U.S. patent application number 16/436287 was filed with the patent office on 2019-09-26 for methods and apparatus for determining device-to-device transmission patterns.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDINGS, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDINGS, INC.. Invention is credited to Paul Marinier, Benoit Pelletier, Marian Rudolf, Chao-Cheng Tu.
Application Number | 20190297658 16/436287 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53872177 |
Filed Date | 2019-09-26 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190297658 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tu; Chao-Cheng ; et
al. |
September 26, 2019 |
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING DEVICE-TO-DEVICE TRANSMISSION
PATTERNS
Abstract
A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprises a receiver, a
transmitter and a processor. The receiver and the processor are
configured to receive a set of time patterns. Each time pattern
indicates transmission times for the WTRU. The receiver and the
processor are configured to receive an indication in a scheduling
assignment. The indication in the scheduling assignment indicates
at least one of the set of time patterns to use. The processor and
the transmitter are configured to transmit based on the received
indication.
Inventors: |
Tu; Chao-Cheng; (Brossard,
CA) ; Pelletier; Benoit; (Roxboro, CA) ;
Marinier; Paul; (Brossard, CA) ; Rudolf; Marian;
(Montreal, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDINGS, INC. |
Wilmington |
DE |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDINGS,
INC.
Wilmington
DE
|
Family ID: |
53872177 |
Appl. No.: |
16/436287 |
Filed: |
June 10, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15916562 |
Mar 9, 2018 |
10368379 |
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16436287 |
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14819245 |
Aug 5, 2015 |
9930709 |
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15916562 |
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62034025 |
Aug 6, 2014 |
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62054809 |
Sep 24, 2014 |
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62075604 |
Nov 5, 2014 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 76/14 20180201;
H04W 74/04 20130101; H04W 72/1252 20130101; H04W 74/0833
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 76/14 20060101
H04W076/14; H04W 72/12 20060101 H04W072/12; H04W 74/04 20060101
H04W074/04; H04W 74/08 20060101 H04W074/08 |
Claims
1. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprising: a receiver;
a transmitter; and a processor; wherein: the receiver and the
processor are configured to receive a set of time patterns, wherein
each time pattern indicates transmission times for the WTRU; the
receiver and the processor are configured to receive an indication
in a scheduling assignment, wherein the indication indicates at
least one of the set of time patterns to use; and the processor and
the transmitter are configured to transmit based on the received
indication.
2. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to
combine the indicated time pattern with a second time pattern to
determine a transmission time for the WTRU.
3. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the receiver and processor are
configured to receive a plurality of indications of time patterns
in the scheduling assignment.
4. A method implemented by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU),
the method comprising: receiving a set of time patterns, wherein
each time pattern indicates transmission times for the WTRU;
receiving an indication in a scheduling assignment, wherein the
indication indicates at least one of the set of time patterns to
use; and transmitting based on the received indication.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising combining the indicated
time pattern with a second time pattern to determine a transmission
time for the WTRU.
6. The method of claim 4 further comprising receiving a plurality
of indications of time patterns in the scheduling assignment.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/916,562 filed Mar. 9, 2018, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/819,245 filed
Aug. 5, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,930,709 which issued on Mar. 27,
2018, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 62/034,025 filed on Aug. 6, 2014, U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 62/054,809 filed on Sep. 24, 2014, and U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/075,604 filed on Nov. 5,
2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference
herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication is becoming more
widespread as the technology matures and is starting to be used in
new areas. Recently, public safety officials (e.g. police,
firefighters, paramedics) have shown growing interests in using LTE
as their main communication tool. However, current versions of LTE
however only work under network coverage, which may be a limitation
for many public safety situations.
SUMMARY
[0003] In an embodiment, a method for a first wireless
transmit/receive unit (WTRU) to perform device-to-device (D2D)
communication directly with a second WTRU is disclosed. The method
may include determining a base pattern length to use for the D2D
communication based on at least a transmission configuration. A
base pattern may be selected from one or more base patterns having
the determined base pattern length based on an indication from a
network. The selected base pattern may have one or more
transmission opportunities. One or more data packets may be
transmitted to the second WTRU in at least one of the one or more
transmission opportunities of the selected base pattern.
[0004] In another embodiment, a WTRU for performing D2D
communication directly with another WTRU is disclosed. The WTRU may
include a processor and an antenna operatively coupled to the
processor. The processor may be configured to determine a base
pattern length to use for the D2D communication based on at least a
transmission configuration. The processor further may be further
configured to select a base pattern from one or more base patterns
having the determined base pattern length based on an indication
from a network. The selected base pattern may have one or more
transmission opportunities. The processor and the antenna may be
configured to transmit one or more data packets to the another WTRU
in at least one of the one or more transmission opportunities of
the selected base pattern.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following
description, given by way of example in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings wherein:
[0006] FIG. 1A is a system diagram of an example communications
system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be
implemented;
[0007] FIG. 1B is a system diagram of an example wireless
transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the
communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;
[0008] FIG. 1C is a system diagram of an example radio access
network and an example core network that may be used within the
communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;
[0009] FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams of a first example base pattern
and a second example base pattern for data transmissions;
[0010] FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams of an embodiment where a wireless
transmit and receive unit (WTRU) is configured to repeat a base
pattern for an entire duration of a data transmission period;
[0011] FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams of an example where a WTRU is
configured to apply derivations of a first base pattern for the
duration of the data transmission period;
[0012] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example combination pattern
including data packets and blind re-transmissions combined from
more than one base pattern;
[0013] FIG. 8 is an extended pattern including data packets and
blind re-transmissions that are extended in both time and
frequency;
[0014] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example where the WTRU is
configured to indicate a base pattern and a set of non-adjacent
time and frequency resources; and
[0015] FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of
sending multiple SAs with the same content in different
patterns.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is
developing solutions to support direct communication between
devices (i.e. device-to-device or D2D) for LTE, but the focus has
mostly been on half-duplex voice over internet protocol (VoIP)
applications. Resource allocation and scheduling may be a major
component of D2D communications, e.g. for out-of-network coverage.
For conventional LTE, an eNode B may control resource allocation
and scheduling, but this may not be possible for out-of-network
coverage. For D2D, the resource allocation may include a
transmission pattern characterized by a set of sub-frames to
transmit and receive.
[0017] A typical VoIP packet may be generated every 20 ms from a
codec. For example, a typical half-duplex VoIP transmission pattern
may be defined over duration as short as 20 ms. Further, simulation
results show that to reach a predetermined coverage, at least four
(4) blind re-transmissions of each VoIP packet may be used. In this
scenario, a typical transmission pattern supporting VoIP may use
approximately 5 transmissions over a 20 ms period. Other traffic
types, such as file transfer protocol (FTP), web browsing, video
streaming, unicast communications, and gaming are likely to be used
for D2D applications. To accommodate these additional features,
resource allocation and associated signaling may be designed
accordingly.
[0018] Examples described herein with reference to FIGS. 1A-10B
address the design, construction and selection of base patterns and
associated control signaling for D2D communications. Examples
described herein may address how to provide base patterns in a
scheduling period when the number of medium access control (MAC)
protocol data units (PDUs) is larger than the number of MAC PDUs
that a family of pre-determined base patterns can support (e.g.,
multiple concurrent hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ)
processes). Examples may also address how to provide base patterns
in a scheduling period when the number of MAC PDUs is smaller than
the number of MAC PDUs that a family of pre-determined base
patterns can support. In addition, examples may address how to
select a base pattern or base patterns to minimize interference
with other communications and use resources efficiently.
[0019] Referring now to FIG. 1A, a diagram of an example
communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed
embodiments may be implemented is shown. The communications system
100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as
voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple
wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple
wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system
resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the
communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access
methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time
division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access
(FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), and
the like.
[0020] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may
include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c,
102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network 106, a
public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and
other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the
disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base
stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs
102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to
operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of
example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be configured to
transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include user
equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber
unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant
(PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a
wireless sensor, consumer electronics, and the like.
[0021] The communications systems 100 may also include a base
station 114a and a base station 114b. Each of the base stations
114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly
interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to
facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as
the core network 106, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks
112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base
transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a
Home eNode B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless
router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each
depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base
stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base
stations and/or network elements.
[0022] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may
also include other base stations and/or network elements (not
shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network
controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and/or
the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive
wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may
be referred to as a cell (not shown). The cell may further be
divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with
the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in
one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three
transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In another
embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input
multiple-output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize
multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell.
[0023] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or
more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116,
which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio
frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible
light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any
suitable radio access technology (RAT).
[0024] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system
100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more
channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA,
and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and
the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio
Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using
wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols
such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA
(HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)
and/or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).
[0025] In another embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs
102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved
UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air
interface 116 using LTE and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).
[0026] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs
102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE
802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
(WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1.times., CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim
Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim
Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications
(GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE
(GERAN), and the like.
[0027] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router,
Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may
utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in
a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a
campus, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and
the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE
802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In
another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d
may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a
wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment,
the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a
cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, etc.)
to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base
station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110.
Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the
Internet 110 via the core network 106.
[0028] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the core network
106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice,
data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP)
services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. For
example, the core network 106 may provide call control, billing
services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling,
Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform
high-level security functions, such as user authentication.
Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN
104 and/or the core network 106 may be in direct or indirect
communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN
104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected
to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radio technology,
the core network 106 may also be in communication with another RAN
(not shown) employing a GSM radio technology.
[0029] The core network 106 may also serve as a gateway for the
WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet
110, and/or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include
circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old
telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global
system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use
common communication protocols, such as the transmission control
protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and the internet
protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks
112 may include wired or wireless communications networks owned
and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the
networks 112 may include another core network connected to one or
more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a
different RAT.
[0030] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the
communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities,
i.e., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple
transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks
over different wireless links. For example, the WTRU 102c shown in
FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station
114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with
the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio
technology.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 1B, a system diagram of an example
WTRU 102 is shown. The WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a
transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a
speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128,
non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134,
a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and other
peripherals 138. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may
include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while
remaining consistent with an embodiment.
[0032] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a
special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital
signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more
microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a
microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),
Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of
integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The
processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power
control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality
that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The
processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be
coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1B depicts
the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components,
it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver
120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or
chip.
[0033] The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to
transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g.,
the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in
one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna
configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In another
embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an
emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or
visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the
transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and
receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the
transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or
receive any combination of wireless signals.
[0034] In addition, although the transmit/receive element 122 is
depicted in FIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include
any number of transmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the
WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the
WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122
(e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless
signals over the air interface 116.
[0035] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the
signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element
122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the
transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have
multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include
multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via
multiple RATs, such as UTRA and IEEE 802.11, for example.
[0036] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may
receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the
keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal
display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED)
display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the
speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad
128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from,
and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the
non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The
non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM),
read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory
storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber
identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD)
memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118
may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not
physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home
computer (not shown).
[0037] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source
134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power
to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may
be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the
power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g.,
nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride
(NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and
the like.
[0038] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset
136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g.,
longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU
102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS
chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the
air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a,
114b) and/or determine its location based on the timing of the
signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It
will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location
information by way of any suitable location-determination method
while remaining consistent with an embodiment.
[0039] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other
peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and/or
hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality
and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals
138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite
transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs or video), a
universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television
transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth.RTM. module, a
frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a
media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and
the like.
[0040] Referring now to FIG. 1C, a system diagram of the RAN 104
and the core network 106, according to an embodiment, is shown. As
noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to
communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface
116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the core network
106.
[0041] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c, though it
will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of
eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The
eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may each include one or more transceivers
for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air
interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may
implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 140a, for example, may
use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive
wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.
[0042] Each of the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may be associated with
a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio
resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of
users in the uplink and/or downlink, and the like. As shown in FIG.
1C, the eNode-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may communicate with one another
over an X2 interface.
[0043] The core network 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility
management entity gateway (MME) 142, a serving gateway 144, and a
packet data network (PDN) gateway 146. While each of the foregoing
elements are depicted as part of the core network 106, it will be
appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and/or
operated by an entity other than the core network operator.
[0044] The MME 142 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 140a,
140b, 140c in the RAN 104 via an Si interface and may serve as a
control node. For example, the MME 142 may be responsible for
authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer
activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway
during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the
like. The MME 142 may also provide a control plane function for
switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that
employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.
[0045] The serving gateway 144 may be connected to each of the
eNode Bs 140a, 140b, 140c in the RAN 104 via the Si interface. The
serving gateway 144 may generally route and forward user data
packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The serving gateway 144
may also perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes
during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when downlink
data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and
storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.
[0046] The serving gateway 144 may also be connected to the PDN
gateway 146, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with
access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to
facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and
IP-enabled devices.
[0047] The core network 106 may facilitate communications with
other networks. For example, the core network 106 may provide the
WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks,
such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the
WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications
devices. For example, the core network 106 may include, or may
communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem
(IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the core network
106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the core network 106 may provide
the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the networks 112, which
may include other wired or wireless networks that are owned and/or
operated by other service providers.
[0048] In the examples described herein, a family of D2D
transmission patterns may be described. Such D2D transmission
patterns are referred to herein as base patterns and may be used
for a variety of data traffic and/or communications. It should be
noted that although the following embodiments may use base patterns
in context of VoIP applications, embodiments are considered in
which the base patterns may be used in other forms of traffic. The
following embodiments are provided for example, and are not
intended to limit applications solely to VoIP traffic.
[0049] In VoIP applications, a typical base pattern may support a
data packet generated every 20 ms. In one example, a base pattern
may have a fixed length, either expressed as a number of sub-frames
or absolute time, and a fixed number of sub-frames to transmit D2D
data. In another example, a base pattern may have variable length
to target meeting, for example, the VoIP transmission rate. A base
pattern may also be indicated by a predetermined frequency hopping
rule.
[0050] In the examples described herein, a base pattern may support
one MAC PDU per transmission, and the number of total transmissions
allowed in a base pattern may correspond to a hybrid-automatic
repeat request (H-ARQ) transmission for the associated MAC PDU.
Further, it may be assumed that the relationship between each
transmission in a base pattern and the redundancy version is known.
Thus, a base pattern may only be able to support a maximum
transmission rate based, for example, on the maximum bandwidth that
may be allocated or the pattern length.
[0051] In D2D communications, a WTRU 102 may be configured with a
family of base patterns that are pre-determined. The family of base
patterns may be indicated by a table entry, expressed as an
equation, or generated by a pseudo-random generator.
[0052] Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, diagrams of a first base
pattern 202 and a second base pattern 204 that may be used for D2D
communication are shown. The first base pattern 202 and the second
base pattern 204 may both fulfill the requirements for VoIP for D2D
communication. In other words, the overall duration of the data
transmission period (not shown) may be 160 ms, data packets 206 may
be generated from a codec every 20 ms, there may be 4 blind
re-transmissions 208 for each packet, and there may be a minimum of
4 ms between each blind re-transmission 208 to guarantee sufficient
decoding time.
[0053] The data transmission period may be a period of time over
which the D2D WTRU 102 transmits data, as indicated by an
associated scheduling assignment (SA) (not shown) and may be
described in terms of absolute time (e.g., 160 ms) or in terms of
sub-frames allocated for D2D transmissions. A SA may be a control
signal that may include, for example, the modulation and coding
schemes (MCSs), identifiers, and information regarding the
resources of time and/or frequency to be applied for data
transmissions within the associated data transmission period.
[0054] In the examples illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the y-axis
may represent the frequency domain and the x-axis may represent the
time domain. However, in an embodiment, the y-axis may represent
virtual frequency resources rather than physical frequency
resources, regardless of whether the physical frequency resources
are physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)-like or physical uplink
shared channel (PUSCH)-like.
[0055] In an embodiment, a transmit WTRU 102 may be configured to
indicate the base pattern parameters in the SA during a scheduling
period. This may allow a receiving WTRU 102 to determine the D2D
transmission patterns. Since the duration of the base patterns 202,
204 may be shorter than the data transmission period, the WTRU 102
may be configured to determine the rest of the transmission
patterns from one or more of the following methods. In an
embodiment, the WTRU 102 may determine a first base pattern 202,
204 from the SA, and the same base pattern 202, 204 may be repeated
for the rest of the data transmission period. In another embodiment
the WTRU 102 may determine one of multiple base patterns 202, 204
from the SA, and the WTRU 102 may be pre-configured to derive the
rest of the data transmission patterns (i.e., the other base
patterns 202, 204) for the rest of the data transmission
period.
[0056] In an embodiment in which the transmit WTRU 102 uses a
different base pattern 202, 204 during a scheduling period, the
transmit and receive WTRUs 102 may each be aware of a sequence of
the patterns. In one approach to determine one or more base
patterns 202, 204 from the SA, the transmitting WTRU 102 may be
configured with a subset of base patterns 202, 204, such as time
resource patterns of transmission (T-RPTs), and may further select
one base pattern 202, 204 from the subset. This base pattern 202,
204 may be used as a root base pattern 202, 204, which may define
the base pattern sequence, possibly along with one or more
parameters. The base pattern sequence may start, for example, with
the selected root base pattern 202, 204 and iterate over the subset
of base patterns 202, 204 throughout a specific period (e.g. either
through the scheduling period or a shorter period of time where the
sequence then repeats).
[0057] The sequence of base patterns 202, 204 may be determined,
for example, by using the root base pattern 202, 204 (or its index)
possibly in combination with one or more additional parameters. In
one specific example, the base pattern sequence may be derived from
the output of a pseudo-random number generator initialized with the
value of the root base pattern 202, 204 that may be indicated in
the SA in a T-RPT field. This may be optionally combined (e.g.
using modulo addition, for example) with an identity (ID) or
another parameter signaled in the SA.
[0058] In an embodiment, the output of the pseudo-random number
generator may need to be adjusted in order to properly index base
patterns 202, 204 from the selected subset. In one example, this
may be achieved using a modulo operation to ensure that the indices
have the appropriate range.
[0059] The WTRU 102 receiving the SA may determine the base
sequence pattern by detecting the root base pattern 202, 204 in the
T-RPT field and the ID signaled in the SA. The subset of base
patterns 202, 204 may be assumed to be known to the WTRU 102 via
higher layer signaling or pre-configuration.
[0060] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, diagrams of an embodiment
where a WTRU 102 is configured to repeat a base pattern 304 for an
entire duration of a data transmission period 306 are shown. In the
example illustrated in FIG. 3, the SA 302 indicates to the WTRU 102
during a scheduling period 308 to repeat the base pattern 304 for
the duration of the transmission period. This concept is
illustrated in FIG. 4 where the base pattern 304 is repeated for
the entire 160 ms data transmission period 306.
[0061] Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, diagrams of an example where
a WTRU 102 is configured to apply derivations of a base pattern 504
for the duration of the data transmission period 510, as indicated
by parameters in the SA 502 during a scheduling period 512, are
shown. During the data transmission period 510, the base pattern
504, a second pattern 506, and a third pattern 508 may be
transmitted. This concept is illustrated in FIG. 6 where the WTRU
102 is configured to transmit the base pattern 504, but with an
additional frequency shift for each repetition (e.g., the second
pattern 506 and the third pattern 508) for the entire 160 ms data
transmission period 510.
[0062] It should be noted that the base patterns 304, 504 may be
described with a time and frequency component. However, embodiments
described herein may also apply to a case where the base patterns
304, 504 are determined only in time or frequency or in both time
and frequency.
[0063] When selecting short patterns for data transmissions as
described above, the maximum transmission rate of the WTRU 102 may
be restricted by the available resources that may be used.
Conventional D2D communications may not be scalable when more MAC
PDUs need to be transmitted or when a higher data transmission rate
is required. In addition, the WTRU 102 may have a reduced radio
efficiency when less MAC PDUs are required to be transmitted during
a scheduling period 308, 512 or when only a lower data transmission
rate is needed. The resources associated with the base patterns
304, 504 may still be reserved for the WTRU 102 even though there
is no data to be transmitted.
[0064] To achieve a higher data transmission capability, a WTRU 102
may be configured to use more resources by using one or more
techniques, in any order or combination, including combining base
patterns, extending base patterns, modifying the number of H-ARQ
transmissions and/or employing different base patterns for each
antenna of a D2D WTRU 102 that is equipped with multiple
antennas.
[0065] In an embodiment, a WTRU 102 may be configured to use more
resources by combining two or more base patterns 304, 504 in a
scheduling period 308, 512. A scheduling period 308, 512 (or SA
cycle) may be a period of time during which a SA 502 is transmitted
and/or valid. A WTRU 102 may be configured to combine two or more
base patterns 304, 504 based on a parameter, in any order or
combination, such as: time-orthogonality, coverage scenarios,
traffic type/quality of service (QoS) requirements/applications,
interference control, WTRU 102 capabilities, wide area network
(WAN) data traffic, measurements, and/or pseudo-random
selection.
[0066] With respect to time-orthogonality, base patterns 304, 504
may be configured based on their mutual time-orthogonality
properties. Two base patterns 304, 504 may be considered for
combination when they are time-orthogonal, meaning that
transmissions between the two base patterns 304, 504 do not overlap
in time (e.g., in the same sub-frame), regardless of the potential
frequency allocation.
[0067] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured with a
parameter related to the effective range (e.g., in meters) or type
of location (e.g., office, movie theater, or stadium) for D2D
communications. The WTRU 102 may have fewer restrictions when the
interested coverage area is geographically smaller and the WTRU 102
may use more flexible combinations of base patterns 304, 504.
[0068] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
combinations of base patterns 304, 504 based on the traffic type of
the D2D communication, QoS requirements, or application. For
example, a WTRU 102 may be configured with base pattern families
designed for VoIP-type of applications, video streaming, or
full-buffer communications such as file transfer protocol (FTP).
The WTRU 102 may be configured, for example, to combine only base
patterns 304, 504 of the same base pattern family. For application
of FTP, the WTRU 102 may be configured to combine several base
patterns 304, 504 to support a desired data rate.
[0069] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
base patterns 304, 504 to be combined such that less interference
between the base patterns 304, 504 is caused compared to other
possible combinations of base patterns 304, 504. In an embodiment,
the WTRU 102 may be configured to estimate the amount of
interference caused to other WTRUs 102 by taking measurements.
[0070] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
one or more base patterns 304, 504 or base pattern combinations
based on WTRU 102 capability. For example, a WTRU 102 may have
limited access to predetermined frequency ranges, bandwidth, or
radio frequency (RF) design considerations. This may thereby limit
flexibility in selecting base patterns 304, 504 and, in general,
base pattern combinations.
[0071] For WAN data traffic, in an embodiment, the base patterns
304, 504 may be defined over all sub-frames (as opposed to only
sub-frames allocated for D2D communication) when the WTRU 102 is in
partial-coverage scenarios or is aware of an absolute or relative
time period that WAN data is allocated. A WTRU 102 may be
configured to avoid selecting base patterns 304, 504 and base
pattern combinations for which a transmission occasion may overlap
with a WAN transmission (e.g., a transmission to the base station
114). A transmission occasion pattern may include a set of
sub-frames that are allowed for D2D transmission (e.g., as
configured by a base station 114 or pre-configured for
out-of-coverage). A time-resource pattern of transmission (T-RPT)
may be defined over a transmission occasion pattern and may include
a set of sub-frames used by a WTRU 102 for transmitting data. A
T-RPT may indicate resources for transmission of each MAC PDU. For
multiple MAC PDUs, a T-RPT may indicate a transmission interval or
intervals between them.
[0072] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
base patterns 304, 504 or base pattern combinations based on
measurements. For example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
base patterns 304, 504 or a base pattern combination in
consideration of the SA 302, 502 and/or the previous data
transmission periods 306, 510. With respect to the SA 302, 502, the
WTRU 102 may be configured to receive SA 302, 502 transmissions
from other WTRUs 102 to make the base pattern 304, 504 selection.
With respect to the previous data transmission periods 306, 510,
the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a base pattern 304, 504 or
base pattern combination based on power/radio measurements made
during the transmission period 306, 510.
[0073] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
base patterns 304, 504 or base pattern combinations randomly, or
pseudo-randomly in consideration of one or more of identifiers,
number of MAC PDUs and/or cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs).
[0074] In an embodiment, the transmit WTRU 102 may be configured to
use less than all the transmission opportunities available in a
transmission period. The WTRU 102 may be configured to exploit the
un-used transmission opportunities for one or more of the
following: indicating that data transmission is finished,
indicating that the resources are available, sending reference
signals, sending additional D2D control signals, measuring possible
interference, receiving possible configuration signals from nearby
base stations 114, receiving data from destination WTRUs 102 and/or
receiving feedback information.
[0075] Referring now to FIG. 7, in an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may
be configured to achieve twice the transmission data rate supported
by conventional base patterns 304, 504. The WTRU 102 may be
configured to employ a combination of time-orthogonal base patterns
304, 504, such as the base patterns illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B,
for the data transmission period. FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example
combination pattern 702 including the data packets 206 and the
blind re-transmissions 208 from base patterns 202 and 204 (FIGS. 2A
and 2B) is shown.
[0076] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to acquire
more resources by extending one or more base patterns 304, 504
using pre-configuration or as indicated by signaling to the WTRU
102. The WTRU 102 may be preconfigured to extend available
resources for data transmissions in one or more parameters, such as
time (by extending to n number of consecutive time frames),
frequency (by n number of consecutive resource blocks (RBs) towards
the center frequency or the band edge, depending on configuration),
or antenna polarizations/direction.
[0077] Similar to the examples described above with respect to
combining base patterns, the WTRU 102 may be configured to extend
available data resources taking into consideration, in any order or
combination, time-orthogonality, coverage scenarios, traffic
types/QoS requirements/applications, interference control, WTRU 102
data traffic, measurements (e.g., in consideration of one or more
of SA and/or previous data transmission periods) and/or
pseudo-random selection (e.g., in consideration of one or more of
identifiers, number of MAC PDUs and/or CRCs).
[0078] Simpler control signaling may be associated with extending
base patterns 304, 504 rather than combining them as described
above. A reduced number of base patterns 304, 504 may need to be
specified when the base patterns 304, 504 are extended rather than
combined.
[0079] Referring now to FIG. 8, a diagram of an example where the
WTRU 102 is configured to indicate a base pattern 304, 504 and the
associated extension resources directly adjacent to the base
pattern 304, 504 in time and frequency is shown. FIG. 8 shows an
extended pattern 802 in which the data packets 206 and the blind
re-transmissions 208 of the base pattern 202 (FIG. 2A) have been
extended in both time and frequency.
[0080] Referring to FIG. 9, a diagram of an example where the WTRU
102 is configured to indicate a base pattern 304, 504 and a set of
non-adjacent time and frequency resources. This may accommodate for
any delay requirements of feedback information from the additional
time resource. In other words, it may allow the WTRU 102 to receive
feedback information between transmissions). It may also allow for
the WTRU 102 to exploit possible frequency diversity from wireless
channels from the additional frequency resources. FIG. 9 shows an
extend pattern 902 in which the data packets 206 and the blind
re-transmissions 208 of base pattern 204 of FIG. 2B are extended
with additional time and frequency resources as indicated.
[0081] In an embodiment, the number of H-ARQ transmissions of a
base pattern 304, 504 may be modified. The base patterns 304, 504
may be associated with a predetermined number of re-transmissions
208 to meet a predetermined performance requirement. For example,
the number of required re-transmissions may be configured as four
(4) for VoIP applications. To meet higher data transmission
capability, a WTRU 102 may be configured to send a smaller number
of blind re-transmissions 208 to relax in some scenarios. However,
this may be at the expense of radio coverage.
[0082] The WTRU 102 may be configured to relax the number of
re-transmissions 208 in a base pattern 304, 504 in consideration of
one or more parameters, in any order or combination, including
minimum performance requirements, coverage scenarios, traffic
types/QoS requirements/applications, MCSs used for data
transmissions, interference control, and WTRU 102 capabilities. In
an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to lower its minimum
performance requirements in exchange for a higher data transmission
rate. In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured so that the
related traffic types/QoS requirements/applications are more error
resilient than conventional techniques. In an embodiment, the WTRU
102 may be configured with a lower order or modulation, such as
binary phase shift keying (BPSK), or a lower coding rate so that a
smaller number of re-transmissions 208 is required.
[0083] When identifying the needs for a relaxed number of
re-transmissions 208, the WTRU 102 may be configured with a
pre-determined table. The table may indicate how the transmissions
of an incoming MAC PDU are mapped to sub-frames in a given base
pattern 304, 504. For example, the table may indicate that the WTRU
102 may allocate an even number of sub-frames for one MAC PDU and
an odd number of sub-frames for another MAC PDU. In another
example, the table may indicate that the WTRU 102 may allocate a
first n sub-frames for the first incoming MAC PDU, a next m
sub-frames for the next incoming MAC PDU, and so on
[0084] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be equipped with multiple
antennas, and may employ different base patterns 304, 504 for each
transmit antenna using, for example, a spatial multiplexing
technique. To determine the base patterns 304, 504, the WTRU 102
may be configured using one or more parameters, in any combination
or order, including orthogonality, interference considerations,
WTRU 102 capabilities, WAN data traffic and pseudo-random
selection. In an embodiment, the choice of base patterns 304, 504
may exclude those that are non-orthogonal in order to maximize the
data transmission and reduce possible interference. In an
embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a
corresponding base pattern 304, 504 by pseudo-random selection, in
consideration of one or more of identifiers, the number of MAC PDUs
and/or CRCs.
[0085] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to transmit
only the first N.sub.tx H-ARQ transmissions of a given base pattern
304, 504, where N.sub.tx may be configured via higher layers.
[0086] In another embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to
employ additional signaling to achieve higher data transmission
capability. The additional signaling may be accomplished by, for
example, defining additional bits in the SA 302, 502 and/or sending
multiple SAs 302, 502.
[0087] With respect to defining additional bits in the SA 302, 502,
the WTRU 102 may be configured to include one or more of the
following information in the contents of the SA 302, 502:
MCS-related parameters, individual base pattern indices, a special
set of bits to indicate a combination of two or more base patterns
304, 504, a special set of bits to extend a base pattern 304, 504,
a number of blind re-transmissions 208, a spatial multiplexing
index, and/or a pattern extension mode.
[0088] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to apply
more dynamic MCS-related parameters, such as higher order
modulation (e.g., 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)) or a
higher code-rate (e.g., close to 1). This may be advantageous in
D2D communication in which destination WTRUs 102 are nearby or when
coverage is not the main concern for the D2D communication.
[0089] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to signal
more base pattern-related indices when individual multiple base
patterns 304, 504 may be employed.
[0090] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to indicate
a special combination of base patterns 304, 504 using a
pre-configured table. To accommodate various combinations of base
patterns 304, 504, the WTRU 102 may use special bit fields.
[0091] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to extend a
base pattern 304, 504 with adjacent or non-adjacent resources.
[0092] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to indicate
the required number of re-transmissions 208 from a pre-determined
set (e.g., {1, 2, 4, 8}).
[0093] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to indicate
whether spatial multiplexing is enabled or not. If it is enabled, a
pre-determined table for each transmit antenna may be used for the
corresponding choice of base patterns 304, 504.
[0094] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to indicate
the mode of base pattern extension or combination. For example, the
WTRU 102 may indicate via this parameter whether the base patterns
304, 504 are extended, combined or untouched. The WTRU 102 may
further interpret other parameters, such as the individual base
pattern indices, differently depending on the value of the base
pattern extension mode.
[0095] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to transmit
two or more SAs 302, 502 for increased robustness and additional
signaling purposes. It may be assumed that the time and/or
frequency resources used for the multiple SA 302, 502 messages are
known to the WTRU 102. Based on this assumption, the WTRU 102 may
be configured by sending multiple SAs 302, 502 of the same content.
For example, the WTRU 102 may be configured by sending additional
control signaling from multiple SAs 302, 502 via a pre-determined
combination of time and frequency allocations. In this case, the
WTRU 102 may have a pre-configured table with a list of special
signaling mapping to a special combination of time and frequency
resources. Benefits of this may be its simplicity and
robustness.
[0096] Referring now to FIGS. 10A and 10B, diagrams illustrating
examples of sending multiple SAs 302, 502 with the same content
using different patterns are shown. In FIG. 10A, the time/frequency
locations of the SAs 302, 502 may indicate that the WTRU 102 is
configured to extend the base pattern 304, 504 to both its adjacent
time and frequency resources. In FIG. 10B, the time/locations of
the SAs 302, 502 may indicate that the WTRU 102 is configured to
combine two base patterns 304, 504. These base pattern indices may
be derived from the time/frequency location of SAs 302, 502 during
the scheduling period 308, 512.
[0097] The multiple SAs 302, 502, each with a capability of
conveying n bits of information, may be pre-configured to signal
m>n bits of control information by allowing each SA 302, 502 to
carry different content. In this case, the WTRU 102 may have a
pre-configured table with a list of special signaling mapping to a
special combination of contents to each SA 302, 502. This may
accommodate more control signaling.
[0098] To achieve more efficient data transmission for D2D
communications, the WTRU 120 may be configured for more resources
in one or more of a base pattern 304, 504 and/or a data
transmission period 306, 510 by using one or more of changing
destination identifiers and/or allowing the WTRU 102 to not use all
the transmission opportunities.
[0099] In an embodiment, when identifying the need for
accommodating more destination identifiers, the WTRU 102 may be
configured with a pre-determined table. The table may indicate when
to apply different identifiers for the incoming MAC PDUs and on
which sub-frames in the given base pattern 304, 504. For example,
the table may indicate that the WTRU 102 may allocate an even
number of sub-frames for one destination identifier and an odd
number of sub-frames for another destination identifier. In another
example, the table may indicate that the WTRU 102 may allocate an
even number of base patterns 304, 504 for one destination
identifier and an odd number of base patterns 304, 504 for another
destination identifier. In another example, the table may indicate
that the WTRU 102 may allocate a first n sub-frames for the first
destination identifier, a next m sub-frames for the next
destination identifier, and so on. In another example, the table
may indicate that the WTRU 102 allocate a first n base patterns
304, 504 for the first destination identifier, a next m base
patterns 304, 504 for the next destination identifier, and so
on.
[0100] In an embodiment, the transmit WTRU 102 may be configured to
use only some of the transmission opportunities during the
transmission period 306, 510. The WTRU 102 may be configured to
exploit the un-used transmission opportunities for one or more of
the following purposes: indicating that data transmission is
finished, indicating that the resources are available, sending
reference signals, sending additional D2D control signals,
measuring possible interference, receiving possible configuration
signals from nearby base stations 114, receiving data from
destination WTRUs 102, and/or receiving feedback information.
[0101] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
one or more base patterns 304, 504 for transmission. In one
example, the WTRU 102 may perform base pattern selection shortly
before the beginning of a new scheduling period 308, 512 or before
transmission of the SA 302, 502 associated with an upcoming
scheduling period 308, 512. In another example, the WTRU 102 may be
configured to select a base pattern 304, 504 for a given scheduling
period 302, 502 first by selecting a family of base patterns and
then a particular pattern 304, 504 in the base pattern family. In
another example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to jointly select
one or more transmission pools and their corresponding family of
base patterns first, for example based on the desired transmission
rate, the scheduling period 302, 502, or the like. The WTRU 102 may
then select a particular base pattern 304, 504 in the base pattern
family.
[0102] A family of base patterns may include base patterns 304, 504
having sub-frames that are reserved for D2D transmissions only.
This may be achieved by the configuring of transmission pools,
which may include sub-frame bitmapping for D2D resources, number of
D2D sub-frames in a repetition cycle of the resource pool, and so
forth. The transmission pools may be signaled via radio resource
control (RRC) signaling, or may be pre-configured, for example, in
the WTRU 102 when out-of-network coverage.
[0103] In some cases, the WTRU 102 may be configured to jointly
select a base pattern family as well as one or more transmission
pools from the available sources of transmission pools. In one
example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select one or more
specific transmission pools, using one or more of the following
considerations in any order or combination: interference
mitigation; priority of predetermined data transmissions (e.g.,
public safety); transmission requirements (including desired rate,
applications, services); measurements; and/or other
considerations.
[0104] A base pattern family may be characterized, for example, by
one or more of the following elements: base pattern length, number
of transmissions, and/or orthogonality characteristic of the
family. The base pattern length may be the number of sub-frames
over which the base pattern 304, 504 is defined. The number of
transmissions may be the number of transmission sub-frames for the
base pattern 304, 504, and in one example may correspond to the
number of H-ARQ transmissions. The orthogonality characteristic of
the base pattern family may express, for example, the maximum
number of sub-frames that any two base patterns 304, 504 in the
family may overlap with each other (referred to herein as maximum
overlap). In general, the orthogonality characteristic of the base
pattern family may provide a metric or characterize the
orthogonality between base patterns 304, 504 of the same
family.
[0105] The base patterns 304, 504 may be expressed in one or more
tables. Table 1 below provides an example of a base pattern table.
Each entry may be indexed by a given pattern number. A family index
has also been assigned in the Family # column. In this example,
each base pattern family corresponds to a combination of base
pattern length, number of transmission opportunities, and maximum
overlap between any two entries in the base pattern family. The
entries in the Base Pattern column may indicate the transmission
pattern: a 1 indicates a transmission opportunity and a 0 indicates
no transmission. The length of the base pattern 304, 504
corresponds to a given Base Pattern Length, the number of 1s is
given by the Number of TX column and the maximum number of
overlapping transmission opportunities between any two base
patterns 304, 504 for a given base pattern family is given by the
Max. Overlap column.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Family parameters Base Number Family Pattern
of Max. # Base Pattern # Length TX Overlap 0 [11111000000000000000]
0 20 5 0 1 [00000111110000000000] 2 [00000000001111100000] 3
[00000000000000011111] 4 [1111100000] 1 10 5 0 5 [0000011111] 6
[1111000000] 2 10 4 2 7 [1100110000] 8 [1100001100] 9 [1100000011]
10 [1010101000] 11 [1010010100] 12 [1001100100] 13 [1001011000] 14
[0110100100] 15 [0110011000] 16 [0101101000] 17 [0101010100] 18
[0011110000] 19 [0011001100] 20 [0011000011] 21 [0000111100] 22
[0000110011] 23 [0000001111] 24 [11111111] 3 8 8 0 25 [00001111] 4
8 4 2 26 [11110000] 27 [11000011] 28 [00111100] 29 [00110011] 30
[11001100] 31 [11000000] 5 8 2 1 32 [01100000] 33 [00110000] 34
[00011000] 35 [00000011] 36 [10000000] 6 8 1 0 37 [01000000] 38
[00100000] 39 [00010000] 40 [00001000]
[0106] The WTRU 102 may be configured to determine a family of base
patterns 304, 504 to use for D2D transmission in an upcoming
scheduling period 308, 512. The determination may be based on one
or more of the following example parameters, in any order or
combination: service type/QoS/QCI, scheduling period 308, 512,
delay/rate requirement, coverage scenario/conditions, amount of
data in buffer/buffer status (e.g. the number of accumulated MAC
PDUs in the buffer), application data rate, number of D2D
transmission occasions (as configured, for example, by the base
station 114), estimated number of MAC PDUs to be transmitted during
the scheduling period 308, 512, measurements/SA reception (e.g.,
estimate of resource availability, interference measurement, and/or
reception of SA 302, 502 from other WTRUs 102 indicating which
pattern family is currently being used), unicast versus
multicast/groupcast/broadcast operations, number of surrounding D2D
WTRUs 102 (e.g. in a cell or within 1 km), RRC configurations,
and/or transmission pools.
[0107] The following examples show how a WTRU 102 may use these
parameters to determine a base pattern 304, 504 to use for D2D
transmission in an upcoming scheduling period 308, 512. While the
examples are described individually, it should be understood that,
in practice, a WTRU 102 may be configured to use the examples in
any order or combination. It should be further understood that
while the following examples are described with respect to a WTRU
102 selecting a single base pattern family, the examples may also
apply for the WTRU 102 to select more than one base pattern
family.
[0108] The WTRU 102 may be configured to determine a base pattern
family to use based on its coverage scenario. In one example, the
WTRU 102 may be configured to use a base pattern family with a
predetermined base pattern length. For example, a WTRU 102 may
decide to use a pre-defined base pattern length, for example, a
base pattern length of 20, when out-of-coverage. When in-coverage,
the WTRU 102 may be configured to receive a configuration for base
pattern length from the base station 114. The explicit
configuration when in-coverage may be carried out via RRC signaling
(e.g., via dedicated signaling or system information blocks
(SIBs)). The base station 114 may also indicate to the WTRU 102 to
use a default base pattern family (e.g., the WTRU 102 may be
configured with a default base pattern family or base pattern
length when operating in coverage).
[0109] In another example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to use a
fixed base pattern family based on service/application requirements
(e.g., QoS/QCI requirements). The WTRU 102 may be configured, for
example, to use a specified base pattern family when transmitting
VoIP traffic (e.g., family index #0 with 5 transmissions).
[0110] In another example, based on service/application
requirements, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a different
base pattern family for each scheduling cycle. More specifically,
the WTRU 102 may be configured, for example, to transmit D2D data
subject to a resource pool bitmap. In a scheduling period 308, 512,
the WTRU 102 may need to determine a suitable base pattern length
first, and then select the corresponding base pattern family.
[0111] In another example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
a base pattern family that supports at least 5 transmissions every
20 ms, for example, for VoIP. The WTRU 102 may first determine the
number of D2D transmission occasions during a given scheduling
period 308, 512. This may be determined, for example, based on the
configuration received from a base station 114 when operating in
coverage. In another embodiment, the number of D2D transmission
occasions may be predetermined when outside of network coverage in,
for example, a universal subscriber identity module (USIM), an
application, or fixed in the specifications.
[0112] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may further determine how
many D2D transmission occasions there are, on average, for each 20
ms period. This may be done by simple division (e.g., ignoring the
remainder or applying a floor operation). The WTRU 102 may then
select the base pattern length based on this number.
[0113] The WTRU 102 may select the base pattern family based on the
required number of transmissions and the base pattern length. The
WTRU 102 may be configured to select the base pattern family that
has the least number of overlapping sub-frames between base
patterns in the family. In practice, however, it is likely that the
Max. Overlap parameter may be dependent on the base pattern length
and the number of transmissions.
[0114] In another example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to
estimate the number of MAC PDUs it needs to transmit in the
upcoming scheduling period 308, 512. The WTRU 102 may then select
the base pattern length supporting the number of MAC PDU
transmissions, given the transmission occasions.
[0115] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may determine if it requires
more than one blind re-transmission (e.g., H-ARQ process). The WTRU
102 may determine the number of required H-ARQ processes needed for
the upcoming scheduling period 308, 512. The WTRU 102 may base this
decision, for example, on one or more of the following: the amount
of data in the buffer, the service delay requirement, and/or the
estimated amount of data to be generated for a given interval of
time (e.g., during the next scheduling period 308, 512). For
example, when using a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)
transmission as in conventional LTE uplink transmissions or D2D
communications, it may be desirable to only transmit a single MAC
PDU (or a single H-ARQ process) at each sub-frame. This may ensure
that the transmission maintains its single-carrier orthogonal
frequency division multiple access (SC-OFDMA) properties and that
the transmitter can make better use of its power amplifier.
[0116] In an embodiment in which the WTRU 102 determines that it
requires more than one H-ARQ process during a scheduling period
308, 512, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select one or more base
patterns 304, 504 from a base pattern family with 0 Max. Overlap
(e.g., fully orthogonal in time). This may ensure that multiple
H-ARQ processes can be assigned to different non-overlapping base
patterns 304, 504. Alternatively, the WTRU 102 may be configured to
select the base patterns 304, 504 from a set of mutually
time-orthogonal base patterns 304, 504 in a given base pattern
family. That is, within each base pattern family, there may be some
combination of base patterns 304, 504 that are time-orthogonal. The
WTRU 102 may then assign each H-ARQ process to a different
time-orthogonal base pattern 304, 504 for transmission.
[0117] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to
determine whether the communication to be carried out is of a
unicast, multicast, groupcast, or broadcast nature. The WTRU 102
may then be configured to determine a base pattern family specific
to unicast communication if the communication to be carried out is
of a unicast nature. Alternatively, the WTRU 102 may be configured
to determine a base pattern family that is specific to multicast,
groupcast, or broadcast if the communication to be carried out is
of a multicast, groupcast, or broadcast nature.
[0118] Depending on delay requirements and the number of
accumulated MAC PDUs in the buffer, the WTRU 102 may be configured
to determine a base pattern family on the basis of an associated
base pattern length or number of transmissions. In one example, if
the buffer is almost full, the WTRU 102 may select a base pattern
family having family parameters to empty the buffer (e.g., longer
base pattern length or larger number of transmissions). In another
example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a base pattern
family having family parameters for non-delay-sensitive
applications such as sending emails or web browsing (e.g., shorter
base pattern length or smaller number of transmissions).
[0119] In an embodiment in which there may be one or more transmit
D2D WTRUs 102 within a predetermined range of the WTRU 102, the
WTRU 102 may be configured to use a base pattern family having
family parameters including a short base pattern length, smaller
number of transmissions, or smaller maximum overlap between any two
entries in the family. By doing so, the WTRU 102 may enhance its
capability to listen to other transmit WTRUs 102 and reduce the
probability of collisions and interference of the data
transmissions. In an embodiment in which there are few (e.g. less
than 2) or no transmit WTRUs within a predetermined range of the
WTRU 102, the WTRU 102 may select a base pattern family having
family parameters including longer base pattern lengths or a larger
number of transmissions. The predetermined range may be, for
example, the same cell as the WTRU 102 or within a certain distance
(e.g., 1 km) of the WTRU 102.
[0120] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to use a
base pattern family based on pre-configured or chosen transmission
pools. In one example, the WTRU 102 may be configured with a base
pattern family determined by the distribution of l's in the bitmap
in order to meet, for example, a desired transmission rate. In
another example, the WTRU 102 may select a base pattern family
having specified family parameters (e.g., base pattern length or
number of transmissions) that allow the WTRU 102 to finish data
transmission within a scheduling period 308, 512.
[0121] The WTRU 102 may also be configured to select one or more
base patterns 304, 504 from a specific base pattern family. More
specifically, once the WTRU 102 has determined the base pattern
family, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select one or more base
patterns 304, 504 from that base pattern family for D2D data
transmission.
[0122] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a
base pattern 304, 504 from a given base pattern family randomly,
for example, using a uniform distribution. This approach may be
used, for example, when the WTRU 102 has no prior knowledge of what
other WTRUs 102 may be using.
[0123] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a
base pattern 304, 504 from a given base pattern family based on one
or more identifiers. In one example, the WTRU 102 may be configured
to select a base pattern 304, 504 based on an operation on an
identifier, such as, for example, a modulo operation.
[0124] The WTRU 102 may be configured to select a base pattern 304,
504 from a given base pattern family based on the result of a
pseudo-random generator. In an embodiment, the pseudo-random
generator may be initialized with an identifier, such as a unique
WTRU 102 identifier (e.g., radio network temporary identifier
(RNTI), an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), or a
group identifier) and iterated with a known time variable such as a
system frame number (SFN). This approach may, for example, ensure
that two WTRUs 102 do not constantly select the same base patterns
304, 504.
[0125] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may be configured to perform
measurements and/or detect one or more SAs 308, 512 from different
WTRUs 102 to determine which base pattern 304, 504 to use for
transmission. In one example, the WTRU 102 may be configured to
determine a set of base patterns 304, 504 already in use by other
WTRUs 102 from the measurements/SA 308, 512 reception. The WTRU 102
may use this information to determine which base pattern 304, 504
to use for transmission.
[0126] More specifically, the WTRU 102 may be configured to select
one or more base patterns 304, 504 that are time-orthogonal with
respect to the base patterns 304, 504 that are determined to be in
use by other WTRUs 102. This approach may allow the WTRU 102 to
avoid interference from other transmissions. In the event that no
time-orthogonal base pattern 304, 504 may be found (e.g., all
time-orthogonal base patterns 304, 504 are already found to be in
use), the WTRU 102 may be configured to select a base pattern 304,
504 that has the least amount of overlap in time with the base
patterns 304, 504 in use.
[0127] This may be achieved, for example, by determining a
correlation between pairs of base patterns 304, 504. For example,
the WTRU 102 may be configured to determine a correlation metric
for each pair of base patterns 304, 504. In an embodiment, this
correlation metric may take into account not only the time pattern
but also the frequency hopping and/or measured received power. The
WTRU 102 may then be configured to select base patterns 304, 504
that have the best correlation metric (e.g., small correlation)
with the base patterns 304, 504 currently determined to be in use
by other WTRUs.
[0128] The selection of transmission parameters for D2D
communication as used in some embodiments is further described
herein. For example, selection of MCS and number of resource blocks
(RBs) to be transmitted are described. In some examples, the
transmitting WTRU 102 may select at least one of a number of RBs
and select the MCS to be used for all transmissions of a scheduling
period 308, 512.
[0129] In some embodiments, there may be a pre-defined mapping
between a combination of MCS, number of RBs, number of spatially
multiplexed layers on one hand, and a transport block size on the
other hand. The mapping may be such that multiple combinations map
to the same transport block size. The pre-defined mapping may be
identical to the mapping used for transmissions to and from the
network.
[0130] In some embodiments, the WTRU 102 may first determine the
size of transport blocks to be transmitted over the scheduling
period 308, 512, and then select one combination of MCS, number of
RBs, and number of layers that is mapped to the determined
transport block size. In an embodiment, the combination of MCS,
number of RBs, and number of layers may be restricted to be one of
a pre-defined or configured subset of values. For instance: only
MCS corresponding to QPSK modulation, only number of RBs between a
pre-defined or configured minimum and maximum values, and/or only
single-layer transmissions. In an embodiment, the combination of
MCS, number of RBs, and number of layers may be one for which a
specific metric is the largest, or the closest to a pre-defined or
configured target value. The metric may include: a number of RBs,
MCS index, spectral efficiency, number of transmission layers, a
coding rate (defined in terms of ratio of information bits to coded
bits, or in terms of ratio of information bits to coded modulation
symbols), a ratio between number of RBs (or bandwidth) and MCS
index, and/or a ratio between number of RB's and spectral
efficiency.
[0131] The selections of T-RPT and transport block size for D2D
communication as used in some embodiments are described herein. In
an example, the WTRU 102 may select at least one of a T-RPT pattern
and a transport block size (S) to be used for all transmissions of
a scheduling period 308, 512. In an example, the WTRU 102 may first
determine a number of information bits (B) that are to be
transmitted over a scheduling period 308, 512. This number may be
determined taking into account at least one of the following
criteria: a pre-defined or configured minimum and/or maximum value
for B; a target information bit rate from a higher layer (e.g.,
packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) or radio link control
(RLC)); the duration of the scheduling period 308, 512; a maximum
or target transmission latency; a maximum or target transmission
buffer size; a number of bits required for MAC, RLC or PDCP
protocol headers; a step size to be used for adaptively changing
the bit rate; and the state of a transmission buffer. The state of
the transmission buffer may be determined using the number of bits,
a duration of time since a SDU arrived in the buffer, or the
largest value thereof.
[0132] For example, the WTRU 102 may determine that the number of
information bits to transmit over the scheduling period 308, 512
may correspond to the sum of the number of information bits
currently in the transmission buffer and the number of bits
required for protocol headers.
[0133] In another example, the WTRU 102 may target a predetermined
buffer size and/or latency. The WTRU 102 may step up the value of B
(up to a maximum) when the buffer size and/or latency is above a
target, and step down the value of B (down to a minimum) when the
buffer size and/or latency is below a target. After the WTRU 102
has determined a number of information bits B, the WTRU 102 may
determine a combination of a transport block size S and of a T-RPT
pattern allowing for the transmission of B bits over the scheduling
period 308, 512.
[0134] The number of information bits that are possible to be
transmitted over the scheduling period 308, 512 may be a function
of one or more parameters. One parameter may be the number of total
subframes of the scheduling period 308, 512, for instance, the
number of subframes may be 160. Another parameter may be the number
of subframes available for transmission (K) in a T-RPT pattern of N
subframes, for instance, K may be one of 1, 2, 4 or 8). Another
parameter may be the number of subframes available for D2D
transmissions (D) within a scheduling period 308, 512, given the
used D2D transmission pool. For instance, D may be equal to 80 in
case the number of subframes in the scheduling period 308, 512 is
160 and the D2D transmission pool is such that half of the
subframes are available to D2D. Another parameter may be the number
of subframes used for the transmission of a single transport block
(R), for instance, R may be equal to 4.
[0135] Using the parameters above, the number of information bits
that may be transmitted over the scheduling period 308, 512 may be
equal to
S .times. D .times. K N .times. R . Equation ( 1 ) ##EQU00001##
The WTRU 102 may select at least one set of values for S and K,
such that the following condition is satisfied:
S .times. K .gtoreq. B .times. N .times. R D . Equation ( 2 )
##EQU00002##
In some examples, at least one of the parameters S and K may be
selected such that the difference
( S .times. K ) - ( B .times. N .times. R D ) Equation ( 3 )
##EQU00003##
is minimized while remaining a non-negative value. This allows
minimization of padding or of the number of unused subframes in the
T-RPT pattern. For instance, if S is fixed to a certain value, K
may be selected to be the smallest value for which Equation (2) is
satisfied.
[0136] In an embodiment in which Equation (2) may be satisfied with
more than one combination of values for S and K, the set of
possible combinations may be reduced based on at least one of
restriction. In an embodiment, the set of possible combinations may
be reduced based on a pre-defined or configured set of possible
values of S. For instance, a maximum value of S may be derived from
a maximum value of MCS and/or number of RBs. In an embodiment, a
unique value of S may be configured or pre-defined for a given
application. In an embodiment, the value of S may have to be
adjusted up or down to one of a finite set of valid transport block
size values, wherein a valid transport block size value is one that
can be associated to a combination of MCS, number of RBs and number
of transmission layers according to a pre-defined mapping.
[0137] In an embodiment, the set of possible combinations of S and
K values may be reduced based on a pre-defined or configured set of
possible values for K. For instance, K may be restricted to be one
of 1, 2, 4 or 8. In an embodiment, the value of K to be used may be
configured by higher layers to be 4. In an embodiment, the
combination of S and K values may be one for which a specific
quantity is the largest, the smallest, or the closest to a
pre-defined or configured target value. The metric may be or may
include S or K.
[0138] In an embodiment, the set of possible combinations of S and
K values may be reduced based on a level of priority associated to
the transmission. For instance, K may be selected to be a larger
value when the priority of the transmission is higher.
[0139] In an embodiment, the set of possible combinations of S and
K values may be reduced based on the number of received SAs 302,
502 from other WTRUs 102 within a period of time. For instance, a
first maximum value of K may be used if this number of higher than
a threshold, and a second maximum value of K may be used if this
number is lower than a threshold. This may allow for the selection
of a T-RPT pattern with more subframes available for reception when
there is a higher number of WTRUs 102 transmitting.
[0140] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may select a T-RPT pattern
from among a subset of T-RPT patterns. In the following, several
examples of conditions that may be used to determine a subset of
T-RPT patterns to select from are described. It is noted that such
conditions may be used in combination. For instance, the subset
from which the WTRU 102 selects a T-RPT pattern may be the
intersection of subsets obtained from different conditions. The
subset from which a T-RPT pattern is selected, the values of the
parameters used for the determination of the subset, and whether
such parameters are used may depend on whether the WTRU 102
performs a unicast, multicast or broadcast transmission, or on the
destination WTRU 102 or group of WTRUs 120.
[0141] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may select a T-RPT pattern
among a subset of T-RPT patterns that have K out of N subframes
available for transmission. The value K may be part of at least one
of the possible combinations of K and S taking into account the
restrictions described above. For instance, the set of K and S
combinations may include a first combination K=2 and S=600 bits,
and a second combination K=4 and S=300 bits. In this case, the WTRU
102 may select one T-RPT pattern among the set of T-RPT patterns
for which K=2 or K=4. In an embodiment, the selection may be
random. The selected combination for K and S may then depend on the
value of K corresponding to the selected T-RPT pattern.
Alternatively, the WTRU 102 may first randomly select a combination
of K and S among the set of possible combinations of K and S, and
then randomly select a T-RPT pattern within the set of patterns
that have the corresponding value of K.
[0142] In an embodiment, the subset of T-RPT patterns may include
T-RPT patterns that have a certain maximum overlap (or equivalently
minimum distance, such as Euclidean distance) with each other. If
the maximum overlap is 0 then the subset of T-RPT patterns may be
considered orthogonal. In an embodiment, the possible subsets of
T-RPT patterns that have a certain maximum overlap may be
pre-defined. For instance, a subset of T-RPT patterns may be
constructed from the set of all cyclic shifts of a given T-RPT
pattern for which the condition of maximum overlap is satisfied. In
an embodiment, the value of the maximum overlap may be pre-defined,
pre-configured, or signaled by higher layers. Alternatively, the
maximum overlap for a subset of T-RPT patterns may be implicitly
derived, or tied to, the value of K. For example, if the value of K
for a subset of T-RPT patterns is 2, then the maximum overlap may
be 0. If the value of K for a subset of T-RPT patterns is 4, then
the maximum overlap may be 2.
[0143] In an embodiment, the subset of T-RPT patterns may include
T-RPT patterns derived from at least one reference T-RPT pattern.
The reference T-RPT pattern may be pre-configured or signaled by
higher layers (for instance, using system information). In an
embodiment, the signaling from higher layers may include a T-RPT
index or a bitmap.
[0144] One or more of the above embodiments may be combined such
that the subset of T-RPT patterns includes a pre-defined subset of
orthogonal T-RPT patterns. The subset of orthogonal T-RPT patterns
may be constructed from a set of cyclic shifts of a signaled
reference T-RPT pattern, such that the patterns are mutually
orthogonal. For example, if the reference T-RPT pattern is [1 1 0 0
0 0 0 0], then the subset of orthogonal T-RPT patterns may be
defined as the following: [1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0], [0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0], [0
0 0 0 1 1 0 0], [0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1]. In another example, if the
reference T-RPT pattern is [1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0], then the subset of
orthogonal T-RPT patterns may be defined as: [1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0], [0
1 0 1 0 0 0 0], [0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0] and [0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1].
[0145] In an embodiment, the subset of T-RPT patterns may include
T-RPT patterns that share at least one subframe available for
transmission (or at least one subframe not available for
transmission) with a reference T-RPT pattern. The subset of T-RPT
patterns may include T-RPT patterns that share a specific number of
such subframes, T-RPT patterns that share at least a number of such
subframes, or T-RPT patterns that share at most a number of such
subframes. The number of shared subframes (which may also be
referred to as "overlap") may be pre-configured, pre-determined or
signaled by higher layers, or may be the number of subframes
available for transmission (or not available for transmission) in
the reference T-RPT pattern. For example, in a case where a
reference T-RPT pattern includes the following: [1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0],
then the subset of T-RPT patterns may include only those patterns
for which at least the two first subframes are available for
transmission (i.e., the subset of patterns defined as [1 1 x x x x
x x], where x may be 0 or 1).
[0146] Alternatively, the subset of T-RPT patterns may consist of
T-RPT patterns that do not share any subframes available for
transmission (or that share at most a certain number of subframes
available for transmission) with a reference T-RPT pattern. The
maximum number of subframes that can be shared may be pre-defined,
pre-configured or signaled by higher layers. For example, in a case
where a reference T-RPT pattern includes the following: [1 1 0 0 0
0 0 0], then the subset of T-RPT patterns may include only those
patterns for which at least the two first subframes are not
available for transmission (i.e., the subset of patterns defined as
[0 0 xxxxxx], where x may be 0 or 1).
[0147] In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may map possible T-RPT
patterns without an explicit table of possible T-RPT patterns. In
some examples, a T-RPT pattern of N subframes may be indicated by a
field of B bits, where B may be smaller than N if the set of
possible T-RPT patterns is restricted. For instance, the T-RPT
pattern may be restricted to contain K subframes available for
transmission, where K is one of a finite set of values.
[0148] In an embodiment, the transmitting and receiving WTRUs 102
may derive a T-RPT pattern from a T-RPT field using at least one of
the following operations on the T-RPT field. The T-RPT pattern may
be derived by determining the total number of "1" bits in the
binary representation of the T-RPT field and selecting an operation
on the T-RPT field based on the value of this number. The T-RPT
pattern may be derived by inserting a "0" or a "1" at a specific
position of the binary representation of the T-RPT field, including
pre-pending or appending. The T-RPT pattern may be derived by
swapping the values of the binary representation of the T-RPT field
(i.e., changing "0" to "1" and vice-versa) or equivalently
performing a "NOT" operation on each bit of the binary
representation of the T-RPT field (i.e., bitwise NOT). The T-RPT
pattern may be derived by interpreting a "1" as a subframe
available for transmission, and a "0" as a subframe not available
for transmission (or vice-versa).
[0149] For instance, in case where N=8, B=7 and K is restricted to
be one of 1, 2, 4 or 8, the following procedure may be applied to
derive a T-RPT pattern from the T-RPT field. In a first step, the
number of "1" in the binary representation of the T-RPT field may
be counted and denoted as "m." In an embodiment in which the value
of "m" is 2 or 4, the T-RPT pattern may be determined by appending
"0" to the binary representation of the T-RPT field. In an
embodiment in which the value of "m" is 0, 1, 3 or 7, the T-RPT
pattern may be determined by appending "1" to the binary
representation of the T-RPT field. In an embodiment in which the
value of "m" is 6, the T-RPT pattern may be determined by applying
a bitwise NOT operation on the binary representation of the T-RPT
field, and appending "0" to the result. In an embodiment in which
the value of "m" is 5, the T-RPT field may not indicate a valid
T-RPT pattern. Such values may be used for other signaling
purposes.
[0150] For the reverse operation, determining a T-RPT field as a
function of T-RPT pattern, at least one of the following operations
may be used. The T-RPT field may be determined by representing a
T-RPT pattern by a series of N number of "0s" and "1s", where "0"
may represent a subframe not available for transmission and "1" a
subframe available for transmission (or vice-versa). The T-RPT
field may be determined by selecting an operation on the T-RPT
pattern representation as a function of K or the value of a
specific bit of a representation. The T-RPT field may be determined
by deleting a bit at a specific position of the binary
representation of the T-RPT pattern, swapping the values of the
binary representation of the T-RPT pattern (i.e., changing "0" to
"1" and vice-versa), or equivalently performing a "NOT" operation
on each bit of the binary representation of the field (bitwise
NOT).
[0151] For instance, the following procedure may be applied to
derive the T-RPT field from a T-RPT pattern. In an embodiment in
which K is 2, 4 or 8, the T-RPT field may be obtained by deleting
the last bit from the T-RPT pattern binary representation. In an
embodiment in which K is 1 and the last bit represents a subframe
not available for transmission (e.g. "0"), the T-RPT field may be
obtained by applying a bitwise NOT operation on the binary
representation of the T-RPT pattern and deleting the last bit. In
an embodiment in which K is 1 and the last bit represents a
subframe available for transmission (e.g. "1"), the T-RPT field may
comprise of a sequence of 7 "0s", i.e. m=0.
[0152] In an embodiment, an "invalid" T-RPT index code may be used
in multiple scenarios. For example, the settings of a T-RPT field
contained in a SA 302, 502 or a D2D Grant to a particular value may
be used to signal or convey information other than actual
information about transmission occasion patterns or T-RPT patterns
to receivers.
[0153] In an embodiment, a first number of T-RPT code points may be
used to convey information about T-RPT pattern settings to
receivers. A second number of T-RPT code points may be used as
special values with the intent to convey signaling or configuration
related to other purposes. For example, if N=7 bits are in use for
the T-RPT bit field in a SA 302, 502 or in a D2D Grant, N1=120
values may correspond to actual well-defined T-RPT patterns in the
form of base or combined patterns. These may indicate subframes in
which a WTRU 102 would transmit data. However, N2 values of the 7
bit field may correspond to special purpose signaling not directly
indicating such T-RPT patterns. For example, the N2=7 special
codepoints may correspond to 1111001, 1111010, 1111011, . . . ,
1111111 and the N1=121 T-RPT values may correspond to 0000000,
0000001, 0000010, . . . , 1111000.
[0154] The special purpose signaling of selected T-RPT codepoints
may correspond to either one of, or a combination of, several
possible signaling purposes. A first possible signaling purpose may
include activation or de-activation of a configured transmission
pattern over either a single or multiple data transmission periods
306, 510 or for a duration of time. For example, a signaled special
codepoint in the T-RPT field may be used to switch on a semi-static
transmission pattern for data for a duration of time. Another
signaled special codepoint may de-activate such a transmission
pattern subject to pre-determined criteria. This semi-static
transmission pattern may be pre-configured and stored on a D2D
terminal, or it may be configured through RRC signaling by the base
station 114. More than one of these transmission patterns may be
configured simultaneously, and multiple corresponding codepoints
may be used to activate or de-activate a selected transmission
pattern.
[0155] Another possible signaling purpose may include
differentiating the contents of the D2D channel in the data
transmission period 306, 510. For example, a signaled special
codepoint in the T-RPT field may be used to indicate that following
contents of the D2D channel indicated through the SA 302, 502
contain control signaling rather than data. The signaled special
codepoint in the T-RPT field may also distinguish a first
transmission format valid in conjunction with a regular T-RPT
codepoint from a second transmission format valid in conjunction
with a special codepoint.
[0156] Another possible signaling purpose may include
differentiating the contents and transmission format of a SA 302,
502 or a D2D Grant. For example, a special codepoint setting in
either an SA 302, 502 or a D2D Grant may be used to signal to the
intended receiver that the SA 302, 502 or the D2D Grant is to be
decoded and interpreted differently than for a regular data
transmission. The special codepoint may be used as a command issued
by the transmitter to toggle on/off selected actions and decoding
steps in the receiver, such as increasing or decreasing a number of
decoded subframes or channels, increasing or changing activity
intervals or timers, or setting these to selected values.
[0157] In another example use, the setting of an MCS field
contained in a SA 302, 502 or a D2D Grant to a particular value may
be used to signal or convey information other than actual
information about transmission occasion patterns or T-RPT to
receivers such as described before.
[0158] In another example use, the settings of T-RPT patterns and
MCS fields in conjunction may be used to signal or convey special
purpose signaling other than actual MCS settings or T-RPT
patterns.
[0159] Although features and elements are described above in
particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any
combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the
methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program,
software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium
for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of
computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted
over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage
media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are
not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory
(RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices,
magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks,
magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and
digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with
software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for
use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host
computer.
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