Patent Application
20220060905
Wireless systems typically include multiple User Equipment (UE) devices communicatively coupled to one or more Base Stations (BS). The one or more BSs may be Long Term Evolved (LTE) evolved NodeBs (eNB) or New Radio (NR) next generation NodeBs (gNB) that can be communicatively coupled to one or more UEs by a Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network.
Next generation wireless communication systems are expected to be a unified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different and sometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. New Radio Access Technology (RAT) is expected to support a broad range of use cases including Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), Mission Critical Machine Type Communication (uMTC), and similar service types operating in frequency ranges up to 100 GHz.
Features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the disclosure; and, wherein:
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the technology is thereby intended.
Before the present technology is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this technology is not limited to the particular structures, process actions, or materials disclosed herein, but is extended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understood that terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. The same reference numerals in different drawings represent the same element. Numbers provided in flow charts and processes are provided for clarity in illustrating actions and operations and do not necessarily indicate a particular order or sequence.
As used herein, the term “User Equipment (UE)” refers to a computing device capable of wireless digital communication such as a smart phone, a tablet computing device, a laptop computer, a multimedia device such as an iPod Touch®, or other type computing device that provides text or voice communication. The term “User Equipment (UE)” may also be referred to as a “mobile device,” “wireless device,” of “wireless mobile device.”
As used herein, the term “Base Station (BS)” includes “Base Transceiver Stations (BTS),” “NodeBs,” “evolved NodeBs (eNodeB or eNB),” “New Radio Base Stations (NR BS) and/or “next generation NodeBs (gNodeB or gNB),” and refers to a device or configured node of a mobile phone network that communicates wirelessly with UEs.
As used herein, the term “cellular telephone network,” “4G cellular,” “Long Term Evolved (LTE),” “5G cellular” and/or “New Radio (NR)” refers to wireless broadband technology developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
An initial overview of technology embodiments is provided below and then specific technology embodiments are described in further detail later. This initial summary is intended to aid readers in understanding the technology more quickly but is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the technology nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Each slot for a component carrier (CC) used by the node and the wireless device can include multiple resource blocks (RBs) 130a, 130b, 130i, 130m, and 130n based on the CC frequency bandwidth. The CC can have a carrier frequency having a bandwidth. Each slot of the CC can include downlink control information (DCI) found in the PDCCH. The PDCCH is transmitted in control channel resource set (CORESET) which can include one, two or three Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols and multiple RBs.
Each RB (physical RB or PRB) can include 12 subcarriers (on the frequency axis) and 14 orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols (on the time axis) per slot. The RB can use 14 OFDM symbols if a short or normal cyclic prefix is employed. The RB can use 12 OFDM symbols if an extended cyclic prefix is used. The resource block can be mapped to 168 resource elements (REs) using short or normal cyclic prefixing, or the resource block can be mapped to 144 REs (not shown) using extended cyclic prefixing. The RE can be a unit of one OFDM symbol 142 by one subcarrier (i.e., 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz) 146.
Each RE 140i can transmit two bits 150a and 150b of information in the case of quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation. Other types of modulation may be used, such as 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) or 64 QAM to transmit a greater number of bits in each RE, or bi-phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation to transmit a lesser number of bits (a single bit) in each RE. The RB can be configured for a downlink transmission from the eNodeB to the UE, or the RB can be configured for an uplink transmission from the UE to the eNodeB.
This example of the 3GPP NR Release 15 frame structure provides examples of the way in which data is transmitted, or the transmission mode. The example is not intended to be limiting. Many of the Release 15 features will evolve and change in the 5G frame structures included in 3GPP LTE Release 15, MulteFire Release 1.1, and beyond. In such a system, the design constraint can be on co-existence with multiple 5G numerologies in the same carrier due to the coexistence of different network services, such as eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications or massive IoT) and URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications or Critical Communications). The carrier in a 5G system can be above or below 6 GHz. In one embodiment, each network service can have a different numerology.
The present technology relates to Long Term Evolution (LTE) operation in an unlicensed spectrum in MulteFire (MF), and to Internet of Things (IoT) operating in the unlicensed spectrum. More specifically, the present technology relates to unlicensed NB-IoT operation on band 47b in the European Union (EU).
In one example, Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned as a significantly important technology component, by enabling connectivity between many devices. IoT has wide applications in various scenarios, including smart cities, smart environment, smart agriculture, and smart health systems.
3GPP has standardized two designs to IoT services—enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) and NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT). As eMTC and NB-IoT UEs will be deployed in large numbers, lowering the cost of these UEs is a key enabler for the implementation of IoT. Also, low power consumption is desirable to extend the lifetime of the UE's battery.
With respect to LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum, both Release 13 (Rel-13) eMTC and NB-IoT operates in a licensed spectrum. On the other hand, the scarcity of licensed spectrum in low frequency band results in a deficit in the data rate boost. Thus, there are emerging interests in the operation of LTE systems in unlicensed spectrum. Potential LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum includes, but not limited to, Carrier Aggregation based licensed assisted access (LAA) or enhanced LAA (eLAA) systems, LTE operation in the unlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC), and a standalone LTE system in the unlicensed spectrum, where LTE-based technology solely operates in the unlicensed spectrum without necessitating an “anchor” in licensed spectrum—a system that is referred to as MulteFire.
In one example, there are substantial use cases of devices deployed deep inside buildings, which would necessitate coverage enhancement in comparison to the defined LTE cell coverage footprint. In summary, eMTC and NB-IoT techniques are designed to ensure that the UEs have low cost, low power consumption and enhanced coverage.
In one example, to extend the benefits of LTE IoT designs into unlicensed spectrum, MulteFire 1.1 is expected to specify the design for Unlicensed-IoT (U-IoT). The present technology falls under the scope of U-IoT systems, with a focus on the eMTC based U-IoT design. However, similar approaches can be used for the NB-IoT based U-IoT design as well.
In one example, with respect to regulations in the unlicensed spectrum, a target band for NB U-IoT is the sub-1 GHz band for the United States (US), European Union (EU) and China. Regulatory specifications define the operation of such a system for either digital modulation or frequency hopping. According to the regulatory specifications dictated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a system operated as a digital modulation system shall have a bandwidth greater than 500 KHz with an imposed power spectrum density (PSD) limitation of 8 dBm/3 kHz, while a system operated as a frequency hopping system has instead limitations on a number of hops based on the channel bandwidth. For example, if the bandwidth is less than 250 KHz, the system can hop over at least 50 channels. In the EU, band 54 (which corresponds to a frequency range of 869.4-869.65 MHz) is already available, but other bands can be freed for global spectrum harmonization, such as band 47b. For band 47b, only the following sub-channels can be used: 865.6 MHz-865.8 MHz, 866.2 MHz-866.4 MHz, 866.8 MHz-867.0 MHz, 867.4 MHz-867.6 MHz. In the EU, the regulation regarding these sub-channels states that: 1) a maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) is 27 dBm; 2) adaptive power control is necessitated; 3) the bandwidth is smaller than 200 kHz; 4) the duty cycle for network access points is smaller than 10%, otherwise the duty cycle is 2.5% for other types of equipment.
In one example, with respect to the use of new bands in the EU, the system can behave and operate accordingly if other bands are freed and available in the sub-1 GHz band despite band 54. As described below, multiple solutions are provided for using a larger bandwidth once more sub-channels, and bands are freed for global harmonization in Europe. In other words, multiple solutions are provided for using additional sub-channels that might become available in Europe in the sub-1 GHz band. The described solutions can allow the system to make full use of the available bandwidth if more sub-channels are freed in Europe due to the attempt to reach global harmonization within the sub-1 GHz band.
In one example, the system can operate as a single carrier regardless of the available bandwidth. For example, a 20 ms dwell containing a discovery reference signal (DRS) can be transmitted on band 54 regardless of the bandwidth available. In another example, the DRS and a system information block type 1 (SIB1) can be transmitted on band 54 regardless of the bandwidth available.
In one example, if more bands become available (e.g., band 47b), an eNodeB and/or UE can use higher duty cycle and gain frequency diversity by hopping on the data dwells from one sub-channel to another based on a predefined pattern or a pseudo-random pattern which depends on a physical cell identify (PCI) and a system frame number (SFN). In another example, when only a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or secondary synchronization signal (SSS) or physical broadcast channel (PBCH) is transmitted on band 54, the available new band and corresponding hopping pattern can be signaled using reserved bits in the PBCH. In another example, when the PSS/SSS/PBCH/SIB1 are transmitted on band 54, the available new band and the hopping pattern can be signaled in the SIB1
In one example, since a frequency pattern is to be updated every time a new band becomes available, a longer sequence can be designed assuming N sub-channels are available, and puncturing of the sequence can be performed if M sub-channels are used, where M<N, and M and N are positive integers. In another example, a bitmap can be used to signal which sub-channels are used. In another example, while an anchor is always transmitted in band 54, the system can hop among all the sub-channels available, for example band 54 and the four sub-channels in band 47b.
