U.S. patent application number 15/985232 was filed with the patent office on 2018-12-27 for long uplink burst channel design.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Sony AKKARAKARAN, Peter GAAL, Yi HUANG, Tao LUO, Juan MONTOJO, Seyong PARK, Renqiu WANG.
Application Number | 20180376473 15/985232 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 64692968 |
Filed Date | 2018-12-27 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20180376473 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
WANG; Renqiu ; et
al. |
December 27, 2018 |
LONG UPLINK BURST CHANNEL DESIGN
Abstract
Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and
apparatus relating to a long uplink burst channel design. In
certain aspects, the method includes determining, based on a
hopping pattern, a first set of frequency resources available for
transmitting uplink control information (UCI) within a first
portion of a transmission time interval (TTI) and a second set of
frequency resources available for transmitting UCI within a second
portion of the TTI. The method also includes transmitting the UCI
using the determined first set of frequency resources and the
second set of frequency resources.
Inventors: |
WANG; Renqiu; (San Diego,
CA) ; HUANG; Yi; (San Diego, CA) ; GAAL;
Peter; (San Diego, CA) ; MONTOJO; Juan; (San
Diego, CA) ; LUO; Tao; (San Diego, CA) ;
AKKARAKARAN; Sony; (Poway, CA) ; PARK; Seyong;
(San Diego, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
64692968 |
Appl. No.: |
15/985232 |
Filed: |
May 21, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62524206 |
Jun 23, 2017 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 5/0048 20130101;
H04L 1/1861 20130101; H04L 5/001 20130101; H04W 72/0453 20130101;
H04L 5/0091 20130101; H04L 27/2042 20130101; H04L 5/0055 20130101;
H04B 1/713 20130101; H04L 1/1858 20130101; H04L 5/0012 20130101;
H04L 5/0026 20130101; H04W 72/0446 20130101; H04L 27/2035 20130101;
H04W 72/0413 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/04 20060101
H04W072/04; H04B 1/713 20060101 H04B001/713 |
Claims
1. A method for wireless communications by a transmitter,
comprising: determining, based on a hopping pattern, a first set of
frequency resources available for transmitting uplink control
information (UCI) within a first portion of a transmission time
interval (TTI) and a second set of frequency resources available
for transmitting UCI within a second portion of the TTI; and
transmitting the UCI using the determined first set of frequency
resources and the second set of frequency resources.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein a configuration for enabling or
disabling a frequency hopping corresponding to the hopping pattern
is user equipment (UE) specific.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein an enabling or disabling of a
frequency hopping corresponding to the hopping pattern is
semi-statically configured.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein a frequency hopping corresponding
to the hopping pattern is an intra-slot frequency hopping or an
inter-slot frequency hopping, wherein the intra-slot frequency
hopping comprises frequency hopping within a slot of the TTI, and
wherein the inter-slot frequency hopping comprises frequency
hopping across multiple slots of the TTI.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein only one of the intra-slot
frequency hopping or the inter-slot frequency hopping is enabled
for a single transmission.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether
frequency hopping within a slot of the TTI is enabled or
disabled.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein frequency hopping is enabled
within the slot, and wherein the hopping pattern is based on a
floating hopping symbol position within the slot.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the floating hopping symbol
position within the slot is determined based on a number of symbols
that are allocated to transmitting the UCI in the slot.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the slot only comprises a set of
symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI, wherein the set of
symbols comprises an even number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a center symbol in
the set of symbols.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the slot only comprises a set of
symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI, wherein the set of
symbols comprise an odd number of symbols, and wherein the floating
hopping symbol position corresponds to a symbol having a symbol
number that is one of two integers closest to a number of symbols
in the set of symbols divided by two.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the slot comprises a first set
of symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI and a second set of
symbols not allocated to transmitting the UCI, wherein the first
set of symbols comprises an even number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a center symbol in
the first set of symbols.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein the slot comprises a first set
of symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI and a second set of
symbols not allocated to transmitting the UCI, wherein the first
set of symbols comprises an odd number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a symbol having a
symbol number that is one of two integers closest to a number of
symbols in the first set of symbols divided by two.
13. The method of claim 6, wherein two or more slots of the TTI are
aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is disabled within the slot,
and wherein the hopping pattern is repeated across slots.
14. The method of claim 6, wherein two or more slots of the TTI are
aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is disabled within the slot,
and wherein the hopping pattern is based, at least in part, on a
slot boundary.
15. The method of claim 6, wherein two or more slots of the TTI are
aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is disabled within the slot,
and wherein the hopping pattern is based on a slot boundary of each
slot of the TTI.
16. The method of claim 6, wherein two or more slots of the TTI are
aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is enabled within the slot,
and wherein the hopping pattern is repeated across slots.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the UCI comprises at least one
of acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement information, scheduling
request information, and channel quality indicator information.
18. An apparatus, comprising: a non-transitory memory comprising
executable instructions; and a processor in data communication with
the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the
computer system to: determine, based on a hopping pattern, a first
set of frequency resources available for transmitting uplink
control information (UCI) within a first portion of a transmission
time interval (TTI) and a second set of frequency resources
available for transmitting UCI within a second portion of the TTI;
and transmit the UCI using the determined first set of frequency
resources and the second set of frequency resources.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein a configuration for enabling
or disabling a frequency hopping corresponding to the hopping
pattern is apparatus specific.
20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein an enabling or disabling of
a frequency hopping corresponding to the hopping pattern is
semi-statically configured.
21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein a frequency hopping
corresponding to the hopping pattern is an intra-slot frequency
hopping or an inter-slot frequency hopping, wherein the intra-slot
frequency hopping comprises frequency hopping within a slot of the
TTI, and wherein the inter-slot frequency hopping comprises
frequency hopping across multiple slots of the TTI.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein only one of the intra-slot
frequency hopping or the inter-slot frequency hopping is enabled
for a single transmission.
23. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising determining
whether frequency hopping within a slot of the TTI is enabled or
disabled.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein frequency hopping is enabled
within the slot, and wherein the hopping pattern is based on a
floating hopping symbol position within the slot.
25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the floating hopping symbol
position within the slot is determined based on a number of symbols
that are allocated to transmitting the UCI in the slot.
26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the slot only comprises a
set of symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI, wherein the set
of symbols comprises an even number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a center symbol in
the set of symbols.
27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the slot only comprises a
set of symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI, wherein the set
of symbols comprise an odd number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a symbol having a
symbol number that is one of two integers closest to a number of
symbols in the set of symbols divided by two.
28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the slot comprises a first
set of symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI and a second set
of symbols not allocated to transmitting the UCI, wherein the first
set of symbols comprises an even number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a center symbol in
the first set of symbols.
29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the slot comprises a first
set of symbols allocated for transmitting the UCI and a second set
of symbols not allocated to transmitting the UCI, wherein the first
set of symbols comprises an odd number of symbols, and wherein the
floating hopping symbol position corresponds to a symbol having a
symbol number that is one of two integers closest to a number of
symbols in the first set of symbols divided by two.
30. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein two or more slots of the TTI
are aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is disabled within the
slot, and wherein the hopping pattern is repeated across slots.
31. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein two or more slots of the TTI
are aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is disabled within the
slot, and wherein the hopping pattern is based, at least in part,
on a slot boundary.
32. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein two or more slots of the TTI
are aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is disabled within the
slot, and wherein the hopping pattern is based on a slot boundary
of each slot of the TTI.
33. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein two or more slots of the TTI
are aggregated, wherein frequency hopping is enabled within the
slot, and wherein the hopping pattern is repeated across slots.
34. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the UCI comprises at least
one of acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement information,
scheduling request information, and channel quality indicator
information.
