Method and apparatus for providing and utilizing a non-contention based channel in a wireless communication system

• US 9,203,580 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2013
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Interdigital Technology Corporation (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Interdigital Technology Corporation (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Terry, Stephen E., Wang, Jin, Chandra, Arty, Chen, John S., Zhang, Guodong
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US14/055,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20140044078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/329, 370/343, 370/344, 370/341, 370/431, 370/468
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2621 using frequency division multiple access [FDMA] H04B7/2615 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0037 Inter-user or inter-terminal allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0045 compensating for timing error by altering transmission time
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/04 Scheduled access hybrid access H04W74/02

Abstract

In a wireless communication system comprising at least one evolved Node-B (eNB) and a plurality of wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs), a non-contention based (NCB) channel is established, maintained, and utilized. The NCB channel is allocated for use by one or more WTRUs in the system for utilization in a variety of functions, and the allocation is communicated to the WTRUs. The wireless communication system analyzes the allocation of the NCB channel as required, and the NCB channel is reallocated as required.

Claims

1. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprising a processor configured to:

receive a first allocation from an evolved Node B (eNB), wherein the first allocation is an allocation of a non-contention based (NCB) uplink control channel, the first allocation comprises a configuration for transmitting scheduling requests (SRs) over the NCB uplink control channel, and the configuration indicates a periodicity allocated to the WTRU for transmitting scheduling requests on the NCB uplink control channel and indicates which sub-carrier resources of the NCB uplink control channel are to be used by the WTRU for transmitting the scheduling requests;

transmit a scheduling request over the NCB uplink control channel in accordance with the first allocation, wherein the transmitted scheduling request comprises a transmission burst, and presence of the transmission burst on NCB uplink control channel resources assigned to the WTRU by the first allocation is indicative of a request for uplink transmission resources by the WTRU;

monitor a downlink control channel;

detect that a transmission intended for the WTRU on the downlink control channel is intended for the WTRU based on a WTRU identifier indicated in the transmission on the downlink control channel, wherein the transmission on the downlink control channel comprises a second allocation, the second allocation being an allocation of an uplink shared channel; and

transmit data over the uplink shared channel in accordance with the second allocation.

2. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to release the NCB uplink control channel based on a determination by the WTRU.

3. The WTRU of claim 2, wherein the determination to release the NCB uplink control channel by the WTRU is an implicit determination at the WTRU.

4. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the NCB uplink control channel utilizes a frequency hopping pattern.

5. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein resource blocks corresponding to the NCB uplink control channel and resources blocks corresponding to the uplink shared channel are frequency multiplexed in a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication system.

6. The WTRU of claim 5, wherein each of the resource blocks of the NCB uplink control channel and the resource blocks of the uplink shared channel comprise a plurality of sub-carriers.

7. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to utilize the NCB uplink control channel for reporting channel quality information.

8. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the downlink control channel is common to plurality of WTRUs.

9. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the second allocation explicitly indicates one or more physical attributes to be used by the WTRU for transmitting the data over the uplink shared channel.

10. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to implicitly determine one or more physical attributes to be used for transmitting the data over the uplink shared channel based on reception of the second allocation.

11. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a reconfiguration of the NCB uplink control channel, wherein the reconfiguration of the uplink control channel comprises a new periodicity for transmitting scheduling requests on the NCB uplink control channel and changes which sub-carrier resources the WTRU is to use when transmitting the scheduling requests.

12. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the first allocation is included in a control message sent to the WTRU from the eNB.

13. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the first allocation of the NCB uplink control channel is deallocated to the WTRU on condition that the WTRU remains idle of a predetermined period of time.

14. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the NCB uplink control channel is one or more of time multiplexed, frequency multiplexed, or code multiplexed among a plurality of WTRUs.

15. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to utilize the NCB uplink control channel for transmitting hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback.

16. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a reference signal over the NCB uplink control channel.

17. A method for a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:

the WTRU receiving a first allocation from an evolved Node B (eNB), wherein the first allocation is an allocation of a non-contention based (NCB) uplink control channel, the first allocation comprises a configuration for transmitting scheduling requests (SRs) over the NCB uplink control channel, and the configuration indicates a periodicity allocatted to the WTRU for transmitting scheduling requests on the NCB uplink control channel and indicates which sub-carrier resources of the NCB uplink control channel are to be used by the WTRU for transmitting the scheduling requests;

transmitting a scheduling request over the NCB uplink control channel in accordance with the first allocation;

the WTRU monitoring a downlink control channel;

the WTRU detecting that a transmission on the downlink control channel is intended for the WTRU based on a WTRU identifier indicated in the transmission on the downlink control channel, wherein the transmission on the downlink control channel comprises an a second allocation, the second allocation being an allocation of an uplink shared channel; and

the WTRU transmitting data over the uplink shared channel in accordance with the second allocation.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the transmitted scheduling request comprises a transmission burst, and presence of the transmission burst on NCB uplink control channel resources dedicated to the WTRU by the first allocation is indicative of a request for uplink transmission resources by the WTRU.

19. A wireless transmit/receive units (WTRU) comprising a processor configured to:

receive a first allocation from an evolved Node B (eNB), wherein the first allocation is an allocation of a non-contention based (NCB) uplink control channel, the first allocation comprises a configuration for transmitting scheduling requests (SRs) over the NCB uplink control channel, and the configuration indicates a periodicity allocated to the WTRU for transmitting scheduling requests on the NCB uplink control channel and indicates which sub-carrier resources of the NCB uplink control channel are to be used by the WTRU for transmitting the scheduling requests;

transmit a scheduling request over the NCB uplink control channel in accordance with the first allocation;

monitor a downlink control channel;

detect that a transmission on the downlink control channel is intended for the WTRU based on a WTRU identifier indicated in the transmission on the downlink control channel, wherein the transmission on the downlink control channel comprises a second allocation, and the second allocation is an allocation of an uplink shared channel; and

transmit data over the uplink shared channel in accordance with the second allocation.

20. The WTRU as in claim 19, wherein the scheduling request transmitted over the NCB uplink control channel comprises a transmission burst, and absence of a transmission burst on NCB uplink control channel resources dedicated to the WTRU by the first allocation indicates that the WTRU is not requesting uplink transmission resources.