U.S. patent application number 13/105555 was filed with the patent office on 2011-09-01 for method, base station, and user terminal for implementing uplink resource indication.
This patent application is currently assigned to Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Invention is credited to Xiaobo Chen, Yongxia Lv, Meng Zhao.
Application Number | 20110211499 13/105555 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40340973 |
Filed Date | 2011-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110211499 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zhao; Meng ; et al. |
September 1, 2011 |
METHOD, BASE STATION, AND USER TERMINAL FOR IMPLEMENTING UPLINK
RESOURCE INDICATION
Abstract
A method, a base station (BS), and a user terminal for
implementing uplink resource indication are provided. The method
includes: carrying an uplink resource index in a ul grant, in which
the uplink resource index is corresponding to at least one uplink
resource in terms of indication; and sending the ul grant. The BS
includes an index carrying module and an instruction sending
module. The user terminal includes an instruction receiving module,
an instruction resolving module, and an execution module.
Inventors: |
Zhao; Meng; (Shenzhen,
CN) ; Lv; Yongxia; (Shenzhen, CN) ; Chen;
Xiaobo; (Shenzhen, CN) |
Assignee: |
Huawei Technologies Co.,
Ltd
Shenzhen
CN
|
Family ID: |
40340973 |
Appl. No.: |
13/105555 |
Filed: |
May 11, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12504239 |
Jul 16, 2009 |
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13105555 |
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PCT/CN2008/071926 |
Aug 7, 2008 |
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12504239 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
370/277 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 72/0413 20130101;
B61L 25/00 20130101; H04W 72/042 20130101; H04W 72/0446
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
370/277 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/04 20090101
H04W072/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 9, 2007 |
CN |
200710140544.8 |
Claims
1. A method for implementing uplink resource indication,
comprising: receiving, by a user terminal, an uplink resource grant
indication (ul grant) carrying an uplink resource index from a base
station; resolving, by the user terminal, the uplink resource index
from the ul grant according to an obtained in advance a
corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and the at
least one uplink resource; the corresponding relation is obtained
by: combining the at least one uplink resource into one group,
wherein the uplink resources in each group are not the same; and
making each group correspond to one uplink resource index, and
establishing the corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource; performing, by the user
terminal, resource grant on the obtained at least one uplink
resource.
2. The method according to claim 1, before the step of combining
the at least one uplink resource into one group comprises:
grouping, all uplink resources into at least one uplink resource
set.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the corresponding
relationship between the uplink resource index and at least one
uplink resource is established by: combining at least one uplink
resource in each uplink resource set into one group, wherein the
uplink resources in each group are not the same; and making each
group in the same uplink resource set correspond to one uplink
resource index, and establishing the corresponding relation between
the uplink resource index and the at least one uplink resource in
the same uplink resource set.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the uplink resource
comprises an uplink slot or an uplink subframe (SF).
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the uplink resource
index is formed by one of one bit, two bits, three bits, or four
bits.
6. A user terminal, comprising: an instruction receiving module,
configured to receive an uplink resource grant indication, ul
grant, from a base station, BS; an instruction resolving module,
configured to resolve the uplink resource index from the ul grant
according to an obtained in advance a corresponding relation
between the uplink resource index and the at least one uplink
resource; the corresponding relation being obtained by the
following means: combining the at least one uplink resource into
one group, wherein the uplink resources in each group are not the
same; and making each group correspond to one uplink resource
index, and establish ing the corresponding relation between the
uplink resource index and the at least one uplink resource; and an
execution module, configured to perform resource grant on the
obtained at least one uplink resource.
7. The user terminal according to claim 6, the execution module
further configured to group all uplink resources into at least one
uplink resource set.
8. The user terminal according to claim 7, the execution module
further configured to: combine at least one uplink resource in each
uplink resource set into one group, wherein the uplink resources in
each group are not completely the same; and make each group in the
same uplink resource set corresponding to one uplink resource
index, and establish the corresponding relation between the uplink
resource index and the at least one uplink resource in the same
uplink resource set.
9. A method for implementing uplink resource indication,
comprising: establishing, by a base station, a corresponding
relation between an uplink resource index and the at least one
uplink resource; the corresponding relation is obtained by the
following means: combining the at least one uplink resource into
one group, wherein the uplink resources in each group are not the
same; and making each group corresponding to one uplink resource
index, and establish the corresponding relation between the uplink
resource index and the at least one uplink resource; sending by the
base station, the ul grant to a user terminal.
10. The method according to claim 9, before the step of combining
the at least one uplink resource into one group comprises:
grouping, all uplink resources into at least one uplink resource
set.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the corresponding
relationship between the uplink resource index and at least one
uplink resource is established by: combining at least one uplink
resource in each uplink resource set into one group, wherein the
uplink resources in each group are not completely the same; and
making each group in the same uplink resource set correspond to one
uplink resource index, and establishing the corresponding relation
between the uplink resource index and the at least one uplink
resource in the same uplink resource set.
12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the uplink resource
comprises one of an uplink slot or an uplink subframe (SF).
13. A base station (BS), comprising: a mapping module, configured
to establish a corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource, wherein the
corresponding relation is obtained by the following means:
combining, the at least one uplink resource into one group, wherein
the uplink resources in each group are not completely the same; and
making each group correspond to one uplink resource index, and
establish ing the corresponding relation between the uplink
resource index and the at least one uplink resource; an instruction
sending module, configured to send the ul grant.
14. The BS according to claim 13, further comprising an index
carrying module, configured to carry an uplink resource index in
the uplink resource grant indication.
