U.S. patent application number 15/946344 was filed with the patent office on 2018-08-09 for aperiodic transmission method and apparatus for sounding reference signal in wireless communication system.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is LG ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Jae Hoon CHUNG, Seung Hee HAN, Min Seok NOH.
Application Number | 20180227894 15/946344 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44542756 |
Filed Date | 2018-08-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180227894 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
NOH; Min Seok ; et
al. |
August 9, 2018 |
APERIODIC TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SOUNDING REFERENCE
SIGNAL IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Abstract
A method for transmitting an aperiodic sounding reference signal
(SRS) by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system
includes receiving, by the UE from a network, downlink control
information (DCI) for downlink scheduling which includes a
triggering request of the aperiodic SRS, detecting, by the UE, the
triggering request of the aperiodic SRS, and transmitting, by the
UE to the network, the aperiodic SRS on an uplink (UL) component
carrier (CC) among a plurality of UL CCs based on the DCI for
downlink scheduling, wherein if a carrier indicator field (CIF) is
included in the DCI for downlink scheduling, the UL CC is indicated
by the CIF.
Inventors: |
NOH; Min Seok; (Anyang-si,
KR) ; HAN; Seung Hee; (Anyang-si, KR) ; CHUNG;
Jae Hoon; (Anyang-si, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LG ELECTRONICS INC. |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
44542756 |
Appl. No.: |
15/946344 |
Filed: |
April 5, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14460969 |
Aug 15, 2014 |
9974067 |
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15946344 |
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13509493 |
May 11, 2012 |
8848642 |
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PCT/KR2011/001548 |
Mar 7, 2011 |
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14460969 |
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61310712 |
Mar 5, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 25/0226 20130101;
H04W 72/00 20130101; H04W 72/042 20130101; H04L 5/0048 20130101;
H04W 24/10 20130101; H04L 5/001 20130101; H04L 5/0023 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/04 20060101
H04W072/04; H04L 25/02 20060101 H04L025/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 4, 2011 |
KR |
10-2011-0019405 |
Claims
1. A method for transmitting an aperiodic sounding reference signal
(SRS) by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system,
the method comprising: receiving, by the UE from a network,
downlink control information (DCI) for downlink scheduling which
includes a triggering request of the aperiodic SRS; detecting, by
the UE, the triggering request of the aperiodic SRS; and
transmitting, by the UE to the network, the aperiodic SRS on an
uplink (UL) component carrier (CC) among a plurality of UL CCs
based on the DCI for downlink scheduling, wherein if a carrier
indicator field (CIF) is included in the DCI for downlink
scheduling, the UL CC is indicated by the CIF.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein if the CIF is not included in the
DCI for downlink scheduling, the UL CC is indicated by a radio
resource control (RRC) signaling.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the RRC signaling is system
information.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the UL CC is linked to a downlink
(DL) CC in which a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is
scheduled by the DCI for downlink scheduling.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the DCI for downlink scheduling
is received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the aperiodic SRS is transmitted
through a plurality of antennas.
7. A user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, the UE
comprising: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor, operably
coupled to the memory and the transceiver, that: controls the
transceiver to receive, from a network, downlink control
information (DCI) for downlink scheduling which includes a
triggering request of the aperiodic SRS, detects the triggering
request of the aperiodic SRS, and controls the transceiver to
transmit, to the network, the aperiodic SRS on an uplink (UL)
component carrier (CC) among a plurality of UL CCs based on the DCI
for downlink scheduling, wherein if a carrier indicator field (CIF)
is included in the DCI for downlink scheduling, the UL CC is
indicated by the CIF.
8. The UE of claim 7, wherein if the CIF is not included in the DCI
for downlink scheduling, the UL CC is indicated by a radio resource
control (RRC) signaling.
9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the RRC signaling is system
information.
10. The UE of claim 8, wherein the UL CC is linked to a downlink
(DL) CC in which a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is
scheduled by the DCI for downlink scheduling.
11. The UE of claim 7, wherein the DCI for downlink scheduling is
received via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).
12. The UE of claim 7, wherein the aperiodic SRS is transmitted
through a plurality of antennas.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application is a Continuation of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/460,969 filed on Aug. 15, 2014, which is a
Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/509,493 filed
on May 11, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,848,642 issued on Sep. 30,
2014), which is the National Phase of PCT International Application
No. PCT/KR2011/001548 filed on Mar. 7, 2011, which claims the
priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/310,712 filed on Mar. 5, 2010, and under 35
U.S.C. .sctn. 119(a) to Korean Patent Application No.
10-2011-0019405 filed in the Republic of Korea on Mar. 4, 2011, all
of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the
present application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to wireless communications,
and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for aperiodic
sounding reference signal in a wireless communication system.
Discussion of the Related Art
[0003] The next-generation multimedia wireless communication
systems which are recently being actively researched are required
to process and transmit various pieces of information, such as
video and wireless data as well as the initial voice-centered
services. The 4.sup.th generation wireless communication systems
which are now being developed subsequently to the 3.sup.rd
generation wireless communication systems are aiming at supporting
high-speed data service of downlink 1 Gbps (Gigabits per second)
and uplink 500 Mbps (Megabits per second). The object of the
wireless communication system is to establish reliable
communications between a number of users irrespective of their
positions and mobility. However, a wireless channel has abnormal
characteristics, such as path loss, noise, a fading phenomenon due
to multi-path, Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI), and the Doppler
Effect resulting from the mobility of a user equipment. A variety
of techniques are being developed in order to overcome the abnormal
characteristics of the wireless channel and to increase the
reliability of wireless communication.
[0004] Technology for supporting reliable and high-speed data
service includes Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM),
Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), and so on. An OFDM system is
being considered after the 3.sup.rd generation system which is able
to attenuate the ISI effect with low complexity. The OFDM system
converts symbols, received in series, into N (N is a natural
number) parallel symbols and transmits them on respective separated
N subcarriers. The subcarriers maintain orthogonality in the
frequency domain. It is expected that the market for mobile
communication will shift from the existing Code Division Multiple
Access (CDMA) system to an OFDM-based system. MIMO technology can
be used to improve the efficiency of data transmission and
reception using multiple transmission antennas and multiple
reception antennas. MIMO technology includes spatial multiplexing,
transmit diversity, beam-forming and the like. An MIMO channel
matrix according to the number of reception antennas and the number
of transmission antennas can be decomposed into a number of
independent channels. Each of the independent channels is called a
layer or stream. The number of layers is called a rank.
[0005] In wireless communication systems, it is necessary to
estimate an uplink channel or a downlink channel for the purpose of
the transmission and reception of data, the acquisition of system
synchronization, and the feedback of channel information. In
wireless communication system environments, fading is generated
because of multi-path time latency. A process of restoring a
transmit signal by compensating for the distortion of the signal
resulting from a sudden change in the environment due to such
fading is referred to as channel estimation. It is also necessary
to measure the state of a channel for a cell to which a user
equipment belongs or other cells. To estimate a channel or measure
the state of a channel, a Reference Signal (RS) which is known to
both a transmitter and a receiver can be used.
[0006] A subcarrier used to transmit the reference signal is
referred to as a reference signal subcarrier, and a subcarrier used
to transmit data is referred to as a data subcarrier. In an OFDM
system, a method of assigning the reference signal includes a
method of assigning the reference signal to all the subcarriers and
a method of assigning the reference signal between data
subcarriers. The method of assigning the reference signal to all
the subcarriers is performed using a signal including only the
reference signal, such as a preamble signal, in order to obtain the
throughput of channel estimation. If this method is used, the
performance of channel estimation can be improved as compared with
the method of assigning the reference signal between data
subcarriers because the density of reference signals is in general
high. However, since the amount of transmitted data is small in the
method of assigning the reference signal to all the subcarriers,
the method of assigning the reference signal between data
subcarriers is used in order to increase the amount of transmitted
data. If the method of assigning the reference signal between data
subcarriers is used, the performance of channel estimation can be
deteriorated because the density of reference signals is low.