In one example if band 47b is used, since the regulatory specifications for ETSI for this specific band states that a device, once switched from one channel to another, cannot return to the previous channel within a period of 100 ms, a frequency hopping pattern can be generated such that each sub-channel including the anchor channel are visited only once within an hopping cycle, and at least 5 sub-channels are used.
In one example, a 10% duty cycle can be met by using a same UL/DL configurations as previously used.
In one example, switching between one sub-channel to another can occur on a dwell level, and one or more switching points can be allowed. In this case, the anchor and the SIB can be carried on band 54, and the SIB can contain information related to the sub-channel(s) to which the eNodeB will hop to. In one example, an indication of one single sub-channel or multiple sub-channels can be provided since only one switching point or multiple switching point are allowed.
In one example, a last subframe of a last dwell before each switching point, or a first subframe of a first dwell after the switching point can be left black or blank, and can be used for frequency retuning.
In one example, the SIB can carry information related to a number of sub-channels and also an exact sequence on how the sub-channels hop and are used. While the system performs on band 54 for the first 8 dwells of each burst of 16 dwells, the system can be configured to opportunely share the remaining 8 dwells among the sub-channels available. For example, when the system is configured to use all the sub-channels available for band 47b, namely sub-channel A, B, C, and D, then A and D can be used for 1 dwell, and B and C for three dwell. In another example, the length of dwells used by each sub-channel can be determined by equally dividing the available dwells by the total number of sub-channels.
In one example, an eNodeB can perform channel switching within a data dwell, and since a UE uses 1 ms for frequency retuning from one channel to another, an empty special subframe can be introduced to allow switching.
In one example, given a DL/UL configuration, in a first DL system frames (SFs) of a DL burst, the eNodeB can operate in band 54, while in the remaining allocated DL SFs the eNodeB can operate in band 47b, where a special SF can be used in a middle for frequency retuning. In one example, two or more switching can be allowed, even though this would reduce throughput due to the empty special subframes needed for channel switching. In one example, a DL dwell on each channel can be fixed. For example, given a DL burst of N SFs, in (N−1)/2 the eNodeB can operate on band 54, one is used for frequency retuning, and in (N−1)/2 the eNodeB can operate on band 47b. In one example, a length of a DL transmission on sub-channel can be configured through higher layer signaling.
In another example, due to a higher duty cycle available with both band 54 and band 47b, a new DL/UL configuration can be signaled in a master information block (MIB). For example, there can be four DL/UL configurations for the EU: 2DL:18UL, 4DL:36UL, 8DL:72UL, and 2DL:8UL.
In one example, new DL/UL configurations can be added for a 20% duty cycle. For example, there can be DL/UL configurations for the EU as follows: 4DL:16UL; 8DL:32UL, 16D:68UL, and 8DL:12UL (which corresponds to a DL overprovisioning case, since scaling 2DL:8UL to 4DL:6UL may not have enough continuous UL subframes for physical random access channel (PRACH) transmission, a scaling factor of two can be used). In another example, a rule can be defined to scale a DL/UL configuration when a total number of used bands are signaled in the MIB. For example, when two bands are used (e.g., band 54 and 47b), the DL can be doubled, and the UL can be equal to a dwell time minus the DL time.
In one example, an eNodeB can operate on a wider bandwidth in a multi-carrier mode, and this feature can be configured using UE specific RRC signaling. For example, the sub-channel(s) used in multi-carrier mode can be configured and specified in Message 4 (msg4) of a RACH procedure. In one example, multi-carrier can be performed over the sub-channel for band 54, and one sub-channel for the newly available band, for instance one of the four sub-channels available in band 47b. In one example, the multi-carrier can be performed over the sub-channel for band 54 and 2 or more sub-channels for the available band, e.g., 2-4 sub-channels within band 47b.
In one example, in order to meet the 10% duty cycle specification set on the sub-1 GHz band, new time division duplex (TDD) DL/UL configurations can be defined. However, if multi-carrier is used, the TDD DL/UL configuration can be designed to meet a 10%/M duty cycle, where M is the total number of carriers. In this case, the duty cycle constraint can become more stringent, highly constraining the DL transmission.
In one example, for a multi-carrier with 2 sub-channels, one or more of the following DL/UL configuration can be used: 8DL:152UL, 4DL:76UL, or 2DL:38UL. In another example, for a multi-carrier with 4 sub-channels, one or more of the following DL/UL configuration can be used: 8DL:232UL, 4DL:116UL, or 2DL:58UL. In another example, for a multi-carrier with 4 sub-channels, one or more of the following DL/UL configuration can be used: 8DL:312UL, 4DL:156UL, or 2DL:78UL.
In one configuration, a design to operate an unlicensed NB-IoT system on band 47b in the EU is provided. The system can operate as a single carrier regardless of an available bandwidth. In one example, a 20 ms dwell containing a DRS can be transmitted on band 54 regardless of the bandwidth available. In another example, the DRS and a SIB1 can be transmitted on band 54 regardless of the bandwidth available. In yet another example, if more bands become available (e.g., band 47b), an eNodeB and/or UE can use higher duty cycle and gain frequency diversity by hopping on the data dwells from one sub-channel to another based on a predefined pattern or a pseudo-random pattern, which can depend on a PCI and/or a SFN.
In one example, when only a PSS/SSS/PBCH is transmitted on band 54, an available new band and corresponding hopping pattern can be signaled using reserved bits in a PBCH. In another example, when a PSS/SSS/PBCH/SIB1 are transmitted on band 54, the available new band and the hopping pattern can be signaled in the SIB1. In yet another example, since every time a new band becomes available, a frequency pattern would is to be updated, a longer sequence can be designed assuming N sub-channels are available, and puncturing of the sequence can be performed if M sub-channels are used, where M<N.
In one example, a bitmap can be used to signal which sub-channels are used. In another example, while an anchor can always be transmitted in band 54, the system can hop among all the sub-channels available, for example band 54 and the four sub-channels in band 47b. In yet another example, a 10% duty cycle can be met by using a same UL/DL configurations as used previously. In a further example, switching between one sub-channel to another can occur on a dwell level, and one or more switching points can be allowed. In yet a further example, the anchor and the SIB can be carried on band 54, and the SIB can contain information related to sub-channel(s) to which the eNodeB will hop to.
In one example, an indication of one single sub-channel or multiple sub-channels can be provided, since only one switching point or multiple switching points can be allowed. In another example, a last subframe of a last dwell before each switching point, or a first subframe of a first dwell after the switching point can be left black, and can be used for frequency retuning. In yet another example, the SIB can carry information related to the number of sub-channels and also the exact sequence on how these sub-channels hops and are used. In a further example, an eNodeB can perform channel switching within a data dwell, and since a UE necessitates 1 ms for frequency retuning from one channel to another, an empty special subframe can be used to allow switching. In yet a further example, given a DL/UL configuration, in the first DL SFs of a DL burst, the eNodeB can operate in band 54, while in the remaining allocated DL SFs, the eNodeB can operate in band 47b, where a special SF can be used in the middle for frequency retuning.
In one example, two or more switching points can be allowed, even though this would reduce throughput due to the empty special subframes used for channel switching. In another example, a DL dwell on each channel can be fixed. For example, given a DL burst of N SFs, in (N−1)/2 the eNodeB can operate on band 54, one is used for frequency retuning, and in (N−1)/2 the eNodeB can operate on band 47b. In yet another example, a length of the DL transmission on a sub-channel can be configured through higher layer signaling. In a further example, due to a higher duty cycle available with both band 54 and band 47b, a new DL/UL configuration can be signaled in a MIB. In yet a further example, one or more among the following configurations can be added: 4DL:16UL; 8DL:32UL, 16D:68UL, 8DL:12UL.
In one example, a rule can be defined to scale the DL/UL configuration when a total number of bands used are signaled in the MIB. For example, when 2 bands are used (band 54 and 47b), DL can be doubled and UL can be equal to a dwell time minus a DL time. In another example, an eNodeB can operate on a wider bandwidth in a multi-carrier mode, and this feature can be configured through UE specific RRC signaling. In yet another example, sub-channel(s) used in the multi-carrier mode can be configured and specified in msg 4. In a further example, the multi-carrier can be performed over the sub-channel for band 54, and one sub-channel for the newly available band, for instance one of the four sub-channels available in band 47b. In yet a further example, the multi-carrier can be performed over the sub-channel for band 54 and 2 or more sub-channels for the available band, e.g., 2-4 sub-channels within band 47b.
In one example, in order to meet the 10% duty cycle specification set on the sub-1 GHz band, new TDD DL/UL configurations can be defined. However, if multi-carrier is used the TDD DL/UL configuration can be designed such that a 10%/M duty cycle is met, where M is the total number of carriers. In this case, the duty cycle constraint can become more stringent, highly constraining the DL transmission. In another example, for multi-carrier with 2 sub-channels, one or more of the following DL/UL configuration can be introduced: 8DL:152UL, 4DL:76UL, or 2DL:38UL. In yet another example, for multi-carrier with 4 sub-channels, one or more of the following DL/UL configuration can be introduced: 8DL:232UL, 4DL:116UL, or 2DL:58UL. In a further example, for multi-carrier with 4 sub-channels, one or more of the following DL/UL configuration can be introduced: 8DL:312UL, 4DL:156UL, or 2DL:78UL.
Another example provides functionality 600 of a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) configured to operate in an unlicensed narrowband Internet of Things (U-NB-IoT) system, as shown in
Another example provides functionality 700 of a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in an unlicensed narrowband Internet of Things (U-NB-IoT) system, as shown in
Another example provides at least one machine readable storage medium having instructions 800 embodied thereon for operating in an unlicensed narrowband Internet of Things (U-NB-IoT) system, as shown in
In some embodiments, any of the UEs 901 and 902 can comprise an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. An IoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describes interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network.
The UEs 901 and 902 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 910—the RAN 910 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 901 and 902 utilize connections 903 and 904, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, the connections 903 and 904 are illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.
In this embodiment, the UEs 901 and 902 may further directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 905. The ProSe interface 905 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).
The UE 902 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 906 via connection 907. The connection 907 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 906 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®) router. In this example, the AP 906 is shown to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).
The RAN 910 can include one or more access nodes that enable the connections 903 and 904. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next Generation NodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 910 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RAN node 911, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 912.
Any of the RAN nodes 911 and 912 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 901 and 902. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 911 and 912 can fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 910 including, but not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.
In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 901 and 902 can be configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any of the RAN nodes 911 and 912 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.
In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 911 and 912 to the UEs 901 and 902, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.
The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 901 and 902. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 901 and 902 about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 901 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 911 and 912 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs 901 and 902. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 901 and 902.
The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).
Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.
The RAN 910 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 920—via an S1 interface 913. In embodiments, the CN 920 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface 913 is split into two parts: the S1-U interface 914, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 911 and 912 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 922, and the S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 915, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 911 and 912 and MMEs 921.
In this embodiment, the CN 920 comprises the MMEs 921, the S-GW 922, the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 923, and a home subscriber server (HSS) 924. The MMEs 921 may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 921 may manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 924 may comprise a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The CN 920 may comprise one or several HSSs 924, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 924 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.
The S-GW 922 may terminate the S1 interface 913 towards the RAN 910, and routes data packets between the RAN 910 and the CN 920. In addition, the S-GW 922 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.
The P-GW 923 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 923 may route data packets between the EPC network 923 and external networks such as a network including the application server 930 (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 925. Generally, the application server 930 may be an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 923 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 930 via an IP communications interface 925. The application server 930 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 901 and 902 via the CN 920.
The P-GW 923 may further be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 926 is the policy and charging control element of the CN 920. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 926 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 930 via the P-GW 923. The application server 930 may signal the PCRF 926 to indicate a new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 926 may provision this rule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by the application server 930.
The application circuitry 1002 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 1002 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 1000. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 1002 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.
The baseband circuitry 1004 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 1004 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1006. Baseband processing circuitry 1004 may interface with the application circuitry 1002 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 1006. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 1004a, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1004b, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 1004c, or other baseband processor(s) 1004d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 1004 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 1004a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1006. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 1004a-d may be included in modules stored in the memory 1004g and executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1004e. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1004 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1004 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.
In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1004f. The audio DSP(s) 1004f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1004 and the application circuitry 1002 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).
In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1004 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1004 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.
RF circuitry 1006 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 1006 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1008 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 1004. RF circuitry 1006 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1004 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 1008 for transmission.
In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 may include mixer circuitry 1006a, amplifier circuitry 1006b and filter circuitry 1006c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1006 may include filter circuitry 1006c and mixer circuitry 1006a. RF circuitry 1006 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1006d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1008 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1006d. The amplifier circuitry 1006b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1006c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 1004 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.
In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1006d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1008. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1004 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 1006c.
In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1006a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1006a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.
In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 1004 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 1006.
In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.
In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.
The synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1006a of the RF circuitry 1006 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.
In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1004 or the applications processor 1002 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 1002.
Synthesizer circuitry 1006d of the RF circuitry 1006 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.
In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1006d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1006 may include an IQ/polar converter.
FEM circuitry 1008 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1010, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1006 for further processing. FEM circuitry 1008 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1006 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1010. In various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 1006, solely in the FEM 1008, or in both the RF circuitry 1006 and the FEM 1008.
In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1006). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1008 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 1006), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1010).
In some embodiments, the PMC 1012 may manage power provided to the baseband circuitry 1004. In particular, the PMC 1012 may control power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 1012 may often be included when the device 1000 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 1012 may increase the power conversion efficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.
While
In some embodiments, the PMC 1012 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 1000. For example, if the device 1000 is in an RRC Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device 1000 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save power.
If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, then the device 1000 may transition off to an RRC Idle state, where it disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 1000 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 1000 may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it must transition back to RRC Connected state.
An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay is acceptable.
Processors of the application circuitry 1002 and processors of the baseband circuitry 1004 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 1004, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 1004 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described in further detail below.
The baseband circuitry 1004 may further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memory interface 1112 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 1004), an application circuitry interface 1114 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 1002 of
The following examples pertain to specific technology embodiments and point out specific features, elements, or actions that can be used or otherwise combined in achieving such embodiments.
Example 1 includes an apparatus of a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) configured to operate in an unlicensed narrowband Internet of Things (U-NB-IoT) system, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode, at the gNB, a system information block type 1 (SIB1) for transmission to a user equipment (UE) on band 54; perform, at the gNB, channel switching from band 54 to a selected sub-channel in band 47b at a selected switching point; and encode, at the gNB, data for transmission to the UE during a data dwell on the selected sub-channel in band 47b; and a memory interface configured to retrieve from a memory the SIB1 transmission.
Example 2 includes the apparatus of Example 1, further comprising a transceiver configured to: transmit the SIB1 to the UE on band 54; and transmit the data to the UE on the selected sub-channel in band 47b.
Example 3 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured to encode one or more of the following for transmission to the UE on band 54: a discovery reference signal (DRS); a primary synchronization signal (PSS); a secondary synchronization signal (SSS); or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
Example 4 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 3, wherein the one or more processors are configured to hop on the data dwell to one of four sub-channels in band 47b in accordance with a predefined frequency hopping pattern or a pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern that depends on a physical cell identity (PCI) or a system frame number (SFN).
Example 5 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the SIB1 or reserved bits of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) include the predefined frequency hopping pattern or the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern, and available band information relating to band 47b.
Example 6 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 5, wherein the one or more processors are configured to encode a bitmap for transmission to the UE, wherein the bitmap includes an indication of which sub-channels in band 47b are used by the gNB.
Example 7 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 6, wherein a last subframe of a last data dwell before the selected switching point, or a first subframe of a first data dwell after the selected switching point, is used for frequency retuning.
Example 8 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 7, wherein the one or more processors are configured to perform the channel switching within the data dwell, wherein an empty special subframe is used to enable the channel switching to accommodate a 1 ms time period at the UE for frequency retuning.
Example 9 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to encode, for transmission to the UE, an indication of a length of a downlink transmission on the selected sub-channel in band 47b via higher layer signaling.
Example 10 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 9, wherein the gNB and the UE operate in a single carrier mode or a multi-carrier mode.
Example 11 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 10, wherein band 54 corresponds to a frequency range between about 869.4 and 869.65 megahertz (MHz), and the selected sub-channel in band 47b is one of: a frequency range between about 865.6 MHz and 865.8 MHz, a frequency range between about 866.2 MHz and 866.4 MHz, a frequency range between about 866.8 MHz and 867.0 MHz, or a frequency range between about 867.4 MHz and 867.6 MHz.
Example 12 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to encode a downlink/uplink (DL/UL) configuration for transmission to the UE, wherein the DL/UL configuration corresponds to at least one of 4DL:16UL, 8DL:32UL, or 8DL:12UL, and the DL/UL configuration is used to cope with a duty cycle specification mandated by a spectrum regulatory body.
Example 13 includes an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in an unlicensed narrowband Internet of Things (U-NB-IoT) system, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: decode, at the UE, a system information block type 1 (SIB1) received from a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) on band 54; perform, at the UE, channel switching from band 54 to a selected sub-channel in band 47b at a selected switching point; and decode, at the UE, data received from the gNB during a data dwell on the selected sub-channel in band 47b; and a memory interface configured to send to a memory the SIB1 transmission and the data.
Example 14 includes the apparatus of Example 13, wherein the one or more processors are configured to hop on the data dwell to one of four sub-channels in band 47b in accordance with a predefined frequency hopping pattern or a pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern that depends on a physical cell identity (PCI) or a system frame number (SFN).
Example 15 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 13 to 14, wherein the SIB1 or reserved bits of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) include the predefined frequency hopping pattern or the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern, and available band information relating to band 47b.
Example 16 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 13 to 15, wherein the one or more processors are configured to decode a bitmap received from the gNB, wherein the bitmap includes an indication of which sub-channels in band 47b are used by the gNB.
Example 17 includes at least one machine readable storage medium having instructions embodied thereon for operating in an unlicensed narrowband Internet of Things (U-NB-IoT) system, the instructions when executed by one or more processors at a Next Generation NodeB (gNB) perform the following: encoding, at the gNB, a system information block type 1 (SIB1) for transmission to a user equipment (UE) on band 54; performing, at the gNB, channel switching from band 54 to a selected sub-channel in band 47b at a selected switching point; and encoding, at the gNB, data for transmission to the UE during a data dwell on the selected sub-channel in band 47b.
Example 18 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of Example 17, further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: encoding one or more of the following for transmission to the UE on band 54: a discovery reference signal (DRS); a primary synchronization signal (PSS); a secondary synchronization signal (SSS); or a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).
Example 19 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 18, further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: hopping on the data dwell to one of four sub-channels in band 47b in accordance with a predefined frequency hopping pattern or a pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern that depends on a physical cell identity (PCI) or a system frame number (SFN).
Example 20 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 19, wherein the SIB1 or reserved bits of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) include the predefined frequency hopping pattern or the pseudo-random frequency hopping pattern, and available band information relating to band 47b.
Example 21 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 20, further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: encoding a bitmap for transmission to the UE, wherein the bitmap includes an indication of which sub-channels in band 47b are used by the gNB.
Example 22 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 21, wherein a last subframe of a last data dwell before the selected switching point, or a first subframe of a first data dwell after the selected switching point, is used for frequency retuning.
Example 23 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 22, further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: performing the channel switching within the data dwell, wherein an empty special subframe is used to enable the channel switching to accommodate a 1 ms time period at the UE for frequency retuning.
Example 24 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 23, further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: encoding, for transmission to the UE, an indication of a length of a downlink transmission on the selected sub-channel in band 47b via higher layer signaling.
Example 25 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium of any of Examples 17 to 24, further comprising instructions when executed perform the following: encoding a downlink/uplink (DL/UL) configuration for transmission to the UE, wherein the DL/UL configuration corresponds to at least one of 4DL:16UL, 8DL:32UL, or 8DL:12UL, and the DL/UL configuration is used to cope with a duty cycle specification mandated by a spectrum regulatory body.
Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, compact disc-read-only memory (CD-ROMs), hard drives, non-transitory computer readable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device may include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements may be a random-access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash drive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, solid state drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. The node and wireless device may also include a transceiver module (i.e., transceiver), a counter module (i.e., counter), a processing module (i.e., processor), and/or a clock module (i.e., clock) or timer module (i.e., timer). In one example, selected components of the transceiver module can be located in a cloud radio access network (C-RAN). One or more programs that may implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high level procedural or object oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.
As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.
It should be understood that many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like.
Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module may not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.
Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. The modules may be passive or active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.
Reference throughout this specification to “an example” or “exemplary” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment of the present technology. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in an example” or the word “exemplary” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. In addition, various embodiments and example of the present technology may be referred to herein along with alternatives for the various components thereof. It is understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as defacto equivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate and autonomous representations of the present technology.
Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of layouts, distances, network examples, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the technology. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the technology can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, layouts, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the technology.
While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of the present technology in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of the technology.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2019/051119 | 9/13/2019 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62732504 | Sep 2018 | US |