15. The BS according to claim 13, the mapping module further
configured to group all uplink resources into at least one uplink
resource set.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/504,239, filed on Jul. 16, 2009, which is a
continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2008/071926,
filed on Aug. 7, 2008. The International Application claims
priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200710140544.8, filed on
Aug. 9, 2007. All of the afore-mentioned patent applications are
hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of
communications, and more particularly to a method, a base station
(BS), and a user terminal for implementing uplink resource
indication.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] Time Division Duplex (TDD) is a radio transmission mode on
radio channels. In the TDD mode, the transmission and reception are
conducted in a time division manner, that is, the radio
transmission based on the TDD mode realizes the time division
multiplexing of uplink and downlink channels. The TDD mode is
implemented by repeating Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) frame
structures periodically in time domains. For example, in Long Term
Evolution (LTE), the 3GPP LTE has two TDD frame structures. The
first frame structure is as shown in FIG. 1, in which a radio frame
is composed by 20 slots, a period of a frame is 10 ms, and every
two slots form a subframe (SF). The second frame structure is as
shown in FIG. 2, in which a period of a frame is also 10 ms, a
frame is divided into two half-frames, each half-frame is composed
by seven SFs, a guard interval is inserted between every two SFs,
and a guard period (GP) is formed by a downlink pilot time slot
(DwPTS), a GP, and an uplink pilot time slot (UpPTS).
[0004] In the frame structure in the TDD mode, one frame includes
several SFs or slots. The SFs may be classified into uplink SFs and
downlink SFs, and a TDD system may use a transfer point to change
the SF types flexibly. For example, the current 3GPP LTE standard
specifies various SF ratios in the two frame structures. FIG. 3 is
a schematic view of various uplink and downlink SF ratios in the
first frame structure, in which the ratios in one frame are
illustrated. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of various uplink and
downlink SF ratios in the second frame structure, in which the
ratios in one and a half frames are illustrated. A table of uplink
and downlink SF ratios (as shown in Table 1) can be concluded from
FIGS. 3 and 4. Table 1 lists the situation of one transfer point,
that is, the situation that the uplink and downlink SFs have only
one type transfer.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Uplink and Downlink SF Ratios Frame
Structure (Downlink:Uplink) First Frame Structure 4:1, 3:2, 9:1,
6:4, 7:3, 8:2, 10:0, 2:2, 4:2, 2:3, 1:4 Second Frame Structure 6:1,
5:2, 4:3, 3:4, 2:5, 1:6
[0005] According to different service requirements, the TDD system
needs to indicate the uplink resources to which some uplink
instructions are directed in the uplink instructions. For example,
in downlink transmission of a 3GPP Evolved Universal Terrestrial
Radio Access (E-UTRA) system, an Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing (OFDM) technology is employed to realize multiple
access. The OFDM is a multi-carrier communication technology. In a
multi-carrier communication system, different time domain and
frequency domain resources are granted to different users to
realize multiplexing of time-frequency resources by multiple users.
Here, the time-frequency resources may be granted by carrying
resource grant indications of corresponding uplink SFs (ul grant)
in downlink control signaling of a user. A ul grant may contain
different contents. Table 2 lists the content of a ul grant.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 5 MHz UL Occupied Domain Bits Content
Resource Grant 9 Continuous physical resource blocks granted to a
user Transmission Format 7 Transmission format indication,
Indication/Transmission Block Size + modulation and information
bits Modulation Code Format number and code formats Hybrid
Automatic Retransmission 2 Synchronous HARQ: 2-3 bits of serial
Request (HARQ) number and implicit confirmation of previous
transmission blocks Power Control 2 Relative instructions Pilot
Instruction 1 Whether the pilot appears in the last long block
(from other user terminals) or whether the last long block is
configured to transmit data Channel Quality Indication 1 The
quality indication report about the channel scheduling should be
included in the data ACK/NACK Indication 1 Indicating that the user
terminal should reserve resources for ACK/NACK on the physical
uplink synchronous channel Multi-antenna Technology 2 Determined by
multi-user MIMO and uplink multi-antenna technology, 2 bits User
Terminal Identity + Cyclic 20 16-24-bit CRC Redundancy Check
(CRC)
[0006] Generally, a base station (BS) adopts downlink SFs to send
the ul grant as shown in Table 2. After receiving the ul grant,
each user determines whether the user identity in the ul grant is
consistent with the identity of each user itself; and if they are
consistent, the user grants the resources according to the ul
grant. Thus, the resources can be granted to all users. For a user,
when the downlink SFs are more than the uplink SFs, each of the
downlink SFs is mapped to one uplink SF, that is, the downlink SF
may be configured to send a ul grant for one uplink SF. However,
the frame structure in the TDD system may be asymmetrical in terms
of the uplink and downlink ratio, as shown in Table 1, that is, one
downlink SF may be corresponding to multiple uplink SFs, so that
the corresponding uplink SF cannot be determined according to one
ul grant. In this case, a downlink SF needs to be configured to
send multiple ul grants, so that one downlink SF is corresponding
to multiple uplink SFs, and the ul grants will be sent separately.
In other words, for the same user, if it is determined that n
uplink SFs are required after scheduling, n corresponding ul grants
exist, which will be transmitted repeatedly. Thus, the information
such as the user identity is also repeatedly transmitted for n
times, resulting in the waste of transmission resources such as
signaling and channels.
[0007] It is known from the above analysis that the existing method
for implementing uplink resource indication in the TDD system
cannot indicate the uplink resources corresponding to the ul grants
precisely, which may cause the waste of the resources and lead to a
low utilization of the resources.
SUMMARY
[0008] Accordingly, the present invention provides a method, a base
station (BS), and a user terminal for implementing uplink resource
indication.
[0009] A method for implementing uplink resource indication
includes:
[0010] An uplink resource index is carried in a ul grant, in which
the uplink resource index corresponds to at least one uplink
resource in terms of indication.
[0011] The ul grant is sent.
[0012] A BS for implementing uplink resource indication includes an
index carrying module and an instruction sending module.
[0013] The index carrying module is configured to carry an uplink
resource index in a ul grant, in which the uplink resource index
corresponds to at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication.