Accordingly, the reference signals should be properly arranged in
order to minimize such deterioration.
[0007] A receiver can estimate a channel by separating information
about a reference signal from a received signal because it knows
the information about a reference signal and can accurately
estimate data, transmitted by a transmit stage, by compensating for
an estimated channel value. Assuming that the reference signal
transmitted by the transmitter is p, channel information
experienced by the reference signal during transmission is h,
thermal noise occurring in the receiver is n, and the signal
received by the receiver is y, it can result in y=hp+n. Here, since
the receiver already knows the reference signal p, it can estimate
a channel information value h using Equation 1 in the case in which
a Least Square (LS) method is used.
h=y/p=h+n/p=h+{circumflex over (n)} [Equation 1]
[0008] An uplink reference signal can be classified into a
demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and a sounding reference
signal (SRS). The DMRS is a reference signal used for channel
estimation to demodulate a received signal. The DMRS can be
combined with PUSCH or PUCCH transmission. The SRS is a reference
signal transmitted for uplink scheduling by a user equipment to a
base station. The base station estimates an uplink channel by using
the received SRS, and the estimated uplink channel is used in
uplink scheduling. The SRS can be transmitted periodically, or can
be transmitted aperiodically by being triggered by the base station
when the base station requires SRS transmission.
[0009] An aperiodic SRS transmission method has not been defined in
a carrier aggregation system in which a plurality of component
carriers (CCs) are defined. In particular, there is a need to
determine a specific CC used for aperiodic SRS transmission among
the plurality of CCs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The present invention provides an aperiodic transmission
method and apparatus for a sounding reference signal in a wireless
communication system.
[0011] In an aspect, an aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS)
transmission method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a
wireless communication system is provided. The method includes
transmitting an aperiodic SRS through a specific uplink (UL)
component carrier (CC) among a plurality of UL CCs, wherein the
specific UL CC is determined based on a downlink (DL) grant, and
wherein the DL grant contains a message for triggering the
aperiodic SRS transmission.
[0012] The specific UL CC may be a UL CC linked to a DL CC that
transmits the DL grant.
[0013] A link between the DL CC that transmits the DL grant and the
specific UL CC is determined based on system information.
[0014] The specific UL CC may be a UL CC linked to a DL CC that
transmits a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by
the DL grant.
[0015] A link between the DL CC that transmits the PDSCH and the
specific UL CC is determined based on system information.
[0016] The DL CC that transmits the PDSCH may be determined based
on a downlink control information (DCI) format transmitted through
the DL grant.
[0017] The DL CC that transmits the PDSCH may be indicated by a
carrier indicator field (CIF) in the DCI format.
[0018] The aperiodic SRS may be transmitted by being allocated to a
resource used for periodic SRS transmission in the specific UL
CC.
[0019] The aperiodic SRS may be transmitted by being allocated to
an available whole SRS bandwidth among respective system bandwidths
in the specific UL CC.
[0020] The aperiodic SRS may be transmitted by being allocated to
the greatest bandwidth among SRS bandwidths determined in a
UE-specific manner in the specific UL CC.
[0021] The aperiodic SRS may be transmitted by being allocated to
some of the SRS bandwidths determined in a UE-specific manner in
the specific UL CC.
[0022] The aperiodic SRS may be transmitted through a plurality of
antennas.
[0023] In another aspect, a user equipment in a wireless
communication system is provided. The user equipment includes a
radio frequency (RF) unit for transmitting an aperiodic sounding
reference signal (SRS) through a specific uplink (UL) component
carrier (CC) among a plurality of UL CCs, and a processor coupled
to the RF unit, wherein the specific UL CC is determined based on a
downlink (DL) grant, and wherein the DL grant contains a message
for triggering the aperiodic SRS transmission.
[0024] According to the present invention, an uplink component
carrier (CC) used for aperiodic sounding reference signal (SRS)
transmission can be effectively indicated in a carrier aggregation
system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system.
[0026] FIG. 2 shows the structure of a radio frame in 3GPP LTE.
[0027] FIG. 3 shows an example of a resource grid of a single
downlink slot.
[0028] FIG. 4 shows the structure of a downlink subframe.
[0029] FIG. 5 shows the structure of an uplink subframe.
[0030] FIG. 6 shows an example of a transmitter and a receiver
which constitute a carrier aggregation system.
[0031] FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are other examples of a transmitter and a
receiver which constitute a carrier aggregation system.
[0032] FIG. 9 shows an example of an asymmetric carrier aggregation
system.
[0033] FIG. 10 shows the proposed aperiodic SRS transmission method
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a BS and a UE to
implement an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0035] The following technique may be used for various wireless
communication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA),
a frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple
access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access
(OFDMA), single carrier-frequency division multiple access
(SC-FDMA), and the like. The CDMA may be implemented as a radio
technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or
CDMA2000. The TDMA may be implemented as a radio technology such as
a global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packet
radio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE).
The OFDMA may be implemented by a radio technology such as IEEE
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 (Wi-Fi),
IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, E-UTRA (Evolved UTRA), and the
like. IEEE 802.16m, an evolution of IEEE 802.16e, provides backward
compatibility with a system based on IEEE 802.16e. The UTRA is part
of a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). 3GPP (3rd
generation partnership project) LTE (long term evolution) is part
of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA, which employs the
OFDMA in downlink and the SC-FDMA in uplink. LTE-A (advanced) is an
evolution of 3GPP LTE.
[0036] Hereinafter, for clarification, LET-A will be largely
described, but the technical concept of the present invention is
not meant to be limited thereto.
[0037] FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system.
[0038] The wireless communication system 10 includes at least one
base station (BS) 11. Respective BSs 11 provide a communication
service to particular geographical areas 15a, 15b, and 15c (which
are generally called cells). Each cell may be divided into a
plurality of areas (which are called sectors). A user equipment
(UE) 12 may be fixed or mobile and may be referred to by other
names such as MS (mobile station), MT (mobile terminal), UT (user
terminal), SS (subscriber station), wireless device, PDA (personal
digital assistant), wireless modem, handheld device. The BS 11
generally refers to a fixed station that communicates with the UE
12 and may be called by other names such as eNB (evolved-NodeB),
BTS (base transceiver system), access point (AP), etc.
[0039] In general, a UE belongs to one cell, and the cell to which
a UE belongs is called a serving cell. A BS providing a
communication service to the serving cell is called a serving BS.
The wireless communication system is a cellular system, so a
different cell adjacent to the serving cell exists. The different
cell adjacent to the serving cell is called a neighbor cell. A BS
providing a communication service to the neighbor cell is called a
neighbor BS. The serving cell and the neighbor cell are relatively
determined based on a UE.
[0040] This technique can be used for downlink or uplink. In
general, downlink refers to communication from the BS 11 to the UE
12, and uplink refers to communication from the UE 12 to the BS 11.
In downlink, a transmitter may be part of the BS 11 and a receiver
may be part of the UE 12. In uplink, a transmitter may be part of
the UE 12 and a receiver may be part of the BS 11.
[0041] The wireless communication system may be any one of a MIMO
(Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) system, a MISO (Multiple-Input
Single-Output) system, an SISO (Single-Input Single-Output) system,
and an SIMO (Single-Input Multiple-Output) system. The MIMO system
uses a plurality of transmission antennas and a plurality of
reception antennas. The MISO system uses a plurality of
transmission antennas and a single reception antenna. The SISO
system uses a single transmission antenna and a single reception
antenna. The SIMO system uses a single transmission antenna and a
plurality of reception antennas. Hereinafter, a transmission
antenna refers to a physical or logical antenna used for
transmitting a signal or a stream, and a reception antenna refers
to a physical or logical antenna used for receiving a signal or a
stream.
[0042] FIG. 2 shows the structure of a radio frame in 3GPP LTE.
[0043] It may be referred to Paragraph 5 of "Technical
Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal
Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical channels and modulation
(Release 8)" to 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project) TS 36.211
V8.2.0 (2008-03). Referring to FIG. 2, the radio frame includes 10
subframes, and one subframe includes two slots. The slots in the
radio frame are numbered by #0 to #19. A time taken for
transmitting one subframe is called a transmission time interval
(TTI). The TTI may be a scheduling unit for a data transmission.
For example, a radio frame may have a length of 10 ms, a subframe
may have a length of 1 ms, and a slot may have a length of 0.5
ms.
[0044] One slot includes a plurality of OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency
Division Multiplexing) symbols in a time domain and a plurality of
subcarriers in a frequency domain. Since 3GPP LTE uses OFDMA in
downlink, the OFDM symbols are used to express a symbol period. The
OFDM symbols may be called by other names depending on a
multiple-access scheme. For example, when SC-FDMA is in use as an
uplink multi-access scheme, the OFDM symbols may be called SC-FDMA
symbols. A resource block (RB), a resource allocation unit,
includes a plurality of continuous subcarriers in a slot. The
structure of the radio frame is merely an example. Namely, the
number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots
included in a subframe, or the number of OFDM symbols included in a
slot may vary.
[0045] 3GPP LTE defines that one slot includes seven OFDM symbols
in a normal cyclic prefix (CP) and one slot includes six OFDM
symbols in an extended CP.
[0046] The wireless communication system may be divided into a
frequency division duplex (FDD) scheme and a time division duplex
(TDD) scheme. According to the FDD scheme, an uplink transmission
and a downlink transmission are made at different frequency bands.
According to the TDD scheme, an uplink transmission and a downlink
transmission are made during different periods of time at the same
frequency band. A channel response of the TDD scheme is
substantially reciprocal. This means that a downlink channel
response and an uplink channel response are almost the same in a
given frequency band. Thus, the TDD-based wireless communication
system is advantageous in that the downlink channel response can be
obtained from the uplink channel response. In the TDD scheme, the
entire frequency band is time-divided for uplink and downlink
transmissions, so a downlink transmission by the BS and an uplink
transmission by the UE can be simultaneously performed. In a TDD
system in which an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission
are discriminated in units of subframes, the uplink transmission
and the downlink transmission are performed in different
subframes.
[0047] FIG. 3 shows an example of a resource grid of a single
downlink slot.
[0048] A downlink slot includes a plurality of OFDM symbols in the
time domain and NRB number of resource blocks (RBs) in the
frequency domain. The NRB number of resource blocks included in the
downlink slot is dependent upon a downlink transmission bandwidth
set in a cell. For example, in an LTE system, NRB may be any one of
60 to 110. One resource block includes a plurality of subcarriers
in the frequency domain. An uplink slot may have the same structure
as that of the downlink slot.
[0049] Each element on the resource grid is called a resource
element. The resource elements on the resource grid can be
discriminated by a pair of indexes (k,l) in the slot. Here, k (k=0,
. . . , N.sub.RB.times.12-1) is a subcarrier index in the frequency
domain, and l is an OFDM symbol index in the time domain.
[0050] Here, it is illustrated that one resource block includes
7.times.12 resource elements made up of seven OFDM symbols in the
time domain and twelve subcarriers in the frequency domain, but the
number of OFDM symbols and the number of subcarriers in the
resource block are not limited thereto. The number of OFDM symbols
and the number of subcarriers may vary depending on the length of a
cyclic prefix (CP), frequency spacing, and the like. For example,
in case of a normal CP, the number of OFDM symbols is 7, and in
case of an extended CP, the number of OFDM symbols is 6. One of
128, 256, 512, 1024, 1536, and 2048 may be selectively used as the
number of subcarriers in one OFDM symbol.
[0051] FIG. 4 shows the structure of a downlink subframe.
[0052] A downlink subframe includes two slots in the time domain,
and each of the slots includes seven OFDM symbols in the normal CP.
First three OFDM symbols (maximum four OFDM symbols with respect to
a 1.4 Mhz bandwidth) of a first slot in the subframe corresponds to
a control region to which control channels are allocated, and the
other remaining OFDM symbols correspond to a data region to which a
physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is allocated.
[0053] The PDCCH may carry a transmission format and a resource
allocation of a downlink shared channel (DL-SCH), resource
allocation information of an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), paging
information on a PCH, system information on a DL-SCH, a resource
allocation of an higher layer control message such as a random
access response transmitted via a PDSCH, a set of transmission
power control commands with respect to individual UEs in a certain
UE group, an activation of a voice over internet protocol (VoIP),
and the like. A plurality of PDCCHs may be transmitted in the
control region, and a UE can monitor a plurality of PDCCHs. The
PDCCHs are transmitted on one or an aggregation of a plurality of
consecutive control channel elements (CCE). The CCE is a logical
allocation unit used to provide a coding rate according to the
state of a wireless channel. The CCD corresponds to a plurality of
resource element groups. The format of the PDCCH and an available
number of bits of the PDCCH are determined according to an
associative relation between the number of the CCEs and a coding
rate provided by the CCEs.
[0054] The BS determines a PDCCH format according to a DCI to be
transmitted to the UE, and attaches a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)
to the DCI. A unique radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) is
masked on the CRC according to the owner or the purpose of the
PDCCH. In case of a PDCCH for a particular UE, a unique identifier,
e.g., a cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), of the UE, may be masked on the CRC.
Or, in case of a PDCCH for a paging message, a paging indication
identifier, e.g., a paging-RNTI (P-RNTI), may be masked on the CRC.
In case of a PDCCH for a system information block (SIB), a system
information identifier, e.g., a system information-RNTI (SI-RNTI),
may be masked on the CRC. In order to indicate a random access
response, i.e., a response to a transmission of a random access
preamble of the UE, a random access-RNTI (RA-RNTI) may be masked on
the CRC.
[0055] FIG. 5 shows the structure of an uplink subframe.
[0056] An uplink subframe may be divided into a control region and
a data region in the frequency domain. A physical uplink control
channel (PUCCH) for transmitting uplink control information is
allocated to the control region. A physical uplink shared channel
(PUCCH) for transmitting data is allocated to the data region. When
indicated by a higher layer, the UE may support a simultaneous
transmission of the PUSCH and the PUCCH.
[0057] The PUCCH with respect to a UE is allocated by a pair of
resource blocks in a subframe. The resource blocks belonging to the
pair of resource blocks (RBs) occupy different subcarriers in first
and second slots, respectively. The frequency occupied by the RBs
belonging to the pair of RBs is changed based on a slot boundary.
This is said that the pair of RBs allocated to the PUCCH are
frequency-hopped at the slot boundary. The UE can obtain a
frequency diversity gain by transmitting uplink control information
through different subcarriers according to time. In FIG. 5, m is a
position index indicating the logical frequency domain positions of
the pair of RBs allocated to the PUCCH in the subframe.
[0058] Uplink control information transmitted on the PUCCH may
include a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)
acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement (ACK/NACK), a channel quality
indicator (CQI) indicating the state of a downlink channel, an
scheduling request (SR), and the like.
[0059] The PUSCH is mapped to a uplink shared channel (UL-SCH), a
transport channel. Uplink data transmitted on the PUSCH may be a
transport block, a data block for the UL-SCH transmitted during the
TTI. The transport block may be user information. Or, the uplink
data may be multiplexed data. The multiplexed data may be data
obtained by multiplexing the transport block for the UL-SCH and
control information. For example, control information multiplexed
to data may include a CQI, a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), an
HARQ, a rank indicator (RI), or the like. Or the uplink data may
include only control information.
[0060] 3GPP LTE-A supports a carrier aggregation system. 3GPP TR
36.815 V9.0.0 (2010-3) may be incorporated herein by reference to
describe the carrier aggregation system.
[0061] The carrier aggregation system implies a system that
configures a wideband by aggregating one or more carriers having a
bandwidth smaller than that of a target wideband when the wireless
communication system intends to support the wideband. The carrier
aggregation system can also be referred to as other terms such as a
bandwidth aggregation system or the like. The carrier aggregation
system can be divided into a contiguous carrier aggregation system
in which carriers are contiguous to each other and a non-contiguous
carrier aggregation system in which carriers are separated from
each other. In the contiguous carrier aggregation system, a guard
band may exist between CCs. A CC which is a target when aggregating
one or more CCs can directly use a bandwidth that is used in the
legacy system in order to provide backward compatibility with the
legacy system. For example, a 3GPP LTE system can support a
bandwidth of 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz, and
a 3GPP LTE-A system can configure a wideband of 20 MHz or higher by
using only the bandwidth of the 3GPP LTE system. Alternatively, the
wideband can be configured by defining a new bandwidth without
having to directly use the bandwidth of the legacy system.
[0062] In the carrier aggregation system, a UE can transmit or
receive one or a plurality of carriers simultaneously according to
capacity. An LTE-A UE can transmit or receive a plurality of
carriers simultaneously. An LTE rel-8 UE can transmit or receive
only one carrier when each of carriers constituting the carrier
aggregation system is compatible with an LTE rel-8 system.
Therefore, when the number of carriers used in uplink is equal to
the number of carriers used in downlink, it is necessary to
configure such that all CCs are compatible with LTE rel-8.
[0063] In order to efficiently use the plurality of carriers, the
plurality of carriers can be managed in a media access control
(MAC). To transmit/receive the plurality of carriers, a transmitter
and a receiver both have to be able to transmit/receive the
plurality of carriers.
[0064] FIG. 6 shows an example of a transmitter and a receiver
which constitute a carrier aggregation system.
[0065] In the transmitter of FIG. 6(a), one MAC transmits and
receives data by managing and operating all of n carriers. This is
also applied to the receiver of FIG. 6(b). From the perspective of
the receiver, one transport block and one HARQ entity may exist per
CC. A UE can be scheduled simultaneously for a plurality of CCs.
The carrier aggregation system of FIG. 6 can apply both to a
contiguous carrier aggregation system and a non-contiguous carrier
aggregation system. The respective carriers managed by one MAC do
not have to be contiguous to each other, which results in
flexibility in terms of resource management.
[0066] FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are other examples of a transmitter and a
receiver which constitute a carrier aggregation system.
[0067] In the transmitter of FIG. 7(a) and the receiver of FIG.
7(b), one MAC manages only one carrier. That is, the MAC and the
carrier are 1:1 mapped. In the transmitter of FIG. 8(a) and the
receiver of FIG. 8(b), a MAC and a carrier are 1:1 mapped for some
carriers, and regarding the remaining carriers, one MAC controls a
plurality of CCs. That is, various combinations are possible based
on a mapping relation between the MAC and the carrier.
[0068] The carrier aggregation system of FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 includes
n carriers. The respective carriers may be contiguous to each other
or may be separated from each other. The carrier aggregation system
can apply both to uplink and downlink transmissions. In a TDD
system, each carrier is configured to be able to perform uplink
transmission and downlink transmission. In an FDD system, a
plurality of CCs can be used by dividing them for an uplink usage
and a downlink usage. In a typical TDD system, the number of CCs
used in uplink transmission is equal to that used in downlink
transmission, and each carrier has the same bandwidth. The FDD
system can configure an asymmetric carrier aggregation system by
allowing the number of carriers and the bandwidth to be different
between uplink and downlink transmissions.
[0069] FIG. 9 shows an example of an asymmetric carrier aggregation
system.
[0070] FIG. 9(a) shows an example of a carrier aggregation system
in which the number of downlink CCs is greater than the number of
uplink CCs. Downlink CCs #1 and #2 are linked to an uplink CC #1.
Downlink CCs #3 and #4 are linked to an uplink CC #2. FIG. 9(b)
shows an example of a carrier aggregation system in which the
number of downlink CCs is greater than the number of uplink CCs. A
downlink CC #1 is linked to uplink CCs #1 and #2. A downlink CC #2
is linked to uplink CCs #3 and #4. Meanwhile, one transport block
and one HARQ entity exist per CC which is scheduled from the
perspective of a UE. Each transport block is mapped to only one CC.
The UE can be mapped simultaneously to a plurality of CCs.
[0071] Hereinafter, an uplink reference signal (RS) will be
described.
[0072] In general, an RS is transmitted as a sequence. Any sequence
can be used as a sequence used for an RS sequence without
particular restrictions. The RS sequence may be a phase shift
keying (PSK)-based computer generated sequence. Examples of the PSK
include binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift
keying (QPSK), etc. Alternatively, the RS sequence may be a
constant amplitude zero auto-correlation (CAZAC) sequence. Examples
of the CAZAC sequence include a Zadoff-Chu (ZC)-based sequence, a
ZC sequence with cyclic extension, a ZC sequence with truncation,
etc. Alternatively, the RS sequence may be a pseudo-random (PN)
sequence. Example of the PN sequence include an m-sequence, a
computer generated sequence, a Gold sequence, a Kasami sequence,
etc. In addition, the RS sequence may be a cyclically shifted
sequence.
[0073] The uplink RS can be classified into a demodulation
reference signal (DMRS) and a sounding reference signal (SRS). The
DMRS is an RS used for channel estimation to demodulate a received
signal. The DMRS can be combined with PUSCH or PUCCH transmission.
The SRS is an RS transmitted for uplink scheduling by a UE to a BS.
The BS estimates an uplink channel by using the received SRS, and
the estimated uplink channel is used in uplink scheduling. The SRS
is not combined with PUSCH or PUCCH transmission. The same type of
base sequences can be used for the DMRS and the SRS. Meanwhile,
precoding applied to the DMRS in uplink multi-antenna transmission
may be the same as precoding applied to the PUSCH. Cyclic shift
separation is a primary scheme for multiplexing the DMRS. In an
LTE-A system, the SRS may not be precoded, and may be an
antenna-specific RS.
[0074] The SRS is an RS transmitted by a relay station to the BS
and is an RS which is not related to uplink data or control signal
transmission. In general, the SRS may be used for channel quality
estimation for frequency selective scheduling in uplink or may be
used for other usages. For example, the SRS may be used in power
control, initial MCS selection, initial power control for data
transmission, etc. In general, the SRS is transmitted in a last
SC-FDMA symbol of one subframe.
[0075] An SRS sequence is defined as
r.sub.SRS(n)=r.sub.u,v.sup.(.alpha.)(n). An RS sequence
r.sub.u,v.sup.(.alpha.)(n) can be defined based on a base sequence
b.sub.u,v(n) and a cyclic shift a according to Equation 2.
r.sub.u,v.sup.(.alpha.)(n)=e.sup.j.alpha.nb.sub.u,v(n),0.ltoreq.n<M.s-
ub.sc.sup.RS [Equation 2]
[0076] In Equation 2, M.sub.sc.sup.RS
(1.ltoreq.m.ltoreq.N.sub.RB.sup.max,UL) denotes an RS sequence
length, where M.sub.sc.sup.RS=m*N.sub.sc.sup.RB. N.sub.sc.sup.RB
denotes a size of a resource block represented by the number of
subcarriers in a frequency domain. N.sub.RB.sup.max,UL denotes a
maximum value of an uplink bandwidth expressed by a multiple of
N.sub.sc.sup.RB. A plurality of RS sequences can be defined by
differently applying a cyclic shift value .alpha. from one base
sequence.
[0077] The base sequence is divided into a plurality of groups. In
this case, u.di-elect cons.{0, 1, . . . , 29} denotes a group
index, and v denotes a base sequence index in a group. The base
sequence depends on a base sequence length M.sub.sc.sup.RS. Each
group includes one base sequence (i.e., v=0) having a length of
M.sub.sc.sup.RS with respect to m (where 1.ltoreq.m.ltoreq.5), and
includes two base sequences (i.e., v=0, 1) having a length of
M.sub.sc.sup.RS with respect to m (where
6.ltoreq.m.ltoreq.n.sub.RB.sup.max,UL) The sequence group index u
and the base sequence index v may vary over time similarly to group
hopping or sequence hopping to be described below.
[0078] In the SRS sequence, u denotes a PUCCH sequence group index,
and v denotes a base sequence index. A cyclic shift value .alpha.
is defined by Equation 3.
.alpha. = 2 .pi. n SRS cs 8 [ Equation 3 ] ##EQU00001##
[0079] n.sub.SRS.sup.cs denotes a value configured by a higher
layer with respect to each UE, and may be any one integer in the
range of 0 to 7.
[0080] The SRS sequence is mapped to a resource element by
multiplying an amplitude scaling factor .beta..sub.SRS to satisfy
transmission power P.sub.SRS. The SRS sequence may be mapped to a
resource element (k,l) starting from r.sub.SRS(0) according to
Equation 4.
a 2 k + k 0 , l = { .beta. SRS r SRS ( k ) k = 0 , 1 , , M sc , b
RS - 1 0 otherwise [ Equation 4 ] ##EQU00002##
[0081] In Equation 4, k.sub.0 denotes a starting position in a
frequency domain of the SRS, and M.sub.sc,b.sup.RS denotes an SRS
sequence length defined by Equation 5.
M.sub.sc,b.sup.RS=m.sub.SRS,bN.sub.sc.sup.RB/2 [Equation 5]
[0082] In Equation 5, m.sub.SRS,b can be given by Table 1 to Table
4 to be described below with respect to each uplink bandwidth
N.sub.RB.sup.UL.
[0083] k.sub.0 of Equation 4 can be defined by Equation 6.
k 0 = k 0 ' + b = 0 B SRS 2 M sc , b RS n b [ Equation 6 ]
##EQU00003##
[0084] In Equation 6, k.sub.0' is defined as k'.sub.0=.left
brkt-bot.N.sub.RB.sup.UL/2.right
brkt-bot.-m.sub.SRS,0/2)N.sub.SC.sup.RB+k.sub.TC in a normal uplink
subframe. k.sub.TC.di-elect cons.{0, 1} denotes a parameter given
to a UE by a higher layer, and n.sub.b denotes a frequency position
index.
[0085] Frequency hopping of the SRS is configured by a parameter
b.sub.hop.di-elect cons.{0, 1, 2, 3} given by the higher layer. If
the frequency hopping of the SRS is not possible (i.e.,
b.sub.hop.gtoreq.B.sub.SRS), it is determined as a constant of the
frequency position index n.sub.b=.left
brkt-bot.4n.sub.RRC/m.sub.SRS,b.right brkt-bot. mod N.sub.b, and
n.sub.RRC is given by the higher layer. If the frequency hopping of
the SRS is possible (i.e., b.sub.hop<B.sub.SRS), the frequency
position index n.sub.b can be determined by Equation 7.
n b = { 4 n RRC / m SRS , b mod N b b .ltoreq. b hop { F b ( n SRS
) + 4 n RRC / m SRS , b } mod N b otherwise [ Equation 7 ]
##EQU00004##
[0086] N.sub.b can be determined by Table 1 to Table 4 to be
described below, and F.sub.b(n.sub.SRS) can be determined by
Equation 8.
[ Equation 8 ] ##EQU00005## F b ( n SRS ) = { ( N b / 2 ) n SRS mod
b ' = b hop b N b ' b ' = b hop b - 1 N b ' + n SRS mod b ' = b hop
b N b ' 2 b ' = b hop b - 1 N b ' if N b even N b / 2 n SRS / b ' =
b hop b - 1 N b ' if N b odd ##EQU00005.2##
[0087] In Equation 8, n.sub.SRS denotes the number of times of
performing UE-specific SRS transmission, and can be determined by
Equation 9.
[ Equation 9 ] ##EQU00006## n SRS = { 2 N SP n f + 2 ( N SP - 1 ) n
s 10 + T offset T offset_max , for 2 ms SRS periodicity of frame
structure 2 ( n f .times. 10 + n s / 2 ) / T SRS , otherwise
##EQU00006.2##
[0088] In Equation 9, T.sub.SRS denotes a UE-specific periodicity
of SRS transmission, T.sub.offset denotes an SRS subframe offset,
and T.sub.offset.sub._.sub.max denotes a maximum value of the value
T.sub.offset for specific configuration of the SRS subframe offset.
T.sub.SRS and T.sub.offset can be given by Table 7 and Table 8 to
be described below.
[0089] Table 1 to Table 4 show one example of SRS bandwidth
configuration. A 3-bit cell-specific parameter can be broadcast to
indicate one bandwidth configuration among 8 bandwidth
configurations. In addition, a 2-bit UE-specific parameter can be
given from a higher layer to indicate one bandwidth configuration
among 4 bandwidth configurations.
[0090] Table 1 shows an example of M.sub.SRS,b and N.sub.b (where,
b=0, 1, 2, 3) when an uplink bandwidth N.sub.RB.sup.UL is in the
range of 6.ltoreq.N.sub.RB.sup.UL.ltoreq.40.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 SRS SRS- SRS- SRS- SRS- bandwidth Bandwidth
Bandwidth Bandwidth Bandwidth configuration B.sub.SRS = 0 B.sub.SRS
= 1 B.sub.SRS = 2 B.sub.SRS = 3 C.sub.SRS m.sub.SRS, 0 N.sub.0
m.sub.SRS, 1 N.sub.1 m.sub.SRS, 2 N.sub.2 m.sub.SRS, 3 N.sub.3 0 36
1 12 3 4 3 4 1 1 32 1 16 2 8 2 4 2 2 24 1 4 6 4 1 4 1 3 20 1 4 5 4
1 4 1 4 16 1 4 4 4 1 4 1 5 12 1 4 3 4 1 4 1 6 8 1 4 2 4 1 4 1 7 4 1
4 1 4 1 4 1
[0091] Table 2 shows an example of m.sub.SRS,b and N.sub.b (where,
b=0, 1, 2, 3) when the uplink bandwidth N.sub.RB.sup.UL is in the
range of 40.ltoreq.N.sub.RB.sup.UL.ltoreq.60.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 SRS SRS- SRS- SRS- SRS- bandwidth Bandwidth
Bandwidth Bandwidth Bandwidth configuration B.sub.SRS = 0 B.sub.SRS
= 1 B.sub.SRS = 2 B.sub.SRS = 3 C.sub.SRS m.sub.SRS, 0 N.sub.0
m.sub.SRS, 1 N.sub.1 m.sub.SRS, 2 N.sub.2 m.sub.SRS, 3 N.sub.3 0 48
1 24 2 12 2 4 3 1 48 1 16 3 8 2 4 2 2 40 1 20 2 4 5 4 1 3 36 1 12 3
4 3 4 1 4 32 1 16 2 8 2 4 2 5 24 1 4 6 4 1 4 1 6 20 1 4 5 4 1 4 1 7
16 1 4 4 4 1 4 1
[0092] Table 3 shows an example of m.sub.SRS,b and N.sub.b (where,
b=0, 1, 2, 3) when the uplink bandwidth N.sub.RB.sup.UL is in the
range of 60.ltoreq.N.sub.RB.sup.UL.ltoreq.80.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 SRS SRS- SRS- SRS- SRS- bandwidth Bandwidth
Bandwidth Bandwidth Bandwidth configuration B.sub.SRS = 0 B.sub.SRS
= 1 B.sub.SRS = 2 B.sub.SRS = 3 C.sub.SRS m.sub.SRS, 0 N.sub.0
m.sub.SRS, 1 N.sub.1 m.sub.SRS, 2 N.sub.2 m.sub.SRS, 3 N.sub.3 0 72
1 24 3 12 2 4 3 1 64 1 32 2 16 2 4 4 2 60 1 20 3 4 5 4 1 3 48 1 24
2 12 2 4 3 4 48 1 16 3 8 2 4 2 5 40 1 20 2 4 5 4 1 6 36 1 12 3 4 3
4 1 7 32 1 16 2 8 2 4 2
[0093] Table 4 shows an example of m.sub.SRS,b and N.sub.b (where,
b=0, 1, 2, 3) when the uplink bandwidth N.sub.RB.sup.UL is in the
range of 80.ltoreq.N.sub.RB.sup.UL.ltoreq.110.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 SRS SRS- SRS- SRS- SRS- bandwidth Bandwidth
Bandwidth Bandwidth Bandwidth configuration B.sub.SRS = 0 B.sub.SRS
= 1 B.sub.SRS = 2 B.sub.SRS = 3 C.sub.SRS m.sub.SRS, 0 N.sub.0
m.sub.SRS, 1 N.sub.1 m.sub.SRS, 2 N.sub.2 m.sub.SRS, 3 N.sub.3 0 96
1 48 2 24 2 4 6 1 96 1 32 3 16 2 4 4 2 80 1 40 2 20 2 4 5 3 72 1 24
3 12 2 4 3 4 64 1 32 2 16 2 4 4 5 60 1 20 3 4 5 4 1 6 48 1 24 2 12
2 4 3 7 48 1 16 3 8 2 4 2
[0094] In Table 1 to Table 4, a cell-specific parameter
C.sub.SRS.di-elect cons.{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and a UE-specific
parameter B.sub.SRS .di-elect cons.{0, 1, 2, 3} are given by a
higher layer.
[0095] Table 5 and Table 6 show one example of a cell-specific
subframe configuration period parameter T.sub.SFC and a
cell-specific subframe offset parameter .DELTA..sub.SFC for SRS
transmission.
[0096] Table 5 shows one example of SRS subframe configuration in
an FDD system. According to Table 5, the SRS subframe configuration
can be indicted by a parameter having a length of 4 bits, and the
periodicity of the SRS subframe may be any one of 1, 2, 5, and 10
subframes.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Configuration Period Transmission T.sub.SFC
offset srsSubframeConfiguration Binary (subframes) .DELTA..sub.SFC
(subframes) 0 0000 1 {0} 1 0001 2 {0} 2 0010 2 {1} 3 0011 5 {0} 4
0100 5 {1} 5 0101 5 {2} 6 0110 5 {3} 7 0111 5 {0, 1} 8 1000 5 {2,
3} 9 1001 10 {0} 10 1010 10 {1} 11 1011 10 {2} 12 1100 10 {3} 13
1101 10 {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8} 14 1110 10 {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8}
15 1111 reserved reserved
[0097] Table 6 shows one example of SRS subframe configuration in a
TDD system.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Configuration Transmission Period offset
.DELTA..sub.SFC srsSubframeConfiguration Binary T.sub.SFC
(subframes) (subframes) 0 0000 5 {1} 1 0001 5 {1, 2} 2 0010 5 {1,
3} 3 0011 5 {1, 4} 4 0100 5 {1, 2, 3} 5 0101 5 {1, 2, 4} 6 0110 5
{1, 3, 4} 7 0111 5 {1, 2, 3, 4} 8 1000 10 {1, 2, 6} 9 1001 10 {1,
3, 6} 10 1010 10 {1, 6, 7} 11 1011 10 {1, 2, 6, 8} 12 1100 10 {1,
3, 6, 9} 13 1101 10 {1, 4, 6, 7} 14 1110 reserved reserved 15 1111
reserved reserved
[0098] The following operation is performed for SRS transmission by
the UE.
[0099] When the UE transmits an SRS, transmission power P.sub.SRS
can be determined by Equation 10.
P.sub.SRS(i)=min{P.sub.CMAX,P.sub.SRS.sub._.sub.OFFSET+10
log.sub.10(M.sub.SRS)+P.sub.O.sub._.sub.PUSCH(j)+.alpha.(j)f(i)}
[Equation 10]
[0100] In Equation 10, i denotes a subframe index, P.sub.CMAX
denotes a predetermined UE's transmit power,
P.sub.SRS.sub._.sub.OFFSET denotes a 4-bit UE-specific parameter
determined by the higher layer, M.sub.SRS denotes an SRS
transmission bandwidth expressed by the number of resource blocks
in a subframe having an index of i, and f(i) denotes a current
power control regulation state for a PUSCH.
[0101] When the UE can select a transmit antenna, an index
a(n.sub.SRS) of a UE antenna for transmitting an SRS at a time
n.sub.SRS is defined as a(n.sub.SRS)=n.sub.SRS mod 2 with respect
to a whole sounding bandwidth or a partial sounding bandwidth when
frequency hopping is not possible, and can be defined by Equation
11 when frequency hopping is possible.
[ Equation 11 ] ##EQU00007## a ( n SRS ) = { ( n SRS + n SRS / 2 +
.beta. n SRS / K ) mod 2 when K is even n SRS mod 2 when K is odd
##EQU00007.2##
[0102] In Equation 11, B.sub.SRS denotes an SRS bandwidth, and
b.sub.hop denotes a frequency hopping bandwidth. N.sub.b can be
determined by a table predetermined by C.sub.SRS and B.sub.SRS.
Herein,
K = b ' = b hop B SRS N b ' . ##EQU00008##
[0103] In Equation 11, .beta. can be determined by Equation 12.
.beta. = { 1 where K mod 4 = 0 0 otherwise [ Equation 12 ]
##EQU00009##
[0104] When one SC-FDMA symbol exists in an uplink pilot time slot
(UpPTS) in a TDD system, the SC-FDMA symbol can be used for SRS
transmission. When two SC-FDMA symbols exist in the UpPTS, both of
the two SC-FDMA symbols can be used for SRS transmission, and can
be allocated simultaneously to one UE.
[0105] The UE does not transmit an SRS whenever SRS transmission
and PUCCH format 2/2a/2b transmission are simultaneously performed
in the same subframe.
[0106] If a parameter `ackNackSRS-SimultaneousTransmission` is
false, the UE does not transmit an SRS whenever SRS transmission
and PUCCH transmission for carrying ACK/NACK and/or positive SR are
performed in the same subframe. In addition, if the parameter
`ackNackSRS-SimultaneousTransmission` is true, when SRS
transmission and PUCCH transmission for carrying ACK/NACK and/or
positive SR are configured in the same subframe, the UE transmits
the PUCCH for carrying the ACK/NACK and/or the positive SR
simultaneously with the SRS by using a shortened PUCCH format. That
is, when the PUCCH for carrying the ACK/NACK and/or the positive SR
is configured in an SRS subframe which is configured in a
cell-specific manner, a shortened PUCCH format is used and the
PUCCH for carrying the ACK/NACK and/or the positive SR is
transmitted simultaneously with the SRS. When the SRS transmission
overlaps a physical random access channel (PRACH) for a preamble
format 4 or exceeds a range of an uplink system bandwidth
configured in a cell, the UE does not transmit the SRS.
[0107] The parameter `ackNackSRS-SimultaneousTransmission` which is
given by the higher layer determines whether the UE supports
simultaneous transmission of an SRS and a PUCCH for carrying an
ACK/NACK in one subframe. If the UE is configured to simultaneously
transmit the SRS and the PUCCH for carrying the ACK/NACK in one
subframe, the UE can transmit the ACK/NACK and the SRS in a
cell-specific SRS subframe. In this case, a shortened PUCCH format
can be used, and transmission of the NACK or SR corresponding to a
position at which the SRS is transmitted is punctured. The
shortened PUCCH format is used in a cell-specific SRS subframe even
when the UE does not transmit the SRS in the subframe. If the UE is
configured not to simultaneously transmit the SRS and the PUCCH for
carrying the ACK/NACK in one subframe, the UE can use a normal
PUCCH format 1/1a/1b for transmission of the ACK/NACK and SR.
[0108] Table 7 and Table 8 show one example of UE-specific SRS
configuration for indicating an SRS transmission periodicity TSRS
and an SRS subframe offset Toffset. The SRS transmission
periodicity TSRS can be determined from {2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160,
320} ms.
[0109] Table 7 shows one example of SRS configuration in an FDD
system.
TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 SRS Subframe SRS Configuration Index
I.sub.SRS SRS Periodicity T.sub.SRS (ms) Offset T.sub.offset 0-1 2
I.sub.SRS 2-6 5 I.sub.SRS - 2 7-16 10 I.sub.SRS - 7 17-36 20
I.sub.SRS - 17 37-76 40 I.sub.SRS - 37 77-156 80 I.sub.SRS - 77
157-316 160 I.sub.SRS - 157 317-636 320 I.sub.SRS - 317 637-1023
reserved reserved
[0110] Table 8 shows one example of SRS configuration in a TDD
system.
TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 8 SRS Subframe Configuration Index I.sub.SRS
SRS Periodicity T.sub.SRS (ms) Offset T.sub.offset 0 2 0, 1 1 2 0,
2 2 2 1, 2 3 2 0, 3 4 2 1, 3 5 2 0, 4 6 2 1, 4 7 2 2, 3 8 2 2, 4 9
2 3, 4 10-14 5 I.sub.SRS - 10 15-24 10 I.sub.SRS - 15 25-44 20
I.sub.SRS - 25 45-84 40 I.sub.SRS - 45 85-164 80 I.sub.SRS - 85
165-324 160 I.sub.SRS - 165 325-644 320 I.sub.SRS - 325 645-1023
reserved reserved
[0111] An SRS subframe satisfies
(10*n.sub.f+k.sub.SRS-T.sub.offset) mod T.sub.SRS=0 in the FDD
system and, if T.sub.SRS>2, in the TDD system. n.sub.f denotes a
frame index, and k.sub.SRS denotes a subframe index in a frame in
the FDD system. In the TDD system, if T.sub.SRS=2, two SRS
resources can be configured in a half-frame including at least one
uplink subframe, and an SRS subframe satisfies
(k.sub.SRS-T.sub.offset)mod 5=0.
[0112] In the TDD system, k.sub.SRS can be determined by Table
9.
TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 9 subframe index n 1 6 1st symbol 2nd symbol
1st symbol 2nd symbol 0 of UpPTS of UpPTS 2 3 4 5 of UpPTS of UpPTS
7 8 9 k.sub.SRS in case 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 UpPTS length of 2
symbols k.sub.SRS in case 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 UpPTS length of 1
symbol
[0113] Meanwhile, the UE does not transmit an SRS whenever SRS
transmission and PUSCH transmission corresponding to retransmission
of the same transport block are performed in the same subframe as a
part of random access response grant or contention-based random
access procedure.
[0114] The SRS transmission method can be classified into two. As a
method defined in LTE rel-8, there are a period SRS transmission
method that periodically transmits an SRS according to an SRS
parameter received by radio resource control (RRC) signaling and an
aperiodic SRS transmission method that transmits an SRS whenever
necessarily on the basis of a message dynamically triggered from a
BS. The aperiodic SRS transmission method can be used in LTE-A.
[0115] Meanwhile, in the periodic SRS transmission method and the
aperiodic SRS transmission method, an SRS can be transmitted in a
UE-specific SRS subframe determined in a UE-specific manner. In a
periodic SRS transmission method defined in LTE rel-8, a
cell-specific SRS subframe is configured periodically by a
cell-specific SRS parameter, and periodic SRS transmission is
performed in a periodic UE-specific SRS subframe configured by a
UE-specific SRS parameter among cell-specific SRS subframes. In
this case, the periodic UE-specific SRS subframe may be a subset of
the cell-specific subframe. The cell-specific SRS parameter can be
given by a higher layer. In the aperiodic SRS transmission method,
an aperiodic SRS can be transmitted in an aperiodic UE-specific SRS
subframe determined by a UE-specific aperiodic SRS parameter. The
aperiodic UE-specific SRS subframe of the aperiodic SRS
transmission method may be a subset of the cell-specific SRS
subframe as defined in the LTE rel-8. Alternatively, the aperiodic
UE-specific SRS subframe may be the same as the cell-specific
subframe. The UE-specific aperiodic SRS parameter may also be given
by a higher layer similarly to the cell-specific SRS parameter. The
UE-specific aperiodic SRS subframe can be configured by the
aforementioned subframe periodicity and subframe offset of Table 7
or Table 8.
[0116] In a carrier aggregation system including a plurality of
CCs, an aperiodic SRS transmission method has not been defined.
That is, when a BS requests aperiodic SRS transmission to a UE by
using a specific DCI format (i.e., when the BS triggers aperiodic
SRS transmission), the UE requires information regarding a specific
UL CC by which the UE performs sounding and information regarding a
specific resource used to perform sounding.
[0117] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0118] FIG. 10 shows the proposed aperiodic SRS transmission method
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0119] In step S100, a UE transmit an aperiodic SRS through a
specific UL CC among a plurality of UL CCs.
[0120] When a BS triggers the aperiodic SRS transmission by using
one bit, the UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a UL CC
determined by various methods.
[0121] 1) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a
predetermined UL CC. In this case, the predetermined UL CC may be
any one of a primary CC (PCC) or a secondary CC (SCC), and may be a
CC of which the PCC and the SCC are predetermined.
[0122] 2) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a UL CC
determined by RRC signaling or L1/L1 control signaling. When
information on the UL CC that transmits the aperiodic SRS is
transmitted through the L1/L2 signaling, this can be defined in a
DL DCI format or a UL DCI format. When it is defined in the DL DCI
format, the aperiodic SRS can be transmitted through a UL CC
indicated by a carrier indicator field (CIF). Alternatively, the UL
CC can be indicated by another field.
[0123] 3) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through some UL CCs
among configured UL CCs determined by RRC signaling. In this case,
the some UL CCs that transmit the SRS may be indicated by RRC
signaling or L1/L2 control signaling.
[0124] 4-1) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a UL CC
linked to a DL CC that transmits a UL DCI format including a
message for triggering the aperiodic SRS transmission. In this
case, the link between the DL CC and the UL CC can be indicated by
using an SIB-2 link relation.
[0125] 4-2) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a UL CC
linked to a DL CC that transmits a DL DCI format including a
message for triggering the aperiodic SRS transmission. In this
case, the link between the DL CC and the UL CC can be indicated by
using an SIB-2 link relation.
[0126] 4-3) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a UL CC
to which scheduling information is applied in a UL DCI format
including a message for triggering the aperiodic SRS transmission.
The UL CC to which the scheduling information is applied can be
indicated by a CIF in the UL DCI format.
[0127] 4-4) The UE can transmit the aperiodic SRS through a UL CC
linked to a DL CC to which scheduling information is applied in a
DL DCI format including a message for triggering the aperiodic SRS
transmission. The UL CC to which the scheduling information is
applied can be indicated by a CIF in the DL DCI format.
[0128] 5) A UL CC that transmits the aperiodic SRS can be directly
indicated by using an additional control signal field allocated
dynamically or semi-dynamically.
[0129] 6) The aperiodic SRS can be transmitted through a UL CC
implicitly determined according to a UE state or configuration
information of a transmission mode (i.e., a MIMO transmission mode
or a non-contiguous RB allocation based transmission mode).
[0130] A resource for the aperiodic SRS transmission in a UL CC can
be allocated in various manners.
[0131] 1) As the resource for the aperiodic SRS transmission, a
resource used for periodic SRS transmission can be directly used.
That is, the resource can be allocated for the aperiodic SRS
transmission on the basis of SRS parameters such as cell-specific
SRS bandwidth configuration information, UE-specific SRS bandwidth
configuration information, transmission comb information, or the
like which are provided by RRC signaling or L1/L2 control
signaling.
[0132] 2) Irrespective of cell-specific SRS bandwidth configuration
or UE-specific bandwidth configuration for the periodic SRS, an
available whole band SRS bandwidth can be allocated for the
aperiodic SRS transmission among respective system bandwidths
defined in LTE rel-8/9. For example, for the aperiodic SRS
transmission, 24 RBs, 48 RBs, 72 RBs, and 96 RBs are respectively
allocated for system bandwidths 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz.
In one subframe, a time resource for the aperiodic SRS transmission
may be a last SC-FDMA symbol of a subframe used for periodic SRS
transmission, and the aperiodic SRS and the periodic SRS can be
multiplexed in various manners.
[0133] 3) Among SRS bandwidths that can be configured in a
UE-specific manner in the cell-specific SRS bandwidth
configuration, the greatest bandwidth can be allocated for the
aperiodic SRS transmission. That is, this is a case where BSRS=0 in
Table 1 to Table 4.
[0134] 4) The aperiodic SRS can be transmitted by using some
bandwidths among the SRS bandwidths that can be configured in a
UE-specific manner in the cell-specific SRS bandwidth
configuration. For example, the SRS bandwidth that can be
configured in a UE-specific manner can be divided so as to transmit
the aperiodic SRS in sequence by using each divided bandwidth. Each
divided bandwidth may have the same size. Alternatively, the
aperiodic SRS can be transmitted by using a bandwidth greater than
a maximum value of an SRS bandwidth that can be configured in a
UE-specific manner. This implies that the UE can transmit the
aperiodic SRS by using an SRS bandwidth which is different from the
UE-specific SRS bandwidth allocated to the UE.
[0135] 5) The aperiodic SRS can be transmitted by using a newly
defined SRS resource, and the SRS resource can include a resource
used for DMRS transmission.
[0136] 6) The aperiodic SRS can be transmitted by using a time
resource based on a DCI format or a specific time resource for the
aperiodic SRS in a time domain. For example, when the aperiodic SRS
is triggered by the DL DCI, the aperiodic SRS can be transmitted in
a UL subframe that transmits a UL control signal corresponding to
the DL DCI or can be transmitted in a UE-specific aperiodic SRS
subframe which is a first defined SRS resource after the UL
subframe. Alternatively, when the aperiodic SRS is triggered by the
UL DCI, the aperiodic SRS can be transmitted in a UL subframe to
which a corresponding UL resource is allocated or can be
transmitted in a UE-specific aperiodic SRS subframe which is a
first defined SRS resource after the UL subframe. Alternatively,
the aperiodic SRS can be transmitted according to a specific offset
predetermined or indicated by another signal, or can be transmitted
in a UE-specific aperiodic SRS subframe which is an SRS resource
first available at that time.
[0137] The aperiodic SRS can be multiplexed to be transmitted
through a plurality of antennas.
[0138] 1) A periodic SRS is transmitted through multiple antennas
by a repetition factor (RPF) of 2. An aperiodic SRS can also be
transmitted through the multiple antennas by the RPF of 2. For
this, different transmission combs can be configured, and
multiplexing can be performed by using code division multiplexing
(CDM) by allocating different cyclic shift values in the same
transmission comb.
[0139] 2) The aperiodic SRS can be transmitted through the multiple
antennas by using another RPF value other than the RPF of 2.
[0140] 3) Alternatively, the aperiodic SRS may not be transmitted
simultaneously for all antennas while the aperiodic SRS is
transmitted through a plurality of antennas. That is, in the
aperiodic SRS transmission, transmission can be performed such that
each of the antennas are multiplexed according to time division
multiplexing (TDM) through the plurality of antennas. A resource
used in this case can be transmitted by using the same resource by
each antenna. For example, a resource allocated for the periodic
SRS transmission can be used for the aperiodic SRS
transmission.
[0141] Meanwhile, an aperiodic SRS transmitted through a specific
UL CC can be transmitted simultaneously with another SRS
transmitted through another UL CC. When a resource for transmitting
the aperiodic SRS does not overlap with a resource for transmitting
the periodic SRS, the UE can simultaneously transmit the aperiodic
SRS and the periodic SRS. In this case, the UE can transmit the
aperiodic SRS and the periodic SRS through a plurality of UL CCs in
various manners. For example, a UL CC that transmits the aperiodic
SRS may be a PCC, an anchor CC, or an SCC. Alternatively, the UL CC
that transmits the aperiodic SRS may be some UL CCs among
configured UL CCs determined by RRC signaling, and in this case,
the some UL CCs that transmit the SRS can be indicated by RRC
signaling or L1/L2 control signaling.
[0142] Alternatively, the aperiodic SRS for the plurality of UL CCs
can be transmitted through only one UL CC. The aperiodic SRS can be
transmitted through one UL CC by being TDM-multiplexed on a
subframe basis in the configured UL CC. Alternatively, the PCC and
another UL CC can be TDM-multiplexed. Alternatively, the aperiodic
SRS can be transmitted by being TDM-multiplexed on a subframe basis
in a UL CC linked to a DL CC that triggers aperiodic SRS
transmission. Alternatively, the aperiodic SRS can be transmitted
by being TDM-multiplexed on a subframe basis in all available UL
CCs irrespective of a link between the DL CC and the UL CC. When
transmitting the aperiodic SRS which is TDM-multiplexed, a
transmission order of the aperiodic SRS can be indicated by a
control signal or can be predetermined. When the aperiodic SRS
transmission overlaps with periodic SRS transmission which is
configured by RRC in advance, the UE can drop the periodic SRS
transmission, and can perform only the aperiodic SRS transmission.
In this case, the dropping of the periodic SRS transmission can be
applied only when a UL CC that transmits the aperiodic SRS and a UL
CC that transmits the periodic SRS are the same UL CC.
Alternatively, even if the UL CC that transmits the aperiodic SRS
is different from the UL CC that transmits the periodic SRS, only
the aperiodic SRS transmission can be performed while dropping the
periodic SRS transmission.
[0143] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a BS and a UE according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0144] A BS 800 includes a processor 810, a memory 820, and a radio
frequency (RF) unit 830. The processor 810 implements the proposed
functions, procedures, and/or methods. Layers of a radio interface
protocol can be implemented by the processor 810. The memory 820
coupled to the processor 810 stores a variety of information for
driving the processor 810. The RF unit 830 coupled to the processor
810 transmits and/or receives a radio signal.
[0145] A UE 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920, and an RF
unit 930. The processor 910 implements the proposed functions,
procedures, and/or methods. Layers of a radio interface protocol
can be implemented by the processor 910. The memory 920 coupled to
the processor 910 stores a variety of information for driving the
processor 910. The RF unit 930 coupled to the processor 910
transmits an aperiodic SRS through a specific UL CC among a
plurality of UL CCs. The specific UL CC is a UL CC which is the
same as a UL CC that transmits a PUSCH scheduled by an uplink
grant. The uplink grant includes a message for triggering the
aperiodic SRS transmission.
[0146] The processor 910 may include an application-specific
integrated circuit (ASIC), another chip set, a logical circuit,
and/or a data processing unit. The RF unit 920 may include a
baseband circuit for processing radio signals. In software
implemented, the aforementioned methods can be implemented with a
module (i.e., process, function, etc.) for performing the
aforementioned functions. The module may be performed by the
processor 910.
[0147] In view of the exemplary systems described herein,
methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the
disclosed subject matter have been described with reference to
several flow diagrams. While for purposed of simplicity, the
methodologies are shown and described as a series of steps or
blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed
subject matter is not limited by the order of the steps or blocks,
as some steps may occur in different orders or concurrently with
other steps from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover,
one skilled in the art would understand that the steps illustrated
in the flow diagram are not exclusive and other steps may be
included or one or more of the steps in the example flow diagram
may be deleted without affecting the scope and spirit of the
present disclosure.
[0148] What has been described above includes examples of the
various aspects. It is, of course, not possible to describe every
conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes
of describing the various aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the
art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations
are possible. Accordingly, the subject specification is intended to
embrace all such alternations, modifications and variations that
fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *