving from at least one user equipment (UE) a request for relaying with the base station based on the discovery signal.

41. The computer program product of claim 40, the computer-readable medium further comprising code for:

determining at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, wherein the discovery signal comprises the determined at least one of the downlink SINR, the uplink interference, or the uplink pathloss.

42. The computer program product of claim 40, the computer-readable medium further comprising code for broadcasting the discovery signal to the at least one user equipment (UE).

43. The computer program product of claim 40, wherein the discovery signal is sent periodically.

44. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising code for;

receiving at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from a relay; and

sending to the relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal.

45. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the discovery signal comprises at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss.

46. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE.

47. The computer program product of claim 46, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted periodically.

48. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising code for;

receiving at a user equipment (UE) a discovery signal from each of a plurality of relays;

determining to select one of the plurality of relays based on the discovery signal from each relay; and

sending to a selected relay a request for relaying with a base station based on the discovery signal when one of the plurality of relays is determined to be selected.

49. The computer program product of claim 48, the computer-readable medium further comprising code for communicating with the base station via the selected relay.

50. The computer program product of claim 48, wherein the code for determining to select one of the plurality of relays is configured to:

for each of the plurality of relays;

measure an access link pathloss between a relay and the UE based on the received discovery signal,

receive at least one of a downlink signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), an uplink interference, or an uplink pathloss, and

determine at least one of a backhaul downlink SINR and rate, a backhaul uplink SINR and rate, an access link downlink rate, or an access link uplink rate based on the received discovery signal and the access link pathloss; and

select one of the plurality of relays based on a respective determining of the at least one of the backhaul downlink SINR and rate, the backhaul uplink SINR and rate, the access link downlink rate, or the access link uplink rate.

51. The computer program product of claim 50, wherein the selected relay is selected to be at least one of a downlink relay or an uplink relay.

52. The computer program product of claim 48, wherein the discovery signal is broadcasted to the UE periodically.