[0014] The instruction sending module is configured to send the ul
grant.
[0015] A user terminal for implementing uplink resource indication
includes an instruction receiving module, an instructing resolving
module, and an execution module.
[0016] The instruction receiving module is configured to receive a
ul grant from a BS, in which the ul grant carries an uplink
resource index, and the uplink resource index corresponds to at
least one uplink resource in terms of indication.
[0017] The instruction resolving module is configured to resolve
the uplink resource index from the ul grant received by the
instruction receiving module.
[0018] The execution module is configured to obtain the at least
one uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource index
resolved by the instruction resolving module according to a
corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and the at
least one uplink resource obtained in advance, and perform the
resource grant on the obtained at least one uplink resource.
[0019] It is known from the above technical solutions that the
method, BS, and user terminal for implementing uplink resource
indication according to the embodiments of the present invention
realize accurate indication of the at least one uplink resource
through the uplink resource index, prevent repeated transmission of
the same information in multiple uplink resources, effectively
reduce the signaling overhead, and increase the resource
utilization.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The present invention will become better understood from the
detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and
thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first frame structure in the
prior art;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a second frame structure in
the prior art;
[0023] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of various uplink and downlink RF
ratios in the first frame structure in the prior art;
[0024] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of various uplink and downlink RF
ratios in the second frame structure in the prior art;
[0025] FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a first
embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a second
embodiment of the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of a BS for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a third
embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of a user terminal
according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a frame structure according to
an embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] FIG. 10 is a schematic view of various uplink and downlink
RF ratios in a TDD frame structure according to an embodiment of
the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a fifth
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0032] FIG. 12 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a sixth
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0033] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and
beneficial effects of the present invention comprehensible,
embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0034] A method according to an embodiment of the present invention
includes the following steps. An uplink resource index is carried
in a ul grant, in which the uplink resource index is corresponding
to at least one uplink resource in terms of indication. Then, the
ul grant is sent.
[0035] In the embodiment of the present invention, the uplink
resource may be a time domain resource such as an uplink slot or an
uplink SF, or other resource blocks such as a frequency domain
resource block. The uplink SF is taken as an example below to
illustrate the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a first
embodiment of the present invention.
[0037] In Step 501, a corresponding relation between an uplink
resource index and at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication is established.
[0038] The method for establishing the corresponding relation
between the uplink resource index and the at least one uplink
resource in terms of indication includes the following steps. The
at least one uplink resource is combined into one group, and the
uplink resources in each group are not completely the same. Each
group is corresponding to an uplink resource index, so as to
establish the corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication.
[0039] In this embodiment, uplink resource indexes of different
bits are applied to different frame structures, so that different
corresponding relations between the uplink resource index and at
least one uplink SF can be established. The establishing the
corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and the at
least one uplink SF in terms of indication in different
circumstances is described in detail below. Persons skilled in the
art should understand that only some specific examples of the
technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present
invention are illustrated below, and the present invention is not
limited thereto.
[0040] In a first case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 2,
the ul grant supports the indication of discontinuous uplink SFs,
and the uplink resource index has four bits. Table 3 lists a
combination in the first case. In this combination, one or two
uplink SFs are combined into one group.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 DL: SF0, DL: SF0, SF6 DL: SF0, SF5~SF6
Uplink Resource UL: SF1~SF6 UL: SF1~SF5 UL: SF1~SF4 Index (1:6)
(2:5) (3:4) 0000 SF1 SF1 SF1 0001 SF2 SF2 SF2 0010 SF3 SF3 SF3 0011
SF4 SF4 SF4 0100 SF5 SF5 SF1 and SF2 0101 SF6 SF1 and SF2 SF1 and
SF3 0110 SF1 and SF2 SF1 and SF3 SF1 and SF4 0111 SF1 and SF3 SF1
and SF4 SF2 and SF3 1000 SF1 and SF4 SF1 and SF5 SF2 and SF4 1001
SF2 and SF4 SF2 and SF3 SF3 and SF4 1010 SF2 and SF5 SF2 and SF4
Reserved 1011 SF3 and SF4 SF2 and SF5 Reserved 1100 SF3 and SF5 SF3
and SF4 Reserved 1101 SF3 and SF6 SF3 and SF5 Reserved 1110 SF4 and
SF6 SF4 and SF5 Reserved 1111 SF5 and SF6 Reserved Reserved
[0041] In a second case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 2,
the ul grant supports the indication of continuous uplink SFs, and
the uplink resource index has three bits. Table 4 lists a
combination in the second case. In this combination, one or two
uplink SFs are combined into one group.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 DL: SF0, DL: SF0, SF6 DL: SF0, SF5~SF6
Uplink Resource UL: SF1~SF6 UL: SF1~SF5 UL: SF1~SF4 Index (1:6)
(2:5) (3:4) 000 SF1 SF1 SF1 001 SF2 SF2 SF2 010 SF3 SF3 SF3 011 SF4
SF4 SF4 100 SF5 SF5 SF1 and SF2 101 SF6 SF1 and SF2 SF2 and SF3 110
SF3 and SF4 SF3 and SF4 SF3 and SF4 111 SF5 and SF6 SF4 and SF5
Reserved
[0042] In a third case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 1,
the uplink resource index has four bits. For the simplicity of
illustration, only the uplink SFs are considered. In addition, for
the convenience of illustration, when there is only one uplink SF,
the uplink SF is represented as ULSF1; and when there are two
uplink SFs, the two uplink SFs are represented as ULSF1 and ULSF2
respectively. The representation of other uplink SFs is similar.