35. An apparatus comprising: means for determining, based on a
hopping pattern, a first set of frequency resources available for
transmitting uplink control information (UCI) within a first
portion of a transmission time interval (TTI) and a second set of
frequency resources available for transmitting UCI within a second
portion of the TTI; and means for transmitting the UCI using the
determined first set of frequency resources and the second set of
frequency resources.
36. A method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE),
comprising: determining a set of uplink resources for repeated
transmission of one or more acknowledgment (ACK) bits across
multiple symbols within a transmission time interval (TTI);
determining a set of uplink resources for multiplexing at least one
type of reference signals (RS) with the one or more ACK bits; and
transmitting the one or more ACK bits multiplexed with the RS
according to the determined set of uplink resources for repeated
transmission of the one or more ACK bits and the determined set of
uplink resources for multiplexing the at least one type of RS with
the one or more ACK bits.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein the at least one type of RS
comprises demodulation reference signals (DMRS).
38. The method of claim 37, wherein: based on determining the set
of uplink resources for repeated transmission of the one or more
ACK bits and determining the set of uplink resources for
multiplexing the at least one type of RS with the one or more ACK
bits, the DMRS and the one or more ACK bits are transmitted in
alternating symbols.
39. The method of claim 36, wherein the one or more ACK bits are
modulated using at least one of binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) or
quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation.
40. The method of claim 36, wherein the one or more ACK bits are
frequency domain multiplexed with one or more ACK bits of one or
more other UEs using different cyclic shifts corresponding to
different UEs including the UE and the one or more other UEs.
41. The method of claim 36, wherein the one or more ACK bits are
sent with time domain multiplexing using orthogonal cover codes
(OCCs).
42. The method of claim 41, a spreading factor of the OCCs is based
on a duration of the determined uplink resources including the set
of uplink resources for repeated transmission of one or more ACK
bits and the set of uplink resources for multiplexing the at least
one type of RS with the one or more ACK bits.
43. An apparatus, comprising: a non-transitory memory comprising
executable instructions; and a processor in data communication with
the memory and configured to execute the instructions to cause the
computer system to: determine a set of uplink resources for
repeated transmission of one or more acknowledgment (ACK) bits
across multiple symbols within a transmission time interval (TTI);
determine a set of uplink resources for multiplexing at least one
type of reference signals (RS) with the one or more ACK bits; and
transmit the one or more ACK bits multiplexed with the RS according
to the determined set of uplink resources for repeated transmission
of the one or more ACK bits and the determined set of uplink
resources for multiplexing the at least one type of RS with the one
or more ACK bits.
44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the at least one type of RS
comprises demodulation reference signals (DMRS).
45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein: based on determining the
set of uplink resources for repeated transmission of the one or
more ACK bits and determining the set of uplink resources for
multiplexing the at least one type of RS with the one or more ACK
bits, the DMRS and the one or more ACK bits are transmitted in
alternating symbols.
46. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the one or more ACK bits are
modulated using at least one of binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) or
quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation.
47. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the one or more ACK bits are
frequency domain multiplexed with one or more ACK bits of one or
more other UEs using different cyclic shifts corresponding to
different UEs including the UE and the one or more other UEs.
48. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the one or more ACK bits are
sent with time domain multiplexing using orthogonal cover codes
(OCCs).
49. The apparatus of claim 41, a spreading factor of the OCCs is
based on a duration of the determined uplink resources including
the set of uplink resources for repeated transmission of one or
more ACK bits and the set of uplink resources for multiplexing the
at least one type of RS with the one or more ACK bits.
50. An apparatus, comprising: means for determining a set of uplink
resources for repeated transmission of one or more acknowledgment
(ACK) bits across multiple symbols within a transmission time
interval (TTI); means for determining a set of uplink resources for
multiplexing at least one type of reference signals (RS) with the
one or more ACK bits; and means for transmitting the one or more
ACK bits multiplexed with the RS according to the determined set of
uplink resources for repeated transmission of the one or more ACK
bits and the determined set of uplink resources for multiplexing
the at least one type of RS with the one or more ACK bits.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application Ser.
No. 62/524,206 entitled "LONG UPLINK BURST CHANNEL DESIGN," which
was filed Jun. 23, 2017. The aforementioned application is herein
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication
systems, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus relating
to a long uplink burst channel design.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to
provide various telecommunication services such as telephony,
video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless
communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies
capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing
available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power).
Examples of such multiple-access technologies include Long Term
Evolution (LTE) systems, code division multiple access (CDMA)
systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency
division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency
division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency
division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division
synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
[0004] In some examples, a wireless multiple-access communication
system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously
supporting communication for multiple communication devices,
otherwise known as user equipment (UEs). In LTE or LTE-A network, a
set of one or more base stations may define an eNodeB (eNB). In
other examples (e.g., in a next generation or 5G network), a
wireless multiple access communication system may include a number
of distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes
(ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmission
reception points (TRPs), etc.) in communication with a number of
central units (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node
controllers (ANCs), etc.), where a set of one or more distributed
units, in communication with a central unit, may define an access
node (e.g., a new radio base station (NR BS), a new radio node-B
(NR NB), a network node, 5G NB, eNB, etc.). A base station or DU
may communicate with a set of UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for
transmissions from a base station or to a UE) and uplink channels
(e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a base station or distributed
unit).
[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in
various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol
that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a
municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example of
an emerging telecommunication standard is new radio (NR), for
example, 5G radio access. NR is a set of enhancements to the LTE
mobile standard promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP). It is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet
access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving
services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with
other open standards using OFDMA with a cyclic prefix (CP) on the
downlink (DL) and on the uplink (UL) as well as support
beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna
technology, and carrier aggregation.
[0006] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues
to increase, there exists a desire for further improvements in NR
technology. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to
other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards
that employ these technologies.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0007] The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each
have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible
for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this
disclosure as expressed by the claims which follow, some features
will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion,
and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed
Description" one will understand how the features of this
disclosure provide advantages that include improved communications
between access points and stations in a wireless network.
[0008] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications
by a transmitter. The method generally includes determining, based
on a hopping pattern, a first set of frequency resources available
for transmitting uplink control information (UCI) within a first
portion of a transmission time interval (TTI) and a second set of
frequency resources available for transmitting UCI within a second
portion of the TTI and transmitting the UCI using the determined
first set of frequency resources and the second set of frequency
resources.
[0009] Also described herein are embodiments of an apparatus for
wireless communications comprising a non-transitory memory
comprising executable instructions and a processor in data
communication with the memory and configured to execute the
instructions to cause the computer system to determine, based on a
hopping pattern, a first set of frequency resources available for
transmitting uplink control information (UCI) within a first
portion of a transmission time interval (TTI) and a second set of
frequency resources available for transmitting UCI within a second
portion of the TTI and transmit the UCI using the determined first
set of frequency resources and the second set of frequency
resources.
[0010] Also described herein are embodiments of an apparatus for
wireless communications. The apparatus comprising means for
determining, based on a hopping pattern, a first set of frequency
resources available for transmitting uplink control information
(UCI) within a first portion of a transmission time interval (TTI)
and a second set of frequency resources available for transmitting
UCI within a second portion of the TTI. The apparatus further
comprising means for transmitting the UCI using the determined
first set of frequency resources and the second set of frequency
resources.
[0011] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications
by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes determining
a set of uplink resources for repeated transmission of one or more
acknowledgment (ACK) bits across multiple symbols within a
transmission time interval (TTI), determining a set of uplink
resources for multiplexing at least one type of reference signals
(RS) with the ACK bits, and transmitting the ACK bits multiplexed
with the RS according to the determined set of uplink resources for
repeated transmission of the one or more ACK bits and the
determined set of uplink resources for multiplexing the at least
one type of RS with the one or more ACK bits.
[0012] Also described herein are embodiments of an apparatus for
wireless communications comprising a non-transitory memory
comprising executable instructions and a processor in data
communication with the memory and configured to execute the
instructions to cause the computer system to determine a set of
uplink resources for repeated transmission of one or more
acknowledgment (ACK) bits across multiple symbols within a
transmission time interval (TTI), determine a set of uplink
resources for multiplexing at least one type of reference signals
(RS) with the one or more ACK bits, and transmit the one or more
ACK bits multiplexed with the RS according to the determined set of
uplink resources for repeated transmission of the one or more ACK
bits and the determined set of uplink resources for multiplexing
the at least one type of RS with the one or more ACK bits.
[0013] Also described herein are embodiments of an apparatus for
wireless communications. The apparatus comprises means for
determining a set of uplink resources for repeated transmission of
one or more acknowledgment (ACK) bits across multiple symbols
within a transmission time interval (TTI). The apparatus further
comprises means for determining a set of uplink resources for
multiplexing at least one type of reference signals (RS) with the
one or more ACK bits. The apparatus also comprises means for
transmitting the one or more ACK bits multiplexed with the RS
according to the determined set of uplink resources for repeated
transmission of the one or more ACK bits and the determined set of
uplink resources for multiplexing the at least one type of RS with
the one or more ACK bits.
[0014] Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems,
computer readable mediums, and processing systems, as substantially
described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
[0015] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the
one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully
described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following
description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain
illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features
are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which
the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this
description is intended to include all such aspects and their
equivalents.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] So that the manner in which the above-recited features of
the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more
particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by
reference to aspects, some of which are illustrated in the appended
drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings
illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are
therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the
description may admit to other equally effective aspects.
[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an
example telecommunications system, in accordance with certain
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example logical
architecture of a distributed RAN, in accordance with certain
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example physical
architecture of a distributed RAN, in accordance with certain
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design
of an example BS and user equipment (UE), in accordance with
certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples for implementing a
communication protocol stack, in accordance with certain aspects of
the present disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a DL-centric subframe, in
accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0023] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an UL-centric subframe, in
accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.
[0024] FIG. 8 illustrates an example frequency hopping when
transmitting ACK channel information, in accordance with certain
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0025] FIGS. 9a and 9b illustrate example uplink and downlink
structures, respectively, in accordance with certain aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 10 illustrates example operations for wireless
communications by a transmitter, according to aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0027] FIG. 11a illustrates an example uplink structure with a
number of slots, in accordance with certain aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0028] FIG. 11b illustrates an example of slot aggregation in an
uplink structure with a number of slots, in accordance with certain
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0029] FIG. 12 illustrates example operations for wireless
communications by a user equipment, according to aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0030] FIG. 13 illustrates an example of multiplexing acknowledge
bits with reference signals, according to aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0031] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals
have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements
that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements
disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized on other
aspects without specific recitation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and
apparatus relating to a long uplink burst channel design.
[0033] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus,
methods, processing systems, and computer readable mediums for new
radio (NR) (new radio access technology or 5G technology).
[0034] NR may support various wireless communication services, such
as Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeting wide bandwidth (e.g.
80 MHz beyond), millimeter wave (mmW) targeting high carrier
frequency (e.g. 60 GHz), massive MTC (mMTC) targeting non-backward
compatible MTC techniques, and/or mission critical targeting
ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). These services
may include latency and reliability requirements. These services
may also have different transmission time intervals (TTI) to meet
respective quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition,
these services may co-exist in the same subframe.
[0035] In some cases, when transmitting uplink control information
(UCI), a wireless device (e.g., UE 120) may perform frequency
hopping. Frequency hopping refers to the practice of repeatedly
switching frequencies within a frequency band in order to reduce
interference and avoid interception. Under certain wireless
communications standards, such as NR, the UCI may be transmitted in
a long uplink burst channel ("Uplink Long Burst") region of a
transmission time interval (TTI). The UCI may include information
such as acknowledgment (ACK), channel quality indicator (CQI), or
scheduling request (SR) information.
[0036] In some cases, under the NR standards, the duration of the
Uplink Long Burst channel for UCI transmissions may vary depending
on how many symbols are used for the physical downlink control
channel (PDCCH), the gap, and the short uplink burst (shown as UL
Short Burst) in the TTI. Certain embodiments herein describe
frequency hopping techniques for the Uplink Long Burst region of
the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Also, certain
embodiments described herein relate to determining uplink resources
in the Uplink Long Burst channel for transmitting one or more ACK
bits multiplexed with reference signals.
[0037] The following description provides examples, and is not
limiting of the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the
claims. Changes may be made in the function and arrangement of
elements discussed without departing from the scope of the
disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute, or add various
procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, the methods
described may be performed in an order different from that
described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined.
Also, features described with respect to some examples may be
combined in some other examples. For example, an apparatus may be
implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the
aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure
is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced
using other structure, functionality, or structure and
functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of
the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any
aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or
more elements of a claim. The word "exemplary" is used herein to
mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect
described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed
as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.
[0038] The techniques described herein may be used for various
wireless communication networks such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA,
OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms "network" and "system"
are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a
radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA),
cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other
variants of CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856
standards. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology such as
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may
implement a radio technology such as NR (e.g. 5G RA), Evolved UTRA
(E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE
802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are
part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). NR is an
emerging wireless communications technology under development in
conjunction with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPP Long Term
Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are releases of UMTS that
use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described in
documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership
Project" (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from
an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2"
(3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for the
wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as
other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, while
aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly
associated with 3G and/or 4G wireless technologies, aspects of the
present disclosure can be applied in other generation-based
communication systems, such as 5G and later, including NR
technologies.
Example Wireless Communications System
[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100, such as
a new radio (NR) or 5G network, in which aspects of the present
disclosure may be performed. For example, UE 120 or BS 110 may
perform operations 1000 of FIG. 10. Also, UE 120 may perform
operations 1200 of FIG. 12.
[0040] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless network 100 may
include a number of BSs 110 and other network entities. A BS may be
a station that communicates with UEs. Each BS 110 may provide
communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP,
the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of a Node B and/or a
Node B subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the
context in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term "cell"
and eNB, Node B, 5G NB, AP, NR BS, NR BS, or TRP may be
interchangeable. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be
stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according
to the location of a mobile base station. In some examples, the
base stations may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or
more other base stations or network nodes (not shown) in the
wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces
such as a direct physical connection, a virtual network, or the
like using any suitable transport network.
[0041] In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed
in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a
particular radio access technology (RAT) and may operate on one or
more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio
technology, an air interface, etc. A frequency may also be referred
to as a carrier, a frequency channel, etc. Each frequency may
support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid
interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some
cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.
[0042] A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a
pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. A macro cell
may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several
kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with
service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small
geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with
service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small
geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by
UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed
Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, etc.). A BS for
a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell
may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be
referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown in
FIG. 1, the BSs 110a, 110b and 110c may be macro BSs for the macro
cells 102a, 102b and 102c, respectively. The BS 110x may be a pico
BS for a pico cell 102x. The BSs 110y and 110z may be femto BS for
the femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS may support one
or multiple (e.g., three) cells.
[0043] The wireless network 100 may also include relay stations. A
relay station is a station that receives a transmission of data
and/or other information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a
UE) and sends a transmission of the data and/or other information
to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may
also be a UE that relays transmissions for other UEs. In the
example shown in FIG. 1, a relay station 110r may communicate with
the BS 110a and a UE 120r in order to facilitate communication
between the BS 110a and the UE 120r. A relay station may also be
referred to as a relay BS, a relay, etc.
[0044] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that
includes BSs of different types, e.g., macro BS, pico BS, femto BS,
relays, etc. These different types of BSs may have different
transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different
impact on interference in the wireless network 100. For example,
macro BS may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 20 Watts)
whereas pico BS, femto BS, and relays may have a lower transmit
power level (e.g., 1 Watt).
[0045] The wireless network 100 may support synchronous or
asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs may have
similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be
approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs
may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different
BSs may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may
be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operation.
[0046] A network controller 130 may be coupled to a set of BSs and
provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network
controller 130 may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The
BSs 110 may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or
indirectly via wireless or wireline backhaul.
[0047] The UEs 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed
throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary
or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, a
terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a station, a
Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, a smart phone,
a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless
communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a
cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a
camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a
medical device or medical equipment, a biometric sensor/device, a
wearable device such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart
glasses, a smart wrist band, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a
smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., a music
device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicular
component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrial manufacturing
equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other
suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or
wired medium. Some UEs may be considered evolved or machine-type
communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and
eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices,
sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., that may
communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., remote device), or
some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example,
connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as
Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless
communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things
(IoT) devices. In FIG. 1, a solid line with double arrows indicates
desired transmissions between a UE and a serving BS, which is a BS
designated to serve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink. A dashed
line with double arrows indicates interfering transmissions between
a UE and a BS.
[0048] Certain wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal
frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and
single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the
uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM partition the system bandwidth into
multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly
referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarrier may be modulated
with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency
domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. The spacing
between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of
subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. For
example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kHz and the
minimum resource allocation (called a `resource block`) may be 12
subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal FFT size may be
equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 for system bandwidth of 1.25,
2.5, 5, 10 or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. The system
bandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. For example, a
subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and there may
be 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5,
10 or 20 MHz, respectively.
[0049] While aspects of the examples described herein may be
associated with LTE technologies, aspects of the present disclosure
may be applicable with other wireless communications systems, such
as NR. NR may utilize OFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and
include support for half-duplex operation using time division
duplex (TDD). A single component carrier bandwidth of 100 MHz may
be supported. NR resource blocks may span 12 sub-carriers with a
sub-carrier bandwidth of 75 kHz over a 0.1 ms duration. Each radio
frame may consist of 50 subframes with a length of 10 ms.
Consequently, each subframe may have a length of 0.2 ms. Each
subframe may indicate a link direction (i.e., DL or UL) for data
transmission and the link direction for each subframe may be
dynamically switched. Each subframe may include DL/UL data as well
as DL/UL control data. UL and DL subframes for NR may be as
described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7.
Beamforming may be supported and beam direction may be dynamically
configured. MIMO transmissions with precoding may also be
supported. MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8
transmit antennas with multi-layer DL transmissions up to 8 streams
and up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmissions with up to 2
streams per UE may be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells may
be supported with up to 8 serving cells. Alternatively, NR may
support a different air interface, other than an OFDM-based. NR
networks may include entities such CUs and/or DUs.
[0050] In some examples, access to the air interface may be
scheduled, wherein a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station)
allocates resources for communication among some or all devices and
equipment within its service area or cell. Within the present
disclosure, as discussed further below, the scheduling entity may
be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and
releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is,
for scheduled communication, subordinate entities utilize resources
allocated by the scheduling entity. Base stations are not the only
entities that may function as a scheduling entity. That is, in some
examples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity, scheduling
resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more
other UEs). In this example, the UE is functioning as a scheduling
entity, and other UEs utilize resources scheduled by the UE for
wireless communication. A UE may function as a scheduling entity in
a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, and/or in a mesh network. In a mesh
network example, UEs may optionally communicate directly with one
another in addition to communicating with the scheduling
entity.
[0051] Thus, in a wireless communication network with a scheduled
access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular
configuration, a P2P configuration, and a mesh configuration, a
scheduling entity and one or more subordinate entities may
communicate utilizing the scheduled resources.
[0052] As noted above, a RAN may include a CU and DUs. A NR BS
(e.g., eNB, 5G Node B, Node B, transmission reception point (TRP),
access point (AP)) may correspond to one or multiple BSs. NR cells
can be configured as access cell (ACells) or data only cells
(DCells). For example, the RAN (e.g., a central unit or distributed
unit) can configure the cells. DCells may be cells used for carrier
aggregation or dual connectivity, but not used for initial access,
cell selection/reselection, or handover. In some cases DCells may
not transmit synchronization signals--in some case cases DCells may
transmit SS. NR BSs may transmit downlink signals to UEs indicating
the cell type. Based on the cell type indication, the UE may
communicate with the NR BS. For example, the UE may determine NR
BSs to consider for cell selection, access, handover, and/or
measurement based on the indicated cell type.
[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates an example logical architecture of a
distributed radio access network (RAN) 200, which may be
implemented in the wireless communication system illustrated in
FIG. 1. A 5G access node 206 may include an access node controller
(ANC) 202. The ANC may be a central unit (CU) of the distributed
RAN 200. The backhaul interface to the next generation core network
(NG-CN) 204 may terminate at the ANC. The backhaul interface to
neighboring next generation access nodes (NG-ANs) may terminate at
the ANC. The ANC may include one or more TRPs 208 (which may also
be referred to as BSs, NR BSs, Node Bs, 5G NBs, APs, or some other
term). As described above, a TRP may be used interchangeably with
"cell."
[0054] The TRPs 208 may be a DU. The TRPs may be connected to one
ANC (ANC 202) or more than one ANC (not illustrated). For example,
for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RaaS), and service specific
AND deployments, the TRP may be connected to more than one ANC. A
TRP may include one or more antenna ports. The TRPs may be
configured to individually (e.g., dynamic selection) or jointly
(e.g., joint transmission) serve traffic to a UE.
[0055] The local architecture 200 may be used to illustrate
fronthaul definition. The architecture may be defined that support
fronthauling solutions across different deployment types. For
example, the architecture may be based on transmit network
capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter).
[0056] The architecture may share features and/or components with
LTE. According to aspects, the next generation AN (NG-AN) 210 may
support dual connectivity with NR. The NG-AN may share a common
fronthaul for LTE and NR.
[0057] The architecture may enable cooperation between and among
TRPs 208. For example, cooperation may be preset within a TRP
and/or across TRPs via the ANC 202. According to aspects, no
inter-TRP interface may be needed/present.
[0058] According to aspects, a dynamic configuration of split
logical functions may be present within the architecture 200. As
will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5, the
Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Packet Data Convergence
Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium
Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layers may be
adaptably placed at the DU or CU (e.g., TRP or ANC, respectively).
According to certain aspects, a BS may include a central unit (CU)
(e.g., ANC 202) and/or one or more distributed units (e.g., one or
more TRPs 208).
[0059] FIG. 3 illustrates an example physical architecture of a
distributed RAN 300, according to aspects of the present
disclosure. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 302 may host
core network functions. The C-CU may be centrally deployed. C-CU
functionality may be offloaded (e.g., to advanced wireless services
(AWS)), in an effort to handle peak capacity.
[0060] A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 304 may host one or more ANC
functions. Optionally, the C-RU may host core network functions
locally. The C-RU may have distributed deployment. The C-RU may be
closer to the network edge.
[0061] A DU 306 may host one or more TRPs (edge node (EN), an edge
unit (EU), a radio head (RH), a smart radio head (SRH), or the
like). The DU may be located at edges of the network with radio
frequency (RF) functionality.
[0062] FIG. 4 illustrates example components of the BS 110 and UE
120 illustrated in FIG. 1, which may be used to implement aspects
of the present disclosure. As described above, the BS may include a
TRP. One or more components of the BS 110 and UE 120 may be used to
practice aspects of the present disclosure. For example, antennas
452, Tx/Rx 222, processors 466, 458, 464, and/or
controller/processor 480 of the UE 120 and/or antennas 434,
processors 460, 420, 438, and/or controller/processor 440 of the BS
110 may be used to perform the operations described herein and
illustrated with reference to FIGS. 10 and 12.
[0063] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a design of a BS 110 and a
UE 120, which may be one of the BSs and one of the UEs in FIG. 1.
For a restricted association scenario, the base station 110 may be
the macro BS 110c in FIG. 1, and the UE 120 may be the UE 120y. The
base station 110 may also be a base station of some other type. The
base station 110 may be equipped with antennas 434a through 434t,
and the UE 120 may be equipped with antennas 452a through 452r.
[0064] At the base station 110, a transmit processor 420 may
receive data from a data source 412 and control information from a
controller/processor 440. The control information may be for the
Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), Physical Control Format
Indicator Channel (PCFICH), Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel
(PHICH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), etc. The data
may be for the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), etc. The
processor 420 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data
and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols,
respectively. The processor 420 may also generate reference
symbols, e.g., for the PSS, SSS, and cell-specific reference
signal. A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)
processor 430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on
the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or the reference
symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to
the modulators (MODs) 432a through 432t. For example, the TX MIMO
processor 430 may perform certain aspects described herein for RS
multiplexing. Each modulator 432 may process a respective output
symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample
stream. Each modulator 432 may further process (e.g., convert to
analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to
obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 432a
through 432t may be transmitted via the antennas 434a through 434t,
respectively.
[0065] At the UE 120, the antennas 452a through 452r may receive
the downlink signals from the base station 110 and may provide
received signals to the demodulators (DEMODs) 454a through 454r,
respectively. Each demodulator 454 may condition (e.g., filter,
amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to
obtain input samples. Each demodulator 454 may further process the
input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A
MIMO detector 456 may obtain received symbols from all the
demodulators 454a through 454r, perform MIMO detection on the
received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. For
example, MIMO detector 456 may provide detected RS transmitted
using techniques described herein. A receive processor 458 may
process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected
symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 460,
and provide decoded control information to a controller/processor
480. According to one or more cases, CoMP aspects can include
providing the antennas, as well as some Tx/Rx functionalities, such
that they reside in distributed units. For example, some Tx/Rx
processings can be done in the central unit, while other processing
can be done at the distributed units. For example, in accordance
with one or more aspects as shown in the diagram, the BS mod/demod
432 may be in the distributed units.
[0066] On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 464 may
receive and process data (e.g., for the Physical Uplink Shared
Channel (PUSCH)) from a data source 462 and control information
(e.g., for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) from the
controller/processor 480. The transmit processor 464 may also
generate reference symbols for a reference signal. The symbols from
the transmit processor 464 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor
466 if applicable, further processed by the demodulators 454a
through 454r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base
station 110. At the BS 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 may
be received by the antennas 434, processed by the modulators 432,
detected by a MIMO detector 436 if applicable, and further
processed by a receive processor 438 to obtain decoded data and
control information sent by the UE 120. The receive processor 438
may provide the decoded data to a data sink 439 and the decoded
control information to the controller/processor 440.
[0067] The controllers/processors 440 and 480 may direct the
operation at the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The
processor 440 and/or other processors and modules at the base
station 110 may perform or direct, e.g., the execution of the
functional blocks illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12, and/or other
processes for the techniques described herein. The processor 480
and/or other processors and modules at the UE 120 may also perform
or direct processes for the techniques described herein. The
memories 442 and 482 may store data and program codes for the BS
110 and the UE 120, respectively. A scheduler 444 may schedule UEs
for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.
[0068] FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram 500 showing examples for
implementing a communications protocol stack, according to aspects
of the present disclosure. The illustrated communications protocol
stacks may be implemented by devices operating in a in a 5G system
(e.g., a system that supports uplink-based mobility). Diagram 500
illustrates a communications protocol stack including a Radio
Resource Control (RRC) layer 510, a Packet Data Convergence
Protocol (PDCP) layer 515, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer 520, a
Medium Access Control (MAC) layer 525, and a Physical (PHY) layer
530. In various examples the layers of a protocol stack may be
implemented as separate modules of software, portions of a
processor or ASIC, portions of non-collocated devices connected by
a communications link, or various combinations thereof. Collocated
and non-collocated implementations may be used, for example, in a
protocol stack for a network access device (e.g., ANs, CUs, and/or
DUs) or a UE.
[0069] A first option 505-a shows a split implementation of a
protocol stack, in which implementation of the protocol stack is
split between a centralized network access device (e.g., an ANC 202
in FIG. 2) and distributed network access device (e.g., DU 208 in
FIG. 2). In the first option 505-a, an RRC layer 510 and a PDCP
layer 515 may be implemented by the central unit, and an RLC layer
520, a MAC layer 525, and a PHY layer 530 may be implemented by the
DU. In various examples the CU and the DU may be collocated or
non-collocated. The first option 505-a may be useful in a macro
cell, micro cell, or pico cell deployment.
[0070] A second option 505-b shows a unified implementation of a
protocol stack, in which the protocol stack is implemented in a
single network access device (e.g., access node (AN), new radio
base station (NR BS), a new radio Node-B (NR NB), a network node
(NN), or the like.). In the second option, the RRC layer 510, the
PDCP layer 515, the RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY
layer 530 may each be implemented by the AN. The second option
505-b may be useful in a femto cell deployment.
[0071] Regardless of whether a network access device implements
part or all of a protocol stack, a UE may implement an entire
protocol stack (e.g., the RRC layer 510, the PDCP layer 515, the
RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530).
[0072] FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 showing an example of a DL-centric
subframe. The DL-centric subframe may include a control portion
602. The control portion 602 may exist in the initial or beginning
portion of the DL-centric subframe. The control portion 602 may
include various scheduling information and/or control information
corresponding to various portions of the DL-centric subframe. In
some configurations, the control portion 602 may be a physical DL
control channel (PDCCH), as indicated in FIG. 6. The DL-centric
subframe may also include a DL data portion 604. The DL data
portion 604 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the
DL-centric subframe. The DL data portion 604 may include the
communication resources utilized to communicate DL data from the
scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS) to the subordinate entity (e.g.,
UE). In some configurations, the DL data portion 604 may be a
physical DL shared channel (PDSCH).
[0073] The DL-centric subframe may also include a common UL portion
606. The common UL portion 606 may sometimes be referred to as an
UL burst, a common UL burst, and/or various other suitable terms.
The common UL portion 606 may include feedback information
corresponding to various other portions of the DL-centric subframe.
For example, the common UL portion 606 may include feedback
information corresponding to the control portion 602. Non-limiting
examples of feedback information may include an ACK signal, a NACK
signal, a HARQ indicator, and/or various other suitable types of
information. The common UL portion 606 may include additional or
alternative information, such as information pertaining to random
access channel (RACH) procedures, scheduling requests (SRs), and
various other suitable types of information. As illustrated in FIG.
6, the end of the DL data portion 604 may be separated in time from
the beginning of the common UL portion 606. This time separation
may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, a guard
interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation
provides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g.,
reception operation by the subordinate entity (e.g., UE)) to UL
communication (e.g., transmission by the subordinate entity (e.g.,
UE)). One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the
foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric subframe and
alternative structures having similar features may exist without
necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein.
[0074] FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 showing an example of an UL-centric
subframe. The UL-centric subframe may include a control portion
702. The control portion 702 may exist in the initial or beginning
portion of the UL-centric subframe. The control portion 702 in FIG.
7 may be similar to the control portion described above with
reference to FIG. 6. The UL-centric subframe may also include an UL
data portion 704. The UL data portion 704 may sometimes be referred
to as the payload of the UL-centric subframe. The UL data portion
may refer to the communication resources utilized to communicate UL
data from the subordinate entity (e.g., UE) to the scheduling
entity (e.g., UE or BS). In some configurations, the control
portion 702 may be a physical DL control channel (PDCCH).
[0075] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the end of the control portion 702
may be separated in time from the beginning of the UL data portion
704. This time separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap,
guard period, guard interval, and/or various other suitable terms.
This separation provides time for the switch-over from DL
communication (e.g., reception operation by the scheduling entity)
to UL communication (e.g., transmission by the scheduling entity).
The UL-centric subframe may also include a common UL portion 706.
The common UL portion 706 in FIG. 7 may be similar to the common UL
portion 706 described above with reference to FIG. 7. The common UL
portion 706 may additionally or alternatively include information
pertaining to channel quality indicator (CQI), sounding reference
signals (SRSs), and various other suitable types of information.
One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the foregoing
is merely one example of an UL-centric subframe and alternative
structures having similar features may exist without necessarily
deviating from the aspects described herein.
[0076] In some circumstances, two or more subordinate entities
(e.g., UEs) may communicate with each other using sidelink signals.
Real-world applications of such sidelink communications may include
public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relaying,
vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, Internet of Everything
(IoE) communications, IoT communications, mission-critical mesh,
and/or various other suitable applications. Generally, a sidelink
signal may refer to a signal communicated from one subordinate
entity (e.g., UE1) to another subordinate entity (e.g., UE2)
without relaying that communication through the scheduling entity
(e.g., UE or BS), even though the scheduling entity may be utilized
for scheduling and/or control purposes. In some examples, the
sidelink signals may be communicated using a licensed spectrum
(unlike wireless local area networks, which typically use an
unlicensed spectrum).
[0077] A UE may operate in various radio resource configurations,
including a configuration associated with transmitting pilots using
a dedicated set of resources (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC)
dedicated state, etc.) or a configuration associated with
transmitting pilots using a common set of resources (e.g., an RRC
common state, etc.). When operating in the RRC dedicated state, the
UE may select a dedicated set of resources for transmitting a pilot
signal to a network. When operating in the RRC common state, the UE
may select a common set of resources for transmitting a pilot
signal to the network. In either case, a pilot signal transmitted
by the UE may be received by one or more network access devices,
such as an AN, or a DU, or portions thereof. Each receiving network
access device may be configured to receive and measure pilot
signals transmitted on the common set of resources, and also
receive and measure pilot signals transmitted on dedicated sets of
resources allocated to the UEs for which the network access device
is a member of a monitoring set of network access devices for the
UE. One or more of the receiving network access devices, or a CU to
which receiving network access device(s) transmit the measurements
of the pilot signals, may use the measurements to identify serving
cells for the UEs, or to initiate a change of serving cell for one
or more of the UEs.
Example Long Burst Channel Design
[0078] In mobile communication systems conforming to certain
wireless communications standards, such as the Long Term Evolution
(LTE) standards, certain techniques may be used to increase the
reliability of data transmission. For example, after a base station
performs an initial transmission operation for a specific data
channel, a receiver receiving the transmission attempts to
demodulate the data channel during which the receiver performs a
cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for the data channel. If, as a result
of the check, the initial transmission is successfully demodulated,
the receiver may send an acknowledgement (ACK) to the base station
to acknowledge the successful demodulation. If, however, the
initial transmission is not successfully demodulated, the receiver
may send a non-acknowledgement (NACK) to the base station. A
channel that transmits ACK/NACK is called a response or an ACK
channel.
[0079] In some cases, under the LTE standards, an ACK channel may
comprise two slots (i.e., one subframe) or 14 symbols, which may be
used to transmit one or two bits of ACK. In some cases, when
transmitting ACK channel information, a wireless device may perform
frequency hopping. Frequency hopping refers to the practice of
repeatedly switching frequencies within a frequency band in order
to reduce interference and avoid interception.
[0080] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of frequency hopping when
transmitting ACK channel information under the LTE standards. FIG.
8 shows the frequency switching after one slot (i.e., slot 802) is
transmitted, where each slot comprises 7 symbols. When transmitting
ACK channel information, there are two ways of multiplexing
including frequency domain multiplexing with cyclic shifts and time
domain multiplexing with orthogonal cover codes (OCC). For example,
under time domain multiplexing with OCC, ACK bits may be
multiplexed with at least one type of reference signals (e.g.,
demodulation reference signals (DMRS)).
[0081] FIG. 8 shows the middle three symbols of each slot (symbols
808 of slot 802) being used for transmitting demodulation reference
signals (DMRS) with Discrete Fourier Transform 3 (DFT3) spreading.
In addition, in some embodiments, two data symbols (symbols 806a)
may be transmitted before and two data symbols (symbols 806b) after
the three DMRS symbols (symbols 808 of slot 802) using Hadamard
de-spreading. In some embodiments, if the time domain symbols are
repeated, as shown in FIG. 8, the Euclidian distances between
different hypotheses of the information bits are not maximized.
[0082] Under other wireless communications standards, such as NR,
the ACK channel information as well as other information may be
transmitted through an uplink structure shown in FIG. 9a.
[0083] FIG. 9a illustrates an example uplink structure with a
transmission time interval (TTI) 900 that includes a region 906 for
long uplink burst transmissions (hereinafter referred to as "UL
Long Burst"). UL Long Burst 906 may transmit information such as
acknowledgment (ACK), channel quality indicator (CQI), or
scheduling request (SR) information. The duration of UL Long Burst
906 may vary depending on how many symbols are used for the
physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 902, the gap 904, and the
short uplink burst (shown as UL Short Burst 908), as shown in FIG.
9a. For example, UL Long Burst 906 may span a number of slots
(e.g., 4), where the duration of UL Long Burst 902 in each slot may
vary from 4 to 14 symbols.
[0084] FIG. 9b also shows a downlink structure having a TTI 920
that includes PDCCH, downlink physical downlink shared channel
(PDSCH), a gap, and an uplink short burst. Similar to the UL Long
Burst, the duration of the DL PDSCH may also depend on the number
of symbols used by the PDCCH, the gap, and the uplink short
burst.
[0085] Unlike the ACK channel duration, which had a fixed duration
under the LTE standards, time domain multiplexing of the ACK bits
with OCC, where the duration of the UL Long Burst (e.g., UL Long
Burst 906) or DL PDCCH is not fixed, may pose issues. For example,
the spreading factor and OCCs may change according to different UL
Long Burst durations. Furthermore, different UEs may have different
UL Long Burst durations and maintaining orthogonality among UEs
with different UL Long Burst durations in the same RB will be
difficult. As such, under NR, if time domain multiplexing with OCC
is disabled, performance may be improved compared to when the data
symbols are repeated. For example, a simplex code may be used to
improve the Euclidian distance between different hypotheses.
[0086] Accordingly, certain embodiments herein describe frequency
hopping techniques for a long physical uplink control channel
(PUCCH), which may be used to carry ACK channel information, SR,
and CQI.
[0087] FIG. 10 illustrates example operations 1000 for wireless
communications by a wireless device, according to aspects of the
present disclosure. The wireless device performing operations 1000
may be, for example, a transmitter (e.g., UE 120). Operations 1000
begin, at 1002, by determining, based on a hopping pattern, a first
set of frequency resources available for transmitting uplink
control information (UCI) within a first portion of a transmission
time interval (TTI) and a second set of frequency resources
available for transmitting UCI within a second portion of the TTI.
At 1004, operations 1000 continue by transmitting the UCI using the
determined first set of frequency resources and the second set of
frequency resources.
[0088] FIG. 11a illustrates an example uplink structure with a TTI
900 comprising 4 slots 1110a-1110d, where slots 1110a and 1110d
comprise a lower number of symbols in their UL Long Burst regions
compared to slots 1110b and 1110c at the center. As described
above, the durations of the UL Long Burst regions 1106a and 1106d
of slots 1110a and 1110d, respectively, depend on how many symbols
are used for PDCCH, the gap, and/or the UL Short Burst in each
slot.
[0089] In some embodiments, the transmission frequency may switch,
according to frequency hopping techniques described herein, during
each slot 1110 of the PUCCH channel of FIG. 11a. The frequency
hopping techniques described in relation to FIG. 11a may be
referred to as "intra-slot" hopping because, as shown in FIG. 11a,
the frequency may be switched (e.g., from frequency 1115 to
frequency 1116) after a certain number of symbols in each slot. In
some other embodiments, the frequency hopping may be "inter-slot,"
meaning that the frequency hopping may occur across multiple slots
(e.g., on slot boundaries). In some embodiments, only one of
inter-slot or intra-slot frequency hopping may be enabled for a
single transmission.
[0090] In some embodiments, when intra-slot hopping is enabled, the
hopping position (i.e., the symbol at which frequency is switched)
may be fixed at a particular symbol. For example, in some
embodiments, the hopping position may be fixed at symbol 7,
regardless of how many symbols the UL Long Burst region of each
slot comprises (e.g., regardless of how many symbols are used for
the PDCCH, the gap, and the UL Short Burst). For example, slot
1110a may comprise a number of symbols utilized for the
transmission of the PDCCH and the gap, thereby limiting the
duration of the UL Long Burst to region 1106a. In contrast, the
entire duration of slot 1110b is allocated to UL Long Burst region
1106b. In embodiments where the hopping position is fixed,
frequency switching may be performed at a fixed symbol in each slot
regardless of the duration of the UL Long Burst region. In other
words, in such embodiments, the hopping symbol may be the same in
slot 1110a and 1110b.
[0091] In some embodiments, when intra-slot hopping is enabled, the
hopping position may be floating. In some embodiments, the floating
hopping symbol position within a slot is determined based on a
number of symbols that are allocated to the UL Long Burst in the
slot for transmitting UCI. For example, the frequency may be
switched at the center symbol of the UL Long Burst in each slot. In
such an example, if a slot comprises 12 symbols in the UL Long
Burst, the hopping position may be 6. FIG. 11a provides an
illustration of this example. In embodiments where the number of
symbols in the UL Long Burst is odd, the frequency may switch at a
symbol that is closest to the center. For example, if the UL Long
Burst comprises X symbols, in some embodiments, the floating
hopping symbol position may have a symbol number that is one of two
integers that are the closest to a number that equals X divided by
two. As an example, assuming UL Long Burst 1106a of slot 1110a
comprises 11 symbols, frequency may switch at symbol 5 or symbol 6
of UL Long Burst 1106a (e.g., symbols 5 and 6 are integers that are
closest to 5.5, which equals 11 divided by 2).
[0092] In some embodiments, the frequency hopping (e.g., intra-slot
hopping) within the PUCCH channel may be enabled or disabled for a
particular slot. For example, intra-slot hopping is enabled for
slot 1110a but not slot 1110b. The enabling or disabling of
frequency hopping (e.g., intra-slot hopping), in some embodiments,
may be configured dynamically or semi-statically. In some
embodiments, the configuration for enabling or disabling frequency
hopping (e.g., intra-slot hopping) is UE-specific.
[0093] In some embodiments, one or more slots of the TTI may be
aggregated. FIG. 11b illustrates an example of a long PUCCH channel
with aggregated across slots. In embodiments where slots are
aggregated, intra-slot hopping may either be enabled and repeated
or disabled. When intra-slot hopping is disabled, in some
embodiments, hopping may occur according to one or a combination of
three techniques described below.
[0094] Using the first technique, hopping may occur at the center
symbol of the UL Long Burst. In some embodiments, the UL Short
Burst may be included in one of the aggregated slots (not shown in
FIG. 11b). In some embodiments, the number of symbols used for the
UL Short Burst may not be counted as symbols in UL Long Burst when
determining the center symbol of the UL Long Burst. This results in
a UL Long Burst with a number of counted symbols that varies per
slot. However, using the second technique, the number of symbols
used for the UL Short Burst may be counted as symbols in UL Long
Burst when determining the center symbol of the UL Long Burst. This
results in a UL Long Burst where the number of counted symbols per
slot is fixed.
[0095] In some embodiments, the DL PDCCH or gap portion may be
included or present in an aggregated slot. In some embodiments, the
number of symbols used for the PDCCH or gap may not be counted as
symbols in UL long Burst when determining the center symbol of the
UL Long Burst. This results in a UL Long Burst with a number of
counted symbols that varies per slot. However, in some other
embodiments, the number of symbols used for the PDCCH or gap may be
counted as one of the symbols in UL Long Burst when determining the
center symbol of the UL Long Burst. This results in a UL Long Burst
where the number of counted symbols per slot is fixed. FIG. 11b
illustrates an example of where frequency hopping occurs at the
center symbol (e.g., boundary of the center symbol is shown as
1140) of the UL Long Burst 1130 when the ULSB, gap, and PDCCH
symbols are not counted as symbols of the UL Long Burst 1130.
[0096] Using a third technique, when intra-slot hopping is disabled
and one or more slots of the TTI are aggregated, instead of hopping
at the center symbol of the UL Long Burst, hopping may occur at the
slot boundaries (e.g., inter-slot hopping) or half-slot boundaries.
For example, in FIG. 11b, hopping may occur at slot boundary 1150.
In one example, there may be frequency hopping on every slot
boundary following the same pattern. For example, one slot may use
the first frequency, the second slot may use the second frequency,
and then the third slot may also use the first frequency, and the
forth slot may also use the second frequency, and so on. In another
example, there may be only one frequency hopping over the
multi-slot duration.
[0097] In some embodiments, if hopping occurs at the slot
boundaries, the number of slots per hop may be uneven between the
two hops when the number of slots is odd. If hopping occurs at the
half-slot boundaries, the number of slots per hop may be even
between the two hops. In one example, the frequency hopping may
occur at the center symbol of the center slot when the number of
slots is odd.
[0098] FIG. 12 illustrates example operations 1200 for wireless
communications by a wireless device, according to aspects of the
present disclosure. The wireless device performing operations 1200
may be, for example, a user equipment. Operations 1200 begin, at
1202, by determining a set of uplink resources for repeated
transmission of one or more acknowledgment (ACK) bits across
multiple symbols within a transmission time interval (TTI). At
1204, operations 1200 continue by determining a set of uplink
resources for multiplexing at least one type of reference signals
(RS) with the one or more ACK bits. At 1206, operations 1200
continue by transmitting the one or more ACK bits multiplexed with
the RS according to the determined set of uplink resources for
repeated transmission of the one or more ACK bits and the
determined set of uplink resources for multiplexing the at least
one type of RS with the one or more ACK bits.
[0099] In some embodiments, as described above, ACK bits may be
transmitted in the UL Long Burst under certain wireless
communications standards, such as NR. In some embodiments, the ACK
may comprise a number of bits including one or two bits, etc. FIG.
13 illustrates an example design for transmitting ACK bits in
symbols 1304 in the UL Long Burst 1330. In the embodiments of FIG.
13, time domain multiplexing with OCC may be used in combination
with repeating ACK bits. As shown in FIG. 13, the UL Long Burst
1330 comprises 11 symbols, where ACK bits are multiplexed with
reference signals (e.g., DMRS).
[0100] FIG. 13 shows DMRS being transmitted with every other symbol
1302 starting with the first symbol 1302a. The other five symbols
1304 are, however, data symbols used for transmitting ACK bits.
Accordingly, the DMRS and ACK bits are transmitted in altering
symbols. In some embodiments, an ACK may be 1 bit and the same bit
may be transmitted with every data symbol such that the bit
sequence may be: b0, b0, b0, b0, and b0. The 1 bit may be modulated
with binary phase shift keying (BPSK). In some other embodiments,
ACK bits may be 2 bits and the same two bits may be transmitted
with every data symbol such that the bit sequence may be: b0 b1, b0
b1, b0 b1, b0 b1, and b0 b1. Further, the 2 bits may be modulated
using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK). In some embodiments,
the modulated ACK bits of one or more UE are sent using frequency
domain multiplexing with different cyclic shifts corresponding to
the one or more UEs. In some other embodiments, the ACK bits may
also be sent using time domain multiplexing with OCC, in which case
the spreading factor and OCC may be adapted to the duration of the
long uplink burst (e.g., for the transmission of, for example, the
ACK bits multiplexed with reference signals).
[0101] In some embodiments, instead of using time domain
multiplexing with OCC in combination with repeating the same ACK
bits in the data symbols, simplex coding may be used for the
encoding of ACK bits. In some embodiments, a 2-bit ACK (e.g., b0
b1) may be encoded with a simplex code, resulting in at least one
additional bit. As an example, a 2-bit ACK (e.g., b0 b1) may be
encoded with a simplex code resulting in three bits (e.g., b0 b1
b2). The three encoded bits may be repeated. Accordingly, a subset
of the encoded bits is transmitted in each data symbol using QPSK
modulation. For example, the resulting three bits may be repeated
serially, where two bits may be transmitted with each data symbol.
As an example, the first data symbol may carry b0 b1, the second
data symbol may carry b2 b0, the third data symbol may carry b1 b2,
and the pattern keeps repeating.
[0102] FIG. 13 shows one example of when a subset of the encoded
bits is transmitted in each alternating symbol using QPSK
modulation. The resulting data symbols are repeated every 3 data
symbols (e.g., symbols 1304). Time domain OCC may be applied to the
repeated data symbols carrying the same bits. For example, OCC may
be applied to all data symbols carrying b0 b1. Similarly, OCC may
be applied to all data symbols that carry either b2 b0, or b1
b2.
[0103] The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or
actions for achieving the described method. The method steps and/or
actions may be interchanged with one another without departing from
the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of
steps or actions is specified, the order and/or use of specific
steps and/or actions may be modified without departing from the
scope of the claims.
[0104] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a
list of items refers to any combination of those items, including
single members. As an example, "at least one of: a, b, or c" is
intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any
combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a,
a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or
any other ordering of a, b, and c).
[0105] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide
variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include
calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating,
looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database or another data
structure), ascertaining and the like. Also, "determining" may
include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g.,
accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also, "determining" may
include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing and the
like.
[0106] The previous description is provided to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described
herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles
defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims
are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is
to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims,
wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to
mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather
"one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term
"some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional
equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described
throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known
to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated
herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the
claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be
dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is
explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be
construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 112, sixth
paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase
"means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the element is
recited using the phrase "step for."
[0107] The various operations of methods described above may be
performed by any suitable means capable of performing the
corresponding functions. The means may include various hardware
and/or software component(s) and/or module(s), including, but not
limited to a circuit, an application specific integrated circuit
(ASIC), or processor. Generally, where there are operations
illustrated in figures, those operations may have corresponding
counterpart means-plus-function components with similar
numbering.
[0108] For example, means for transmitting and/or means for
receiving may comprise one or more of a transmit processor 420, a
TX MIMO processor 430, a receive processor 438, or antenna(s) 434
of the base station 110 and/or the transmit processor 464, a TX
MIMO processor 466, a receive processor 458, or antenna(s) 452 of
the user equipment 120. Additionally, means for generating, means
for multiplexing, and/or means for applying may comprise one or
more processors, such as the controller/processor 440 of the base
station 110 and/or the controller/processor 480 of the user
equipment 120.
[0109] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and
circuits described in connection with the present disclosure may be
implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a
digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated
circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other
programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic,
discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed
to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose
processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the
processor may be any commercially available processor, controller,
microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be
implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a
combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of
microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a
DSP core, or any other such configuration.
[0110] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware
configuration may comprise a processing system in a wireless node.
The processing system may be implemented with a bus architecture.
The bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges
depending on the specific application of the processing system and
the overall design constraints. The bus may link together various
circuits including a processor, machine-readable media, and a bus
interface. The bus interface may be used to connect a network
adapter, among other things, to the processing system via the bus.
The network adapter may be used to implement the signal processing
functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a user terminal 120 (see
FIG. 1), a user interface (e.g., keypad, display, mouse, joystick,
etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link
various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage
regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which are well
known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.
The processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose
and/or special-purpose processors. Examples include
microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other
circuitry that can execute software. Those skilled in the art will
recognize how best to implement the described functionality for the
processing system depending on the particular application and the
overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.
[0111] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or
transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer
readable medium. Software shall be construed broadly to mean
instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to
as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description
language, or otherwise. Computer-readable media include both
computer storage media and communication media including any medium
that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to
another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and
general processing, including the execution of software modules
stored on the machine-readable storage media. A computer-readable
storage medium may be coupled to a processor such that the
processor can read information from, and write information to, the
storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be
integral to the processor. By way of example, the machine-readable
media may include a transmission line, a carrier wave modulated by
data, and/or a computer readable storage medium with instructions
stored thereon separate from the wireless node, all of which may be
accessed by the processor through the bus interface. Alternatively,
or in addition, the machine-readable media, or any portion thereof,
may be integrated into the processor, such as the case may be with
cache and/or general register files. Examples of machine-readable
storage media may include, by way of example, RAM (Random Access
Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable
Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory),
EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory),
registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other
suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The
machine-readable media may be embodied in a computer-program
product.
[0112] A software module may comprise a single instruction, or many
instructions, and may be distributed over several different code
segments, among different programs, and across multiple storage
media. The computer-readable media may comprise a number of
software modules. The software modules include instructions that,
when executed by an apparatus such as a processor, cause the
processing system to perform various functions. The software
modules may include a transmission module and a receiving module.
Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be
distributed across multiple storage devices. By way of example, a
software module may be loaded into RAM from a hard drive when a
triggering event occurs. During execution of the software module,
the processor may load some of the instructions into cache to
increase access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded
into a general register file for execution by the processor. When
referring to the functionality of a software module below, it will
be understood that such functionality is implemented by the
processor when executing instructions from that software
module.
[0113] Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable
medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,
server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic
cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless
technologies such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave, then the
coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless
technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in
the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include
compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc
(DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray.RTM. disc where disks usually
reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically
with lasers. Thus, in some aspects computer-readable media may
comprise non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible
media). In addition, for other aspects computer-readable media may
comprise transitory computer-readable media (e.g., a signal).
Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope
of computer-readable media.
[0114] Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program
product for performing the operations presented herein. For
example, such a computer program product may comprise a
computer-readable medium having instructions stored (and/or
encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more
processors to perform the operations described herein.
[0115] Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other
appropriate means for performing the methods and techniques
described herein can be downloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a
user terminal and/or base station as applicable. For example, such
a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transfer of
means for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively,
various methods described herein can be provided via storage means
(e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc
(CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a user terminal and/or base
station can obtain the various methods upon coupling or providing
the storage means to the device. Moreover, any other suitable
technique for providing the methods and techniques described herein
to a device can be utilized.
[0116] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to
the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various
modifications, changes and variations may be made in the
arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus
described above without departing from the scope of the claims.
* * * * *