Table 5 lists a combination in the third case.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Uplink Resource Four Three Two One Zero
Index ULSFs ULSFs ULSFs ULSF ULSF 0000 ULSF1 ULSF1 ULSF1 Reserved
Reserved 0001 ULSF2 ULSF2 ULSF2 Reserved Reserved 0010 ULSF3 ULSF3
ULSF1 Reserved Reserved and ULSF2 0011 ULSF4 ULSF1 Reserved
Reserved Reserved and ULSF2 0100 ULSF1 and ULSF1 Reserved Reserved
Reserved and ULSF2 ULSF3 0101 ULSF1 and ULSF2 Reserved Reserved
Reserved ULSF3 and ULSF3 0110 ULSF1 and Reserved Reserved Reserved
Reserved ULSF4 0111 ULSF2 and Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved
ULSF3 1000 ULSF3 and Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved ULSF4 1001
Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved 1010 Reserved Reserved
Reserved Reserved Reserved 1011 Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved
Reserved 1100 Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved 1101
Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved 1110 Reserved Reserved
Reserved Reserved Reserved 1111 Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved
Reserved
[0043] In a fourth case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 1,
the ul grant supports the indication of continuous uplink SFs, and
the uplink resource index has three bits. Table 6 lists a
combination in the fourth case.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Uplink Resource Four Three Two One Zero
Index ULSFs ULSFs ULSFs ULSF ULSF 000 ULSF1 ULSF1 ULSF1 Reserved
Reserved 001 ULSF2 ULSF2 ULSF2 Reserved Reserved 010 ULSF3 ULSF3
ULSF1 Reserved Reserved and ULSF2 011 ULSF4 ULSF1 Reserved Reserved
Reserved and ULSF2 100 ULSF1 and ULSF2 Reserved Reserved Reserved
ULSF2 and ULSF3 101 ULSF2 and Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved
ULSF3 110 ULSF3 and Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved ULSF4 111
Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved Reserved
[0044] In Step 502, the uplink resource index is carried in the ul
grant, and the uplink resource index is corresponding to at least
one uplink resource.
[0045] In this embodiment, the ul grant is that of the same user
listed in Table 2, and the specific content of the ul grant is
shown in Table 7.
TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 5 MHz UL Occupied Domain Bits Content rce
Grant 9 Continuous physical resource blocks granted to a user
Transmission Format 7 Transmission format indication,
Indication/Transmission Block modulation and information bits
number Size + Modulation Code Format and code formats HARQ 2
Synchronous HARQ: 2-3 bits of serial number and implicit
confirmation of previous transmission blocks Power Control 2
Relative instructions Pilot Instruction 1 Whether the pilot appears
in the last long block (from other user terminals) or whether the
last long block is configured to transmit data Channel Quality
Indication 1 The quality indication report about the channel
scheduling should be included in the data ACK/NACK Indication 1
Indicating that the user terminal should reserve resources for
ACK/NACK on the physical uplink synchronous channel Multi-antenna
Technology 2 Determined by multi-user MIMO and uplink multi-antenna
technology, 2 bits User Terminal Identity + CRC 20 16-24-bit CRC
Uplink Resource Index 3 or 4 Uplink resource indication
[0046] In Step 503, the ul grant carrying the uplink resource index
is sent.
[0047] In this embodiment, the ul grant carrying the uplink
resource index is sent in a downlink SF.
[0048] In this embodiment, the optimal 3-bit or 4-bit uplink
resource index is configured to indicate the uplink SF, and for the
convenience of illustration, only the combination of one or two
uplink SFs is described. Persons skilled in the art should
understand that the embodiment of the present invention is not
limited to the corresponding relations between the uplink resource
index and the uplink SF in terms of indication listed in Table 3 to
Table 7.
[0049] After receiving the ul grant carrying the uplink resource
index from a BS, a user terminal resolves the uplink resource index
from the ul grant, and performs the resource grant on the at least
one uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource index
according to the corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource in terms of indication
obtained in advance. Here, after the BS establishes the
corresponding relation in terms of indication, the user terminal
may obtain the corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource in terms of indication
through static configuration or by dynamically acquiring from the
BS.
[0050] In this embodiment, by carrying the uplink resource index in
the ul grant, one ul grant of a user may indicate the resource
grant of multiple uplink SFs. Thus, when an asymmetrical resource
grant is performed in the TDD mode, especially when the uplink SFs
are more than the downlink SFs, the corresponding relation between
the ul grant and the uplink SFs can be established. This embodiment
realizes accurate indication of the at least one uplink resource
through the uplink resource index, prevents repeated transmission
of the same information in multiple uplink resources, effectively
reduces the signaling overhead, and increases the resource
utilization.
[0051] FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a second
embodiment of the present invention.
[0052] In Step 601, all uplink resources are grouped in at least
one uplink resource set in advance.
[0053] In this embodiment, all of the uplink resources are grouped
into at least one uplink resource set according to the
corresponding relation between the downlink SF for sending the ul
grant and the uplink SFs in terms of indication.
[0054] In this embodiment, the frame structure in FIG. 2 is
adopted, and the corresponding relation between the downlink SFs
and the uplink SF set in terms of indication listed in Table 8 is
set in advance. For example, when the uplink and downlink SF ratio
is 4:3, if SF6 is configured to send the ul grant carrying the
uplink resource index, the ul grant is directed to SF2; and if SF0
is configured to send the ul grant carrying the uplink resource
index, the ul grant is directed to SF3 and SF4.
TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 Uplink and Downlink SF Ratio (UL:DL) SF1 SF2
SF3 SF4 SF5 SF6 SF0 4:3 -- -- -- -- SF1 SF2 SF3 and SF4 5:2 -- --
-- -- -- SF1 and SF3, SF4, SF2 and SF5 6:1 -- -- -- -- -- -- SF1,
SF2, SF3, SF4, SF5, and SF6
[0055] In Step 602, a corresponding relation between an uplink
resource index and at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication is established.
[0056] The corresponding relation between the uplink resource index
and the at least one uplink resource may be established as follows.
The at least one uplink resource in each uplink resource set is
combined into one group, and the uplink resources in each group are
not completely the same. Each group in the same uplink resource set
is corresponding to one uplink resource index, so as to establish
the corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and at
least one uplink resource in the same uplink resource group in
terms of indication.
[0057] In this embodiment, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 2,
according to the corresponding relation between the downlink SFs
and the uplink SF set listed in Table 8, the uplink resource
indexes in different bits are configured to establish the
corresponding relation between different uplink resource indexes
and at least one uplink SF in terms of indication. Two
circumstances are described as follows.
[0058] In a first case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 2,
the uplink resource index has four bits. Table 9 lists a
combination in the first case.
TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 DL: SF0, SF6 DL: SF0, SF5~SF6 Uplink DL:
SF0, UL: SF1~SF5 UL: SF1~SF4 Resource UL: SF1~SF6 (2:5) (3:4) Index
(1:6) SF6 SF0 SF5 SF6 SF0 0000 SF1 SF1 SF5 Reserved SF3 0001 SF2
SF2 SF3 Reserved SF4 0010 SF3 SF1 and SF4 and Reserved SF2 SF5 0011
SF4 Reserved SF4 and Reserved SF3 0100 SF5 Reserved SF5 and
Reserved SF3 0101 SF6 Reserved Reserved 0110 SF1 and SF2 Reserved
Reserved 0111 SF1 and SF3 Reserved Reserved 1000 SF1 and SF4
Reserved Reserved 1001 SF2 and SF4 Reserved Reserved 1010 SF2 and
SF5 Reserved Reserved 1011 SF3 and SF4 Reserved Reserved 1100 SF3
and SF5 Reserved Reserved 1101 SF3 and SF6 Reserved Reserved 1110
SF4 and SF6 Reserved Reserved 1111 SF5 and SF6 Reserved
Reserved
[0059] In a second case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 2,
the ul grant supports the indication of discontinuous uplink SFs,
and the uplink resource index has three bits. Table 10 lists a
combination in the second case.
TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 10 DL: SF0, SF6 DL: SF0, SF5~SF6 Uplink DL:
SF0, UL: SF1~SF5 UL: SF1~SF4 Resource UL: SF1~SF6 (2:5) (3:4) Index
(1:6) SF6 SF0 SF5 SF6 SF0 000 SF1 SF1 SF5 Reserved SF3 001 SF2 SF2
SF3 Reserved SF4 010 SF3 SF1 and SF4 and Reserved SF2 SF5 011 SF4
Reserved SF4 and Reserved SF3 100 SF5 Reserved SF5 and Reserved SF3
101 SF6 Reserved Reserved 110 SF1 and SF2 Reserved Reserved 111 SF1
and SF3 Reserved Reserved
[0060] Certainly, in this embodiment, the frame structure shown in
FIG. 1 may also be adopted. Thereby, the corresponding relation
between the downlink SFs and the uplink resource set listed in
Table 11 may be set in advance in Step 601.
TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 11 Uplink and Downlink SF Ratio (DL:UL) DLSF0
DLSF1 1:4 ULSF0, ULSF1, ULSF2, -- and ULSF3 2:3 ULSF0 and ULSF1
ULSF2 2:4 ULSF0 and ULSF1 ULSF2 and ULSF3
[0061] For the frame structure shown in FIG. 1, according to the
corresponding relation between the downlink SFs and the uplink SF
set listed in Table 11, the uplink resource indexes in different
bits are configured to establish the corresponding relation between
the uplink resource indexes and at least one uplink SF in terms of
indication. Two circumstances are described as follows.
[0062] In a first case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 1,
the ul grant supports the indication of discontinuous uplink SFs,
and the uplink resource index has four bits. Table 12 lists a
combination in the first case.
TABLE-US-00012 TABLE 12 DL: DLSF0, DL: DLSF0~1 DL: DLSF0~1 Uplink
UL: UL: ULSF0~2 UL: ULSF0~3 Resource ULSF0~3 (2:3) (2:4) Index
(1:4) DLSF0 DLSF1 DLSF0 DLSF1 0000 ULSF1 ULSF0 Reserved ULSF0 ULSF2
0001 ULSF2 ULSF1 Reserved ULSF1 ULSF3 0010 ULSF3 Reserved Reserved
0011 ULSF0 Reserved Reserved 0100 ULSF1 and Reserved Reserved ULSF2
0101 ULSF1 and Reserved Reserved ULSF3 0110 ULSF1 and Reserved
Reserved ULSF0 0111 ULSF2 and Reserved Reserved ULSF3 1000 ULSF3
and Reserved Reserved ULSF0 1001 Reserved Reserved Reserved 1010
Reserved Reserved Reserved 1011 Reserved Reserved Reserved 1100
Reserved Reserved Reserved 1101 Reserved Reserved Reserved 1110
Reserved Reserved Reserved 1111 Reserved Reserved Reserved
[0063] In a second case, for the frame structure shown in FIG. 1,
the ul grant supports the indication of discontinuous uplink SFs,
and the uplink resource index has three bits. Table 13 lists a
combination in the second case.
TABLE-US-00013 TABLE 13 DL: DLSF0~1 DL: DLSF0~1 Uplink DL: DLSF0,
UL: ULSF0~2 UL: ULSF0~3 Resource UL: ULSF0~3 (2:3) (2:4) Index
(1:4) DLSF0 DLSF1 DLSF0 DLSF1 000 ULSF1 ULSF0 Reserved ULSF0 ULSF2
001 ULSF2 ULSF1 Reserved ULSF1 ULSF3 010 ULSF3 Reserved Reserved
011 ULSF0 Reserved Reserved 100 ULSF1 and ULSF2 Reserved Reserved
101 ULSF1 and ULSF3 Reserved Reserved 110 ULSF1 and ULSF0 Reserved
Reserved 111 ULSF2 and ULSF3 Reserved Reserved
[0064] In Step 603, the uplink resource index is carried in the ul
grant, and the uplink resource index is corresponding to at least
one uplink resource.
[0065] In this embodiment, the uplink resource index for indicating
the uplink resource is carried in another ul grant. The specific
content is shown in Table 14.
TABLE-US-00014 TABLE 14 N.sub.RA-MAP-bits 16-bits 4-bits 4-bits
1-bit 5-bits 3/4 bits SIMO-OL Resource User First Second Reserved
Signaling Uplink TxDiv grant terminal code code related to resource
identity word in word in HARQ index (CRC) multiple multiple
Indicating code code which words words frame is scheduled in the
TDD SIMO-CL TxDiv Resource User First Second Precoding Signaling
Uplink grant terminal code code matrix related to resource identity
word in word in indication HARQ index (CRC) multiple multiple and
code code selection words words SU-MIMO-1CW Resource User First
Second Precoding Signaling Indicating grant terminal code code
matrix related to which identity word in word in indication HARQ
frame is (CRC) multiple multiple and scheduled code code selection
in the words words TDD SU-MIMO-2CW Resource User First Second
Precoding Signaling Uplink grant terminal code code matrix related
to resource identity word in word in indication HARQ index (CRC)
multiple multiple and code code selection words words MU-MIMO
Resource User First Second Precoding Signaling Indicating grant
terminal code code matrix related to which identity word in word in
indication HARQ frame is (CRC) multiple multiple and scheduled code
code selection in the words words TDD BEAM- Resource User First
Second Precoding Signaling Uplink FORMING grant terminal code code
matrix related to resource identity word in word in indication HARQ
index (CRC) multiple multiple and code code selection words
words
[0066] In Step 604, the ul grant carrying the uplink resource index
is sent.
[0067] In this embodiment, all uplink resources are grouped into at
least one uplink resource set, the uplink SF set corresponding to
the ul grant is preliminarily determined according to the downlink
SF for sending the ul grant, and the specific uplink resources are
indicated according to the uplink resource index added in the ul
grant.
[0068] In this embodiment, according to the preset corresponding
relation between the downlink SFs and the uplink SF set, all of the
uplink SFs are grouped into at least one uplink SF set. For uplink
slots, according to the preset corresponding relation between the
downlink slot and the uplink slot set, all of the uplink SFs are
grouped into at least one uplink slot set. In this case, the user
terminal needs to obtain the mode for grouping the uplink resource
set statically or dynamically, and the indicated uplink resource is
determined according to the obtained uplink resource set and the
uplink resource index.
[0069] In the current 3GPP LTE standard, the resource grant is
performed in a downlink acknowledgement (DLACK) mode, and the
resources are corresponding to the ul grants one by one. When the
resource grant of multiple uplink resources is represented by one
ul grant, data packets of the uplink resources are corresponding to
one acknowledgement channel, which may carry information of only
two bits. Therefore, in this embodiment, one ul grant can indicate
the resource grant of at most two uplink resources.
[0070] This embodiment realizes accurate indication of the at least
one uplink resource through the uplink resource index, prevents
repeated transmission of the same information in multiple uplink
resources, effectively reduces the signaling overhead, and
increases the resource utilization.
[0071] FIG. 7 is a schematic structural view of a BS for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a third
embodiment of the present invention. The BS includes an index
carrying module 701 and an instruction sending module 702.
[0072] The index carrying module 701 is configured to carry an
uplink resource index in a ul grant, in which the uplink resource
index is corresponding to at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication.
[0073] The instruction sending module 702 is configured to send the
ul grant generated by the index carrying module 701.
[0074] The BS further includes a mapping module 703.
[0075] The mapping module 703 is configured to establish a
corresponding relation between an uplink resource index and at
least one uplink resource in terms of indication.
[0076] This embodiment realizes accurate indication of the at least
one uplink resource through the uplink resource index, prevents
repeated transmission of the same information in multiple uplink
resources, effectively reduces the signaling overhead, and
increases the resource utilization.
[0077] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural view of a user terminal
according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The user
terminal includes an instruction receiving module 801, an
instruction resolving module 802, and an execution module 803.
[0078] The instruction receiving module 801 is configured to
receive a ul grant from a BS, in which the ul grant carries an
uplink resource index, and the uplink resource index is
corresponding to at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication.
[0079] The instruction resolving module 802 is configured to
resolve the uplink resource index from the ul grant received by the
instruction receiving module 801.
[0080] The execution module 803 is configured to obtain the at
least one uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource
index resolved by the instruction resolving module 802 according to
a corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and the
at least one uplink resource in terms of indication obtained in
advance, and perform the resource grant on the obtained at least
one uplink resource.
[0081] This embodiment realizes accurate indication of the at least
one uplink resource through the uplink resource index, prevents
repeated transmission of the same information in multiple uplink
resources, effectively reduces the signaling overhead, and
increases the resource utilization.
[0082] As shown in FIG. 9, a radio frame is composed by 20 slots, a
period of a frame is 10 ms, a frame is divided into two
half-frames, each half-frame is composed by five SFs, the first
half-frame includes SF0-SF4, and the second half-frame includes
SF5-SF9. SF1 and SF6 are respectively formed by a special downlink
pilot time slot (DwPTS), a guard period (GP), and an uplink pilot
time slot (UpPTS), and serve as transfer points of uplink and
downlink SFs. SF6 may also not be configured as a transfer point.
Thereby, the entire frame is used as a downlink frame.
[0083] In the frame structure in the TDD mode, one frame includes
several SFs or slots. The SFs may be classified into uplink SFs and
downlink SFs, and a TDD system may use a transfer point to transfer
the SF types flexibly. For example, in the current 3GPP LTE
standard, different SF grant ratios are specified. FIG. 10 is a
schematic view of various uplink and downlink SF ratios in the
frame structure shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 10 lists seven configuration
results of a frame. The frame includes ten SFs, namely SF0-SF9. In
different configurations, the uplink and downlink SF ratios in a
frame are different. A table of uplink and downlink SF ratios
(Table 15) is concluded from FIG. 10. Table 15 lists the
circumstances of one and two transfer points.
TABLE-US-00015 TABLE 15 Uplink and Downlink Ratio SF Number
(Downlink: Configuration 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Uplink) 0 Downlink
Transfer Uplink Uplink Uplink Downlink Transfer Uplink Uplink
Uplink 1:3 point point 1 Downlink Transfer Uplink Uplink Downlink
Downlink Transfer Uplink Uplink Downlink 2:2 point point 2 Downlink
Transfer Uplink Downlink Downlink Downlink Transfer Uplink Downlink
Downlink 3:1 point point 3 Downlink Transfer Uplink Uplink Uplink
Downlink Downlink Downlink Downlink Downlink 6:3 point 4 Downlink
Transfer Uplink Uplink Downlink Downlink Downlink Downlink Downlink
Downlink 7:2 point 5 Downlink Transfer Uplink Downlink Downlink
Downlink Downlink Downlink Downlink Downlink 8:1 point 6 Downlink
Transfer Uplink Uplink Uplink Downlink Transfer Uplink Uplink
Downlink 3:5 point point
[0084] FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a fifth
embodiment of the present invention.
[0085] In Step 1101, a corresponding relation between an uplink
resource index and at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication is established.
[0086] The method for establishing the corresponding relation
between the uplink resource index and the at least one uplink
resource in terms of indication is as follows. The at least one
uplink resource is combined into one group, and the uplink
resources in each group are not completely the same. Each group is
corresponding to an uplink resource index, so as to establish the
corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and the at
least one uplink resource in terms of indication.
[0087] In this embodiment, uplink resource indexes of different
bits are used for different frame structures, so different
corresponding relations between the uplink resource index and at
least one uplink SF can be established. The establishing the
corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and the at
least one uplink SF in terms of indication in different situations
are described in detail below. Persons skilled in the art should
understand that only some specific examples of the technical
solutions according to the embodiment of the present invention are
described below, and the present invention is not limited
thereto.
[0088] For the frame structure shown in FIG. 10, the ul grant
supports the indication of continuous uplink SFs, and the uplink
resource index has three bits. Table 16 lists a combination in a
first case. In this combination, one or two uplink SFs are combined
into one group.
TABLE-US-00016 TABLE 16 Uplink Resources Uplink Resource Index (3
Uplink SFs: SF2~SF4) 000 SF2 001 SF3 010 SF4 011 SF2 and SF3 100
SF2 and SF4 101 SF3 and SF4 110 Reserved 111 Reserved
[0089] In Step 1102, the uplink resource index is carried in the ul
grant, and the uplink resource index is corresponding to at least
one uplink resource.
[0090] In this embodiment, the ul grant is that of the same user
listed in Table 2, and the specific content of the ul grant is as
listed in Table 17.
TABLE-US-00017 TABLE 17 5 MHz UL Occupied Domain Bits Content
Resource Grant 9 Continuous physical resource blocks granted to a
user Transmission Format 7 Transmission format indication,
Indication/Transmission Block modulation and information bits
number Size + Modulation Code Format and code formats HARQ 2
Synchronous HARQ: 2-3 bits of serial number and implicit
confirmation of previous transmission blocks Power Control 2
Relative instructions Pilot Instruction 1 Whether the pilot appears
in the last long block (from other user terminals) or whether the
last long block is configured to transmit data Channel Quality
Indication 1 The quality report about the channel scheduling should
be included in the data ACK/NACK Indication 1 Indicating that the
user terminal should reserve resources for ACK/NACK on the physical
uplink synchronous channel Multi-antenna Technology 2 Determined by
multi-user MIMO and uplink multi-antenna technology, 2 bits User
Terminal Identity + CRC 20 16-24-bit CRC Uplink Resource Index 3 or
4 Uplink resource indication
[0091] In Step 1103, the ul grant carrying the uplink resource
index is sent.
[0092] In this embodiment, the ul grant carrying the uplink
resource index is sent in a downlink SF.
[0093] In this embodiment, the optimal 3-bit uplink resource index
is configured to indicate the uplink SF, and for the convenience of
illustration, only the combination of one or two uplink SFs is
described. Persons skilled in the art should understand that the
embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the
corresponding relations between the uplink SF index and the uplink
SF in terms of indication listed in Table 3 and Table 4.
[0094] After receiving the ul grant carrying the uplink resource
index from a BS, a user terminal resolves the uplink resource index
from the ul grant, and performs the resource grant on the at least
one uplink resource corresponding to the uplink resource index
according to the corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource in terms of indication
obtained in advance. Here, after the BS establishes the
corresponding relation in terms of indication, the user terminal
may obtain the corresponding relation between the uplink resource
index and the at least one uplink resource in terms of indication
through static configuration or by dynamically acquiring from the
BS.
[0095] In this embodiment, by carrying the uplink resource index in
the ul grant, one ul grant of a user may indicate the resource
grant of multiple uplink SFs. Thus, when an asymmetrical resource
grant is performed in the TDD mode, especially when the uplink SFs
are more than the downlink SFs, the corresponding relation between
the ul grant and the uplink SFs can be established. This embodiment
realizes accurate indication of the at least one uplink resource
through the uplink resource index, prevents repeated transmission
of the same information in multiple uplink resources, effectively
reduces the signaling overhead, and increases the resource
utilization.
[0096] FIG. 12 is a schematic flow chart of a method for
implementing uplink resource indication according to a sixth
embodiment of the present invention.
[0097] In Step 1201, all uplink resources are grouped in at least
one uplink resource set in advance.
[0098] In this embodiment, all of the uplink resources are grouped
into at least one uplink resource set according to the
corresponding relation between the downlink SF for sending the ul
grant and the uplink SFs in terms of indication.
[0099] In this embodiment, the frame structure in FIG. 10 is
adopted, and the corresponding relation between the downlink SFs
and the uplink SF set in terms of indication listed in Table 18 is
set in advance. For example, when the uplink and downlink SF ratio
(UL: DL) is 3:1, if SF0 is configured to send the ul grant carrying
the uplink resource index, the ul grant is directed to SF4 of the
current period and SF2* of the next period; and if SF1 is
configured to send the ul grant carrying the uplink resource index,
the ul grant is directed to SF2* and SF3* of the next period.
TABLE-US-00018 TABLE 18 Uplink and Downlink SF Ratio (UL:DL) SF0
SF1 SF2 SF3 SF4 3:1 SF4 and SF2* SF2* and -- -- -- SF3*
[0100] In Step 1202, a corresponding relation between an uplink
resource index and at least one uplink resource in terms of
indication is established.
[0101] The corresponding relation between the uplink resource index
and the at least one uplink resource may be established as follows.
The at least one uplink resource in each uplink resource set is
combined into one group, and the uplink resources in each group are
not completely the same. Each group in the same uplink resource set
is corresponding to one uplink resource index, so as to establish
the corresponding relation between the uplink resource index and at
least one uplink resource in the same uplink resource group in
terms of indication.
[0102] In this embodiment, according to the corresponding relation
between the downlink SF and the uplink SF set, the uplink resource
indexes in different bits are configured to establish the
corresponding relation between different uplink resource indexes
and at least one uplink SF in terms of indication. For example, for
the frame structure shown in FIG. 10, the uplink resource index has
two bits; and according to the corresponding relation listed in
Table 18, a combination listed in Table 19 is obtained.
TABLE-US-00019 TABLE 19 DL: SF0, SF1 UL: SF2~SF4 Uplink Resource
Index (DL:UL is 1:3) (2 bit) SF0 SF1 00 SF4 SF2* 01 SF2* SF3* 10
SF4 and SF2* SF2* and SF3* 11 Reserved Reserved
[0103] In Step 1203, the uplink resource index is carried in the ul
grant, and the uplink resource index is corresponding to at least
one uplink resource.
[0104] In this embodiment, the uplink resource index for indicating
the uplink resource is carried in another ul grant. The specific
content is shown in Table 20.
TABLE-US-00020 TABLE 20 N.sub.RA-MAP-bits 16-bits 4-bits 4-bits
1-bit 5-bits 2 bits SIMO-OL Resource User First Second Reserved
Signaling Uplink TxDiv grant terminal code code related to resource
identity word in word in HARQ index (CRC) multiple multiple
Indicating code code which words words frame is scheduled in the
TDD SIMO-CL TxDiv Resource User First Second Precoding Signaling
Uplink grant terminal code code matrix related to resource identity
word in word in indication HARQ index (CRC) multiple multiple and
code code selection words words SU-MIMO-1CW Resource User First
Second Precoding Signaling Indicating grant terminal code code
matrix related to which identity word in word in indication HARQ
frame is (CRC) multiple multiple and scheduled code code selection
in the words words TDD SU-MIMO-2CW Resource User First Second
Precoding Signaling Uplink grant terminal code code matrix related
to resource identity word in word in indication HARQ index (CRC)
multiple multiple and code code selection words words MU-MIMO
Resource User First Second Precoding Signaling Indicating grant
terminal code code matrix related to which identity word in word in
indication HARQ frame is (CRC) multiple multiple and scheduled code
code selection in the words words TDD BEAM- Resource User First
Second Precoding Signaling Uplink FORMING grant terminal code code
matrix related to resource identity word in word in indication HARQ
index (CRC) multiple multiple and code code selection words
words
[0105] In Step 1204, the ul grant carrying the uplink resource
index is sent.
[0106] In this embodiment, all uplink resources are grouped into at
least one uplink resource set, the uplink SF set corresponding to
the ul grant is preliminarily determined according to the downlink
SF for sending the ul grant, and the specific uplink resources are
indicated according to the uplink resource index added in the ul
grant.
[0107] In this embodiment, according to the preset corresponding
relation between the downlink SF and the uplink SF set, all of the
uplink SFs are grouped into at least one uplink SF set. For uplink
slots, according to the preset corresponding relation between the
downlink slot and the uplink slot set in terms of indication, all
of the uplink SFs are grouped into at least one uplink slot set. In
this case, the user terminal needs to obtain the mode for grouping
the uplink resource set statically or dynamically, and the
indicated uplink resource is determined according to the obtained
uplink resource set and the uplink resource index.
[0108] In the current 3GPP LTE standard, the resource grant is
performed in a DLACK mode, and the resources are corresponding to
the ul grants one by one. When the resource grant of multiple
uplink resources is represented by one ul grant, data packets of
the multiple uplink resources are corresponding to one
acknowledgement channel, which may carry information of only two
bits. Therefore, in this embodiment, one ul grant can indicate the
resource grant of at most two uplink resources. If two many packets
are indicated, in the retransmission, the packets cannot be
terminated at the same time, which makes the subsequent scheduling
more complicated. Therefore, the comprehensive consideration of
resource grant of two uplink resources is a reasonable processing
mode.
[0109] This embodiment realizes accurate indication of the at least
one uplink resource through the uplink resource index, prevents
repeated transmission of the same information in multiple uplink
resources, effectively reduces the signaling overhead, and
increases the resource utilization.
[0110] All or a part of the content of the technical solutions
according to the embodiments may be implemented through software
programming. The software program is stored in a readable storage
media, for example, a hard disk, an optical disk, or a floppy disk
in a computer.
[0111] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the
present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the
present invention cover modifications and variations of this
invention provided they fall within the scope of the following
claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *